Nowadays, sustainability does not only pertain to the environment. It can also be seen in our green playgrounds. Kids get a good time playing while making sure that the environment still stays safe.
In 2013, New York City had its first green school playground at the Boerum Hill neighborhood using “green infrastructure”, and the play area is designed to direct storm water runoff into linear tree pits and rain gardens. In Philadelphia, the William Dick Elementary school now has a new playground design complete with new playground equipment, an artificial turf field, and shade trees. It also has the largest rain garden among Philadelphia schools and now they don’t have to worry about hard surfaces not absorbing rainwater which causes puddles to be formed.
Parents and teachers must not just keep kids indoors all the time; they must be exposed to outdoor play since their play experiences allow them to overcome certain problems such as obesity, depression, poor motor coordination and other health conditions. With these concrete examples of sustainable and green playgrounds, you might be thinking how to achieve these – safe, eco-friendly and peaceful playgrounds – in your community parks or schools and reap the benefits that they have to offer. Here are 6 ways to achieve a sustainable play area:
Explore More with Nature-Themed Playgrounds
One of the things that you can incorporate first in your play area is to have a nature-themed playground for parents and kids. Having these natural playgrounds enable children to identify more nature spots and elements such as trees, stone walls, shrubs, etc. They can be more aware of what these nature spots have to offer and their functions.
Aside from improving the parent and child bonding in this kind of playground and improving the health and well-being of children, kids are able to have a strong foundation by developing a responsible attitude in taking care of Mother Earth through different kinds of nature play equipment.
Creatively Utilize Environment-Friendly Materials
A sustainable and well-designed play area is said to be constructed and designed using recycled materials, as well as installing eco-friendly playground equipment. Designers always need to consider the sustainability and the long-term maintenance of play areas while ensuring that the essence of play and play needs of children are still addressed.
Be aware that surfaces in playground and the equipment itself can be created by using recycled materials. You can creatively design and incorporate recycled tires on your playground by having tire tunnels since children love to crawl through them and it is much safer than having a concrete pipe tunnel where in kids might bump their head into. Better yet, unleash the artist in you by designing recycled cardboards and turning them into playhouses such as a French Cafe or a Medieval Castle that kids will enjoy exploring.
Have a Bully-Proof Playground
A study by York University in Canada and Queen’s University revealed that there were more aggressive incidents in playgrounds compared to classrooms, and bullying was more frequent on playgrounds resulting in 4.5 incidents per hour. Since there is a higher risk of bullying on playgrounds, parents must counteract bullying by making sure that their kids interact well with other kids during playtime and that they are in a peaceful playground setting.
Successful play spaces are good spaces that allow children to play with other kids, cooperate, have a friendly competition and resolve conflicts; thus, these must always be upheld in play spaces to ensure a healthy environment for children. There should also be the presence of school authorities and parents to check if there is a bullying incident taking place, and to stop possible situations from becoming bullying incidents. Doing this can help you combat the long term effects of bullying on your playground that might affect your child as he grows up, as well as ensure that your playground is safe for kids to enjoy playtime.
Ensure Equal Play for Disabled and Non-Disabled Kids
Play experiences are not limited to “normal” kids; they are also for children with special needs to experience and enjoy the fun on the playground. A well-designed play setting allows children of different abilities to play together through well-constructed play equipment and facilities that are accessible not just to disabled kids, but also to parents and teachers so that they are able to assist them during playtime.
A good example for this is The Diana, Princess of Wales’ Memorial Playground in London. There are high-level walkways there that are accessible to wheelchairs through a smooth surfaced path, which also connects to the play bark and sand area that is open to all children with various needs. These give every kid an equal opportunity to a wide variety of play experiences.
Safety First – At All Times
Children should not just be playing happily on playgrounds. They should also be playing safely and soundly. It is best to check the playground safety guidelines provided by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to check if your playground is indeed safe for kids to use. Keep in mind that playground surfaces and weight-bearing capacity of equipment are among the top safety issues on playgrounds. It is best to address beforehand by estimating how many kids can play at one time on the playground, and by gauging the weight-bearing capacity of your playground equipment – rather than after a disastrous incident.
Also, do check if your play materials are made up of non-toxic materials, since kids do constantly lick and touch play items, and certain chemicals are harmful to a kid’s body.
Sustainable playgrounds are indeed green playgrounds. To keep it that way, be sure to uphold the essentialities of green play. Install different kinds of trees in your area that can also serve as outdoor adventure areas or mazes with the help of trimmed hedges, tall grasses and other trees. Do avoid plants that are toxic and irritating, as well as rotting trees that can harm children at play. It is best to consult a landscape design expert to help you out on the best design options for your green playgrounds.
Help children to learn more about the environment by also installing a garden where they can have a first-hand planting experience, while at the same time keeping a green thumb for the environment.
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Jeanette Anzon is a graduate of Architecture. She enjoys photography, sketching, arts, film, writing and continuous education. To get to know her more, you can follow @jeanetteanzon
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