Dendermonde (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Atheneum of Dendermonde has officially put a renovated, much greener playground into use, marking a significant upgrade to the school’s outdoor environment at the start of the 2026–27 academic year. In cooperation with MOS (Milieu op School), the project turns the originally harder surface area into a nature-rich space meant for improving the wellbeing, quality of playing and climate resilience of the place.
Why is the Atheneum’s playground renovation important?
The reopening of the playground of the Atheneum is not seen locally as a mere maintenance task. Those who are involved, such as the school and the municipality, see it as a step towards a much greener environment that is part of Flemish efforts aimed at making schoolyards less hardened and introducing nature into the day-to-day life of the school. By reducing the area of asphalt and adding more vegetation, the school plans to make an outdoor space that will be cooler, more diverse and more attractive to children.
The importance of this development is that there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that greener schoolyards contribute to children’s physical exercise, mental wellbeing, cognition and social behavior. At the same time, the natural surfaces and vegetation are a way of handling rain water, avoiding heat stress in summer and creating biodiversity in cities.
How was the new playground designed and implemented?
The re-design of the playground of the Atheneum has been undertaken together with the help of the MOS (the Flemish “Environment at School” programme that helps schools implement sustainable solutions in the fields of sustainability, energy, mobility, and green infrastructure). Even though the exact figures regarding the costs and dimensions, as well as the planting list, have not yet been made public, the main idea behind this initiative can be easily stated: replacement of the hard and heat-retaining surfaces with soil, vegetation and natural playground facilities that would enable various activities of the children.
The way MOS usually works with schools includes a number of consecutive steps: from the analysis of the current situation to the involvement of the pupils and teachers in the design, choosing of the plants resistant to the climate changes and creation of the outdoor learning facilities. Usually, this leads to creation of playgrounds that include traditional play zones along with the outdoor classroom and green corners with permeable surfaces that absorb rainwater.
When did similar schoolyard greening projects happen before?
Renovation of the Atheneum is part of a series of similar developments in the recent past. In September 2026, a few months before Dendermonde, the Scholencampus De Bloesem in Munsterbilzen launched its new green playground, which was described as a transition from concrete to natural spaces full of trees. In December 2025, schools in Vorselaar were mentioned for having been awarded the “Groene Oase” status due to their de-hardening project. Earlier in 2026, Ghent launched its plan to develop several schools’ greenspaces.
