Amman Children’s Climate Academy and Park
Greater Amman Municipality
Mayor
Dr. Yousef Al Shawarbeh
Start of Project
10/01/2023
End of Project
31/03/2026
Overview
The Amman Children’s Climate Academy and Park (2023–ongoing) is the Greater Amman Municipality’s pledge to transform an underused space near Al-Hussein Refugee Camp into an inclusive public park and the city’s first Children’s Climate Academy, designed to strengthen social cohesion and promote climate education for refugee and Jordanian children.
The Greater Amman Municipality committed to establishing the Children’s Climate Academy to teach Amman’s youngest generation the importance of environmental stewardship. The project sought to rehabilitate an open space near Al-Hussein Refugee Camp to build an accessible, climate-adaptive, and age- and gender-responsive public park. In addition to a children’s playground, sports pitches, and walking paths, the park was planned to feature shaded areas where caregivers can rest. The park also sought to incorporate green infrastructure, such as vegetation and green cover, permeable surfaces to reduce water runoff, and flood-prevention mechanisms. These features help Amman adapt to and mitigate climate change by improving air and water quality, preventing flooding, and reducing the urban heat island effect.
The Children’s Climate Academy sought to offer hands-on workshops on topics like the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the greenhouse effect, and air pollution.
Expected Impact
To promote social inclusion and healthy development for refugees and receiving community members while spurring inclusive climate action and bolstering climate resilience.
To provide a hub for community engagement and childhood development, and spaces to promote children’s healthy physical and emotional wellbeing.
To create a safe, vibrant, and welcoming public space on previously underutilized city land for refugee children and caregivers to learn, play, and interact with their receiving community peers, towards fostering stronger relationships between Amman residents of all backgrounds.
To strengthen the city’s climate resilience: to establish green infrastructure: enhancing green cover, permeable surfaces, shade structures, and other sustainable elements towards improving air and water quality, preventing flooding, and mitigating the urban heat island effect.
Reported Impact [as of November 2025]
Implemented with support from the Mayors Migration Council’s Global Cities Fund and developed through participatory workshops with refugee and host communities, the project integrates climate-adaptive green infrastructure, child-friendly recreational areas, and hands-on environmental learning.
To date, Amman has mobilised nearly USD 600,000 in co-funding, advanced participatory design with youth and families, and embedded child-centred climate education into municipal programming. The main challenges—funding gaps and coordination needs—were addressed through resource mobilisation, strengthened partnerships, and a commitment to institutionalising the Academy for long-term sustainability.
Call to Local Action - Priority Objectives
Minimising the drivers of forced displacement, including climate change and environmental drivers
Protecting those most vulnerable
Realising socio-economic inclusion
“Amman has shown remarkable compassion and embraced migrants and refugees, offering them a sanctuary of safety, hospitality, and opportunity, where social inclusion and justice are prioritized for all residents. The Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees will allow us to introduce new green and climate-resilient spaces where children, including refugees, can play, socialize, and learn about the environment to maintain a united community.”