본 연구는 학교숲이 환경적·교육적 요소를 종합적으로 고려하여 조성되고 생태전환교육 장으로서의 활용도를 높일 수 있는 방안을 모색하기 위해 수행되었다. 서부 경남 5개 군의 학교숲이 조성된 7개 초등학교를 대상으로 하였다. 녹지 면적은 E학교의 1,289 m2에서 F학교의 4,751 m2까지 다양하게 나타났으며 평균 3,081 m2을 보였다. 상록수와 낙엽수는 각각 45종(39.5%), 69종(60.5%), 교목과 관목은 72종(63.2%), 42종(36.8%), 교목과 관목의 개체수는 978본(17.2%), 4,696본(82.8%)으로 나타났다. 학교숲에 가장 많이 식재된 수종은 영산홍이었으며, 이어 산철쭉, 회양목, 무궁화, 사철나무 순이었다. 종다양성과 균재도는 각각 평균 2.23, 0.62였으며, 학교간 유사도 지수는 0.5 전후의 값을 보였다. 학교숲에 식재된 수종 중 교과서에 언급되는 식물의 일치율은 33.8%인 것으로 나타났다.
This study was conducted to explore ways to create school forests that take environmental and educational factors into account and to utilize them as places for ecological transformation education. The target was 7 elementary schools in 5 counties in western Gyeongnam where school forests were created. The green space area varied from 1,289 m2 at school E to 4,751 m2 at school F, with an average of 3,081 m2. There were 45 species (39.5%) of evergreen trees and 69 species (60.5%) of deciduous trees, 72 species (63.2%) of trees and 42 species (36.8%) of shrubs, and the number of trees and shrubs was 978 (17.2%) and 4,696 (82.8%), respectively. The most commonly planted species in school forests was Rhododendron indicum, followed by R. yedoense and Buxus sinica. The average diversity and evenness were 2.23 and 0.62, respectively, and the similarity index between schools showed a value of around 0.5. It was found that the concordance rate of plants mentioned in textbooks among the tree species planted in school forests was 33.8%.