Nature Play Education Session Topics

Infusing Nature into the Everyday Spaces of Childhood

Research has found that children’s exposure to nature benefits their academic, social, psychological, cognitive, and physical health. Explore evidence-based design best practices for outdoor play environments and trails that intentionally reconnect children with nature to support family fun, active lifestyles, and unique learning opportunities. Case examples of playground naturalization and playful pathways will demonstrate innovative solutions to encourage multigenerational play and offer extended play value to visitors. Various tools and resources will be shared to assist with the planning and design process of creating innovative destinations that connect communities, encourage health promotion through play, and respond to our intuitive desire to engage with nature.

1. Outline the current research and benefits of naturalized play environments and playful pathway networks designed to engage children with nature.
2.  Describe at least three best practices/considerations when intentionally designing nature into the everyday spaces of childhood.
3. Summarize two case study examples of naturalized play environments and playful pathways designed to encourage active lifestyles for children, families, and communities.
4. Describe available resources and develop an action plan for project implementation that addresses management, maintenance, partnerships, volunteers, and potential funding for sustainability.

Expanding Nature Experiences with Plants that Promote Play and Recreation

Plants increase community value in a number of ways beyond just their natural beauty. In this session, we’ll discover the many benefits that plants can provide communities, examine how a number of sites, from playgrounds to dog parks to bus shelters increased play and recreation value through the addition of key plants, and share tools to help parks, schools, and communities identify the unique benefits of a variety of plants to promote activity, imagination, sensory stimulation, and more. Attendees will come away with confidence on how to choose plants that will thrive in their region, and provide health, wellness, and recreation value for generations to come.

1. Identify at least 10 benefits that exposure to nature can provide to enhance overall health and well-being.
2. Discover resources to augment public spaces with trees and plants for specific purposes like aroma, wildlife habitat, play opportunities, and more.
3. Understand the types of environments that can benefit from adding play and recreation value through plants.
4. Identify, curate, and print site specific lists of natural material to increase the health and wellness opportunities of public spaces.