Playing in Nature ...

Commentary by LASN editor Stephen Kelly

When I was a kid, one of my ?EUR??,,????'?????<

The Playground column in LASN over the years has touched on just about every playground topic imaginable.

Safety has often been a topic, but we?EUR??,,????'?????<

Findings of a five-year Canadian study (2003 to 2008) were just released, conducted by the University of British Columbia?EUR??,,????'?????<

Two to five year olds were videotaped at 16 outdoor play centers.

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Eighty-seven percent of the time, the conventional equipment (monkey bars, swings, slides and climbing structures) remained empty. When the children played on or around the equipment, they used it for its intended purpose only three percent of the time.

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Fifty-seven per cent of the early childhood educators indicated the equipment needed to be more challenging, suggesting kids want places where they can hide, play with dirt and be creative.

Prof. Herrington noted landscape architects are under a lot of pressure to install traditional equipment, because it?EUR??,,????'?????<

The litigious climate is certainly a powerful factor in specifying play equipment.