Nature Play & Learning Places: Creating and Managing Places where Children Engage with Nature

Abstract

 2017 Children, Youth and Environments Children, Youth and Environments 27(2), 2017 Book Reviews Nature Play & Learning Places: Creating and Managing Places where Children Engage with Nature Robin C. Moore with Allen Cooper (2014) Raleigh, NC: Natural Learning Initiative and Reston, VA: National Wildlife Federation, 169 pages Available from: www.natureplayandlearningplaces.org; ISBN 978-0-9907713-1-9 Nature-based play is receiving a great deal of attention for its role in facilitating cognitive, emotional, and physical skill development among youth. In Nature Play & Learning Places, Moore and Cooper provide a well-organized how-to manual that would be particularly appealing to land managers who may be considering adding nature-based play elements to their facility. This text would also benefit groups interested in encouraging their community to develop a nature-based play space, researchers entering the realm of nature-based play, and educators looking share the value of nature-based play among learners. It covers most key elements necessary for developing an effective and well-received nature-based play space. The benefits of nature-based play are described usefully and in an engaging, yet empirically grounded, way thus allowing a range of readers to find value in the information provided. The authors’ skills and knowledge are quite complementary. Robin Moore is a Professor of Landscape Architecture at North Carolina State University and Director of the Natural Learning Initiative, holding degrees in both architecture and urban planning. He has extensive understanding of the range of roles natural landscapes play in human development. Allen Cooper’s background is in public policy and law and he is the current Director of State Education Advocacy with the National Wildlife Federation. His legal background and public engagement perspectives enrich the nature-based play perspectives provided. The authors begin by sharing a brief history of nature play and its role at various developmental stages, early childhood through adolescence. The historical context includes the role camping and similar contexts have contributed to the naturebased play movement, e.g. adventure playgrounds, children’s gardens, play zoos, urban farms, and nature-based schools. Design decisions are aligned with theory to provide evidence for their inclusion. Examples clearly illustrate the role of nature-based play spaces in developmental stages from early childhood to adolescence and their discussion is supported by Greenman’s work (2005) in childhood education and development. Book and Film Reviews 126 The role of natural play areas in a community’s green infrastructure is then discussed and programming is clearly connected to design. Specific locations are identified both in terms of immediate context as well as in relationship to a larger community, e.g. town or city. The authors further provide useful details in the design discussion including planting recommendations, surfacing, and construction strategies, and frame their discussion within maintenance concerns. This is particularly helpful since a beautifully designed facility can quickly become useless if maintenance needs are not addressed. Next, a focus on management issues specific to the natural place itself is presented —something that can easily be overlooked. Land management agency involvement and the importance of addressing the management philosophy are an essential element the authors also include. Risk management may be the single most challenging hurdle for the inclusion of nature-based playscapes at one’s facility. As such, the authors devote an entire chapter to this issue. The steps they suggest are appropriate and it is helpful that they provide resources for the reader such as Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Handbook for Public Playground Safety. This area will continue to present an opportunity for dialogue among nature play designers and managers in light of the U.S. societal perception of play safety, in general, which can be seen as counter-productive to developing skills associated with negotiating natural play elements. The authors conclude by offering examples of community engagement and feedback collection strategies. Within a traditional model of implementation, e.g. identifying a purpose/scope, inventorying and analyzing data, identifying an option, garnering funding, and implementing the project, the authors focus on the importance of community engagement. They offer the reader helpful examples of involving community. Missing from this section, however, is a thorough discussion of the final stage in the...