Urban Discovery urges schools, councils and communities to recognise the spaces around children as essential to children’s learning, regulation and wellbeing.
The spaces children move through every day quietly shape how they think, feel, connect and learn.
A log can become a bridge, a balancing beam or the beginning of a story. A patch of soil can become a laboratory. A quiet pocket of planting can become the place a child goes to breathe, observe and settle. A garden can become a classroom, a refuge and a living system that helps children understand the world.
This is the thinking behind Urban Discovery, a Melbourne-based design, construction and consultancy company specialising in regenerative, therapeutic and play-based spaces.
Founded by educator and landscape designer Jenn Reed, Urban Discovery is calling on schools, kindergartens, hospitals, councils and community organisations to rethink the environments they create for children, and to recognise nature-rich spaces around children for play as essential infrastructure for learning, behaviour, wellbeing and belonging.
The call comes as research continues to support what many educators see every day. The Australian Institute of Family Studies’ 2024 review of nature play and child wellbeing found that nature contact can support children’s social and emotional wellbeing, with playing in nature linked to confidence, resilience, emotional regulation, social connection and learning.
According to Jenn, children’s environments should be treated as active participants in development, rather than the spare ground left after the building is complete.
“Children are always reading the world around them,” Jenn said. “They read the ground beneath their feet, the plants around them, the places where they can hide, climb, gather, rest, test themselves and make their own decisions.
“When a space is fixed and adult-led, it tells children what to do. When a space is alive, layered and full of possibility, it invites children to think, move, negotiate, imagine and belong.”
From playgrounds to habitats for play
Jenn began exploring the relationship between children and nature-rich environments after 20 years in childhood education, where she saw the impact outdoor spaces could have on learning, behaviour, confidence and joy.
She said that background, changes the design questions from the beginning.
“What is the indigenous condition of this land?” “How will a child enter this space? Where will they feel safe? Where will they feel brave? Where can they move their whole body? Where can they be with others? Where can they be alone? Where can they take a risk and discover they are capable?” Jenn said.
“That is the difference between designing a children’s outdoor area and designing a habitat for play.”
Urban Discovery’s habitats for play bring together planting, logs, rocks, sand, water, loose parts, edible gardens, habitat features, gathering places, movement opportunities and quiet spaces for retreat.
Jenn said these elements give children choice, challenge, sensory input and freedom to interpret a space on their own terms.
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ clinical report, The Power of Play, says developmentally appropriate play supports social-emotional, cognitive, language and self-regulation skills, while helping children build relationships with caregivers and peers.
A stronger standard for children’s environments
Urban Discovery wants education, health, planning and community leaders to move beyond standardised playground thinking and invest in habitats for play that reflect the full complexity of childhood.
Jenn said the built environment around children should be judged by more than compliance, durability and ease of maintenance.
“Of course, children’s spaces need to be safe and practical,” Jenn said.
“However, they also need to be beautiful, sensory, inclusive, layered, generous and alive.
“If we want children to become confident learners, resilient people, thoughtful community members and future stewards of the earth, we need to give them environments that make those things possible.
“These spaces matter because children are shaped by the world they are allowed to touch, test, care for and belong to.”
For more information, visit urbandiscovery.com.au.
