PlayEquip Blog. New ideas for the world of playground & fitness equipment

Triple Platform Robinia climbing frame photo 1

When you are setting up a new playground or refreshing and updating an old one the emphasis must be on getting the right mix of playground equipment, especially if you intend to cater for all different ages.

Classic Choices

No playground would be complete without classic pieces of playground equipment that never go out of fashion. Let’s have a look at these classic choices:

Playground Swings

While swings appeal mainly to younger children, there’s something about swings that are

tempting to older children too. The cantilever swing for example, also provides a hang-out area for older children. It can be used both actively and passively. Playground hammocks are great for adults wanting to send a little time reading a book whilst the children or grand children play. There’s literally a playground swing for everyone. Swings can be provided with or without safety bars to prevent a small child from falling out.

Wooden Climbing frames

Climbing frames can be built as small or large as required and can incorporate a number of features such as balance bars, tyre swings or pull up bars, whatever is needed to suit the ages of the people who will be using them. A smaller, compact climbing frame incorporating non-slip material is more suitable for younger children. Our modular designs can be adapted to suit any space. This is why our range of robinia climbing frames are so popular with landscape architects and teaches. We can adjust the climbing frames footprint to make the most of ever spare inch.

Monkey Bars

Sturdy monkey bars are a great addition to any playground as the action of moving along them from one end to the other can help to develop upper body strength and hand to eye coordination. Monkey bars form the core of many an assault-style course and when used as part of an outdoor gym are a useful tool to build fitness in children and adults alike. Plus this sort of playground equipment is great fun to play on! Monkey bars aren’t just for play either. A large proportion on the monkey bars we deliver are for use by adults too. They are now part of many adults outdoor workout routine too.

Trim trails

Trim trails are not just for grown-ups either. These can be as simple as a spring disk, which is a sturdy wooden platform on springs to help build up your balance and core strength or a cross rope frame which is great for improving grip strength, hand to eye coordination or simply to jump over. A balance seesaw is slightly different from a child’s seesaw in that most people would use it to test their balancing skills, or you could sit on it and seesaw if you really wanted!

Stepping Stones/ Balance Beam Trails

For older children and adults who prefer to test themselves through their fitness regime stepping poles or a balance beam trail are alternatives to the balance seesaw. For ease of set up, a combination trim trail which combines a series of playground equipment including monkey bars, stepping poles or stumps and a grooved balance beam or rope is the perfect choice for larger play areas. Up and under bars can be used as part of your trim trail. These are set at varying heights to test speed, agility, coordination and various muscle groups.

Getting quality playground equipment to fit your space and needs

Good quality, durable playground equipment can help benefit the physical and mental wellbeing of all who use it. Whether you opt for standard sizes outdoor playground equipment or have bespoke made-to-measure play equipment, we’re happy to help you find the perfect solution for your playground.

The Return to the Bespoke Playground

Once, not so long ago really, every playground looked rather similar. They all contained the same type of slide, the same swings, identical roundabouts and of course that old familiar seesaw in the form of a horse that gently rocked backwards and forwards rather than up and down; often catapulting one of its users off!

Comfortable, but missing something?

There was something safe and reassuring about a visit to the playground – it didn’t matter where you were, the equipment in the playground equipment would be exactly what you were used to. But as with everything new designs were created, and the playground equipment began to change as well. Each one beginning to have a wider selection of equipment, brighter colours, special safety floors to help prevent accidents – the playgrounds of our children’s childhoods were infinitely different to those we remembered from our own childhood.

Appealing to a new generation of players

Children today have had far greater access to technology and want more adventure, more choice and more fun in their lives. This means that playground equipment needs to change in order to stay in touch with the needs of the people who use them. The face of the playground has changed completely, there is no longer a “one size fits all” approach to how a playground should look. The type of equipment it contains, its layout and even its location are only limited by the practicalities of where is will be, the budget that is on offer and, of course, the imagination of the person designing it. Bespoke playgrounds have taken off, and as anyone who has taken their children to use outdoor play equipment recently will tell you, it isn’t difficult to see why the bespoke options are proving such a popular draw for the younger crowd.

