Natural Playscapes and Outdoor Education

BUILT ENVIRONMENT vol. 47 number 2 with the theme “Natural Playscapes and Outdoor Education” is now available with Helle Nebelong‘s article ‘When There’s Nothing but Nature: The Danish Experience with Natural Playscapes’.

This issue focuses on ’playscapes’: on how nature or natural elements have been incorporated into playgrounds; and how other, virtual, artificial or ‘smart’ elements of play are competing, complementing or otherwise influencing the way children and young adults are experiencing the outdoors and how and what they are learning there. The contributions include examples of outdoor play and learing in Europe, the United States and Mexico and, importantly, they give voice to practitioners as well as academics. 

Guest editor of the issue, Deike Peters writes in her introductory article:

– We open the issue with what is probably one of the purest celebrations of natural playgrounds to be found anywhere. Helle Nebelong’s article ‘When there is Nothing but Nature’ is a lovely auto- biographical account of how this gifted Danish landscape architect came to be convinced that most standardized play equipment is detrimental to children’s development and that, instead, ‘nature is the best place for children to play and develop their creativity’ (Nebelong, 2021). Being able to tour several of her celebrated natural playscapes and the Garden of Senses in Copenhagen with her as guide for the day was the final highlight of our January 2020 study tour. Her rich account speaks for itself. And it is immensely gratifying to see that her work is receiving increasing international recognition even across the Atlantic now as she was recently commissioned as lead designer for an inclusive natural playscape at a local elementary school in Normal, Illinois where she was able to team up with UK play safety expert and ‘Urban Play- grounds’ author Tim Gill and the Bienen- stock Natural Playground manufacturers. She was always ahead of her time in design- ing rich sensory experiences for children of all abilities, providing opportunity for both contemplation and creative play.

Guest Editor: DEIKE PETERS

Contents

• Rethinking ‘Playscapes’ in the Built Environment 
  DEIKE PETERS
• When There’s Nothing but Nature: The Danish Experience with Natural Playscapes
  HELLE NEBELONG
• What are Schoolchildren doing Out There? Children’s Perspectives on Affordances in Unedited Places
  MARIA HAMMARSTEN
• ‘Adventure Playgrounds’, ‘Nature’ and ‘Learning’: Disrupting Lofty Notions
  WENDY RUSSELL, JOHN FITZPATRICK and BRIDGET HANDSCOMB
• Mobile Augmented Reality and Outdoor Education
  MATTIAS ARVOLA, INGER EDFORSS FUCHS, INGEMAR NYMAN and ANDERS SZCZEPANSKI
• Smart Playgrounds? Using Smart and Interactive Technologies to Combat Playground Underutilization
  ANASTASIA LOUKAITOU-SIDERIS
• When Tech Enhances Play in Nature: ListenTree
  EDWINA PORTOCARRERO
• Publication Review
• Cover photo: This snail-shaped mound in the Naturlegepladsen i Valbyparken, Copenhagen is very popular with children (Design and photo: Helle Nebelong) .