The Crossing Preschool was an exciting opportunity to collaborate with other local businesses. As the site was the top level of a car park in the inner city, we needed to think creatively to create a space that would not only provide the children with opportunities for play but also with the chance to be in a nature-rich space. Wood Ltd provided the expertise needed for the technical demands of the site, including what we needed for the green roof planter beds and helped with the build. NatureFlow managed the build and delivered their usual beautiful craftsmanship throughout the space. We enjoyed creating the initial concept design, working on areas like the Small World garden, forming the living willow huts and planting the beds. With a mixture of deciduous, evergreens, natives, exotics, edibles, herbs and ornamentals there is plenty of diversity to fit the clients’ request for, ‘an oasis in the city’.

Ferrymead Preschool & Nursery were interested in bringing more natural materials into their space and more opportunities for their older children to swing, climb, hang, work on their upper body strength. They also wanted to establish more of a connection to the estuary which they back onto and visit regularly with their children.

As the space isn't large, they wanted to stay away from a more traditional swing set, which would take up too much room, but still wanted to provide lots of opportunities for children to experience the sensation of swinging. We put posts in which allows for the teachers to change the space, putting in cargo nets, ropes, rope ladders and other equipment in a variety of different ways. We added a water play area next to the sandpit using local rock and shell. The children can divert the water to create different pools and channels. The addition of a large deck around the existing tree and a circle of tree stumps gives space for quieter play or for jumping and balancing.

Prebbleton Playcentre was keen on bringing more natural materials into their playground, adding a water play area, a bridge and replacing their hut, which had been damaged recently.

Working closely with Rob from NatureFlow, we created an space which would cater for all ages and provide opportunities for exploring different textures, surfaces and materials. The project culminated with one of my favourite ways to work - a working bee for planting, mulching and more! The Playcentre community chipped in for a morning of finishing the space and celebrating with a bit of food, conversation and play.

Creating a playspace for one of our favourite plant nurseries was a fantastic experience. We loved thinking about how we could create a space that would really highlight the plants and showcase how natural materials can be used to create space for play.

Over the past few years we’ve loved creating pop-up play spaces and mud kitchens to highlight the simplicity of loose parts materials and how rich the play is when children have the materials and space to design and create their own spaces for play. We’ve worked with Christchurch City Council, Greening the Rubble and the Richmond Community Garden to create temporary spaces for community to play.

Living willow tunnels and huts are an inexpensive way to add sheltered spaces for quiet play or telling stories. We plant them in the winter when the willow is dormant. They are reasonably easy-care - generally just needing a good shaping prune in the winter and some trimming in the summer. They are also a great way to highlight seasonal changes with the plants losing their leaves in the winter and revealing the woven structures.