Archive | Healthy Activity

  Wollongong City Council successfully opened their newest play space at Ray Crump Oval, Primbee to a large cheer from local school students! As part of a community consultation process, the enthusiastic kids from Primbee Public School worked with members of council to help design the new playground at Ray Crump Oval. In attendance on the day were some of the designers, who were busy admiring their vision and skills as they gave the new equipment its first good test drive.  With several Moduplay employees in attendance, the event seemed to have an impact on them – giving them a fresh perspective on just how much their work can impact a community.  It was great to see pure joy just…

Can you build a playground for $500.00 or less? A local Australian charity, Playground Ideas, is doing just that in poverty stricken communities all over the world, where no playground was available before. We believe every child needs the opportunity to play, no matter where they happened to have been born. Because, above all else, we know the ability to engage in free unhindered play builds creativity, which in turn is a critical skill for lifting people out of poverty. Need proof of that? Check out this page of the Playground Ideas website. Moduplay is a platinum sponsor of the team at Playground Ideas    

Shoalhaven City Council Mayor Amanda Findley & Member for Kiama Gareth Ward were on hand to officially open the newly rejuvenated play space in the scenic Cambewarra Village. The Cambewarra Residents and Ratepayers were the driving force for the project, succesfully receiving $45,000 from the NSW Community Parterships Grant towards the new playground. Mr Ward praised the community spirit shown to get the project up and running: Rarely does the Cambewarra community ask for much. I fought hard to ensure Council would match our contribution to provide this wonderful equipment for local families. It’s not a cost to Government, it’s an investment in the community. Going on to say: The park now includes Moduplay swings, climbing equipment, balancing logs, climbing…

There is a renewed interest, awareness and priority being given to children’s play. The world over. Of course, it’s a tired cliche to say “It was different when we were young”. But the fact remains, it is a different society we are in now. And most children don’t have the same opportunities for free and unlimited play as earlier generations had. However, there is a movement underway. And there seems to be a whole army of quiet achievers going about the task of bringing play back. Bringing it back to the forefront of the minds of community planners, local authorities and educators. Bringing the concept of play back to the attention of parents and caregivers, that know the value of play,…

At what cost do we keep developing smaller and smaller house lots? Have you ever noticed that suburbs 5-10 years old still look quite new from a distance? Simple reason for that. There’s nowhere to plant trees between the houses without upsetting neighbours or tree roots getting into drains. Backyards get hotter (less pleasant places to be), houses have to be air-conditioned when the weather hits the low 20’s and whole suburbs end up hotter. The standard 1/4 acre block won’t reappear but is it time to have a rethink about block sizes and making space for something other than bricks and tiles? There are ways this could be addressed with little effect on the actual number of families living…

I remember reading an article a while ago that pointed out that the big difference between traditional play, that many of us knew as children, and engaging with digital media (computer games, xBox, etc) as a form of play for children, is that the device is in control. Children lose their need and sense of creativity to keep the fun going. The device decides when the game is over, not the child. Creativity is like any other naturally acquired skill or ability. You use it or lose it. So now we have generations of young people coming out of school trying to enter the workforce with seriously impaired creative abilities. In a well-known study of 1500 global corporations the CEO’s were asked what…