Nature Play at the Greenville Zoo - Part 1

On a regular warm weekday, walking through the zoo you may see me sitting in the mulch with rocks, sticks and some animal figurines. Many people have inquired as to what exactly am I doing with the children. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the little known world of nature play that I forget how odd I must look, being a zoo employee, playing in the dirt. I am Kait Otero and I am the Nature Play Coordinator at the Greenville Zoo. My job is to facilitate nature based activities out on the zoo campus. If you have been following this blog you know I provide resources and ideas for nature based activities and crafts. However, I have never fully explained the theory of Nature Play. To answer those questions I will create a series of blogs to explain the importance of nature play, how a child can learn through play and how the Greenville Zoo is involved. 

Let’s start with the premise of this movement, Nature Play is a nature based “curriculum” focused on early childhood development. It is a growing movement with the help of zoos, aquariums, nature centers and other child orientated organizations across the nation. The main focus of Nature Play is pretty self-explanatory, getting children to play in nature. While they play, they are developing skills that meet classroom criteria in a more “natural” environment. There have been many articles written on the benefits and values of letting our kids play outdoors. One of the main benefits the Greenville Zoo focuses on is playing outdoors creates empathy for nature. This empathy gives them a base for becoming a more environmentally aware citizen. With all this talk about playing in nature and nature play programs, the idea may not be clear on how we actually play in nature. To some it may be a surprise that we do have boundaries as far as what meets the criteria. At first it can be confusing, you may be thinking “don’t you just let the children play?”. We definitely allow free choice in our nature play programs because the ideas and materials are mostly open ended. However there is more to just setting them free outdoors.

I recently attended a Nature Start conference at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. This conference was all about how to get nature play started at your zoo. They went over what is and what is not considered nature play, as well as how to guide children through their play. 

To start, it helps to have a dedicated nature play space but it is not necessary. You can bring nature into the classroom, which is a great introductory to nature play. To better emphasize the key points of a natural space, we look at the different playgrounds we would normally come across at our local parks and compare them with natural spaces. 

Most generic playgrounds are constructed from plastic and don’t allow much varied play. If you look at a basic playground, there are usually one way routes, and one ultimate goal of climbing up and sliding down. Now if you take a look at the nature based playground, you will see open spaces, different textured terrain to dig in and rocks or logs to climb on. With this space there are inherently more options for play. A child could dig, climb, balance, dance, jump, and create many worlds with their imagination. 

The third playground shown is our Nature Nook at the Greenville Zoo. We did not have a lot of available space but we made it work with adding a wooden balance beam, tree stumps, a chalk board, two xylophones and outdoor building blocks. This space has natural textures to enhance play as well as many different play options. The children can dig, jump, balance, create music, build and draw with chalk. Adding loose parts is one way to enhance these nature playgrounds or to incorporate in your classroom. Loose parts can be anything that allows manipulation by the child. These parts do not have to be expensive, they can be recycled items, things found in a backyard, or created from natural materials. Loose parts I frequently use are recycled boxes, old tires, sticks/branches, seed pods, and water. The goal is to get the children to use their imagination with natural materials. While they are engulfed in an imaginary world, they are learning and enhancing skills like social engagement, independent thinking, problem solving and motor functions. The big take away I see as a wildlife enthusiast, is the empathy they are creating for the nature around them. They are creating memories and special moments outdoors that will last a lifetime. These memories will help them become more environmentally aware citizens down the road and advocate the well-being of local habitats.  

The Greenville Zoo has been able to create the Nature Nook with the help of AZA and Walt Disney. These two organizations created a grant called, ‘Nature Play Begins at Your Zoo and Aquarium’. This grant enabled organizations to buy materials, build nature spaces, and even create job positions to improve and grow their Nature Play programs. We have been very lucky to receive this grant three years in a row. With our grants we have created the Nature Nook, started a family nature play club, built a water wall, hosts training opportunities for other local school teachers, and fund my part time position. Needless to say, this grant has fostered the movement and has opened doors for endless growth, for which we are grateful. I hope I have answered the question as to what is Nature Play! In the next blog we will be talking about how to facilitate nature play if you don’t have outdoor space and more tips from the Brookfield Zoo on how to guide children during play.   

Happy playing!