Citizen petition · ward by ward
Our kids are
losing recess
to the heat.
Bare asphalt playgrounds bake past 60 °C on hot days. Sign the petition to make the council fund tree canopy and shade in every public schoolyard — before the next heatwave.
Add your name
Sign the petition.
It takes fifteen seconds. Your name joins a public count delivered to the council with every budget cycle until the canopy is funded.
- One confirmation email — then only campaign updates.
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- No bots, no fake numbers: real names on the public record.
Why it matters
Shade isn't a luxury. It's heat safety.
Playgrounds were paved for drainage, not for a hotter climate. On the worst days kids stay indoors, lose physical activity, and learn in sweltering rooms. Trees and shade sails are cheap, proven, and overdue — this is a budget choice, not a mystery.
- 60 °C asphalt surface temp
recorded at midday on a bare playground — hot enough to burn skin.
- 1 in 3 recess periods cut
cancelled or shortened for heat across district schools last summer.
- −7 °C cooler under canopy
air beneath mature shade trees vs open asphalt at the same hour.
What we're asking
Four concrete demands.
Addressed to the City Council and the Department of Education. Specific, costed, and trackable — so progress can't hide behind good intentions.
-
Fund the canopy
Commit budget to plant shade trees in every public schoolyard within two years, starting with the hottest sites.
-
Shade what trees can’t cover yet
Install engineered shade sails over play and lunch areas where trees are years from maturity.
-
Publish a heat-readiness plan
Release a per-school timeline and surface-temperature audit before the next budget vote — in public.
-
Pay to keep it alive
Ring-fence a watering and maintenance budget so the canopy survives past year one. No one-off ribbon-cuttings.
Who supports this
A coalition, not a campaign of one.
Parents, teachers, doctors and neighborhood groups have put their name on this. Yours belongs here too.
- Riverside Parents’ Council Parents
- City Teachers United Educators
- Green Streets Coalition Climate
- Pediatric Heat Health Network Health
- Ward 4 Residents’ Assembly Neighbors
- Urban Canopy Project Climate
- Schoolyard Futures Trust Education
- Young Climate Voices Youth
Endorsements shown are illustrative placeholders for this demo.
Last thing
The next heatwave is coming.
The canopy isn't — yet.
Budgets are decided by who shows up on paper. Add your name and make the schoolyard a place kids can stand on in summer.
Sign the petition