In Toulouse, “oasis courtyards” refresh playtime

If previously the courtyard of the Anatole France school in Toulouse was covered only with tar, now it is plants, play equipment and wood shavings that occupy part of the space.

"We feel that there is less heat. (...) It was really asphalt everywhere, it was quite stifling," says Malika Prunès, 28, educational director of the leisure center of this school near the Canal du Midi.

The establishment was one of the first in the Pink City to host an "oasis courtyard", installed by the town hall in 2022.

Since then, Toulouse city hall has extended these measures to several Toulouse schools, where at least 30% of the surface area is de-surfaced before being planted.

Bitumen furnace

In January 2024, the city of Toulouse had 64 "oasis courses" and 70 more should see the light of day by 2026.

"Since 2014, when we build a new school, we put a lot of vegetation. Now, we are tackling existing schools", built "in the 60s, 70s, 80s, where there is a lot of asphalt and few trees", Jean-Luc Moudenc, mayor of Toulouse, told AFP.

The reign of bitumen, a "national, even international" phenomenon and now obsolete, according to Pascal Héral, project manager of the "oasis courses".

"We put the asphalt down for maintenance reasons, (so) that we didn't have to pick up the leaves," he points out.

But "with global warming", the tarmaced courtyards "quickly turn into an oven" during the spring and autumn, when temperatures are around 30 degrees, so "water has to infiltrate", points out the project manager.

So, the creation of cool islands "allows us to gain a few degrees Celsius and, in several years, the trees planted will create a lot of shade and coolness", continues Pascal Héral. "We adapt to today and we play the future."

During the school year, the "oasis courses" are designed in consultation with schools, students and their parents, allowing the development of a project "supported by all", according to Sébastien Hoonhorst, director of the Anatole France school.

And it is during the summer holidays that the work is done.

More inclusive

A few days before the start of the school year, it's time to put the finishing touches to the Françoise Héritier school.

The work has removed nearly 100 cubic metres of concrete and rubble, and an equivalent volume of wood chips is about to be dumped on the now bare ground, all under a boat and newly installed wooden climbing frames.

"These shavings are very important, they retain moisture. Even in the middle of summer when it's very hot, if you dig a little you quickly feel moisture," says Sébastien Hoonhorst.

In addition, nine trees and 180 perennials, planted near the gutters to collect rainwater, will soon green the courtyard of this school.

"In 2024, we can no longer do the stupid things we did in the 80s or 90s," says Thibaut Morin, site manager, responsible for installing the oasis courses.

More inclusive, the oasis courses are intended to be easily accessible for children in wheelchairs by integrating spaces where they can move around.

The football and basketball fields, which took up most of the space, were mainly occupied by boys "and the girls were pushed to the corners", underlines Marion Lalane, first deputy mayor in charge of education.

The new games, which promote motor skills, are suitable "for children who want to stay calm as well as for those who want to exercise," says the elected official.

Actors in the transformation of their playground from the start of the project, the children are also "made responsible and aware" about the maintenance and respect of the space where they play, according to Malika Prunès.

In the coming years, the Toulouse "oasis courses" could well inspire other French cities that are "interested in what we are doing here", says the deputy mayor.