The benefits of bespoke

A well-designed playground containing bespoke wooden playground equipment is becoming an increasingly popular choice in all kinds of locations, from tourist attractions to public parks and even schools who want to offer something a little more to the people who use it. Whilst the off the shelf option is often the first choice for anyone who is constrained by their budget it is worth spending that little bit more for the value that is derived by those who choose to visit. Not only can this make them an attractive place for local people to visit but also those who are prepared to travel.

Studies have shown that children learn so much through play and when this is combined with fresh air it really is worth making the extra effort. If you’re considering an upgrade to your playground equipment and want something that is attractive, natural and fits well with the space you have, one that contains bespoke playground equipment tailored specifically to your needs could make your playground more popular than you’d imagined!

Living through the pandemic has given us a whole new perspective on spending time outdoors, whether this has been to combat isolation from being home alone and being able to meet with friends outdoors, or being unable to be in the gym due to social distancing measures they must have in place.

But what better way is there for you to spend your leisure and exercise time than benefitting from the great outdoors? Being outdoors is great for our mental health as well as offering fresh air and the chance for physical exercise and many of us might want to take this renewed love for being outside and use it to improve our health in the new year.

If this is you, but you’re not sure how to begin, or how to keep motivated, why not take a look at the tips below.

Start as you mean to go on

Firstly, decide what your goals are – are you looking to run a marathon, lift heavier, get fitter, or lose some excess weight. Whatever your main goal is, break it down into smaller ones; each goal you reach will motivate you to crack on with the next.

Next, work out where you’ll work out. With the restrictions regarding the pandemic meaning gym access may be a struggle for a while, why not consider building your own? Remember, exercise need not be a chore and with the great range of outdoor gym equipment available, there most certainly isn’t any reason to become bored or not have fun when working out.

An outdoor workout on wooden gym equipment can offer a fun workout whether you are alone or challenging a friend. Set yourself realistic targets and celebrate your achievements too; the more you do, the more you will manage, want and be able to do.

Stick at it

Like all exercise programs, once the initial honeymoon period is over, you might start to lose motivation, but consistency is key to a healthy lifestyle. If you’re losing the love of a good workout, why not:

Do it with a friend or partner, a little competitive spirit and someone to spur you on when you are having a weak moment can make it easier to carry on.

Do it at a time you can stick with, and choose a time that you know you are free. Turn it into a habit.

Do what you love, we all loved a playground as a child. So why not recreate your childhood memories with the exciting range of wooden playground equipment now available for adults.

Of course, there will be moments when you might not really feel like fitting in a workout, but with your own outdoor gym equipment visible from your window, you might find it easier to get out there than the effort it might take to visit the gym, which could make you more consistent.

If you’re looking to reap the benefits of outdoor exercise and have your own outdoor gym equipment to help you reach your goals, why not get in touch – we’d be happy to create a bespoke solution for any outdoor space you have!

The changing nature of children’s playgrounds over the decades has had to encompass not only the changing trends in playground equipment but also new ideas around health and safety. In some cases, the extent of this means that in some inner cities, equipment has been removed to help keep children safe.

However, play can never be entirely risk-free. Children will always need to play, to push themselves and to compete with others and, yes, they will sometimes injure themselves. Thankfully the more enlightened local authorities are collaborating with playground designers to ensure that playgrounds and playground equipment is not only safe but also fun, educational and challenging for older or more adventurous children. This is also the challenge for playground equipment designers like us

Working with Nature

The rapid expansion of towns and cities means that millions of children now live in heavily populated areas with little or no access to the natural world around them. Town and city planners realise that children need to have the opportunity to connect in some way with nature, and this is increasingly reflected in playground and playground equipment design.

Playground designers are turning away from old-style plastic, and metal equipment bolted into concrete wastelands. Instead, they are embracing natural playground equipment that is made from more sustainable and environmentally friendly natural wood and increasingly siting equipment within wooded and grassy areas. The natural playground equipment itself is designed to be stimulating and thought-provoking, often coming with information attached for children to read showing where the wood came from. Playground equipment goes through rigorous testing before a design is deemed suitable for use, and it manages to balance the need for safe, exciting play without entirely eliminating all risk.
Sustainability is now a key part of any modern design. A buyer is now better informed about sustainability and would expect any playground equipment supplier to do their upmost to supply equipment that is both durable and eco friendly.

