The spaces children move through quietly shape how they think, feel, connect and learn. They spark the imagination and ground them in reality. Nature-based spaces don’t only support biodiversity, shade, cooling, and food. Experts say they help children build confidence, resilience, social connection and emotional regulation – and incorporating nature into designs should be essential.
Jenn Reed, a landscape designer with 20 years of experience in childhood education and founder and director of the Melbourne based Urban Discovery, says we need to rethink the environment that playgrounds create for children.
Her organisation, a collective of educators, designers, artists and conservationists who want to connect children to the natural world, advocates for playgrounds to be better thought out than something that occurs on the space left over after a building project is complete.
“Children are always reading the world around them,” Reed says. “They read the ground beneath their feet, the plants around them, the places where they can hide, climb, gather, rest, test themselves and make their own decisions.
“When a space is fixed and adult-led, it tells children what to do. When a space is alive, layered and full of possibility, it invites children to think, move, negotiate, imagine and belong.”
There is a difference between designing a children’s outdoor area and designing a habitat for play. Reed says design questions should include:
- What is the original condition of this land?
- How will a child enter this space?
- Where will they feel safe?
- Where will they feel brave?
- Where can they move their whole body?
- Where can they be with others?
- Where can they be alone?
- Where can they take a risk and discover they are capable?
According to Reed, educators see these impacts every day, and there is research to support the claims. This includes a 2024 paper by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, which found that contact with nature supports children’s social and emotional wellbeing. And playing in nature is linked to resilience, emotional regulation, social connection and learning.
Why the spaces around children matter
Bringing together plants, logs, rocks, sand, water, loose parts and edible gardens allows child choice, challenge, sensory input and freedom to interpretation, Reed says. Children are drawn to them because they don’t come with an instruction manual, but at the same time, they teach language, science, engineering, movement, imagination and social learning.
“Adults can underestimate the value because it looks messy. For a child, those immersive moments can be full of testing, thinking, confidence building and connection.”
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ clinical report, The Power of Play, developmentally appropriate play can help children build relationships with caregivers and peers.
Nature based play is important for all children, but especially for those with complex needs, such as children who have experienced trauma and children who find conventional environments difficult to navigate, Reed says.
At Sophia Mundi Steiner School, where Reed’s organisation recently designed and created a nature based play space, teachers have observed that children are spending longer periods deeply engaged in play, creating games, building water features and making cubbies. They are also noticing stronger social interactions, cooperation and resilience – and students are “naturally negotiating risks”.
Teachers said that the natural elements “encourage imagination, collaboration and exploration in ways that traditional playground equipment often does not” and that children previously not interested in structured playgrounds have also found places they feel comfortable and included.
Such as one child who needed a walker for assistance, showing they were thrilled that they no longer felt left out. These kinds of physical inclusions should be the minimum standard for children’s spaces, Reed says
These playgrounds can expand access to nature, too. At Rangeview Kindergarten in Mitcham, a visit from a native, blue-banded bee led to children asking questions about pollination, care and custodianship.
Risky play and pushing the boundaries
One of the best known designers of challenging playgrounds – sometimes labelled “risky and outrageous” is Mike Hewson, an artist and civil and structural engineer.
His most recent work is a social sculpture at the Art Gallery of NSW, which combines a park, playground and construction site in a former World War 2 oil tank.
It’s been described as, “kids swing off monkey bars and digging in a sand pit” while “sausages are sizzling on a council barbecue” and “palm trees hang overhead.”
Hewson says his work blurs the line between art and infrastructure.
“What I discovered is that funding streams for art are small, but people accept spending on infrastructure.”
“So, I started treating playgrounds as a hybrid: art that doubles as infrastructure. The public rarely questions the value of infrastructure, and yet if you embed art into it, you get both.”
Hewson then uses his background in engineering to recognise what forces the materials he works with can withstand, and what’s dangerous. In this way, he pushes the boundaries of regulations and standards, while providing comfort to local councils that he is not reckless.
“I may push boundaries, but I do it from a deep understanding of risk and standards. And honestly, it’s part of the play. If we remove every challenge, every edge, every unknown, children don’t learn resilience.
“Societies that are adaptable and nimble are the ones that thrive. We need friction, we need small failures, because they prepare us for bigger challenges.”
Calling for change
The question facing decision makers shouldn’t be will children benefit from nature rich play, Reed says, but whether adults are prepared to design, fund and protect the spaces children need.
