Australian schools urged to open school grounds after hours to unlock more green spaces

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Schools in Australia are being asked to open up their grounds after hours to give families more green space and areas for children to play. With the population of Australia’s south-eastern Victoria state growing rapidly, the demand for additional green spaces in cities and towns is also increasing. Asking to go back to school during the holidays isn’t something parents would expect from their children, but mom of five Amanda Murray-Alston says it’s a little different these days. “First day of school holidays, the first thing they said to me on the Saturday was ‘Can we go up to school and play?’” she quips. She says her children need space to play and run around, so they come to the local primary school which is open all week long. On Sundays, they can even enjoy a farmers’ market on school grounds. “Often we’ll turn up to do something and there will be half a dozen people here already,” says Murray-Alston. According to research conducted by Infrastructure Victoria, two-thirds of Melbourne’s public schools stay open for the wider community outside of school hours. That allows local families to have a space to come to and play next to their homes. “Especially as our city and our population grows there’s a really big opportunity to make better use of our school grounds,” says Infrastructure Victoria CEO Johnathon Spear. The advisory body is now urging the state government to help more schools stay open after hours. Their research indicates that if all public schools in the city were accessible, an extra 450,000 residents would gain access to green spaces nearby. Some school principals have expressed concern that opening their facilities to the public might lead to increased graffiti and damage. Spear says the project would offer funding to counter any additional costs incurred by the school. “We've recommended that schools that open up for community use get funding to help them with any additional maintenance or administrative burden to do that,” he says. This article was provided by The Associated Press.