NParks opens nature playground at HortPark as testbed for future ‘biophilic’ sites

SHERLYN SEAH Today Online 20 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE — At first glance, it might not look like much, with leaves, sand and some wooden blocks and poles in the ground. However, the new biophilic playground at HortPark has been specially designed to allow children to play freely with nature.

Centred upon the concept of “biophilia”, the innate emotional connection that humans have with nature, research has shown that interacting with the outdoors helps children develop creativity.

The new play area will also be a testing ground for the National Parks Board (NParks) to develop design guidelines, by early 2020, to help pre-schools, government agencies and developers in building more of such sites around the island.

This is so that more playgrounds can adopt natural designs for children to experience biodiversity.

Speaking at the opening of the Nature Playgarden at HortPark on Tuesday (March 19), Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development, said that NParks will introduce more of such biophilic play sites in other parks and gardens over the next two years.

Plans are also in place to enhance existing playgrounds to incorporate such elements.

“Interaction with the outdoors, getting out and about, has benefits for our children cognitively, physically and emotionally. We’d like our playschools to use the outdoors as an open classroom,” Mr Lee said.

“We’re very connected to the digital realm, and our children, too. We see them (using) their iPhones, iPads, digital devices. But if you look back on our own childhood, many of us spent time out in the backyard, in greenery, in the longkang (canal) catching fish, looking for spiders.”

At the opening of the HortPark playgarden, about 50 pre-school children from PCF Sparkletots and My First Skool had a chance to try out the features.

Ms Ong Siew Teng, executive principal of PCF Sparkletots, said that the children “really enjoyed” the playground.

“They got to interact with their friends, look at the natural elements, the wind, the sun, the water, and saw how the leaves cast shadows onto the floor,” she said.

Ms Ong, who has a three-year-old daughter, said that while some parents may worry about letting their children run about in the open, such activities help them develop confidence and resilience as well.

DESIGNED WITH NATURE IN MIND

The 0.35-ha playgarden at HortPark has nine different play features. Children may traverse a series of logs laid across a trench, hide in a bamboo dome, or work together to build “castles” using materials such as wooden planks and poles.

It is designed with nature in mind — offering, for instance, unimpeded views over open landscapes and plenty of spaces to hide.

Mr Tan Jun Chao, director for park planning at NParks, said that these will encourage children to engage in spontaneous play, adding “elements of mystery” to pique their curiosity.

Recycled materials have also been used for about 99 per cent of the site, making it sustainable. The remaining 1 per cent is the steel used to support a tunnel, to prevent it from caving in, “but of course we make it look natural”, Mr Tan said.

Safety was a priority when building the playground, he added, with all its features adhering to international guidelines.

“For example, the steps could not be too high. And if you notice, the rough edges were sanded down so they don’t cause splinters,” he said.

ON-SITE RESEARCH

Another goal of the initiative is to encourage educators and developers to build more of such playgardens, Mr Tan said.

Guidelines for creating such areas will be developed in consultation with the Early Childhood Development Agency and the National Institute of Early Childhood Development.

For example, suitable plants, materials, and designs will be recommended for various site conditions and requirements.

These will be based on research that will be done at the HortPark site, to be completed by end-2019.

Researchers will observe how children interact with the site’s play features, and see if the children really use them the way they were intended.

If not, adjustments will made and fed into the guidelines, so that developers have information on how to build future play areas.

Beyond the HortPark playgarden, NParks said that it will implement several other nature-centric playgardens islandwide over the next two years.

The play area at Sengkang Riverside Park will be redeveloped using similar design principles, and there will be new playgardens at Pasir Ris Park and the upcoming Gallop extension of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.


Planting the seeds for new playground design at HortPark's new Nature Playgarden
Joy Pang Minle Straits Times 19 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE - Wood chips and dry leaves cover the floor of the new Nature Playgarden unveiled by the National Parks Board (NParks) today (Mar 19) at HortPark, as part of an effort to bring children closer to nature.

Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee joined around 50 pre-schoolers from NTUC My First Skool and PCF Sparkletots pre-schools to explore the park's nine different play features.

The children climbed over logs at Big Fig Adventure and Log Valley, made music by running through hanging bamboo poles at The Singing Seeds, and built unique structures in a sand pit located around The Building Huts - a personal favourite of many.

"I like to dig in the sand pit," said Alistair Lee, six. "I also saw a big green dragonfly there for the first time."

The other features are called Magical Woods, The Stream, The Kitchen, The Secret Den and Treasure Trail.

The children were not just having fun for themselves - they were also helping NParks conduct research. The Nature Playgarden is a test-bed for NParks' Biophilic Playgarden Plan, which aims to transform future playgrounds by integrating them with more natural elements such as trees, dirt and sand.

Biophilia refers to the innate emotional connection that humans have with nature, and NParks said the Plan was conceived with preschoolers in mind, to encourage children to spend more time outdoors to enhance their overall well-being, increase their self-confidence and creative expression, and let them reconnect with nature.

"We want to see if the children behave according to what the design set out to accomplish," said Mr Tan Jun Chao, director of park planning for NParks. He added that the research will help improve the design guidelines for recreating more Biophilic Playgardens, which is set to be released early next year (2020).

The Nature Playgarden's design capitalises on natural terrain and about 99 per cent of the 0.35 ha area is made out of recycled material, cutting down on construction costs.

The design principles were inspired by similar parks such as the Cincinnati Nature Centre in Ohio, the United States, and NParks will consult with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) for further design options.

Mr Desmond Lee, who is also Social and Family Development Minister, is confident that this plan will help strengthen young minds, and help develop their affinity for the environment.

"I hope that our young children become the stewards of our Garden City for many years to come," he said.