Omihi School

This project was a collaboration between ourselves and Natureflow. Woodland Escape managed the design and planting and Natureflow managed the build.

We were invited to support Omihi school to design a new playspace in early 2021. The old playground was being removed to make way for a new building and there was interest in changing the type of playspace to replace it. The children had already created their wish list and we were invited to meet with them so they could talk us through what they wanted and why. From these conversations we drafted a plan and went back to the school to consult with the students. We managed to incorporate most of what the children had asked for and were able to explain why some elements weren’t able to be included.

The school was fantastic at keeping the children at the centre of the design process, recognising that they were the ones who would be using the space. The students helped us design the river water play area after doing a field trip to one of their favourite creeks so they could observe how nature ‘designs’. We marked the general layout onsite and they let us know where water should pool and gave us feedback on rock placement. Most of the rocks for the waterplay area were donated by one of the families, sourced and delivered from their family farm. The students worked with Natureflow to figure out the placement of the holds on the climbing wall and worked with us to do all the planting. It was a rewarding experience to support their community to create a space that worked for them and that they felt a connection to.

"Emma and her team from Woodland Escape were a dream to work with. They worked with our students, and took the time to find out about our kura and our values, to design a playground that met our needs, and our students' ideas. Emma was always professional to deal with, and shared great ideas along the way, as well as working alongside the team at Nature Flow to create the playground. We absolutely love the end product!"

Maree Lucus, principal at Omihi School