Have you heard that there’s a new adventure playground opening in the US – in fact, right in NYC?
We are so excited about this project, which is led by a group of extraordinarily dedicated individuals known as play:ground. They’ve been hosting pop-up adventure playgrounds for the past year and a half, raising momentum towards the launch of a more developed adventure playground site this summer.
The site they’ve chosen is Governor’s Island, which coincidentally we know very well! That was the site of our first pop-up adventure playground residency, back in 2011. It’s a gorgeous location, a summer oasis from urban living, reachable only by (a free) ferry. It feels like NYC’s magical backyard!
We’ve been working with play:ground as they came together, talking over Skype and then drinks about play, playwork and building community. Two of the team have been studying on our Playworker Development Course and we couldn’t be prouder to be expanding upon that relationship this summer.
Their adventure playground model combines summer camp programming during the week with free open access every weekend. This will help them to do two things in the same year: offer children those rich and in-depth experiences, which you only get when returning to the same place day after day; and help as many children and families as possible learn firsthand how much fun adventurous play can be. Their events have been enormously successful so far, and you can see some pictures on their Flickr page.
We’ll be providing staff training in playwork practice, and working alongside them throughout their summer programming. In fact, I’ll be there all summer long!
However, our adoration isn’t enough. They’re still fundraising and need your help to make this dream a reality. Help spread the word. Wherever you live, whatever your resources, you can help them reach their target – and the children who need this adventure playground the most.