Green Walls for Schools: National Education Nature Park Funding Guide

The National Education Nature Park is helping schools, nurseries and colleges across England transform grey spaces into greener, more biodiverse environments. For eligible education settings, grant funding can be used for biodiversity improvements including green walls, trees, planters, grasslands, ponds and hedges. For schools with limited outdoor space, vertical greening can be a particularly practical solution. Mobilane Green Screens are pre-grown living screens that allow schools to introduce established vegetation along boundaries, fences and other suitable locations without requiring large areas of valuable playground or outdoor space. They can help turn grey school grounds green, create additional habitat and provide pupils with opportunities to experience nature within their everyday school environment.

Can the National Education Nature Park grant fund a green wall?

Yes.

The Department for Education explicitly lists green walls as one of the biodiversity improvements that eligible education settings can fund through the National Education Nature Park grant. Other examples include planters, trees, water butts, grasslands and ponds. Funding may also be used for specialist contractors providing installation or consultation. This makes vertical greening an option worth considering for eligible schools, particularly where limited ground space makes conventional planting difficult.

Already eligible for Nature Park funding?
Talk to our UK team about whether a Mobilane Green Screen could be suitable for your school grounds.

Is my school eligible for National Education Nature Park funding?

Not every school can apply for the grant. For the 2026/27 academic year, the Department for Education has identified 765 eligible education settings in England. Eligible settings can receive up to £5,000.  The Royal Horticultural Society contacts eligible settings with information about the application process. Eligible settings that meet the application criteria can apply from September 2026.  Eligibility is based on criteria including access to natural greenspace and levels of deprivation. Schools must also appear on the DfE’s official list of eligible settings.

Important: the National Education Nature Park itself is broader than the grant. Schools and other education settings can participate in the Nature Park even when they have not been selected for this particular funding programme. Check here your school’s eligibity

Green walls for schools with limited outdoor space

Finding room for more nature isn’t always easy. Urban schools in particular may have grounds dominated by playgrounds, buildings, pathways, fencing and sports facilities. Creating new planting beds or planting trees may therefore not always be practical. Vertical greening makes it possible to use space differently. A Mobilane Green Screen consists of climbing plants pre-grown through a steel mesh structure. The system provides established vegetation from installation and is available with different plant types and sizes.

Green Screens can be used to create:

• • Green school boundaries;
  • Planted areas alongside playgrounds;
  • Greener fencing;
  • Separation between different outdoor spaces;
  • Additional vegetation where conventional planting space is limited;
  • Habitat and opportunities for biodiversity.

Explore Mobilane Green screens
Mobilane Green Screens are already used at schools, including UK projects where they have been installed as green playground boundaries and alongside roads.

How can a Green Screen improve school grounds?

1. Turn grey spaces green
The Nature Park grant is specifically intended to support improvements that turn grey spaces green and increase biodiversity. Green walls are explicitly included within the eligible improvements. For schools where hard surfaces dominate, Green Screens provide a way to introduce established vegetation without converting significant areas of playground into planting beds.

2. Support biodiversity
Vegetation can provide habitat, shelter and food sources for insects, birds and other wildlife. A Green Screen can form one element of a wider school biodiversity plan alongside trees, hedges, wildflowers, ponds and other forms of planting. For projects where biodiversity is the main objective, Mobilane can also advise on suitable plant selection.

3. Make better use of limited space
Vertical greening has a relatively small footprint. Instead of choosing between space for pupils and space for vegetation, schools can use boundaries and other suitable vertical areas to introduce more greenery. This can make Green Screens particularly relevant for urban schools and schools with predominantly hard-surfaced grounds.

4. Create a greener school boundary
Green Screens can replace or complement conventional fencing to create a more natural boundary around playgrounds and other outdoor areas. Mobilane has already supplied Green Screens to UK schools for this purpose, including projects in London where green boundaries were introduced alongside busy roads.

5. Create opportunities for learning
School greening can also become part of the learning environment. Pupils can observe plants and wildlife, record biodiversity, investigate seasonal changes and explore how vegetation interacts with the built environment. The National Education Nature Park itself aims both to improve education settings for people and wildlife and to embed nature-based learning into education.

Can vertical greening help schools with heat?

An interesting example comes from Co-op Academy Manchester, where pupils and staff created a planted vertical system outside a south-facing technology classroom that experienced overheating. The school used FLIR thermal imaging to compare temperatures and recorded more than a 10°C difference in surface temperature between the building cladding and the planted vertical surface.

Co-op Academy Manchester:

Challenge
A predominantly grey outdoor area and a south-facing technology classroom affected by heat.

Approach
Introduction of a planted vertical system as part of the school’s Nature Park activity.

Measured observation
More than 10°C difference in surface temperature between the building cladding and vegetation, measured using thermal imaging.

Educational value
Pupils could investigate temperature and the role of vegetation as part of their learning.

Source: National Education Nature Park, Co-op Academy Manchester.

What should schools consider when planning a green wall?

Successful school greening is about more than simply installing plants. Before selecting a solution, consider:

What do you want to achieve?
Start with the objective. Is the priority biodiversity, greening a playground, creating a green boundary, introducing nature into a restricted space or creating opportunities for pupils to learn?

Where is greenery currently missing?
Map the school grounds and identify grey areas, boundaries and other locations where additional vegetation could have the greatest impact.

What are the site conditions?
Sunlight, shade, exposure, available soil, water availability and available space can all influence the appropriate solution and plant selection.

How will the vegetation be maintained?
Living green infrastructure requires ongoing care. Plant selection, irrigation, access and maintenance should therefore be considered from the beginning rather than after installation.

How can pupils become involved?
Consider how pupils could observe, measure or learn from the project. That could range from monitoring wildlife to investigating plant growth or changes in the school environment.

How Mobilane can help schools

Mobilane has extensive experience providing vertical greening solutions for schools and other built environments. Our Green Screen is a pre-grown living hedge consisting of climbing plants intertwined with a steel mesh structure. The screens are supplied with established vegetation and can be installed relatively quickly.

Mobilane and our partners can support school greening projects with:

• • Advice on suitable Green Screen solutions;
  • Site and location considerations;
  • Plant selection;
  • Technical product information;
  • Installation considerations;
  • Irrigation and maintenance planning;
  • Information to support biodiversity and school greening proposals.

Mobilane Green Screens have already been used at schools across the UK, including projects in London focused on greener school boundaries and air quality.

Not eligible for the Nature Park grant?

Your school can still become greener. Since the National Education Nature Park launched, the Department for Education has awarded £15 million in grant funding to more than 1,800 education settings. A further £2 million has been allocated for 2026/27.  However, Nature Park funding is only one possible route. The National Education Nature Park itself points schools towards other sources of funding for wider biodiversity improvements.  Mobilane is also exploring other funding opportunities relevant to UK schools.

Talk to our UK team about your plans even if your school isn’t eligible for the current Nature Park grant.

Frequently asked questions about green walls and school funding

Can schools get funding for a green wall? Yes, in some circumstances. The National Education Nature Park grant explicitly includes green walls as an eligible biodiversity improvement for selected education settings, and other school, community or environmental funding programmes may support green infrastructure under their own criteria.

Can every school apply for the National Education Nature Park grant? No. Funding is only available to education settings identified as eligible. For 2026/27, 765 settings have been selected, and the RHS contacts eligible settings directly with information about applying.

How much National Education Nature Park funding is available? Eligible settings can receive up to £5,000 in the 2026/27 academic year.

What can schools spend the Nature Park grant on? Eligible biodiversity improvements include green walls, planters, trees, water butts, grasslands and ponds. Funding can also cover certain gardening and fieldwork equipment, plus specialist contractor support for installation and consultation.

What is a Mobilane Green Screen? A Mobilane Green Screen is a pre-grown living hedge in which climbing plants grow through a steel mesh structure. It provides established greenery from installation and is available in different sizes and plant varieties.

Are Green Screens suitable for schools with small playgrounds? They can be particularly useful where ground space is limited, since the vegetation grows vertically. Suitability still depends on the individual site, including available space, soil, sunlight, exposure, water and maintenance requirements.

Can Mobilane help us apply for the Nature Park grant? Mobilane’s role is that of a green infrastructure specialist, not a grant administrator. We can help schools investigate suitable vertical greening solutions and provide relevant technical and project information; eligibility and applications for Nature Park funding are managed through the official DfE/RHS process.

Ready to make your school grounds greener?

Whether your school has been selected for National Education Nature Park funding or you’re simply looking for practical ways to introduce more nature into your grounds, our UK team can help you explore the possibilities.