Natural Play at the NEC

Happy childhood memories of building dens and tree houses, and messing about on the beach all formed part of the debate at the Natural Play seminar this spring.

Taking place at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre and chaired by Liz Lake, the event featured speakers including children's campaigner and writer Tim Gill, senior groundworks landscape architect Adam White and Helle Nebelong, chief landscape architect at the city of Copenhagen.

The nostalgia for past childhoods was prompted by Tim Gill - described by Liz Lake as having "a big understanding of little people" - who invited members of the packed audience to share their memories. Common themes were of happy days spent playing outside and making creative use of natural objects and materials. The subject is high on Gill's agenda in his campaigning for more natural play areas free from fixed play equipment.

The Natural Play discussion grew from the Playscape project on show at the exhibition. Featuring large-scale hunks of wood, sand and boulders, it was conceived to recreate some of those special play places enjoyed by earlier generations. The scheme was created by Adam White in association with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

In a presentation from Helle Nebelong, the audience was given a tour of some of her favourite Danish play areas. Often in highly urban locations, they feature fallen trees, grass, sand, gravel, boulders, rope bridges and are free from fencing. The informality of such play areas was picked up in the question and answer session where concerns were also raised over issues including health and safety. Nebelong responded by pointing out that Danish parents have a different mindset from the UK, they accept that occasionally accidents will happen and they don't sue.

For more information: a leaflet on Natural Play by the manufacturer, Timberplay with the University of Sheffield provides an excellent overview - www.timberplay.com. Helen Woolley at Sheffield is organising a questionnaire about factors that stop natural play areas being constructed. To participate in the survey contact her on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .