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Why Encourage Natural Play?

Manufactured playgrounds challenge children's physical development (mostly gross motor skills) but do very little to challenge their emotional, social, and cognitive creativity.

Natural playgrounds made with natural play elements, on the other hand, mirror natural world experiences that help children - and young adults - constantly discover new things about themselves and the world around them through experimentation, observation, problem-solving, and manipulation. In addition, natural playgrounds can be very physically challenging!

Our playground designers give natural playscapes character, the imprint of time, biological complexity, architectural eloquence, and physical challenge.

"Children gravitate naturally toward sand, water, loose parts, and stacking materials. Children need exposure to nature. They need play that helps them develop a sense of beauty,'' Joe Frost, professor of early childhood education, University of Texas.

"Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters." Saint Bernard, 11th Century

“Children who play on Natural Playgrounds tend to be more active than those who play on traditional playgrounds with metal and brightly colored equipment. They more than doubled the time they spent playing, from jumping off the logs to watering the plants around the creek, and they were engaging in more aerobic and bone and muscle-strengthening activities.” University of Tennessee

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