Nature-based playground coming to life in Concord – Concord, MA – The Concord Journal

27/01/2013 2:02

You’ll have to excuse me if these next few items aren’t timely. I save them when I see them and rarely have time to post them.  Regardless of when they were written they’re still very pertinent.

In my mind playspaces should always be “open-ended, creative and imaginative”.

Full article can be read from the link above. 

The Playscape at Ripley will be a place where people of all ages and abilities can play, relax and interact with their environment.

“It’s about getting people outside,” said Jennifer Saxe, alumni relations and development coordinator for Concord Children’s Center. “We want people to be outside in ways that are open-ended, creative and imaginative. The Playscape will keep things creative for adults and kids.”

The Playscape at Ripley, a play area that will “purposefully connect individuals of all abilities with nature; foster cognitive, social and emotional growth; and encourage young and old alike to get outside,”

….Since before 2008, the Concord Children’s Center, along with other early childhood organizations in Concord, have discussed their concerns about the lack of availability to unstructured nature-based play areas for………. a 2007 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics warned of the “decline in children’s spontaneous and creative play – a decline which can negatively impact children’s language development, collaborative social skills and motor coordination and balance.”
…..Dan Stimson, assistant director of stewardship at Sudbury Valley Trustees, said Gowing’s Swamp is a pretty special place and added that the Playscape project ties in well with the Trustees’ mission to protect the land and make it available to all who are interested in visiting.“One of the worries amongst conservationists today is that kids aren’t getting outside enough,” Stimson said. “There’s a lack of getting kids into the woods. This type of project acts as a bridge and gets more of the community out there.”
Tess Michaels