Working with the surroundings

Going totally natural of course, doesn’t suit every circumstance. Sometimes injecting colour into the design helps to make playground equipment standout. Often an addition of colour brightens a space and makes it more welcoming. In a way playground has no restrictions on shape or form. This mean we can let loose and create bold and thought provoking designs that inspire and induce creativity. The creativity is one of the most important parts of children’s play

Play for All Ages

To help combat a growing obesity crisis, many local communities have got together with local councils to design and facilitate play areas where people of all ages can gather. One of the newest trends is to combine traditional-style children’s playground equipment with fitness equipment such as static bicycles, rowing machines or weights. Monkey bars, stepping stones and easily navigable obstacles can be used by families who enjoy playing and exercising together.

The very latest ideas in outdoor playground equipment use technology such as lights and sounds along with multi-sensory apparatus to stimulate motor and thinking skills in young children and improve coordination and reflexes. These work alongside physical activity to improve mental as well as overall health.

It is clear that city playgrounds are beginning to encompass more of the need for communities to come together and access the outdoors while ensuring local children have somewhere to safely play

The humble playground plays a vital role in the childhood memories of so many people. Whether it was a trip with your parents before you started your school days or a special reward on the way home from school, there is something about a playground that enthrals and invites. For the last few months, children all over the world have had to go without their trips to the park as the majority have been closed during the pandemic. Now, however, as some of the restrictions are being lifted, a trip to the park is possible once more.

Playground equipment is, in fact, a relatively new addition to our urban landscape and one that has become increasingly popular over the decades since the first one was built. While some toys and games have gone out of fashion, the playground has become more and more popular. as it ever was and is a great place for children to enjoy being outdoors while getting plenty of fresh air. The benefits of what outdoor playgrounds bring to communities are common knowledge. The fantastic value of these playgrounds is now understood for both physical and mental health.

The first playground

The concept of the playground was first considered in Germany, where it was the idea of development psychologists like Friedrich Frobel, who recommended playgrounds for children as a developmental aid and also to help teach them good manners and a sense of fair play. The first playgrounds were mostly attached to schools and often referred to as “sand gardens”. In 1859 the very first purpose-built playground that was accessible to the public opened in a park in Manchester. The first playgrounds began to appear in the United States in 1886; however, until the turn of the 20^th century, playgrounds in public spaces were not common.

What came next?

The first playgrounds were not all that popular, but as urbanisation began to take place, the areas where children might previously have played got swallowed up and the need for dedicated public green spaces, not just for children but for everyone, increased. The Victorian era saw a huge surge in the number of public parks all over the country and with them an increase in the number of playgrounds. Health and Safety was non-existent at this time, and the playgrounds that were created were certainly not for the fainthearted. However, they were the start of bigger and better things that were to come.

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(image taken from https://www.earthlymission.com/how-dangerous-playgrounds-were-100-years-ago-2/)

Post War playgrounds

During the war, many of the playgrounds, located as they were in larger cities, were bombed out and a generation of children once again had to make their own entertainment. This often led to the somewhat dangerous practice of playing on the rubble left behind on the bombed out buildings of the city. These sites were commonly referred to as “junk playgrounds”. These sights in turn evolved into the very first “adventure playgrounds” which are still up and running today in many urban environments throughout the UK.

Lady Allen of Hurtwood, who was an English landscape architect, became heavily involved in causes centred around children during World War 2. In 1948 established the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education. She was a huge fan of the more unstructured playgrounds that rose up after the war claiming that they fostered a greater sense of imagination in children than the more structured playgrounds they had been used to. She was a firm believer in children learning through play, and declared it was better to break a limb than a spirit. These playgrounds were perhaps a precursor to the natural playground equipment that we see becoming increasingly popular today.

