The playscape at the University of Guelph Child Care and Learning Centre (CCLC), completed in 2019, sets an aspirational standard for children's outdoor spaces in Canada. Reflecting the latest research on child development and the importance of restorative nature connections, the design presents young children with opportunities to play and learn in explorative ways, experience self-directed risky play, and navigate environments that are rich and complex. It is this sophistication that particularly distinguishes CCLC from other outdoor child care spaces which often lack complexity.
Stemming from the position that Canadian children are capable and entitled to grow up in spaces that are multifaceted with affordances, materials, plantings, navigation patterns and ideas, the CCLC design combines safety regulations with the 7C's of playspaces (a guide developed through a multi-year Canadian study): character, context, connectivity, change, chance, clarity, and challenge. With 50 varieties of trees, shrubs, grasses and perennials, the playground echoes the very nature of childhood - growth. The design was developed by Landscape Architects and designers at Earthscape Play in close collaboration with the CCLC educators and administrators, ensuring the centre's pedagogical intentions and ongoing research into child development are both reflected in and facilitated going forward.
