Nature-Play-Learning-Places_storefront_preview_0.pdf

Nature-Play-Learning-Places_storefront_preview_0.pdf

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"Children must spend more time outdoors—for
their good health and the health of our planet. If
children don’t move enough, their bodies will not
develop in a healthy manner. If children don’t grow up engaged with nature, chances are they will never understand human dependency on the natural world.  Nature play is defined as a learning process, engaging children in working together to develop physical skills, to exercise their imaginations, to stimulate poetic expression, to begin to understand the workings of the world around them."

Royal Park's Nature Play named nation's best playground by landscape architects

Royal Park's Nature Play named nation's best playground by landscape architects

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"A Melbourne children's playground designed to encourage risk-taking - through rocky outcropped terraces and lofty climbing ropes - has been crowned the nation's best. It is known as Nature Play and sits in Royal Park, next to the Royal Children's Hospital. ......Built for $5.5 million and opened last March, the park has 1200 trees, gullies, grasslands and a hill with dramatic city views. And, to the chagrin of many parents and the delight of their children, the park also includes a water play area encouraging kids to work together to pump and dam water, before finally being released it into a sandpit......Special team wheeling a patient in a hospital bed or wheelchair to the edge of play areas."

Ontario study sends kindergartners into the forest to find out if nature helps them learn | Toronto Star

Ontario study sends kindergartners into the forest to find out if nature helps them learn | Toronto Star

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Photo property of Col Burston /Toronto Star

"While we intuitively know green space is good, it doesn’t get priority when push comes to shove in terms of time and money. Research is mounting that green space is not just an accessory. It’s actually a necessity, an important component of healthy living. But policy-makers always look for quantitative evidence to make those decisions. If they can point to a study that says it’s important then they’ll make it a priority."

Miracle on the Mountain Play Outside Park to provide environment for kids with disabilities | Nooga.com

Miracle on the Mountain Play Outside Park to provide environment for kids with disabilities | Nooga.com

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"Outdoor play is an essential part of childhood, providing time and space for kids to imagine, climb, run, socialize and explore in the great outdoors. But for many children with disabilities, outdoor play is often enjoyed from the sidelines. However, a new park on the South Cumberland Plateau is making outdoor fun available to children of all abilities."

Adding natural elements to playgrounds can help depression in kids: study | CTV News

Adding natural elements to playgrounds can help depression in kids: study | CTV News

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'Populating a playground with natural elements that feature sand, grass and water can help reduce signs of depression in children, according to research by the University of British Columbia.'

Swings, slides and iPads: the gaming companies targeting kids' outdoor play | Guardian Sustainable Business | The Guardian

Swings, slides and iPads: the gaming companies targeting kids' outdoor play | Guardian Sustainable Business | The Guardian

The full article can be read through the hyperlink above

Yeah, I'm one of those people who thinks that playspaces should be technology free. How do you develop your own imaginative in play if you (a child ) are restricted by a computer programs narrative?
And have a look at the associated video's they leave me spout-raged ,speechless and outraged at the same time. 

Three-quarters of UK children now spend less time outside than prison inmates, according to a new survey, with the lure of digital technology partly to blame. But, in a world where gaming and screen time are an everyday reality, could the right technology actually get more kids to play outdoors?

Hybrid Play is a Spanish start-up which uses augmented reality (AR) – patching computer imagery on to real life – to transform playgrounds into video games. A wireless sensor resembling an over-sized clothes peg clips onto any piece of playground equipment. It then registers the movement of the children as they play and converts it into video games to play through a smartphone. Demonstration of Hybrid Play

Co-founder Clara Boj says she is aware that many people think playgrounds should be technology free: “But our hybrid games are designed to put physical playing at the centre of the experience, not technology.”

Madison kick off plans to Connect Children to Nature | Madison Commons

Madison kick off plans to Connect Children to Nature | Madison Commons

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“Each [child] can develop a sense of belonging in the natural world and ability to recognize one’s power in the community and identify as a steward of the environment,” Svingen said. “Access to nature and green spaces has the ability to heal wounds of stress.”