Image taken from http://www.architectureofearlychildhood.com/

The 1960s playground

In the 1960s, architects took on the playground and reinvented it with brutalist modern designs. Concrete and metal were the material of choice with inspiration coming from castles, dungeons and even large ships. Climbing frames based on space rockets were also featured heavily as the race to put a man in space was a concept followed by many. These were spaces designed specifically for children to play in and be inventive, but many of them were also a project in modern architecture with placement, shape and design the overriding ideas behind their design.

The playground at the centre of the Pimlico, Churchill Gardens was so iconic that its centrepiece, a gigantic flying saucer which was poised at a rather dangerous angle is now a recreated exhibit in the RIBA gallery. Of course, with health and safety now an issue the reproduction is made of squishy foam and not concrete!

The 1990s playground

It might seem like it was only yesterday but the 1990s playground, the playground many of us will have experienced was a completely different concept to those that had come before it. This was the playground built for fun, with bright coloured equipment and more importantly bright coloured flooring that was designed with safety and fun in mind. Welcome to the age where health and safety began to make its way into the playground. Soft cushiony floors began to appear under playground equipment, designed to protect children from the nastier injuries they had previously been subjected to when falling off the swings or slipping off the end of the slide. These playgrounds were very popular right up to the 00s

The Churchill Gardens estate in Pimlico, London. Photograph: John Donat (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2015/jun/09/brutalist-playgrounds-concrete-foam-riba-assemble)

The modern playground

With a surge interest in the environment and protecting the precious resources that nature has give us, the modern playground and equipment has seen an increase in interest for wooden playground equipment. Natural materials, clean lines and colours that blend into the environment are rapidly becoming the most popular choice. Not only that, but people no longer want to be exactly the same as each other and bespoke playground equipment is coming into its own as people look for something that is unique and will fit perfectly into the space and environment that they have selected for it. Wooden climbing frames, log balance beams and stepping “stones” and natural rope features are significant additions to the natural playgrounds that are popping up all over the place and are perfectly designed to fit the new idea of being more in tune with the environment.

custom made playground equipment elephant and castle

Over recent decades, local authorities in the UK have been busy closing children’s play areas; in some cases selling off the land for commercial purposes. Schools and parks have been dispensing with playground equipment either to optimise space for classroom buildings or, in the case of parks, to save on maintenance costs.

But at what cost does all this come and how does it affect the nation’s children?

Effects on Health

According to research carried out by the Association of Play Industries, hundreds of playgrounds have been closed since 2014 in England and this is undoubtedly one of the factors contributing to the increase in child obesity. And with almost a third of children aged 2-15 officially obese or overweight, according to government statistics, outdoor play areas with dedicated playground equipment has never been more necessary to counter the decline in physical and mental health. Children who are cooped up indoors with no outlet for their energy are more likely to suffer from depression and feelings of isolation.

Why Children Need to Play

Play is essential for the healthy development of life skills. Through playing with others, children learn how to safely interact and communicate with others; they learn skills such as problem solving and social skills such as sharing and helping others. Outdoor play also allows children to learn about the environment and can give them a lifelong love for the outdoors. Crucially, being able to play outdoors especially where robust natural playground equipment is provided, allows children to use their natural and often exuberant energy constructively.

How Outdoor Playgrounds Benefit Children

Children love having the opportunity to run around and play games as much as possible in the fresh air with their friends. When playground equipment is incorporated into outdoor play areas the benefits increase massively. Physical fitness improves through active play and through the use of diverse pieces of playground equipment groups of children learn to work out routines amongst themselves whereby they can take turns on the equipment and even invent games. You will often see a sense of healthy competition creep in which encourages them to push themselves that bit further in a bid to improve their fitness levels, especially amongst older children.

Motor skills, balance and coordination all begin to improve the more children are allowed to play outdoors and by interacting with dedicated play equipment young children especially can develop their multi-sensory needs. As physical abilities and motor skills improve levels of confidence in their abilities and social skills usually improve too.

All of this contributes to a healthy dispersion of energy levels and a lowering of stress and over time improves a child’s ability to concentrate and apply themselves to whatever task is in hand. This means a boost in productivity and success in the classroom and in relationships with friends and family.

What Will Future Playgrounds Look Like?

