Needham Playpark Update

Needham Playpark update

Hi all,

Well I promised I’d keep everyone up to date with the ideas for an outdoor play space in Needham, so here we are. Spring has sprung and though there are many jobs to do around the garden as it comes to life, I am committed to this idea of creating an outdoor space where people of all ages can come together, meet one another and strengthen community ties in our lovely village.

Our intention is to create an outdoor community space that everyone can enjoy. Yes. A playpark, but not just for children! Rather, it will be an attractive area that everyone can enjoy. The wider the interests, the greater the possibilities! So please put on your thinking hats and come and help imagine, build, create and tend a wonderful new space with us – whether its slides, swings, football goals, exercise equipment, sculptures, benches or flowers, we would love to know what you think….

Enclosed in this month’s Needham Link is a survey that is the first stage of really guaging the level of interest in this project around the village. Please take a moment to fill it in as it will play a key part in the Playpark future decisions, giving us some useful statistics to work with. So PLEASE fill it in and return it to: Needham Playpark Committee, 103 High Road, Needham, IP20 9LG. Thank you in advance for doing it.

Team Playpark is a newly forming Committee comprised of children, parents, grandparents and community members. The more supporters we have, the more possible this project becomes, so please make yourself known if you would like to join in the fun – there are many different ways you could be involved, so please ask and we will find a niche in the group that is just right for you!

And if you’d like to know more...

A bit of background: With the dwindling of village primary schools, the younger children of Needham are scattered between Harleston, Mendham and Pulham Primaries (that I know of) so have little chance of meeting one another, whilst older children are even more far flung between Bungay High, Archbishop Sancroft and Hartismere (in Eye) to name a few. We need to give them the opportunity to meet one another, and be outdoors together...

So

Recent research into public spaces (by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation) shows:

■ Public spaces (including playgrounds) play a vital role in the social life of communities. They act as a ‘self-organising public service’, a shared resource in which experiences and value are created (Mean and Tims, 2005).

■ Public spaces offer many benefits such as the ‘feel-good’ buzz, the therapeutic benefits of quiet time spent on a park bench, opportunities for children and young people to meet, play or simply ‘hang out’. All have important benefits and help to create local attachments, which are at the heart of a sense of community.

The proven benefits of outdoor play include:

■ Gives children a chance to burn off energy

■ Can be calming and allow children to "recharge" their energy levels

■ Helps children learn to interact with and understand the natural world

■ Offers a chance for more social interaction with peers

■  Helps to develop their powers of observation and their assessment of risk

■ Offers more opportunities for creativity and free play

■  Helps to build a strong link between physical health and outdoor play, at a young age

Other important evidence shows that:

■  Almost all children (and adults) have a "natural attraction" to the outdoors, playing outside, and learning about nature.

■  Being outside and playing outside is vital to a child's growth, and their physical and mental development; it's important to allow and encourage our kids to spend lots of time in the natural world. 

■  They can "connect" with the outdoors and nature; if children are outside, they will find any number of ways to play in natural settings.

■  By interacting often with nature, and with other children outside, it helps to stimulate the curiosity and creativity of children, and also boosts their confidence as they learn new things.

■  Outdoor time is vital for children of all ages, but it's especially good for younger children to learn and grow as they explore.

Ways we can support this:

It is good for ALL of us to spend time outside. In this increasingly technology obsessed society it can be hard work getting our children outside, so the more opportunities we can provide for outdoor play, exploration and games, the healthier our children will grow and the better chances they have of experiencing all of the benefits mentioned above.

This will be a space that we will all be able to use and enjoy together.

Please support it!

Thank you for reading this.  The committee hopes that you will find time to fill in the survey that was enclosed with your paper copy of the latest edition of the Link. 

Fairlie Winship