For Peria School, it has been a dream for a very long time, to have a playground based on natural resources.   

In an area of the school where huge trees used to stand, are now stumps – this is a project, which their young people have led.

“A parent, who is teacher trained, worked through an inquiry process with our young people. They discussed the need, then the concept and the young people planned and built models based on key concepts that they chose.   Skills included balancing, jumping and climbing which they wanted to get better at” says Ariana Williams, Peria School Principal.

Next stage was creating scale models and constructing the final design together based on their individual models. The final concept was presented to the Principal and Board.

Ariana says “the school chose the project because they were focused on creating an outdoor space where young people could problem solve, build their own fun like we used to do when we were young and explore how playgrounds can be made with sustainable resources in mind. Something young people could use to create their own games and stories and be able to use their imagination more openly.” 

Ariana goes onto explain that she knew it was essential that young people were a big part of this design and build. “We want ownership by young people and the only way to get that is by letting them see themselves as leaders of learning and for them to understand how their voices can be heard and be made into something tangible”.

The young people have also been fortunate to help with building the playground. The team constructing the playground have only been working one day each week (on a Thursday) and to ensure the young people can see their vision come to life, they have observed and been involved in every step of the process.  The playground is near completion.  Bark and mulch have been laid to ensure that the playground is safe for young people meanwhile a little bit of landscaping still needs to be completed.  

Ariana can see a range of possibilities for the young people by having this playground available.  Learning through play is all about building problem solving skills, vocabulary, communication and so much more. She thinks this playground will provide a combination of these skills with physical, fun activities. The natural element ensures variety of play for young people and endless years of fun trying new and adventurous things in this non fixed setting. Without the support of KiwiSport funding, this project may not have come to fruition.