Since founding Pop-Up Adventure Play, we’ve worked in two main arenas. Firstly, to share playwork ideas as widely as we can. Secondly, to help both new and dedicated playworkers connect with one another. This year, those efforts felt at times more important than ever.
Perhaps you heard we held a Campference? In February, nearly one hundred of us gathered to talk and play, share and plan. Of course, we were nearly washed away by the state-emergency level storm and flooding. However, playworkers are resilient folk!
Maybe we met you in Canada? This summer, the little yellow car made its triumphant return as it took three of us coast to coast! One courageous board member visited in Calgary, where we caught up with international friends and fellow playworkers at the IPA Triennial Conference. We drove 10,000 km to deliver training public workshops and screenings of The Land, visiting cities and rural communities where this information is needed most.
Expanding horizons: empowering playworkers worldwide
If you’re a student on the Playworker Development Course, you might be interested to know we now have 236 students in 18 countries. We’re very proud to have students that represent or began some of the best playwork programming around.
Lastly, our latest online professional development opportunity is Playful Schools Online Course. This is a new, online-only course designed for anyone supporting play at recess or in after-school provision. This is a powerful opportunity to impact the lives of so many children, as well as a tricky situation to navigate. Our course provides case studies of projects we’ve supported, and guidance around several common barriers.
As always, we’ve continued to offer a steady flow of articles and links to encourage and connect you to all that’s out there! This is an interesting time in play, without a doubt. Since 2010 we’ve seen a dramatic rise in interest in adventure playgrounds and adventure play, and we’re proud to have a role in locating playwork at the heart of that conversation.
All of this is for you, beloved Friend of Pop-Ups, and none of it would be possible without your curiosity, interest and hard work. We support one another, to keep on supporting children’s play.
In short, 2017 may not have always been easy, but it has been an honour.
By Morgan