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Playground 3.0 - Nature Ushers in the Next Generation of Play
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| By: Margaret Ryan
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The commercial playground industry is on the verge of a seismic shift that will essentially take play back to its roots in order to create the play spaces of the future. The playgrounds of the future are outdoor play spaces where children can play freely with and among natural elements such as sand, stones, water and living plants. Commonly referred to as natural playgrounds, many childhood development experts believe returning to nature-based play is essential for the health and well-being of children.
With the 2005 publication of his book, Last Child in The Woods, Richard Louv sparked a nationwide conversation about the disconnection between children and nature. In the book, he outlines consequences for this disconnect and gives it a provocative diagnosis called “nature-deficit disorder.” Seemingly overnight, terms like “natural play” and “nature-deficit” proliferated the playground industry’s vernacular. In actuality, the trend toward natural playgrounds, also called outdoor classrooms, is part of a much larger movement to return play to its roots, when children played with and among natural elements freely in the natural world.
According to Cheryl Charles, President and CEO of the Children & Nature Network, Last Child in the Woods galvanized a back-to-nature movement that has steadily gained momentum for years because children today are far less likely than past generations to spend time playing outdoors. In 2006, Charles co-founded The Children & Nature Network (www.childrenandnature.org) with Richard Louv to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature. According to Charles, changes in children’s lives and how they play have accelerated in the last 10 years to the point where child development experts are extremely concerned about their well-being. Charles attributes this acceleration to the ubiquitous use of technology, which has changed the way children interact and are entertained and, as a consequence, created an imbalance in the way they learn.
“Having access to nature is a fundamental part of peoples health and well-being, certainly in the developmental health of children.” According to Charles, children aren’t getting the access they need to thrive.
Numerous studies find that the natural world is essential to the development of children in every major way - intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically. The correlation between outdoor play and social, cognitive and behavior development is well documented with evidence supporting benefits such as improved recall of information, creative problem solving and increased creativity among children. A growing number of children’s advocates and political leaders express concern that disconnection with nature adversely affects children and have gone so far as to attribute modern mental and physical ailments such as ADHD, low self-esteem, stress and childhood obesity to this nature deficit. All of these factors have made the back-to-nature movement a focal point of discussion for anyone involved in designing, manufacturing and installing play spaces for children.
Over the last few years, leaders in childhood development have become increasingly aware of the necessity and benefit of incorporating natural elements into their programs. Earlier this year, Progressive Design Playgrounds (www.pdplay.com), which designs and manufactures environmentally friendly commercial playgrounds and recreation site furnishings, launched a line of natural playgrounds called Outdoor Learning Environments
(www.outdoorlearningenvironments.com) in direct response to feedback from childhood development experts. Outdoor Learning Environments are play spaces that allow children to explore their surroundings with sight, hearing, touch and smell. They come in many different configurations depending upon the school, the community, the climate and resources available. They range from vegetable gardens, to slides built into grass hills, to stages where pretend play capitalizes on natural surroundings to stimulate young minds. More elaborate natural playgrounds include science labs, greenhouses, ponds, dirt trails, trike trails and mazes and reading amphitheaters. They often include local plants and boulders, contributing to the authenticity of the natural environment. These outdoor classrooms function as play areas on their own or as additions to traditional physically challenging stand alone play structures such as overhead ladders, ring mazes, and climbing walls.
John Ogden, President of Progressive Design Playgrounds, reports customer interest in natural playgrounds has reached unprecedented levels in recent months with more and more customers requesting natural elements to be incorporated into their new or existing playgrounds. “Nature is making news in our industry. We designed our line of Outdoor Learning Environments because our customers told us they want play spaces that engage children’s minds and their bodies,” he said. “As a designer of commercial play structures and natural playgrounds we are in the unique position to offer our customers play spaces that are both mentally and physically challenging.”
Rebecca Candra, Director of La Jolla United Methodist Church Nursery School in San Diego, CA, commented their children’s existing play habits led the community to add an Outdoor Learning Environment last month. “As childcare experts, we understand the value of nature-based play,” she said. “What is really interesting is that children, when left alone, inherently gravitate to the natural elements like dirt, grass and water.” Candra added, “ The children are thrilled to have a play space that combines natural elements and monkey bars and they benefit from the combination socially, physically, emotionally and academically.”
According to Ogden, no two Outdoor Learning Environments are alike. “We find clients want custom spaces that are authentic for their environment. This ranges from a seated area under the shade of a tree, a trail lined with plants and boulders for toddlers or a science lab filled with plants for the older kids.”
What is the most popular Outdoor Learning Environment product?
“The Hill Slide, hands down,” said Ogden. “It’s funny because it is so simple but it provides a lot of play value.” Ogden adds that the Hill Slide is also one of the best ways, in terms of build time, cost and play value, to incorporate natural elements into an existing play space.
Ogden offers the following six suggestions to help parks & recreation professionals plan, design and build natural playgrounds from the ground up or incorporate natural playground features into an existing play space.
Work with natural surroundings. The first step to designing a natural playground is to take a detailed inventory of existing natural play elements. What do you have to work with? For example, trees, tree roots, slopes, once considered road blocks to a successful play space, can become a cornerstone of a great natural playground. Strategic seating and a stage can convert a tree into a reading amphitheater. Interior planting areas can solve root-tripping hazards. Rather than leveling slope, it can be used to create mounds, water play features, planting areas or a hill slide.
Start from what you want for the children and work backwards. What do you want for the children who will use the space? Options include physically challenging play, dramatic play, social interactive play, cause and effect stations, motor skill development, art areas, botanical planting areas, etc. In most cases, a natural playground should involve a combination of the above. This may include stand-alone physically challenging structures like monkey bars, balance beams and climbing walls, play stages, seated gathering places, sand pits and water play systems.
Design a place where children will want to stay. The best play spaces have the right mix of natural and physical play elements to attract and engage children. A play space that dually offers children physical and mental challenges holds the most play value. Play value is measured by a play elements ability to hold a child’s attention. Creating multi-age family gathering areas with picnic tables and seating under a shaded tree also increases the overall play value of the play space because it influences how often a child visits and the duration.
Incorporate one natural element in a way that adds maximum impact. Water play, for example, is one of the greatest play elements (natural or otherwise) for children. There are a number of ways to incorporate water play into a playground from misting arbors to intepractive water play streams where kids can change the flow, build dams, create a whirlpool or just splash and play. A hill slide is perhaps the easiest way to incorporate natural elements into a playground and it offers great play value.
Allow the kids and the community to contribute. When it comes to creating natural play spaces the journey is part of the reward. Kids love to watch the earthmovers and dirt trucks at work but, even more than that, they like to dig their hands in a get dirty! Invite them to be part of the construction process through planting, watering, digging, etc.
Keep it simple. Often the temptation is to overdesign a play space and incorporate a massive structure with “curb appeal” simply because there is funding or a large enough space to support it. The reality is that it is the simple things are often what children find fun and interesting. Therein lies the power and potential of natural playgrounds.
The Author
Margaret Ryan is a freelance writer and marketing consultant. She jointly owns Progressive Design Playgrounds (www.pdplay.com) in Vista, CA with her husband John Ogden. She can be reached at Margaret@pdplay.com. |
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