Natural Play

The natural play environment provides not only a setting for quality play to explore, discover and learn but also offers diversity for a child’s developmental needs and their health and wellbeing. Natural play spaces can offer children the opportunity to develop a connection with the environment and interact with their natural surrounding.

Natural Play Ideas

Wet/Dry Creek Beds

Natural slopes make great places for dry creek beds. These areas can be planted out with reed like species to simulate a dry creek bed. If you include a tap at the high end, the dry creek bed becomes a watercourse. Supervision is essential as a child can drown in only 50mm of water. While water is an essential ingredient in play, water should be limited so children learn the importance of water conservation.

Sand/Mud Pits

Sand pits, mud pits or digging patches give children another medium to explore, encouraging imaginative and constructive play. Sand and mud offer opportunities for children to play with different textures and qualities building skills from play through exploration to complex play.

Sensory Garden

Trees, shrubs, ground cover can play a number of roles in a play space, like wind breaks, hidden quiet spaces and educational tools. They can also offer a variety of different textures, scents, colours, forms and sounds to provide the infrastructure for imaginative and creative play spaces with natural vegetation. Sensory gardens offer great access to all children providing a sense of belonging and role in the play space.

Timber Treatment

With the phase out of Copper Chromium Arsenic (CCA) treatment for timber products please consider the following information when choosing timber for construction.

Timber is a common material used when constructing play spaces. The life of timber is significantly increased when treated with a preservative, from a few years to 30 years or more. Preserving treatments protect the timber from decay, fungi, wood boring insects and termites. Australia's most widely used wood preservative to date has been CCA. CCA uses copper to control fungi, arsenic to control termites and chromium to fix the copper and arsenic in the wood.

In Australia CCA and other preservatives are approved and regulated by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and treatment levels are set by Australian Standards. The APVMA have reviewed CCA treated timber and on March 15th 2005 announced a 12 month phase out of CCA treatment for timber used for new construction of playground equipment, decking, handrails, garden and park furniture. The major concern has been the potential for leaching out of arsenic from the treated timber. This follows trends in both Europe and America. The APVMA has no regulatory authority over existing CCA treated items and has made no recommendation for the dismantling of existing structures.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has assessed a number of alternative preservatives to treat timber to replace CCA that may be appropriate for applications in playgrounds as they do not contain chromium or arsenic. According to the CSIRO the alternative timber treatments such as Ammoniacal Copper Quat (ACQ) and Copper Azole (CA) have both have been extensively tested and generally perform as well as CCA. Other preservatives suitable for out of ground contact uses include Light Organic Solvent Preservative (LOSP) formulations.

Alternative timber preservatives are now widely used, although timber treated with them has generally been more expensive than CCA treated timber. If the use of alternative timber preservatives increases it may assist in reducing their cost. When purchasing timber for the construction of play spaces ensure that the timber is treated with an environmentally friendly preservative or purchase timber that has natural resistance to rotting.

To find out what timbers have natural rot resistance and are recommended for landscape applications contact your nearest timber supplier. All timber must be landscape grade and should be dressed to eliminate splinters (all nails, screws etc must be galvanised). Be careful of using timber that is becoming rare or endangered. For further information go to www.csiro.com.au.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has advised that there is no requirement to dismantle or to cease using existing CCA treated structures. Exposure can be decreased by following basic good hygiene practices. Ensure children wash their hands thoroughly with soap before eating, after school breaks and after contact with CCA treated timbers. Avoid eating while around CCA treated timber and do not place food on treated timber surfaces.

CCA treated timber should not be used to repair existing structures. Alternative materials should be used. Information is limited on the possible benefits of painting treated timber (including existing structures) to reduce possible risks. Some scientific studies indicate that certain penetrating coatings, such as oil based semi-transparent stains, when used on a regular basis may reduce the potential for CCA exposure. However, there have been some questions raised about the effectiveness of filmforming or non-penetrating stains because of cracking, peeling and flaking. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is currently investigating the effectiveness of painting CCA treated timber structures however the APVMA can not provide any definitive advice on whether there are benefits from painting.

If using CCA treated timber in construction projects, ensure that necessary protective equipment is worn such as gloves, dust mask, goggles and ear plugs. Also ensure all timber debris and saw dust is appropriately disposed of, do not burn or compost for mulch. These precautions will reduce your exposure from inhaling or ingesting sawdust, protect your eyes from flying particles, and prevent exposure to toxic smoke and ash.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency is currently undertaking studies to develop ways to coat treated timber with a sealant to prevent the leaching of arsenic. Results of the interim sealant study and public guidance is anticipated in April 2005 and the final report in January 2006 at www.epa.gov.

Further information can be found on the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority website www.apvma.gov.au

Contact Us for more information on natural play spaces or to register your interest in Kidsafe WA hosting a Natural Play Spaces Seminar at your workplace.