When a community parent embarked on a journey to have a natural play area built at her children’s school, she had no idea about the time and hurdles she would face nor were there any guidelines on how to proceed or where to start.
The parent was not a professional playground builder, just a full time working mother who saw a need and wanted to make a change for the kids. With hard work, dedication, and some perseverance, the parent has proven that anything is possible!
More than a year after beginning the process, Phase 1 of the project is just getting off the ground with Phase 2 slated to begin Spring 2017. When all is said and done, close to two years will have passed which almost included the inability for her eldest child to have the opportunity and privilege to enjoy and engage in the new natural outdoor learning playground, the first of its kind within the school district elementary schools.
To start, what prompted this parent to undertake such a daunting feat, with no prior knowledge or experience in outdoor elementary school play areas?! A visit to one PAC meeting where the topic of a new traditional outdoor playground to the tune of $60,000 to $70,000 and the necessary fundraising funds needed was on the agenda. $60 to $70 000 dollars!!! That’s enough to make your head spin with a dash of vertigo and a tablespoon of “oh my gosh, are you kidding me?!”
Every parent wants the best for their child at school and appropriate outdoor play areas are key to this happiness. With a school day filled with academics, reading, writing, social responsibilities, and so forth, the one for sure escape for the children is recess and lunch which means outdoor play! If we expect and want our children to perform at their optimal level in the classroom, then we also need to provide adequate opportunities for physical and emotional release and experience outside of the classroom during the school day.
The following information throughout the website is meant to help guide you in your endeavors to acquire and build a natural play area for your school. It is meant to help you navigate smoothly the uncharted seas you are about to swim and save you as much time and frustrations as possible! The more prepared you are, the easier and better the process will unfold.
While the focus of this website and information is geared towards a natural playground in the province of British Columbia, it is still applicable to the process required for natural or traditional playgrounds in any district/community. There is no particular order to the following steps, only that you will need to look into them all in order to successfully implement a natural playground in your area.
Remember, you are not just building a playground but also building a community!