RoSPA Press Office : Press Release

June 4, 2007
RoSPA CONFERENCE TO PROMOTE PLAY IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

More playgrounds should take their inspiration from the natural environment, an international conference hosted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents will hear.

RoSPA’s International Play Safety Conference, taking place on June 14, aims to help play providers think beyond fixed equipment, such as metal climbing frames and seesaws, and to look for ways of incorporating more natural elements into the spaces they oversee.

Delegates will hear how stimulating, landscaped play areas, which, for example, are set on different levels, with a greater use of wood and the inclusion of plants, trees and soil, can be created in both urban and rural areas.

David Yearley, Head of Play Safety at RoSPA, said: “Children have an affinity with the natural environment and can learn a lot about the world through playing and interacting with it.

“By looking at ways of incorporating natural elements into equipped play spaces, we can ensure that even children living in urban areas have the opportunity to benefit from this experience.

“Such playgrounds, which should be as safe as necessary, rather than as safe as possible, are not only great fun, but also enable children to encounter the materials and natural features they are likely to experience throughout their lives. Children are therefore able to learn about potential risks and equip themselves with the skills necessary to deal with them.”

The conference, at Holywell Park, Loughborough University, will also include a workshop on the debate surrounding the provision of facilities for equipment such as mini motorbikes, skateboards, inline skates and wheeled trainers.

Speakers will include Helen Woolley, Senior Lecturer at Sheffield University’s Department of Landscape, who will outline the benefits of natural play, and Dr Ute Navidi, Director, London Play, on how an urban environment can include opportunities for natural play. Dr David Eager, Associate Professor at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, and Gerry O’Sullivan, Director, The Children’s Playground Company, will also speak.

Delegates attending the conference will include those with responsibility for playgrounds, parks and open spaces, as well as indoor play operators, holiday park operators and environmental health officers.

Full details of RoSPA’s International Play Safety Conference can be found at www.rospa.com/play/. Places can be booked online, by emailing events@rospa.com or by calling 0121 248 2120.