The ambition of the LAR project has been to find solutions that together can manage, locally on the school's area, both normal rainfall as well as extreme rainfall and cloudbursts, and thereby relieve the adjacent Maglemose River which rainwater from the Gundsølille area has caused to flood on several occasions. The school has had one of its basements flooded on at least one cloudburst occasion.
Layout of the school and surrounding areas. The rainwater from the sloping roofs is led onto various LAR facilities.
As a first step, the terrain profile and soil conditions around the school and the associated sports hall were surveyed. Next, buildings, roofs and paved areas were analysed in order to discover how rainwater could be disconnected from the sewer systems and to identify where to lead the water instead.
Lindebjerg School has been expanded on several occasions with extensions, some with flat roofs and others with pitched roofs, some with hidden, internal downpipes and others with exterior downpipes that were more easy to disconnect. A total of 1,100 square metres of roof area fed rainwater into these external downpipes, so the project decided to start with these.
In the summer of 2012, a 72-square-metre large green roof on the school's bike shed became the first visible sign of the school's new status as a Climate School. At the same time, the project tested ideas for how to apply different climate initiatives in teaching. A notice on the bike shed explains the concept of green roofs and asks questions to which pupils and parents can find answers by scanning a QR code.
Disconnecting the downpipes started in spring 2013. Simple water channels in concrete were established leading from the downpipes, so that the rainwater was diverted to infiltration areas on the outskirts of the buildings. The areas chosen were those that had proven most suitable for infiltration in prior infiltration tests.
These areas were designated as 'water playground' areas for children of different ages. Thus, the youngest pupils have a paddling pool designed as a true copy of the local Roskilde Fjord and Isefjorden.
The paddling pool is popular among the youngest pupils. It has been constructed with a maximum depth of 12cm to prevent any gumboots from overflowing with water. The pool has been constructed with a sloped bottom so that the water runs out of the basin when the rain stops and the outlet is opened. The outlet can be plugged, however the pool must not be left with standing water for several days.
"When the children shout "To the fjord!" they are not referring to the adjacent Roskilde Fjord but to the paddling pool, which they just love! Every time it rains, they want to go outside and play, so the school has had to expand the wardrobe area to make room for all the gumboots and rain clothes," Hanne Kjær Jørgensen explained.
The slightly older pupils have helped plant their own infiltration bed. A local firm, Ambi Consult, helped identify the most suitable plants in the local area and they then took all third-formers with them on a field trip to find and collect plants to dig up and then replant in their own infiltration bed at the school.