Natural Play at the NEC
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.