My Green School
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4.2. A ‘Special’ Space: children’s perceptions of the green roof The green roof is seen by the children as a ‘special’ place. For example, during a tour to the roof one of the girls said to the researcher, ‘you’re allowed to take a rock [from the roof] if you want, just for remembering’. For many of the children, the green roof is what they feel makes their school interesting. One girl explained that ‘most schools don’t have a green roof. They might have a few plants but not a full green roof’. In this way, the green roof sets their school apart from others. It seems that this view of the roof is strengthened through the kind of media coverage and publicity it has received, such as a feature on the popular children’s news programme called Newsround. I: Do you think that it was good that it was on Newsround? All: Yeah ... I: It’s kind of made you school a bit famous? F: It took it to another level I: Yeah F: From like boring to special In this extract one of the girls suggests that the fame her school has obtained has transformed it from being ‘boring to special’. Other children also felt that ‘loads’ of visitors come to their school to see the green roof. While the roof is now described by children as a local attraction, when it was being built some of the children said they knew nothing about it, ‘until we saw the pictures of our green roof and saw it was on the news’. For them, the green roof was a secret - when ‘they were building it, it was a secret’. This shift from being a secret to being an attraction seems to add to the green roof's appeal to the children. This ‘specialness’ is also captured in the children’s views of the roof within the context of the city. F: Actually [the green roof] is one of the only nature reserves in Sheffield ... F: Yeah, it was the first one F: And then the University’s the second These comments reflect the significance the children attribute to their school’s green roof as a city landmark. Some also see it as national landmark, ‘this is one of the famous schools in England’. Although their statements are not factually accurate, the children’s comments reflect the level of importance they consider their green roof to have. However, it also seems that the specialness