As Safe as Necessary - not as Safe as Possible Helle Nebelong www.sansehaver.dk WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Junk Playgrounds Playground design worldwide Safe Surfacing Modern Time Attention Theory Daycare Centre & After School Club in one The Nature of Child Public nature playground WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Denmark has a long tradition for promoting the child s right to free play IPA was founded in Denmark in 1961 C. Th. Sorensen WF Belfast 18 June 2009 The Junk Play Ground
H o n g K o n g WF Belfast 18 June 2009
P e r t h WF Belfast 18 June 2009
S h e f f i e l d Let s play hide-and-seek! WF Photo: Belfast Tim 18 June Gill 2009
What shape should play equipment be given? Same theme - different shapes WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Or should it just indicate something that could be a ship or something else? WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Safe Surfacing WF Belfast 18 June 2009
It s a grown-up approach that everything that has to do with children should be colourful, fun - and as safe as possible! Play is much more than fun and safety! WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Modern Time = urbanised children - alien to nature WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Reasons why children stay indoor: Lack of access to natural environments TV and computers Traffic Homework for school Demands Parents fear of Stranger-danger WF Belfast 18 June 2009
More than 50 % of the earth s population now live in cities. According to UN the amount will raise to 75 % in 2050. A century ago only 10 % of the earth s population were living in cities WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Kaplan & Kaplan: Directed attention & Involuntary attention WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Directed attention the one, that claim for energy consumption, the one we spend lots of hours on daily when we force ourselves to eliminate unnecessary noises, that interrupt our concentration on for instant a specialized work. The directed attention has limited resources, and according to Kaplan s theory we will collapse mentally if we keep on trying to go beyond the limit trying to solve more and more complex problems. When we collapse mentally we need to recreate ourselves to get new strengths. That could be done in peaceful green spaces. WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Involuntary attention - the instinctive, automatic attention which appears when we are under influence of nature s sounds, smells and changes of temperature. This attention is the one that we use when we stay out in nature. It demands no special mental effort. Kaplan & Kaplan WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Vision: Nature Action Collaborative for Children, NACC Connecting children with the natural world: Is crucial for their optimal intellectual and physical development Provides a sense of refuge and healing in a sometimes violent andfrightening world etc. www.worldforumfoundation.org WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Murergaarden, Copenhagen Daycare Centre and After School Club in one WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Natural spaces and materials stimulate children s limitless imaginations and serve as the medium of inventiveness and creativity Robin C. Moore WF Belfast 18 June 2009
The Nature of Child WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Everything should not be demystified beforehand WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Children must be given a diversity of playable spaces WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Children linger mentally with nature WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Let children explore nature on their own WF Belfast 18 June 2009
To learn about life takes time and demands courage and risk-taking WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Not allowing children to play in nature and natural environments is risky. They won t have the opportunity to learn how to manage risk the natural way. And if not so, how should they learn how to cope with live? WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Children have the potential to be more resilient, capable, creative and able to learn than we give them credit for. Yet their lives are becoming ever more scheduled, controlled and directed Tim Gill WF Belfast 18 June 2009
To dare is to lose control for a moment Not to dare is to lose your life Soren Kierkegaard WF Belfast 18 June 2009
Thank You! Helle Nebelong Landscape Architect MAA, MDL Master of Public Management, MPM Director, Sansehaver.dk hellenebelong@hotmail.com www.sansehaver.dk WF Belfast 18 June 2009