Thankfully, the government, local authorities and schools are belatedly waking up to the damage done to our children by closing down playgrounds and are taking steps to remedy this by reinstalling play equipment where feasible. And with increasing concern for the environment the trend is towards more sustainable, durable and attractive natural playground equipment.

Many town halls are now designating cordoned-off areas and streets specifically for children to play in with, for instance tons of sand laid out as a city centre beach scene. In recent years even London’s Trafalgar Square was temporarily grassed over to create a family-friendly environment. Traffic is increasingly banned from urban streets to allow children to play and schools are turning to woodland play settings.

The new trend is to encourage creativity and independence among children to foster a healthier sense of wellbeing.

With more and more of us becoming aware of the consequences of weight gain and lack of exercise, particularly after the enforced lockdown many of us have recently had to endure, the need to get fit and have fun again has never been more important.

It is for this reason that trim trail equipment is enjoying a boost in popularity among adults and children alike as we all rush to embrace the great outdoors. Both families and schools are now returning to traditional ideas of mental health-boosting outdoor play for children, and what better way to do so than to install outdoor play equipment.

What is Trim Trail?

Trim trail has its origins in obstacle courses designed for military training in which participants run around an obstacle course navigating as many different obstacles as possible. Trim trail training is uniquely adaptable to all kinds of outdoor spaces large and small, which makes it a perfect choice for outdoor play equipment in schools and parks.

What Trim Trail Equipment Do You Need?

Usually consisting of monkey bars, benches and beams made from natural, sustainable wood you could also throw in ropes, tyre stepping stones and wobble boards to increase the fun and challenge factors. Wooden playground equipment with its much more natural and aesthetically pleasing appearance has a greater attraction for kids than formulaic, cheap-looking plastic. What’s more, it can help to encourage children to think and plan how best to use the equipment and can foster a spirit of friendly and fun competition.

Is Trim Trail Good for all Ages?

Undoubtedly yes it is. There are so many different pieces of equipment to choose from and so many ways in which you can formulate an obstacle course to suit your particular environment and the space available to you. Your trim trail can be made less challenging and more fun-filled for younger children or more complicated and more challenging for older children who may be ready to push themselves a little harder.

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The Benefits of a Trim Trail

By taking part in trim trail, children will not only massively improve their physical fitness levels but also their mental wellbeing too by being out in the fresh air and engaging with others. They can become more motivated to push themselves towards greater fitness while at the same time improving motor skills, strength and coordination. A hidden benefit is that children also learn how to take risks in a safe, supervised activity.

With the country in lockdown for the foreseeable future the question for many is how to get your daily exercise without breaking social distancing restrictions. The most obvious solution is to utilise whatever garden space you have but if you have a small outdoor space how can you best ensure a full exercise workout whilst having fun at the same time?

Using the space you have

Rather than simply jogging around the back garden every day which, let’s face it is going get very boring very quickly, why not look at installing some good quality outdoor wooden exercise equipment.

A smaller garden will need natural exercise equipment that is compact but still highly effective and useful and which can be used by more than one person at a time.

Introduce a bit of competition

A double outdoor sit-up bench, with the two benches sitting opposite each other, introduces an element of competition for extra interest plus the angles can be adjusted for different degrees of difficulty. Triple outdoor pull-up bars incorporating different heights offer the same opportunity for family competition, or you could opt for a single pull-up bar where space is at a premium. An outdoor squat and pull-up station is a compact piece of equipment excellent for building and maintaining muscle strength and suppleness in upper and lower body. Suggested exercises for this could include pull-ups, chin-ups, leg and knee raises and if you add a barbell with weights you could add weight-assisted squats and presses to your repertoire.

Step-up steps are very good for building stamina and improving cardio-vascular health, and fun when accompanied by music!

Upper body exercise

For upper body strength natural wooden monkey bars are the ultimate test and because these, like all our equipment are constructed from steel and timber, are strong and robust enough to withstand any amount of use by adults and children alike. Plus, because this particular piece is quite a substantial construction, should you neglect your garden exercise regime once the lockdown becomes a distant memory, the monkey bars could conceivably become an attractive pergola for climbing plants!

Jump around

A mini playground trampoline, designed to sit flush at ground level, to improve balance and general fitness, has to be the most fun option for all ages.

