As kids grow, playing helps them stay fit and sparks their imagination. It's essential for building confidence, making friends, and learning to share. If there's no playground nearby, creating one can connect families and kids in the community.
Designing and building a playground is an exciting project that requires enthusiasm and careful planning. This playground planning guide covers all the essential steps, from initial ideas to final construction, to help you create a fun and immersive playground for local kids.
Considerations When Making a Playground Project Plan
When you start your playground planning process, it's good to know what you want to achieve and check if there are any rules from your city or school that you need to follow. Knowing these things will help you figure out how to plan your playground and where to begin.
1. Who Will Use the Playground?
When planning your playground, thinking about who will play there is crucial. This helps you pick the right equipment for different age groups and abilities.
- Age: When selecting age-appropriate playground equipment, it's crucial to consider the size and developmental stage of the children who will be using it. Equipment suitable for a 5-year-old might not be the best fit for a 12-year-old and could be too large for a toddler. Always choose items that align with the age group and size of the kids to ensure their safety and enjoyment.
- Accessibility: Make sure everyone can enjoy the playground. Follow the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design, including play equipment that kids of all abilities can use, like ramps and accessible swings.
- Numbers: Consider how many kids will play at once. Will it be busy with whole classes at recess or just a few kids after school?
- Theme: Consider a theme that matches who's playing. For a school, you might use school colors. For a park, natural colors or a specific play theme can spark kids' imaginations.
2. How Much Space Do You Have?
When setting up a playground in your city or town, consider the amount of play space you have. Is there an ample space or just a small spot? Will there be different sections for different ages?
Remember, the playground isn't just the equipment. A soft surface should extend at least 6 feet from the equipment's edges to keep it safe. You may need more play areas around slides and swings.
3. Are You Building From Scratch or Adding to an Existing Playground?
Before starting a project, consider whether you're building a new playground, fixing up old equipment, or just adding new stuff while keeping the old.
If you're updating an old playground, decide if you want to keep some old pieces or replace everything. If you're adding to an existing playground, figure out how much room you have between and around the play structures.
4. What Is Your Timeline?
Rome wasn't built in a day, and the same goes for playgrounds. If planning a playground for your neighborhood park, consider the best time to open it.
Starting your plans in late summer or early fall could work well if you want the playground ready by spring. If it's for a school, beginning in early spring should give you enough time to finish by the new school year.
Most importantly, make sure your goals for finishing the playground are realistic.
5. What Is Your Budget?
How much money you have will affect what you can do. It's important to know where your money will come from.
Do you already have the money or need to organize events to raise more? Raising money means you can afford better equipment and a more extensive playground.
If you start with a set amount, you must plan for what you can afford. This might mean skipping some parts of the playground or making it smaller.
Key factors that should be considered when determining your budget:
- Inspections
- Excavation
- Removal of existing equipment (if necessary)
- Soil removal
- Drainage
- Site restoration
- Surfacing
Analyzing the Playground Site and Determining Your Needs
Your playground's location affects many parts of your project. For instance, the ground's slope and type of soil can mean a lot of work to prepare the area for equipment.
The playground location makes it easier or harder for people to use and reach it. Here's what to check when looking at the playground site:
Slope
Parents and teachers don't want kids playing in muddy, puddly spots. The slope, or tilt of the land, helps water drain away instead of pooling. Ideally, the ground should slope enough to keep water moving.
Soil type
Some soils hold more water than others, affecting how well the area drains. For example, sandy soil drains well but might be too loose to be stable.
Nearby vegetation
Trees around the play area can offer shade, making it cooler on hot days. However, the roots might make landscaping tricky. While plants can make the playground look nicer, consider whether they attract bugs or need special care. Choosing local, low-maintenance plants is usually best.
Weather conditions
Watch the weather at the site throughout the day. If it gets very hot in the afternoon, it might be too warm in summer. A very windy spot might be challenging for kids.
What's underneath
Consider buried utility lines like power or gas when digging. Check with local utility companies to ensure no lines are under your playground site.
What's nearby
A playground close to bathrooms, picnic tables, or parking is better and easier to get to than one far away in the park. Also, check how close it is to major roads and if there will be fences to keep kids safe from traffic.
Tips for Funding Your Playground
Building a new playground also means buying new equipment. Luckily, the company you buy from might have ways to help you pay for it so you can start building immediately.
Park N Play is dedicated to transforming playground projects into reality despite budget constraints by tracking all available playground grants and fundraising opportunities across Canada.
Apart from the cost of the playground equipment, it would be best if you also planned for:
- Inspections
- Digging up the area
- Taking out old equipment (if needed)
- Removing soil
- Managing water drainage
- Fixing up the site
- Putting in the ground cover
Once you add up the total cost for everything you want in the playground, make that your budget goal. Look at the money you already have for this project and think about how to get any extra money you need. Here are some common ways to raise funds:
Donors
Contact local businesses and community leaders who want to support your playground. Look for those who have shown interest in similar projects before.
