New $1.3m nature playground at Mount Barker divides locals over its safety

A new nature-play playground in the Hills has divided parents, some saying it’s too dangerous for young children – while others say it’s fantastic.

Aria who is five and Carter, two are happy with the playground. Picture: Keryn Stevens.

Debate is raging on social media over Mount Barker’s new nature-based playground because of its rocks and potential for high falls for children.

Most of the traditional playground at Keith Stephenson Park was ripped out earlier this year and replaced with a new $1.3m playspace including a rocky creek bed, large animal-shaped play equipment, rock climbing wall, sandpit, slides, trampoline and nature and water play.

Just the popular rope climbing web was kept, with dated swings and slides removed.

The fenced playground officially opened earlier this month, with some of the ‘animals’ arriving this week.

Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker Facebook groups are now awash with arguments from both sides, with some parents worried younger children, especially toddlers, weren’t considered and are at risk from falling on the rocks.

Nothing but fun for the kids. Picture, Keryn Stevens.

Others say parents need to watch their kids anyway, and playgrounds always have an element of danger.

Rebekah Wallis, a mother of two young children, said it was a “beautiful” park – but hadn’t been thought through for toddlers.

She said she knew of two kids who had already fallen on the rocks, numerous near misses – and the sandpit was badly placed beside a path, with adults slipping on sand.

Rocks placed around the base of a 3m-high play turtle created more danger for climbing children, she said.

“My husband came home and said, ‘that’s crap, you have to follow (your kids) around and be a metre behind them the whole time because it’s dangerous’,” Ms Wallis said.

“There are big rocks in the open, the slide will get hot and they’ll burn themselves on it.

“It’s a nature-play playground – but we live in the Hills, there are rocks everywhere. It should have been an adventure playground.”

She agreed kids shouldn’t be “wrapped in cottonwool” but said she was stunned Mount Barker Council had purposely made a playground she believed wasn’t safe for young children.

“You only have to talk to other mums there who say it’s a waste of money. It’s beautifully made but it just hasn’t been thought out, especially for the younger kids,” Ms Wallis said.

Mt Barker’s new playground may need some supervision of children, but Elise said it’s an amazing new feature for the area. Picture: Keryn Stevens.

Elise Dousset, who has two children aged two and five, said she loved the new playground.

“It’s amazing, we go daily, my five-year-old is more than capable – and for my two-year-old, the rocks are quite high and you need to be cautious,” Ms Dousset said.

“It depends on the age of your child and how much supervision they need. I do understand the apprehension.

“I guess it’s the fashion in playgrounds to help kids discover their boundaries and limits – and it offers something different to other playgrounds in the area.

“You just need to supervise your kids around the more precarious parts of the park. I wouldn’t let my two-year-old run around free range.

“We all have different risk assessments for our kids and different wants – if you want to sit in the corner while you’re kids play, it’s probably not the playground for them.”

Mount Barker Council’s general manager infrastructure Phil Burton said the upgraded play space was designed to be an inclusive and versatile area, for children aged two to 10.

“The decision to refresh the playground by removing outdated equipment was driven by a commitment to maintaining a vibrant and safe space for the community,” Mr Burton said.

Elise Dousset and Aria having fun. Picture: Keryn Stevens.

He said stringent safety measures were taken into account and its design was certified and aligned with Australian Standards.

Outdoor play expert and Flinders Uni associate professor Joss Rankin said the playground got a massive tick from him.

He said nature playgrounds offered more intellectual and physical play, and allowed younger children to develop their own self-assessments for risk.

He suggested parents consider not using the term ‘be careful’ when children are playing, and instead ask questions such as ‘have you thought about how you’re getting down from there’.

Mr Rankin said he understood some parents feared for their children.

“That’s coming from a place of concern – then I’d ask, what is it that’s scary? What is it you don’t want them to do? What do you want them to be confident about in five, 10 years?”

On social media, comments ranged from positive to negative, with some parents saying they’d seen injuries within five minutes of starting to play.

Too high? Mount Barker residents are in fierce debate over the new nature playground. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“This playground is a poor waste of council rates when the other playground was bigger, more fun, and safer,” wrote Mathew Job. “Would you let your kids balance on top of slippery, rock climbing play equipment, on top of a high up pile of large rocks, metres up in the air?”

But Maria Manzano wrote that her son fell off the yellow turtle, landed on a rock, cried a few tears and was back on the turtle minutes later.