The municipality of Revel (31) is planning major works in Orée de Vaure and Roger Sudre to green the playgrounds.
The municipality of Revel announces a job worth 970,000 euros, including all taxes, for the complete overhaul of six playgrounds for two school groups: four playgrounds in Roger Sudre and two in Orée de Vaure. Subsidies were requested from the State Green Fund and the Region.
This project has several goals: greening the yard to prevent the heat island effect, removing water due to rainwater infiltration and diversifying the use for children.
Back to basics
“Schoolyards were traditionally green, explains city councilor Charlotte Toussaint 20 or 30 years ago, we paved everything to make maintenance easier and to prevent children from getting dirty.” A choice we are returning from for many schools in France, as it has dire consequences as soon as it starts to get hot. “From May onwards, we can no longer attend classes,” laments Charlotte Toussaint.
Redesigned spaces
A total of 1,900 m² should be drained and 123 trees should be planted. It will be years before they begin to cast a shadow. “Ideally, it should have been done a long time ago, but it wasn’t done here like elsewhere,” explains Charlotte Toussaint.
The bitumen will have to be removed, which represents a “significant cost”. Some of this material will be reused and then replaced with flexible coverings to create a play area, to protect children in the event of a fall, but also to allow water to pass through.
Quiet areas, new sandpits will be offered, all in agreement with all users of the playground. “Consultations were also carried out with the children,” explains the municipal councilor, “They suggested things they wanted, such as sandboxes, which were the idea of the elders.”
The idea is also to rethink the space, where traditionally soccer players are in the center and other children are on the periphery. The goal is also to create less childlike places, more adapted to the actual use of children.
“We also create an island of freshness in the neighborhood and create less permeability in the middle of the city,” recalls Charlotte Toussaint.
Work will begin this summer at Orée de Vaure. The Roger Sudre school group is already planning work on the interior of the buildings, which should push the construction site outside.