Our New Playground

The benefits of outdoor play

The conundrum:

As modern parents love it or hate it the internet and all it’s devices are here to stay … we find ourselves the first generation of parents that have to navigate the conundrum that the internet throws us and our kids. I know I spent the majority of my time as a kid outside, bike riding, footy in the park and Summers spent in the backyard pool or playing street cricket, & tennis along with hide and seek and chasey with our neighbourhood; I literally hated my parents calling me in for dinner. How times have changed; kids seem to be more inclined to be sitting indoors in heated or air conditioned comfort, they love their i pad more than the outdoors, love Netflix more than nature, and are replacing playtime with more screen time. It’s a sad situation and so many parents feel the same way, they are frustrated and concerned that their kids just seem to be spending more and more time inactive and indoors and addicted to tech.

Health concerns:

As parents we really should be concerned; there are numerous studies all pointing to the negative impact this is having on our kids health. The continued time spent inactive and immobile is affecting muscle and cognitive development, causing neck and spine strain, as well as causing eyesight problems, interrupting sleep patterns and prohibiting development in social and life skills.

Good News:

Research has discovered that there are numerous benefits to children playing outdoors: play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age learn to engage and interact in the world around and people around them.

Our solution:

We are so excited to be able to offer our all nature adventure playground to capture the kids imaginations and encourage them to be active and outdoors while staying at Airtree. The playground is being built in stages and currently offers the truck cubby house as the main attraction, our giant sand pit, super sized mud kitchen, and fishing boat … along with the succulent garden centre. More attractions and garden space will be built over time as we are still in the infancy stages of building the playground with the aim to be one of the most exciting nature playgrounds going.