Natural Playgrounds Toolkit

A manual for building playgrounds out of locally available resources.

The Natural Playgrounds Toolkit helps to develop a deeper understanding of the importance of play in early learning and provides teachers, parents and communities with the knowledge and skills to build a playground for young children out of locally available resources.

The toolkit is a manual designed for you as a grade R teacher, early childhood development practitioner, community development worker, and all other interested stakeholders to study individually or as a group.

The toolkit is divided into five sections that represent the different steps within the process of establishing a natural playground. In the toolkit you will find a toolbox of practical tools and samples that will help you consider everything necessary to make a success of your project. The toolkit will guide you through the whole process of establishing a natural playground in collaboration with parents and your local community.

Penreach, with the support of the Roger Federer Foundation, piloted the natural playgrounds project to establish a cost-effective educational outdoor environment that covers all spheres of a child’s development using natural products that can be sourced locally, within the community or surrounding areas.