Trust for Public Land

Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.

We’re Leading a Movement of Americans United for the Outdoors.  We were founded in 1972 on the conviction that all people need access to nature and the outdoors, close to home, in the cities and communities where they live. We work with communities to create parks and protect public land where they’re needed most, as a matter of health, equity, and justice.

Spending time outdoors improves people’s health, nurtures their joy, and strengthens their connection to nature and one another. That’s why we’re on a mission to create and protect places that bring us outside—parks, trails, playgrounds, and public lands—and make them available to everyone, everywhere.

Our Work  

Never has getting into the great outdoors been more important than during this new and uncertain time of isolation and social distancing. For many, the ability to stroll to a nearby park, walk on a trail, or drive to a regional or state park has become as important to our physical and mental health as food and water. Unfortunately, all Minnesotans don't have the same easy access to parks, trails, and open space.

For this reason, Trust for Public Land continues to be a champion for land and water protection across our rural and urban landscapes, and a leader in park creation in cities large and small. 

Minnesota Community Schoolyards™

Minnesota’s schoolyards hold endless potential to improve learning, mitigate climate change impacts, and contribute to our physical and mental well-being. Unfortunately, underinvestment in our schools’ outdoor spaces—particularly in low-income communities and those of color—has been the status quo for far too long.

The Solution Hiding in Plain Sight

Across Minnesota, there are approximately 2,500 primary and secondary schools, each with the potential to improve health, address climate change, and create more equitable communities. The land on which these schools sit accounts for tens of thousands of acres, the majority of which are publicly owned. Unfortunately, conventional schoolyard design leaves a significant amount of this potential untapped and they are often closed to the public after school hours.

Through our data-informed Community Schoolyards program, we reimagine and transform these spaces. Our Land and People Lab’s 2021 statewide school assessment and interactive mapping tool analyzes community and school-level data including physical and mental health measures, race, income, education, excessive heat and pollution, and the level of park inequity so we can identify schools where investments would have the greatest impact.

Improving access and the quality of schoolyards can build community, tackle the educational achievement gap, and create more resilient, climate-smart neighborhoods. We are advancing opportunities to provide more equitable outdoor access and improve schoolyard quality in communities across the state.

Maxfield Elementary Community Schoolyard

At Maxfield Elementary School, we’re working with students, community leaders, the St. Paul Public School District, American Society of Landscape Architects, adnd the Urban Farm and Garden Alliance to maximize their schoolyard’s potential. Together, we’re bringing their ideas to life, and once complete, Maxfield Elementary Community Schoolyard will connect 6,500 people that live within a 10-minute walk to an awesome green space for everyone to enjoy.

To learn more about our work at Maxfield Elementary School, please click on the "Maxfield" tab at the top of this page. 

Spending time outdoors improves people’s health, nurtures their joy, and strengthens their connection to nature and one another. That’s why we’re on a mission to create and protect places that bring us outside—parks, trails, playgrounds, and public lands—and make them available to everyone, everywhere. 

Support our Work at Maxfield Elementary School

Though some funding has already been awarded to the Maxfield Elementary Community Schoolyard™ project and the first phase of the playground and sports court was installed in the summer of 2024. Additional funds will support the creation of valuable community gathering spaces, shade, nature play, and educational opportunities. Your contribution will help the vision of these students to become a reality and create a neighborhood resource that will be used and enjoyed for years to come. 

To support the wonderful work at Maxfield Elementary, please click "DONATE" below. 

Donate

Thank you for your support of Trust for Public Land - Maxfield Elementary Community Schoolyard™!