The play landscape in this Norfolk village was created to partly replace, as well as enhance an existing fenced play area with wooden and other equipment, which was set wide apart and surrounded by grass. This adjoins an area of the local recreation ground and a small area of woodland/hedgerow.I was commissioned to provide design and specification plus project management advice. There was an initial budget of £50,000, funded by the Government Playbuilder programme plus contributions from local organisations.
1. Expanding the play space – using the identified budget and the Design Brief as a starting point, expand and link the existing play space so as to utilise the play opportunities offered by the nearby wood/ hedgerow, allowing for future fundraising and community self-build.
2. Enhancing Play Value – increase the number and range of play opportunities for all abilities and ages, focusing on 8-13 year olds and with some provision for toddlers.
3. Creating an attractive community space – create a welcoming, attractive space for children and adults which is coherent, provides interest through varied height and colour, creates a sense of discovery, uses existing/ donated play equipment (where possible), and landscape features to create play value and enhance the appearance of the space.
The resulting design extends the play area into a larger space (requiring the movement of a football pitch) and integrates this with retained, refurbished play equipment. Old fencing was removed and replaced with shrub planting and trees to indicate boundaries, an existing mound and new grass mounds were created to provide play features and to house a tunnel, wide slide with graded wheelchair access and aerial cableway. There is a wooden climbing feature, plus additional play equipment for toddlers and older children, including a simple wood slice spiral with spring bulbs planted to mark this, a log seating area/ social space, basket swing, spinners, and areas of longer grass. The project was substantially completed by June 2010.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this post and others on this blog, why not comment and join others by signing up for automatic updates via email (see side bar, above right ) or through an RSS feed (see top of page)?
This is the second post in a series on projects to create playful landscapes, this one located in Mepal, near Ely, in Cambridgeshire.
Other posts of relevance:
Natural Play- ten tips for parents
Playful Landscape- Wensum Way, Fakenham, Norfolk
‘Free range’ children?- seven tips for successful garden play
If you’ve enjoyed reading this post and others on this blog, why not comment and join others by signing up for automatic updates via email (see side bar, above right ) or through an RSS feed (see top of page)?
‘Over the last 3 years we have reached over 2000 young people and families across woodland days, teenage camp, youth training and leadership programmes, forest schools and family days. Our flagship projects, Call of the Wild and Earthwise, were funded under Natural England’s Access to Nature Grant and MIND’s Ecominds Grant and raised over £160,000 towards creating outdoor opportunities for the most disadvantaged groups in our society. The results show that this kind of work leads to better health and wellbeing, more opportunities, a greater sense of community and respect.’
For more information visit http://www.circleofliferediscovery.com
Simple natural elements can make a garden special for younger children
Providing simple play pleasures won’t cost parents an arm and a leg either! Thinking about how to make your garden child-play friendly and then spending a little money on creating the right space will repay dividends over many years.
Start with the idea that the garden for children (and for adults too for that matter) should be a multi-sensory space, with:
A children’s food garden
Nigel Boldero aka 'Old School Gardener'
 | Nigel Boldero on Fighting to Reduce Climate Cha… |
 | Anonymous on Fighting to Reduce Climate Cha… |
| Anonymous on PicPost: Carrot, my foot! |
| 18 Surprising Hydran… on Plantax 16: Hydrangea the wate… | |
| Nigel Boldero on Poppyland: A Victorian romance… |
| Anonymous on Poppyland: A Victorian romance… |
| Anonymous on Plants to die for… |
 | Isabella Childress on PicPost: Forest, but not as we… |
 | Happiness Factor on Is child-friendly planning a l… |
 | zidane on Top Tip: On a Pedestal- make m… |
Nature Connectedness Research Blog by Prof. Miles Richardson
Connecting People with Nature
A daily selection of the best content published on WordPress, collected for you by humans who love to read.
Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
Writing, photography and more by Daniel Greenwood
Lydia Rae Bush Poetry
Australian Pub Project, Established 2013
The Journey from Finnish Rintamamiestalo to Arboretum & Gardens
Because even in chaos, there’s always gin and a good story …
RANDOM BITS & MORE TIDBITS
.....and nurturing my soul
Cultural Heritage and the Digital Economy
Sense of place, purpose, rejuvenation and joy
Notes from the Gardeners...
Connecting People to Nature, Empowering People to Live Sustainably
A girl and her garden :)
Old School Garden 