Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds worked with the team at Rising Oaks Childcare Centres to create sensory-rich outdoor learning environments for a number of their facilities.

Rich with child development opportunities, the space features a sand & water area with activity table, mud kitchen, water stump, acrylic panes and an accessible horizontal log border. Here, children are able to focus on process-based tasks without a prescriptive result; creativity is at the forefront. Our design team made a concerted e ort to include substantial plantings to create shade while providing loose parts and an opportunity for children to interact with nature in their space. Serviceberry plantings allow for fort building and a quiet-contemplative zone, the deciduous plantings provide shade in the spring/summer and loose parts in the fall, while conifers provide year-round cover. The addition of border elements such as our carved log loveseat and vertical log clusters provide opportunities for motor-planning and propriceptive, vestibular and kinaesthic stimulus. The space also includes our hanging Amadinda (for creative/musical), a spiral log bench surrounding a fledgling Maple, and planter boxes where burgeoning minds will learn about plant life cycles and growth.