Frequently Asked Questions

We always know there'll be a time during presentations to prospective clients when someone will ask "how much do natural playgrounds cost?"I take a deep breath and say "That's a hard one, but if you give me a minute, I'll give you an answer."It's har...

If you've ever climbed trees, rolled down hills, scrambled up rocks, made mud pies, dammed up water, hid in grass, played house in bushes, built snow forts, dug in sand, played in dirt, planted seeds, jumped in leaves, tracked animals, or had fun out...

We recently ran across this company, RSF Social Finance which believes that the primary role of money is to "serve the highest intentions of the human spirit." In our conversations with their Senior Lending Manager, he said they support the...

A lot of people ask us for a catalog. This is interesting, in that playground catalogs typically contain standardized items which can be placed anywhere on any playground site, anywhere in the world.Because many of our play and learning elements can ...

I know it sounds easy. Sort of like landscaping, so anyone with any kind of landscaping background should be able to build these beautiful play areas, right?That's certainly what I thought when I started the company 25 years ago. I'd design beautiful...

"Designing" generally implies that a process will be followed in developing a plan that shows how something will look and function once it's built.A plan is usually required when a number of elements need to be placed together in a coherent fashion t...

Manufactured playgrounds challenge children's physical development (mostly gross motor skills) but do very little to challenge their emotional, social, and cognitive creativity.On the other hand, Natural playgrounds made with natural play elements, m...

Why do all playgrounds look alike?We always begin playground workshops the same way. We ask people to think back to a Saturday morning when they were 8-12 years old and to tell us what their favorite outdoor play activity was, either something they d...

Natural play areas often look like miniature natural landscapes.Flat land is transformed into rolling hills, vegetation grows where it looks right, weathered brick paths meander around "natural" features, sand play areas are scooped into the ground, ...

We are all curious about the natural world and how it works. There is very little in our lives that is unaffected by nature. Weather dictates our choice of clothes, our buildings battle the elements, food comes from the soil, water comes from ponds o...

Because equipment is so expensive and has such limited play value, we rarely recommend it. Sometimes, however, our clients want it because it offers play experiences not otherwise available (sliding and swinging are examples). In these two examples, ...

We're always uncertain how to respond to these kinds of concerns. It's sort of like trying to discuss safety issues about a walk in the woods, so let me just share some things with you.For months, we've been looking for safety information with regard...

If you need to remodel old playgrounds, build new ones, develop master plans for play areas around schools or communities, develop outdoor classrooms, create learning trails, or build gardens, shade structures, gateways, or play sculptures......and y...

You may find the following educational resources helpful.   Attracting Butterflies Activities for young children: good listing of over 3400 activities to do with young children, many of which relate to nature and the seasons. ...