Children have learned through playing with nature since the beginning of time, climbing trees, making tree houses, running through leaves, and digging in the sand. Modern thinking is that natural play of this kind should be encouraged as it contributes to overall fitness, coordination, and self-discipline. It also helps with concentration, emotional development, and imagination. There are also benefits to exploring nature during lessons or even just holding a lesson in a pleasant natural environment.
Rec Management’s recent industry report found that almost 50% of Parks and Recreation Departments are focusing on initiatives to connect their community with nature. Natural play spaces are economically attractive, naturally sustainable, and ‘green’ alternatives to traditional playgrounds. They are designed utilizing the existing natural landscape often using natural wood, plant life, and boulders as part of the hard landscaping.
A Place to Play & A Place to Learn
The benefits of the natural play space areas and their designs include aspects of education, creativity, nature, exercise, and fun.
Natural play space areas can consist of a number of natural features located in and around a schoolyard or property. Natural shading areas from trees, sloped hills and walking areas, pathways, and borders, plants, boulders, natural areas for seating, etc.
These areas can be used for free play, running around, playing tag, gathering areas for imaginative play, etc. They can also be utilized from an educational perspective, a place to have and provide educational lessons in an outdoor setting employing the natural elements for seating areas, standing, and instruction. For example, some daycares in mild climate locations are completely outside in natural play areas to teach the children about imagination, interaction with each other and nature, and responsibility for the environment and themselves.
These trending natural play spaces are a great enhancement to a community, but municipalities must understand the needs and requirements associated with them.
Risks Associated with Playgrounds and Natural Play Areas
Insurance companies and government agencies receive many incidents reported from slips and falls. Of these frequent incidents many of the more severe injuries involve accidents falling from playground structures, the most severe is often an injury following a fall from climbing apparatus. Other areas of concern in a structure can include gaps where a child could get caught.
Traditional playgrounds are governed by the CSA, ASTM, and CPSC standards regarding their construction and installation. While these standards govern playgrounds, currently the CSA standards do not apply to other objects or furnishings in a play space not primarily intended for play, including benches, tables, landscape elements, and other natural materials. So, the Natural Play Spaces and other Natural Play Areas are not covered under the CSA, ASTM, and CPSC standards.
That said it is recommended that all playgrounds, play spaces, and play areas be checked on a regular basis to help remove or mitigate any potential injury concerns. CityReporter Software's Form Builder provides flexibility to customize inspection forms for any specific play area, natural or traditional, ensuring each play area remains to standard.
Risks more specific to a natural play space or landscape could involve logs, natural vegetation, branches, or large boulders, since natural playgrounds have been designed to utilize natural elements trees, logs, rocks, etc. There is a need for all playgrounds to be inspected on a regular basis as per current CSA standards. The elements of the playground should be inspected for exposed edges, sharp points, protrusions, wood rot, splinter-causing items, etc.
Risk Mitigation
To reduce the risk of injury, playgrounds should have adequate supervision, and be regularly maintained and inspected. Where available all playgrounds should conform to the appropriate CSA, ASTM, and CPSC standards, even if they are not governed by these standards like natural play areas. It is important to consider risk when designing play areas and some loss control inspection services offer a free consultation at this stage.
Nature has so many variables this list could go on, but some examples of natural play areas could include the following:
- Pathways,
- Edges,
- Fixed natural materials,
- Trees and logs,
- Bushes and other plants,
- Sloped hill areas, &
- Rocks and boulders.
Places to sit and gather
As stated earlier these are not governed by the CSA, ASTM, or CPSC standards but some of the risks can be mitigated and could include: the removal of sharp branches; Smoothing off sharp corners; sanding down old logs; shape growth to decrease pointed edges; place mulch under the higher boulders.
Custom play areas incorporating traditional playground features
Many questions have been asked about what standards should be pursued regarding the natural play areas which have been provided with playground components, ie: platforms, slides, climbing apparatus, and other related items.
The simple answer is that any components added to the natural play areas or so designed as playground areas should meet or exceed all CSA, ASTM, and CPSC standards for playgrounds.
Custom-built wood playgrounds
Again, an easy answer, this playground needs to meet or exceed all CSA, ASTM, and CPSC standards for Playground Design, installation, and safety.
Hill slides
Being built into the hill there is less of a fall-from-height risk. Grass on either side of the slide can help stabilize the land and avoid erosion. Impact protection and the staging area of the slide can be designed in line with current CSA, ASTM, and CPSC Playground Standards along with other specifications such as height, width, and angle of descent.
Conclusions
There are many different natural play space designs and variables out there. Therefore, it is very important to develop a plan regarding what you would like your play space to look like and determine what natural features that may already exist can be incorporated into it. The plan should provide a risk and design assessment for all areas that may potentially be used as a Natural Play Space area.
You will want to assess if the existing landscape and natural setting can be used in a way that will benefit all students and children in their physical, educational, and emotional development, and ensure the area has been made as safe as possible with potential injury-prone areas being controlled or removed
4 Tips to Ensure your Natural Play Space is Safe for the Community
- Always refer to the appropriate CSA, ASTM, and CPSC Standards during the design and keep up with any changes to those standards;
- Where standards are not available try to extrapolate from the standards to establish what is reasonable in the natural environment;
- Utilize a regular inspection and audit program to ensure you are accumulating the information you need to determine risk exposure and planning. This can be easily done through government software solutions that provide digital inspection forms, manage work order processes, record and store data, and generate reports.
- Whenever possible consult with certified playground inspectors and consultants to ensure the play area is safe – some provide free reviews at the planning stage.