Exercising outdoors is an excellent way to get fit whilst having fun and boosting your levels of calcium-building vitamin D. Choose a good mix of natural outdoor gym equipment to suit all the family and who knows – this could kick-start a health habit all the family can sustain for years to come.

With confirmed cases of coronavirus cases being reported all over the world daily, and deaths attributed to the virus increasing, we find ourselves in uncharted water. The WHO has declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. In the UK employers are asking non-key workers to work from home where possible and all but essential trips out of the home are now forbidden. Bars, restaurants, sports facilities and parks have closed, and at the end of last week, the government declared that schools would be closed to all children except those of keyworkers and vulnerable children including those with EHCPs. As we move into spring and the weather, hopefully, improves, this means that parents will be looking for something to do with their children in order to burn off all that excess energy from being cooped up away from their friends. Exercise is still so important, even more so in these strange times, and for those people who can exercise in the current circumstances, this is best achieved at home. So, if you are fortunate enough to have a garden here are some ways to utilise it.

How can you exercise in the garden?

The garden makes an excellent place to exercise. Not only is it free, but there is plenty of fresh air as well. While many people think of exercise as being something that you might need special equipment for, the good news is that there is actually plenty of things that you can do in your garden that don’t need any special equipment. General garden tasks are an excellent example of this. If you think about mowing a lawn, especially a large one, then you are walking backwards and forwards a lot, and then, of course, there is the lifting involved in emptying the grass out. Digging flowerbeds is also great exercise and when you combine it with picking up weeds means you are squatting and bending as well. Remember, exercise is about working different parts of the body, and getting your garden summer ready after a long winter could certainly count as a workout.

Cleaning the outside of your windows and your ledges, especially if it involves climbing a ladder is a great way to exercise outside as well. If you really just want to move your gym session outdoors then why not consider things like lunges, bicycles, jumping jacks, press-ups, burpees or even crunches. If you can do it in a gym without any special equipment, then you can probably do it in your garden as well. The same could be said for that weekly Pilates session. Move it outside and commune with nature at the same time. Being in the garden will really give you a chance to be at one with nature.

If you prefer something a little more strenuous or challenging, then why not contemplate moving your yoga session into the garden, the natural surroundings make it the perfect place for yoga. Any exercise routine with jumping jacks, press-ups and burpees, or other aerobic exercises can be done in your garden just as easily as it can indoors. Strength training can also be incorporated quite easily, walking lunges is one great exercise that you can incorporate, along with wall sits and press ups and your garden furniture can double up for exercises such as tricep dips too. In fact, once you move outside for your exercise, then you may be reluctant to move back indoors, and who could blame you? Of course, the British weather might have other ideas.

Equipment based exercise

Natural outdoor gym equipment offers a great way to get a workout in the garden without really noticing that you are doing exercise. Children love monkey bars, and don’t tell anyone, but plenty of adults do as well! They offer a really great way to improve coordination and upper body strength, and they are great fun too. If you don’t want to swing from one bar to another, which is harder then it looks, then they can work really well for pull-ups or chin-ups as well. Getting outside with the kids is something that many of us will be looking to do while we’re ‘on lockdown’ and many pieces of outdoor play equipment can double up as workout equipment for you too!

Wooden outdoor play equipment comes in a variety of different forms, so if you were thinking the choice is limited to swings and slides, then you would be wrong. A good quality garden trampoline is not only fun for the whole family but a great way to exercise outdoors. It is a workout for both the arms and legs, and once you get the hang of using it, it can also be useful for the core muscles too.

Monkey bars are, in fact, the perfect CrossFit solution that could fit perfectly into your garden and your exercise regime. If you don’t have children but would like to mimic the workout from a monkey bar workout, a pull-up bar, combined with a squat station could be the perfect solution. Exercising outdoors doesn’t mean you have to drag your weights bench outside, either. You could have a range of wooden outdoor gym equipment to suit your specific workout needs. From sit up benches to dip bars, natural gym equipment made from solid wood and stainless steel could be the durable (and beautiful) solution to getting just what you need for your workout in the great outdoors.

