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- Environmental play is defined here as opportunities for children
and young people to play freely with, in and around natural environments.
Environmental playwork supports, facilitates and provides appropriate
settings for such opportunities.
- Environmental play specifically focuses on children’s interactions
with natural elements and spaces, wild spaces,
as opposed to artificial play areas, which provide a context, physical
space and inspiration for different types of children’s play.
- Environmental play encompasses the value of personally directed,
child-centred, freely chosen play. However, children’s lack
of previous experience of and/or acquired negative attitudes towards
wild spaces may require some structured activities, equipment or guided
encounters with natural environments, as starting points - spring
boards - for environmental play.
- In addition to children, adults (playworkers, parents etc.)may
require encouragement, information and training to overcome fears
or apprehensive attitudes towards environmental play.
- Although not necessarily pre-determined, a greater understanding,
empathy and respect for the natural world is a likely, and desirable,
consequence of environmental play. It is also recognised that children
(as well as adults) have powerful instinctive psychological connections
to natural landscapes and wildlife, which can be satisfied and positively
developed through environmental play.
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