Talk to these potential donors and build a strong relationship with them to keep them involved and interested in your project over time.
Grants
Your playground might qualify for grants from foundations, companies, individuals, or the government. Search for grants in big cities near you and apply early, as applications take time to process.
Try to apply for many grants to increase your chances of securing funding. Consider working with someone specializing in writing grant applications to make your stand out.
The team offers assistance in crafting strong grant applications and provides pricing and design options tailored to grant requirements. While no centralized database exists for these grants, available opportunities are organized by location, deadlines, details, and funding amounts.
For eligibility and further assistance, fill out the contact form, and a local Park N Play representative will guide you through the following steps.
Fundraising
Your community is an excellent resource for raising money. Organize fundraising events like bake sales, auctions, talent shows, or 5K runs to highlight the playground's importance and encourage community support. Every little bit helps when everyone chips in.
Sometimes, securing funds from the community and key stakeholders is crucial for building playgrounds. Park N Play offers fundraising strategy assistance on a case-by-case basis, not as a standard service for all clients.
If you need help with fundraising strategies, fill out the contact form with your project details. A local Park N Play representative will contact you to discuss the next steps.
Phasing
Consider building your playground step-by-step, depending on your budget and the money you expect to spend later. This method lets you set up parts of the playground one at a time, which can help keep costs easier to handle.
Modular equipment is handy because it allows you to easily add pieces to what you've already built, changing things to fit your plans.
Choosing Equipment for Your Playground
Today's playgrounds have more than just swings and slides. In the commercial playground industry, you can pick equipment for different ages that everyone can use and even themed setups. Playgrounds can have bridges, climbing towers, and interactive panels.
Consider standalone items like spring riders and climbers shaped like geodesic domes. When choosing playground equipment, think about the kids who will use it.
If you need clarification on what they'd like, why not ask them? Let kids sketch their perfect playgrounds and use their ideas to help you decide.
You could also gather a group of kids and their parents to look at different playground designs, themes, and site amenities. Ask them what they like or don't like about each design, what catches their eye, and if there's anything special they'd want to see in the playground.
Developing Playground Project Plans
When planning a playground, it's essential to consider how to arrange the equipment to fit both your specific needs and budget. Working with a playground design expert can be beneficial at this stage, as they can help select the most appropriate options for your project.
The design expert will focus on several key aspects:
- Material Selection: Common materials like wood and metal are often avoided due to their tendency to wear and deteriorate quickly. The choice of material might depend on the local climate and environmental conditions.
- Playground Style: The playground's style can range from vibrant and colorful to more subdued and naturalistic. Themes can vary from specific motifs like fire trucks or outer space to modern designs. The expert will guide you in choosing a style that complements the surroundings.
- Layout and Equipment: The planning will involve deciding on the type and arrangement of playground components tailored to the age and number of children expected to use the facility. For example, areas for toddlers might be expanded if they are the primary users compared to older children.
Preparing the Site for Installation
Once you have a plan, the next step is to prepare the playground site for installation. The work needed depends on how the site looks before you start.
If there is old playground equipment, you'll need to remove it if you're redoing the whole area. If the equipment is still in good shape, you can give it to another group. If not, you could recycle it or sell it for scrap.
You might need to flatten the ground if it's too slanted. You may also need to improve the soil to help with drainage or to make the ground firmer.
This is a good time to refer to your playground planning checklist and contact utility companies to check for underground lines or confirm that the area is clear. Once the ground is prepared and the utility lines are marked, you can outline where the playground will go and start digging.
It's also wise to have a certified playground safety inspector involved to ensure everything meets safety standards.
Installing the Playground
You can set up your playground installation in several ways. One is to have a professional team take care of it.
Another way, which is getting more popular, is to organize a community building. In a community building, a group of volunteers does the hard work of setting up the playground, guided by an expert who knows how to do it right.
Community builds have some advantages over hiring professionals. For one, they make people feel more connected to the playground because they helped build it.
They also strengthen the relationship between community organizations or local governments and the community members. Plus, community builds are cheaper since you're not paying for labor.
Maintaining the Playground
After all the hard work of building a playground, keeping it in good shape is vital so it lasts a long time.
- Follow a repair and maintenance schedule: Maintain the playground equipment by following care and repair guidelines. Check it regularly for wear or damage to ensure it is working well.
- Hold community cleanup days: To keep the playground and surrounding park clean, organize community cleanup events. These events help people stay connected and take pride in their local playground.
- Manage vegetation: Keep the area around the playground tidy. Trim trees and bushes to stop them from overgrowing, which can block views, cause tripping, or attract pests.
Build Your Dream Playground with Park N Play
A well-designed playground enhances community spirit and provides kids with a fun, safe space for many years. Park N Play leverages over two decades of experience in playground construction, offering a guide that covers planning, site selection, equipment choices, and funding.
It also addresses budgeting, accessibility, and inclusivity. If you're considering a new or upgraded playground, contact Park N Play Design for expert advice and innovative solutions to bring your playground vision to life.
Ready, set, play!
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