Conclusion

No one knows just how long this pandemic will last for, but one thing is very clear – as our movements become increasingly limited we need to find other ways in which we can exercise, especially if exercising is already an important part of our day to day routine. For many of us that might mean moving outdoors, especially as the weather improves, and using the space that we have. This might simply mean moving your current aerobic exercise routine outdoors, or it might mean creating a new routine that will incorporate the use of natural outdoor gym equipment. Whichever way you choose to move forward a good exercise routine will not only help to keep you healthy but can also assist in maintaining a sense of wellbeing; something that will be very important in the coming weeks and maybe months. Who knows – exercising in the garden could soon be a habit that we choose to keep up in the long run, making it an excellent hobby for years after this period of uncertainty. The NHS also have a helpful guide to home fitness that can pretty much be performed anywhere.

Kids, wherever they are, love to play and are naturally attracted to playground swings and equipment. You may be surprised to learn though that there are many differences around the world in what constitutes a suitable and safe play area.

Here in the UK we are very aware of the need to keep our children as safe as they can be whilst playing outside and at the same time we prefer natural environmentally friendly products. This is why natural wooden playground equipment is becoming more popular. We like our children’s outdoor playground equipment to be as safe and as sustainable as possible, but how do the rest of the world do it?

Japan

In contrast to the ‘safety first’ attitude we have here, the Japanese are perhaps not so hot on this. In fact the Japanese tend not to use safety surfaces as they don’t think it teaches a good example to children! A school in Tokyo has built a playground/sports area on the roof of the building. It could be described as semi-outdoors as it has a retractable roof which closes in bad weather. There is no outdoor play equipment though and definitely no safety flooring! There unique approach doesn’t just stop there. Many of their design can’t be seen anywhere else in the world and are truly inspiring. Check out this great article to see what we mean

Bethlehem

Sadly, children here learn to play behind the thickest walls they can find to protect themselves against gunfire at their school on the West Bank. Even though there’s no sign of any play equipment at all the children still somehow learn to play. An example of how play is innate in children and always finds a way no matter where children are. Activities such as parkour have become popular too as children find any means to challenge and entertain themselves using the environment around them.

Bhutan Monastery

Even though the children live under strict rules they are still allowed outside for play and socialisation and although there is no obvious sign of any play equipment, they have the spectacular scenery around to inspire them.

The USA

In America, the emphasis is very much on athleticism rather than academia in many high schools, and to this end schools pride themselves on the provision of gym space for cheerleaders to practice in and outdoor sports fields and running tracks. The benefit of outdoor wooden and natural play equipment has yet to take root in many US schools. Perhaps this as deemed too risky in a society where litigation and compensation is more common.

Averoy, Norway

There is a small island school which is connected to the mainland by a recently built tunnel and which has pupils from the ages of 5-13. These children are lucky enough to be able to play outside in the brisk fresh air among the trees but with rudimentary play equipment provided. Scandinavians are famed for their natural playgrounds which have been proven to create healthy minds and bodies

Russia

Despite Russia’s reputation for stern austerity they do set great store by encouraging their children to play, and playgrounds are provided all across the country in parks and public areas as well as in schools. Their playgrounds are very creative and often build very creative and natural playgrounds. Some of their playgrounds contain some quite wacky ideas! One playground is contained within a scaled down copy of Moscow City Kremlin while others have statues of bears, mermaids and even dragons beside the swings. By and large though Russian playgrounds are definitely not designed with ‘safety first’ and believe in the benefits of ‘risky play’.

The best eco-friendly playgrounds

Many countries are becoming keen to ditch plastics and unsustainable metals in favour of re-using and repurposing what they already have to make play equipment. The Wikado Playground in The Netherlands uses old windmills and modern wind turbines to construct a maze-like play area while in Thailand the Rubber Tree Playground features play equipment made from discarded tyres and bamboo.

The Lion’s Playground in Alabama, USA makes interesting use of 2000 recycled steel drums while in Brazil one children’s play area features a labyrinth made entirely from recycled cardboard.

We think way playgrounds are designed and built in each country is a true reflection of their society. When it comes to sustainable and natural outdoor playground equipment it’s good to know that some parts of the world at least are coming around to our way of thinking!

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