- Location
- Central Coast, Australia
- Market
- Councils & Developers
Play Priorities
The new play space in Susan Fahey Park in Copacabana on NSW’s Central Coast was realised as part of the Central Coast Council’s strategy to provide residents with more, quality play experiences, and a grant from the NSW Government’s Everyone Can Play Program.
The chosen location for the play space was a lush, tree-lined pocket of the seaside community, inspiring a wonderful collaboration between the Council and Playground Centre to create a play space which embodies the very best of environmentally-themed and inclusive playground design.
The result is simply magical!
Fun Solution
One of Playground Centre’s flagship projects for 2020, the inclusive play space in Susan Fahey Park provides a variety of challenging and engaging play opportunities for children of all ages and abilities.
By embracing the principles of a truly inclusive playground, we supported the Council to create a play space which not only provides play options for children with different physical capabilities, but children with different intellectual and sensory development needs. For example, children on the autism spectrum.
The playground, and its many features, are a visual and sensory delight. Whimsical shapes and structures, finished in striking greens and black to blend with the nearby forest and the grass underfoot, were specifically chosen to invite imaginative play and maximise interaction while targeting different development benefits. And, amidst the excitement, there is also room for quiet, concentrated play – offering children and their peers and parents and carers, places to retreat.
Every play structure in the park was customised by Playground Centre for the project, including the play space’s focal point, the Black Forrest Tower. A staggering seven metres tall, the tower is topped with a quirky cubby house, accessed via a central rope net tunnel and exited via a wild, bending covered slide. On each side however, the structure includes an array of climbing activities at varying levels to provide challenges for children of diverse ages, risk appetites and abilities. This includes the 1000mm diameter Honeycomb Birds Nest Basket with ladders, a chunky rope bridge with ladders and a rockwall.
The playground also features a stand-up See Saw and Duo Rope Swing. Both of these pieces allow multiple children to play together, building teamwork as they work together to balance and move the seesaw up and down or the swing side to side.