Pupil worksheet
How can a street help keep people cool?
Read, think and draw. Use paper or a document provided by your teacher. You do not need an account or to send personal details to KEO.
Read and wonder
Roads and roofs can absorb and hold heat. Replacing plants with built surfaces can make an area warmer: an urban heat island. Trees provide shade. Water moving through plants and evaporating from leaves also uses heat, helping to cool the surroundings.
Useful shade is put where people need it. A design must leave space for wheelchairs and emergency vehicles. Trees need suitable soil, water and ongoing care. Local cooling helps people cope with heat; cutting greenhouse gas emissions is still necessary.
Three things to know
- Built surfaces can absorb and hold heat.
- Trees provide shade and cooling through evapotranspiration.
- A good design includes access and ongoing care.
- Sun warms exposed surfaces
- Trees and shelters provide shade
- People have cooler places to use
Words to explore
- Urban heat island
- A built-up area that is warmer than nearby surroundings.
- Evapotranspiration
- Water evaporating from soil and moving through plants into the air.
Think it through
1. Why might a paved street be warmer than a garden?
2. Name two things a planner must consider when planting a tree.
3. Do street trees remove the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions?
Try it
Draw an imaginary school-to-library route. Add three shady places. Keep an accessible path and room for emergency vehicles. Label who would care for the trees.
Sources and credits
Lesson summary and activity prepared for Kids.Earth.Org. Factual sources checked 5 November 2026.