Natural Playscape at the Environment Centre

The Camp Kawartha Environment Centre Natural Playscape will promote unstructured play, outdoor activity, healthy childhood development and environmental stewardship. WE NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE JOIN US IN OUR EFFORT TO RECLAIM PLAY!

Incentives: 

Your donation will plant a tree! Camp Kawartha will plant a tree for every donation received through this campaign.

There are also naming opportunities available for donations of $300 or more. As a not-for-profit, charitable organization, we are truly grateful for the goodwill and support of community friends, like you.

Why you should care:

Our children are our future. We know you want your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters to have long, healthy and happy lives. Our proposed Natural Playscape will contribute to these outcomes. Natural Playscapes offer kids the following benefits:

• Reduced feelings of anxiety and depression
• Enhanced emotional coping & reduced stress
• Increased concentration and impulse control
• Problem-solving skills 
• Co-operative play
• Creativity and imagination
• Development of motor skills
• Cognitive and physiological development

Children today are growing up in a more hurried, highly scheduled environment where technology encourages a sedentary lifestyle. This lifestyle is also marked by a pronounced disconnect between children and the outdoors. As a result, children are experiencing feelings of anxiety, stress, and depression. These feelings are often carried into adulthood. 

Today’s children spend more time indoors than any other generation. Statistics Canada states that the average child spends 8.6 hours a day, or 62% of their waking hours, being sedentary, while less than an hour a day is spent engaging in moderate-to-vigorous activity. 

What is a Natural Playscape? 

A Natural Playscape is an environment which uses natural elements to encourage unstructured, self-directed play and nature discovery. Unlike conventional playgrounds (where swings are for swinging and slides are for sliding), playscapes allow kids to experience and experiment in a natural environment. In this environment a simple stick can become a tent pole, a magic wand, a wizard’s staff or the mast of sailing ship. Nature playscapes are accessible to children of all ages and abilities and use natural materials such as:

• water
• boulders
• trees
• soil
• logs
• plants
• hills  

The Natural Playscape Project: 

The Natural Playscape will feature a variety of inspiring elements, including:

• Nature Music Area- featuring wooden xylophone, reclaimed tympani and an assembly of natural materials with unique tonal qualities.
• Nature Art Area- featuring a natural weaving area and activities to activate creativity and imagination.
• Natural Building Blocks- "Tree cookies" and other natural materials will be arranged for children to collaborate and problem solve on self-directed design projects.
• Interactive Sand Tracking & Play Area - animal tracks and archaeology digs are educational and fun in this natural space.
• Nature Play Area and Amphitheatre- featuring mounded earth, tunnels and limestone blocks where nooks and crannies inspire play and imagination.

Construction efforts are currently underway and will continue in spring 2015. The project will cost approximately $10,000 and it is scheduled for completion at the end of June 2015 - just in time for Day Campers to use and enjoy!

We hope the Natural Playscape at the Environment Centre will serve as a model for schools, parks, and parents for how to create nature playscapes that encourage child-directed play, psychological and physiological development, nature connection, and FUN!

Camp Kawartha's Pledge:

Camp Kawartha has allocated $2,500 to start this project and will continue to contribute $2,500 to project improvements for the next two years. It is our intention to continue developing the Natural Playscape until 2016 with the addition of new and exciting elements.

For more information please see our website: www.campkawartha.ca/environment-centre/natural-playscape-at-the-environment-centre