Why a walk in the woods really does help your body and your soul

Why a walk in the woods really does help your body and your soul

The full article can be read from the hyperlink above

"Considering 'microbial diversity' as an ecosystem service provider may contribute to bridging the chasm between ecology and medicine/ immunology [… ] the relationships our individual bodies have with our microbiomes are a microcosm for the vital relationships our species shares with countless other organisms with which we share the planet.'

Bexley Park natural playspace

I was lucky enough to drive by Bexley Park today and stopped to have a look at their natural playspace section. The Park although only opened in September, 2015 appears to be well loved and used. Here are some photos of some of the play items that Rockdale Council has included. More power to them if this is an indicator of their design response to the current appreciation of nature based playspaces.

Danger is coming back to Australian playgrounds with experts advocating risk in children’s play | DailyTelegraph

Danger is coming back to Australian playgrounds with experts advocating risk in children’s play | DailyTelegraph

Something most educators are already aware of, but now it's in the media it must be real.

Full article can be read from the hyperlink above.

All healthy lessons, says the country’s highest authority on playground safety, Associate Professor David Eager, who is a keen advocate of risk in children’s play.

It’s not that playgrounds are dangerous, or that he wants to see children hurt.

Rather, he believes that calculating risk is an essential lesson of childhood, and that exposing kids to controlled risks, such as a fall that might, at very worst, fracture a bone, will keep them safer in the long run.

“Children need to be given opportunities to engage in activities where they will be able to learn from their mistakes,” said Professor Eager, from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Technology, Sydney.

“It’s okay if your children have an accident. Children who are exposed to too little challenge often take on inappropriate risks, where the chance of injury is high, because they lack the ability to judge the level of risk and the strategies and skills to tackle it effectively.”

The Importance of Maintaining a Sense of Wonder and Excitement

The Importance of Maintaining a Sense of Wonder and Excitement

A great medium for introducing children of all ages to the wonder that is nature.

“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost’s familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”

Why adults have to stop trying so darn hard to control how children play - The Washington Post

Why adults have to stop trying so darn hard to control how children play - The Washington Post

"You can’t role-play empathy! Or lecture children to death on how important it is to include other children. Children need to learn these things through practice. LOTS of it! This is best done through daily play experiences with other children – especially outdoors, where children can roam, explore, and play away from the adult world."

Costly playgrounds boring kids: UBC | Vancouver 24 hrs

Costly playgrounds boring kids: UBC | Vancouver 24 hrs

Love this article and study, again from Canada, into activity levels derived from child directed play and the 7 C's that should be inherent in each playspace, i.e. character, context, connectivity, change, chance, clarity, and challenge.

I particularly like the diagrams which provide conclusive examples of how current licensing laws under calculate the area that children require to play. Coincidentally child space calculations in Australia are the same as those in BC i.e. 7m2.

The article can be read from the hyperlink above and the full study, which is bloody good reading, can be found here http://wstcoast.org/playspaces/outsidecriteria/7Cs.pdf

The biggest risk is keeping kids indoors : TreeHugger

The biggest risk is keeping kids indoors : TreeHugger



Great article with a link to current canadian research. Access the full article from the hyperlink above.

“Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks— is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.”



Activity statement can be accessed through article.


Abstract

: A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoor play for children aged 3–12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky) outdoor play.