Recently I have found myself in front of groups of people trying to explain what nature play is and what it looks like. The general concept is easy to grasp: nature and play. But, once we get down to specifics like materials, risk and maintenance a little more definition is needed. I think we all have a different picture in our head on what nature play looks like and getting on the same page at the beginning of a conversation or project can save a lot of headaches later. I have started presenting nature play on continuums. The imagery and concepts start to steer us towards more comfortable areas of the continuum for everyone involved.
I have found it helpful because different types of clients gravitate to different issues and continuums. Private and supervised sites can have a very different feel (focused toward an age group, more loose parts, more 'wild' maintenance) then open and public sights (vandalism proof, higher budget, larger target user group). What do you think? would this help you frame the conversation?
