Springy chickens: an endangered species?

When I was a little kid, way before the days of computer games, my favourite toy in the whole world was a tree in the park near to where I lived.

All of my friends tried – and failed – to climb this tree, but I instinctively knew every foothold and every branch needed to navigate my way to the leafy canopy at the top. When I got to the top I was the king of castle – and my friends instantly became the dirty rascals.

Me and this tree shared a secret. 

To the unsuspecting world it was just a tree, but to me and my imagination it was a brave new world to be explored. I was the pilgrim, and I had to lead the way and explore this world so that other kids may follow. In my mind, it offered millions of opportunities.

Happily, Groundwork is working to bring natural play back to children across the UK in an effort to do away with the unimaginative, formulaic playgrounds that seemed to have cropped up over the past decade, so today’s kids can have similar experiences.

The concept – ‘Playscape’ – is tirelessly championed by our Principal Landscape Architect at Groundwork London, Adam White, and recognises that if you put kids on a riverbank or a beach they will instantly know how to use the natural elements to have a great time. Put them in the inner-city, with little or no natural elements and sterile playgrounds, and you limit their options for exciting play.

The idea is simple. Take the very best equipment – for example basket swings or skate bowls and combine them with natural elements such as mounds of grass, sand and wooden tree trunks and give children the opportunity to fire up their imaginations and recapture the magic of playtime while learning how to take acceptable, yet measured, risks.

We’ve just launched a flagship natural play area in London. The King Georges Field Playscape project draws inspiration directly from the imaginations of the children on a housing estate in Hanwell, Ealing who have had a hand in shaping its design. During its development, Groundwork involved them in a number of activities such as design workshop sessions and visits to tree nurseries and local play spaces to explore what’s already out there, while pupils from a local primary school have been involved throughout the entire process.

This play area will help start to close the gates on boring playgrounds and will give these children the opportunity to let their creativity shape the play value of their natural surroundings.

Funded from Biffaward’s ‘Playing it Naturally’ programme, the Veolia Environmental Trust and Ealing Council, King Georges Field Playscape illustrates how the entire landscape can be used creatively rather than simply relying on springy chickens, rubber impact surfacing and bow top fencing. The use of tunnels, boulders, trees and grassy mounds combined with popular play equipment creates a playful landscape and a bagful of exciting challenges for the kids.

Another added benefit of the Playscape approach is that it offers more green space (rather than tarmac or rubber flooring) and so contributes to a greener infrastructure, while developing radical new landscape design solutions to take account of climate change impacts such as increased temperatures and flooding. This more naturalised approach to design will also enhance the biodiversity of the sites, encouraging butterflies, bugs and birds, adding to the natural experience, encouraging the interaction of young people with the outdoors and leading to a wider appreciation of the natural environment.

But King Georges Field Playscape is only the beginning. We will soon be announcing more natural play spaces across the UK to give even more kids the chance to have adventures on their doorsteps. Keep an eye on our website for further details.

Play is not just a fun activity for children, it is a hugely important way in which they learn to interact with the world, grow and develop as people. Given its importance we shouldn’t settle for uninspiring, sterile playgrounds. They do our children no favours – failing to teach them important lessons on how to look after themselves and judge risk and danger. Play environments should challenge – just like life itself.

The big kid in me sometimes thinks back to the days the springy chickens arrived and wishes someone did more to fend them off. I would have loved the rough and inevitable tumbles of Playscape.

At least now our children have the chance to take their adventures as far as their imaginations allow them, as natural play comes home to roost.