Playful Green Planet
News
BSU helps children to enjoy a new world of learning with the Playful Green Planet
Monday, 10 February, 2025Saplings from the Forest of Imagination are emerging across the UK. Introducing Playful Green Planet; an innovative new project set to help young children to connect with nature and community through outdoor creative play.
Playful Green Planet has been inspired by Forest of Imagination, an award-winning contemporary arts event, originating in Bath, inviting adults and children to connect with nature in a host of imaginative ways.
Research suggests that more than one in ten children do not visit a natural environment annually and four out of five lack a connection to nature at all. With expertise to share and the seeds sown, Bath Spa University teamed up with Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), House of Imagination, Eden Project and HundrED to create mini Forests of Imagination and mini-Edens focused solely on children.
The Playful Green Planet programme has been designed to identify spaces and communities in urban contexts and economically disadvantaged areas to transform them into ecologically thriving outdoor spaces that encourage children’s capabilities, nature connection and social activism.
Dr Penny Hay, Professor of Imagination at BSU and Co-founder of Forest of Imagination said:
“Playful Green Planet is a fantastic co-designed project bringing new partners on board to create beautiful green spaces for and with children and their families.”
As the project starts to take root, funding from The National Lottery Community Fund has made it possible to introduce pilots of this innovative project in its first two areas. Coldside, one of the most economically disadvantaged areas in Dundee, Scotland, and a set of sites at the University of Hull in East Yorkshire.
Each of these areas’ transformations will be led by Playful Green Planet Stewards – local environmental and social experts – to ensure spaces and experiences are co-created with local children and communities. This may involve transforming a neglected space, scaling-up an existing community programme or making spaces more accessible for all.
Andrew Grant, Director of landscape architects Grant Associates and Co-founder of Forest of Imagination said:
“The Playful Green Planet initiative provides an exciting new framework for implementing Forest of Imagination type projects across the UK. I am delighted to see that one of the first to be trialled will be in my original home city of Hull. Connecting children with nature through inspiring experiences is at the heart of any Forest of Imagination and I look forward to seeing how each new project develops.”
The Dundee site will be overseen by a coalition between the Maxwell Community Centre and Garden, and ‘Toadstool Trails’ – a woodland sculpture project led by local artists, and the Dundee Medical School Healthcare Improvement Team.
In Hull, the transformation will be led by the University of Hull’s School of Education alongside the University of Hull Forest School. Their aim is to support children’s learning, from early years upwards, through the creation of ‘environments of inquiry’ across the University’s green spaces.
The first phase of the programme aims to reach 2000 children after the first year. It is hoped to expand it to 200,000 children in five years as the initiative secures partnerships for more sites around the country, working in partnership with the charity Land Trust.
Launching this landmark programme alongside the coalition of partners, RSA brings many years of experience in working collectively to enable people, places and the planet to flourish in harmony.
Dr Joanna Choukeir, Director of Design and Innovation at the RSA said:
“With our partners, we want to equip a generation of young leaders with the confidence and capabilities to connect with, care for, and regenerate people, places and planet.”
The local stewards will be supported by the Eden Project, which will bring its expertise in developing nature-based spaces and activities for children.
Tim Smit, Co-founder of the Eden Project, said:
“We are delighted to work with the RSA on this landmark project which puts nature at the heart of a radical new approach to education.
“Playful Green Planet will start by transforming locations in Dundee and Hull, creating thriving outdoor classrooms to reach those children left behind by traditional education routes. We look forward to seeing this go from strength to strength in the years ahead.”