MILWAUKEE (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- Milwaukee Public Schools are adding more green spaces to schools in the area. The district wants to create a positive impact on the students and help improve the water quality in the area, by removing nearly 8,000 square feet of asphalt.

"We're very excited about these projects, they are centered around green infrastructure and outdoor classroom space," said Angeline Koch MPS Sustainability Project Specialist. 

The multimillion-dollar initiative aims to give urban students the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of more green spaces

"Bringing to the children of Milwaukee to have great space outside, trees and access to the flora and fauna," continued Koch.

While making conditions more suitable and safe for the students.

"The heat escape was that children wouldn't play on it in august and September because it was just too hot, the cracks were horrible they would eat the tar that was in there, they'd trip on it scrape their knees and now we don't have any of that it's just fun play if you look around nobody is falling and nobody is getting hurt," added MPS teacher Lisa Misky.

The playgrounds are designed for purposeful play, highlighting local geography and with other features that allow it to become an extension of the classroom.

"You see children learning and staff interacting with them and teaching them on the daily basis, and what's super cool is that we visit lake Michigan, we visit the rivers once a year but here we get to talk about the rivers and lake Michigan and things we typically do once a year every day," said Misky.

The MPS green playgrounds are supported and funded by partners like the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), Fund for Lake Michigan, Reflo and the MPS community. The playground projects contribute to improving freshwater resources.

"The teachers are very much a part of this and donate a lot of their time, we call it in-kind donations were they spend time after school working to fund-raise help our grants", said Koch.

Additionally, the playgrounds will serve as a stormwater green infrastructure, the porous surfaces will hold water, filter it and prevent stormwater from overflowing into sewer systems.

A long-term goal of the project is to potentially save MPS funds through lower stormwater fees.

MPS plans to continue installing green playgrounds at five more schools across the district each year through 2022. Plans for more green playgrounds could extend after that depending on funding and resources.