We believe that every child deserves a good childhood and that childhood should be a time to play and learn, a time to be healthy and active. Being able to play outside and learn about the natural environment is so important in the early years.
Our children's centre provides a range of services to meet the needs of young children and their families, including flexible childcare for pre-school children and advice and support services for parents. As many of the children who visit the centre live in flats, we were very excited about the prospect of developing a special outdoor play area for them.
We wanted our 'Magical Garden' to be environmentally friendly and to piece together lots of interactive elements to encourage the children to learn as well as play, and to give them the freedom to explore, interact and make friends with each other in a safe outdoor location.
What we now have is a beautiful garden that wraps right around the centre, with an assortment of places for the children to discover. The garden was designed for use at any time of the day, whatever the weather. Cloud and leaf-patterned shelter and shade canopies allow protection from the sun and the rain.
Some of the specific interactive features include:
- A 'soil factory' to show how worms recycle waste into soil. It has a lift-off roof, letter-box filling slots, observation doors, turning spindles and a soil collection door so the children can see exactly what goes on inside. They save their fruit waste from snack time and add it daily to the soil factory.
- A herb garden full of different smelling plants to learn about
- A 'mini-beast trapdoor' that provides a perfect environment for an assortment of creepy-crawlies. We can peer underneath to watch the bugs at work in the soil.
- Bird tables to attract winged wildlife into the garden
- A storytelling throne on an oak stump creates a perfect environment for telling stories to help the children use their imagination and develop their language and literacy skills
- Large wooden sculptures of an owl food-chain totem pole and a friendly bear that we have used to act out 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'
- Mini-tepees made of willow wand and leaf-printed canvas for imaginative role-play and games of hide-and-seek
- Digging areas and a log-cabin style climbing pyramid for active and adventurous play
- Oak-framed chalkboards and mirrors for drawing and reflection.
The funding for the £23,175 project came from Leeds City Council and the European Regional Development Fund. We put in a bid to the fund a couple of years ago when the centre was built and we decided that creating the garden would be a great use of the remainder of the money.
We jointly developed the Magical Garden with the Early Years Department of Leeds City Council and made use of their Magical Garden Project, a specialist garden design service who helped to shape our concept. Outdoor Classrooms constructed the garden using only home-grown timber from privately owned woodlands. They were chosen for their use of sustainable resources and innovative outdoor features.
We were keen for our staff, parents and children to be involved with the design of their garden. Melanie Polson from the Magical Garden Project met with parents to discuss the design of the garden. The ideas put forward by parents were that they wanted lots of space for their children to run, jump and climb, especially when a child can't play outside at home, and for the storytelling area to look special and inviting.
Melanie also consulted with the children and the early years staff. The children looked at a range of photos of different play areas and picked out what they would like to see in their garden. All the ideas from parents and children went into the overall design.
The centre has been embraced by the local community. We hope the Magical Garden will encourage even more families to come and use our facilities. This garden gives the children play experiences as they learn, giving them permission to be active, messy and noisy and feel less controlled by adults.
During the consultation with the children, they were asked what they would like to do outside and they said 'run and play with friends'. Now, when asked what they would like to do outside, their responses are much fuller: 'Pretend to be a queen in a palace', 'Look for elephants in the jungle' and 'Climb up to the moon'.
Further Information:
- The Children's Society is a leading national charity driven by the belief that every child deserves a good childhood. Visit www.childrenssociety.org.uk
- The Magical Garden project is part of the Early Years Department, Leeds City Council: www.leeds.gov.uk
- Outdoor Classrooms have provided ecologically sound environments since 1990: www.outdoorclassrooms.co.uk
- The European Regional Development Fund was set up in 1975 to stimulate economic development in the least prosperous areas of the EU: www.erdf.communities.gov.uk
Mary Weston spoke to Jenny Stocks.
