By Megan Gorrey
Leo Perdis, 3, is hunched over a cardboard box flattened on a bed of woodchips in deep concentration. He busily squeezes a tube of gold paint onto a tray and runs a foam roller back and forth to spread the colour. Then, he swooshes the roller onto the cardboard, adding a layer of sparkle.
“I’m just rolling it so I can make a house,” he explains. “More colours, please!”
From left, Tristan Gill, Elizabeth Luong, Nate Grimm, Alice Luong, Freya Gill and Naomi Gill turn trash into treasure at a park in St Peters.Credit: Steven Siewert
Leo, of Caringbah, is among a group of children who have come to this inner Sydney park to play, and yet there are no slippery dips, swings or see-saws. Instead, the youngsters are peering down plastic tubes, whacking foam pool noodles, bashing nails into pieces of wood, squirming through dirty car tyres, and clambering over other household detritus resembling a council rubbish pick-up pile.
The chaotic set-up mimics a growing trend in “junkyard” or adventure playgrounds, which use scrap materials to encourage children to play freely, solve problems, come up with ideas and take risks.
Nate Grimm, 11, of Five Dock, rubs black tyre marks off his arms as he says: “It allows you to use your creativity and imagination. You can have a different experience again, and again, and again.”
Leo’s mother, arts worker and creative place maker Bethan Donnelly, first heard of a junkyard playground in Berkeley, California, and began researching whether there was a similar space closer to home for her “wild, bold” toddler.
“A junkyard playground is almost the antithesis of that type of pre-fabricated, plastic, modulated playground that’s designed by adults for children,” Donnelly said.
“The most significant difference is it’s not prescribed play, it’s child-led play. It’s self-directed, imagination-fuelled play in a safe environment that’s transforming, it’s built, it’s re-built, and it’s done by the kids in that space.”
Donnelly is among the speakers to present one “big idea” they would implement to change the city and prepare it for the future at this year’s Sydney Summit, hosted by the Committee for Sydney and supported by The Sydney Morning Herald, at the International Convention Centre on February 4.
She believes it’s worth investigating ways to bring junkyard playgrounds to parts of Sydney.
Donnelly said the playgrounds taught children about recycling and sustainability, lured them away from screens, and enabled them to learn with their hands by using tools and materials to build.
“It directly impacts their cognitive development and deepens critical thinking skills,” she said.
“I’ve learned kids’ imaginations are really fuelled by playing with loose objects and being able to imagine what that object could become. Is it a vehicle? Is it a fort? They help them world-build.”
Danish landscape architect Carl Theodor Sørensen pioneered the first junk playgrounds when he noticed children play creatively in scrapyards and bombsites rather than playgrounds during World War II. The idea soon spread through Europe and to the United States but barely caught on in Australia.
Donnelly acknowledged some parents would remain wary about safety, but she said the playgrounds overseas were typically supervised by adult “play workers” – parents were often encouraged to keep their distance – who removed hazards. But ultimately, the ethos was one of minimal intervention.
The playgrounds are targeted at children and teenagers up to age 19.Credit: Steven Siewert
“Essentially, kids are given the opportunity and freedom to engage in this kind of natural, junky, messy play. I think ideas around what kids need to grow and thrive are changing, and I think there’s a real understanding that these are safe and actually vital spaces for kids.”
Western Sydney University Professor Tonia Gray, an education expert and outdoor learning advocate, said play was a natural behaviour that was crucial to brain development. She believed many modern children were “cocooned in probably over-protective, over-sanitised playgrounds”.
“Parents need to embrace risk and to reframe it ... because there are more benefits than disadvantages,” she said. “Children feel so much more self-empowered and confident when they conquer things themselves.”
Donnelly suggested children’s work sheds or junkyard playgrounds could be set up at existing playgrounds or established on small parcels of disused land. She said similar projects overseas were variously funded through community groups, governments, businesses and levies.
Committee for Sydney chief executive Eamon Waterford noted the playgrounds were popular in Tokyo and Copenhagen, showing adventure play could exist – and help children thrive – in cities.
“As the government focuses on unlocking housing for Sydney’s future families, we must also ask: Where will these children play? High-density living demands imaginative, engaging public and communal spaces that foster creativity, adventure and collaboration,” Waterford said.
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