Welcome To ‘The Land’, The Perfect Place To Explore And Learn

A space full of possibilities…supposedly not a safe place to play, but one where you can learn to play safely.

What makes the perfect playground?

It’s hard to imagine that there could be any such thing, because the word perfect will have different connotations for different people.

If you are a parent, for instance, it might be a stretch of land, with perfectly-spaced equipment, soft-landing pads underfoot, with no little nooks and crannies where children can catch their fingers, and no real heights for them to fall and maybe break a limb.

But that’s not reality.

Nor is it exciting.

And where would be the learning?

Play is very much about:

• risk-taking
• assessing
• freedom to evaluate
• skill-building
• experiencing different terrains and
• getting the odd skelf!

However, these days, many parents call for safe playgrounds, and professional planners respond to their call. At the same time they deliberately factor in an element of risk, as opposed to looking for hazards.

• Equipment, such as climbing rocks or 3-dimensional rope play, may look risky. But climbing is one of the best activities for cognitive and physical development.
• Spinning is important for proper brain development. Because it is a highly active form of play, it should be placed where it won’t cause accidents.

Why are playgrounds necessary in the first place?

Because that’s where serious learning takes place, and where children are fully-engaged in:

• swinging
• spinning,
• climbing
• sliding
• balancing
• brachiating…as in monkeys swinging from one branch to another.

Kids are in their element when they are free to experiment, and take risks, and you can’t get that when you are staying safe all the time.

But what if your children have no real place to play?

Maybe you live in a not-so-upmarket apartment, one where there aren’t too many facilities, and where as a parent, your heart screams for fairness for your children.

Is it too much to ask that your children should be catered for just like other children?

Sadly, there are places where the fairness fairy has simply not done her job, resulting in short-changed children who have no place to go to let off steam, to use their pent-up energy, to learn and connect with others.

So I want to tell you about a place that seemingly flies in the face of safety, a place where you can light fires, a place where you experiment and learn how to have fun, but at the same time be responsible.

Welcome to The Land, an adventure playground in Wales, a place that is reflective of how things used to be before helicopter parenting came into vogue.

This is a radical departure from standard safety-conscious playgrounds, one that encourages kids to experiment with tools, junk, and combustible materials.

It also captured the imagination of a film maker.

‘Approaching on a grey, rainy April day, Plas Madoc doesn’t look too promising. An estate of 850 houses, seven miles from Wrexham in north Wales, it features high on the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation and has been known locally as Cardboard City and Smack Madoc. There’s one shop for all the residents. The leisure centre — a shining light with its “lagoon”, climbing wall, squash courts and trampoline — has just shut down because of cuts in funding.

‘But there is something. If you know your way through the maze, you can find a fenced-off grassy area marked with a sign that reads, “The Land. A Space Full of Possibilities.” Go through the gate and your first thought may well be that it’s a junkyard. In a space 55m squared, with a brook running through it, you’ll see piles of pallets, a tonne of tyres, the odd upside-down boat, wheelbarrows, ladders, fishing nets, various stray hammers (courtesy of Poundland), ropes and punch bags.’

Imagine having the freedom to swing from trees, start fires, (there’s always a bucket of water, or two, close by, plus an adult surreptitiously in the background!), experiment with tools, build forts from rubbish tossed…sounds like risky business…a place where where kids are free to ‘be’.

Children who play on ‘The Land’, enjoy a freedom and trust denied to so many children today. They go once, get hooked on the creativity, and can’t wait to go back. Something worthwhile must be happening.

The Land looks very much like a scrapyard, where kids can jump off shipping containers, build forts from old mattresses, climb trees, and don’t shy away from danger, and yet, there’s a sense of order here.

Nothing is permanent. Structures and dams arise from the dreams and initiatives of the kids who play there. This is a place where children are free to try new things.There’s a sense of trust inherent in what they do.

The Land is a place where children forge new friendships, where ingenuity is built on, and surprising outcomes achieved.

That’s what growing and developing is all about. It doesn’t happen in super-controlled environments, on safe playgrounds, or in areas where parents, or supervisors are determinedly in control.

The thing is, our children’s wings are there from birth, and as parents, it’s our job to allow them to build and strengthen them, to learn and try new things, and to be trusted to do so.

Trust is everything. It gives them their roots, the confidence to try, but exposure allows their wings to soar.

There’s something bittersweet about seeing our children become independent of us for the very first time. We’re never quite ready for it. But there’s no doubt that the bitter pales into insignificance when we see the pride in achievement written on their faces.

Our job as parents is to allow our children to be creative, not to be fearful, for that stifles creativity. Children can’t move forward in an atmosphere of protection.

For a child everywhere and anywhere can be a playground. The Land is a place where nobody tells you what to do. It’s a place for exploration and endless opportunity, and for these children in Wales, a place where they easily demonstrate how strong they are, and how smart they can be.

Welcome to The Land, where the highest of research, takes place.