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Getting Muddy in the City
The nature of Play…What is “Nature Play?”Why is it important?What makes for a good“Natural”
play area?
What’s up in Eugene?
Isn’t playing a natural thing anyway?
Nature PlayWhat is it?Any interaction of human beings with the outdoors or
natural environment
Nature PlayWhat is NOT nature play?
Hard surfaces? (you can still fry an egg or skip rope
on a hot sidewalk…)
Composite Play Structures? (you can still pretend to be Orangutans
swinging through the trees on the overhead ladders…)
Man‐made swimming pools? (you can still be fish or sharks and play Marco Polo…)
Doesn’t everyone have to go
outside sometimes?
• Parents are keeping children
indoors in order to keep them safe
from danger.
• Loss of natural surroundings in a
child’s neighborhood and city.
• Increased draw to spend more time
inside. (Screen time –
computers, tv’s,
games, etc.)
The Natural world is inherently interesting to children…
So let’s take advantage of this in the
City if kids can’t get to the woods or
the beach!
Can’t I just plant trees?
Recipe for Successful Natural Play Areas
Any kind of Dirt (sand is good…)
Recipe for Successful Natural Play Areas
Just add Water
Recipe for Successful Natural Play Areas
Something to discover:
You name it – bugs, worms, skeletons, regurgitated things, alive things, dead
things, fresh and new, old and fossilized, etc.
Recipe for Successful Natural Play Areas
Interpretation of constant change in
the natural world
Could be:GeographicGeologicSociologicBiologic
Recipe for Successful Natural Play Areas
Foster engagement
and cooperation
with other children
Recipe for Successful Natural Play Areas
Design for ease of long term
maintenance and durability
“The World’s Greatest City of the Arts and the Outdoors”
3000 Natural Area Acres
50 Miles of Trails
3000 Acres of Wetlands
…and lots of Playgrounds too
Playgrounds…
Playgrounds…
Questions, comments?
Emily Proudfoot, ASLALandscape Architect
City of Eugene Public WorksParks and Open Space Planning
(541) 682‐4915
