Sustainable Playground Design: Creating Commercial Playground Equipment that Lasts

Lately I’ve found that long-lasting commercial playground equipment is more important than ever in this down economy. Not only is it environmentally friendly, but sustainable playground design ensures that you get the most out of your investment. It is clearly worthwhile to invest in sustainability. Some of the benefits of sustainable playground design include:

• lower commercial playground equipment maintenance

• lower costs

• lower environmental impact

Approaches to sustainable playground design are not necessarily simple though. In fact, recycling can be counterproductive for commercial playground equipment because it is so expensive. Due to low reusability, recycling in playgrounds often amounts to a trash control solution with a high environmental cost. Recycled plastic parts, such as polyethylene plastic, are both difficult to repair and virtually unusable for anything but their intended purpose. My long-term prediction is that recycled parts for commercial playground equipment will begin to be manufactured with an eye to their second life. This will ensure that recycling costs are kept low. Other strategies for sustainable commercial playground equipment design include: the use of renewable resources, profiting from local resources, and the use of organic materials for greater durability.

I also think it’s important to develop specific techniques for sustainable and affordable commercial playground equipment design. For example, instead of dismantling an entire swing set, sustainable playground design would entail a sturdy, long-lasting frame. Rather than replacing the whole swing set, only suspension cords and seat should need sporadic replacement. ElephantPlay commercial playground swing sets were created with this kind of design in mind. They feature durable cable connections to minimize wear over time. With simple assemblies and easy repair, city workers can easily recondition commercial playground equipment themselves with very little new material.

For further information about sustainable and low-maintenance commercial playground equipment design, feel free to check out ElephantPlay’s high-quality materials and low-maintenance playground designs.

Outdoor Swing Sets, Rotating Nets, and Outdoor Basketball Hoops: The Cognitive Benefits of Commercial Playground Equipment

Commercial playground equipment is a great way to stimulate kids and get them moving. From outdoor swing sets to outdoor basketball hoops, playground equipment gets kids out in the beautiful outdoors instead of sitting in front of a TV. Commercial playground equipment is more than a way to get children exercising, though. I recently read an article in Playground magazine which supported what I have always believed: that most commercial playground equipment—from climbing nets to rotating nets, outdoor swing sets to outdoor basketball hoops—can also stimulate children developmentally and cognitively. In the December 2008 article “Restoring Risky Play to Playgrounds: The Developmental Benefits”, Professor Joe Frost from the University of Texas addresses the importance of play to children’s cognitive development. Commercial playground equipment offers space for kids to play and learn, and according to Frost, various forms of play can “contribute to the development of pre-concepts valuable for social success and later academic learning”. This is why it is so critical that commercial playground equipment offer high play value as well as diverse play structures adapted to all ages.

As I mentioned in a prior blog posting on commercial playground equipment safety, a preoccupation with safety can be detrimental to play value. In many ways this overemphasis defeats the very purpose of commercial playgrounds. That’s why I try to inject new and cognitively stimulating designs in all my commercial playground equipment, like climbing nets and rotating nets. Creative design strategies, such as multi-user designs and movement-based concepts, can contribute added developmental benefits beyond just the physical to commercial playground equipment.

For example, ElephantPlay’s outdoor swing sets and outdoor basketball hoops offer social stimulation. The large outdoor swing sets can accommodate multiple children and leave space for obese children to play. Their distinctness from single-user commercial playground equipment swing sets are meant to spark the imaginations of children—creating room for possibility, for camaraderie, and for teamwork. ElephantPlay outdoor basketball hoops also create a space for stimulating social play, with bright multi-game outdoor basketball hoops. This commercial playground equipment design features double, triple, or quadruple nets centered around a central post. The concept creates the possibility for multiple games and inspires healthy interaction among different children. But it’s important for kids to be challenged in other ways. In the Playground article, Dr. Frost underlines the “multiple cognitive benefits resulting from practice in organizing, negotiating, following play scripts, learning language, and problem-solving.” I firmly believe that innovative commercial playground equipment can and should inspire these practices. That’s why I try to create both safe and challenging commercial playground equipment. For instance, movement-based commercial playground equipment creates a physical challenge, and climbing-based playground equipment creates a goal—to reach the top. Climbing nets in particular require kids to plan and strategize how they will reach their goal. Nets with creative designs force kids to come up with creative climbing strategies and develop spatial cognition. Rotating nets in particular require an intuitive grasp of torque and gravity (whether or not kids know what these words mean!).

Want a visual example of cognitively stimulating commercial playground equipment? ElephantPlay’s rotating climbing nets encourage children to collaborate in spinning and climbing. They require balance and communication and force kids to work together and develop beyond just the physical. Kids have the opportunity to develop teamwork skills, even outside the classroom. Watch a recent ElephantPlay commercial playground equipment video to see how rotating nets require teamwork and an intuitive grasp of movement and physics.