At Park Place Recreation Designs, we are passionate about inclusive play. We believe in equal opportunity for everyone, but especially for children. It’s heartbreaking to think of a child being excluded from the joy of playing on the playground with their friends because they are unable to physically access it. Not only does playground play foster children’s development mentally, physically and socially, but the playground is also where friends and memories are made.
Our President & Founder, Bob Ahrens, says it best:
“Some people like to start things. For other people, it’s all about getting to check off another box; the creativity that I embrace is the process in between. Don’t get me wrong, finishing and building are definitely a part of this, but not the only part. Listening to NPR the other morning, I heard them talking about the points their biomedical field reporter made. He had written a book about how researchers in the field had sacrificed something called ‘delight’ in the face of pressures to maintain a lower budget, perform and publish.
‘Delight’ is emotion and wonder and being a part of something, a process that is bigger than you. It all matters. You are a part of it, but you cannot claim it.
We are delighted to be a part of the inclusive play movement. A recent visit to one of our playgrounds opened my eyes. There was a grandmother being pushed up to the top by her husband. She took over on the last ramp up to the highest level of the playground over 8’ high. She was joined soon by her granddaughter and daughter. Three generations at the top of the world, Queens of the Mountain, just being and playing together.
Building play environments for all kids, and now, I realize, all ages, is just the right thing to do. It builds consensus and a feeling of community. It’s good, it’s nice and no one can really say anything bad about it.”
Our largest inclusive playground will have its grand opening and ribbon cutting on June 11th. We will have more about the creative process and inclusive play coming soon, so stay tuned!
If you’d like to learn more about Inclusive Playgrounds or discuss designing one in your community, feel free to contact us today.