Getting More From Your Outdoor Environment

Foreword

Since 1990, Urban Landscape Projects has been designing and constructing outdoor environments for childcare centres across Greater Sydney.

Over that time, we have worked alongside educators, centre directors, operators and children. We have seen how a thoughtfully created playspace can become much more than an outdoor area. It can support learning, wellbeing, confidence, connection and a stronger sense of community.

We have also learned that the landscape is only part of the story.

The real value of an outdoor environment is brought to life through the people who use it every day. Children bring curiosity, imagination and play. Educators bring knowledge, care and an understanding of where that play might lead. The landscape provides the possibilities.

This guide brings together what we have learned through decades of designing, building, observing and discussing childcare environments. It is informed by recognised early learning frameworks, but grounded in the practical realities of everyday centre life.

It is not intended to tell educators how to do their jobs. It is a collection of ideas, observations and possibilities to help centres make more of the outdoor environment they already have - through play, learning, nature, care and community.

We hope it helps you see your yard with fresh eyes and discover even more of what it can offer.

Where play, learning and landscape meet

The richest outdoor experiences are created together.

Children do not wait to be shown how to play. They test ideas, invent worlds, repeat actions, seek challenge and make connections. Their play gives meaning to the places around them.

Educators add something equally important. They know the children. They can recognise when an idea is gathering momentum, protect it from interruption and offer the right word, question, material or encouragement at the right moment.

The landscape completes the relationship. Changes in level invite movement. A quiet nook invites closeness. Sand and water invite transformation. Planting brings texture, scent, habitat and the passing of time.

None replaces the others. Together they create an environment where learning feels natural because it grows from real experience.

When an experience is working beautifully, notice all three parts: what the child brought, what the educator supported and what the landscape made possible.