Natural playgrounds in Athens, GA provide a lot more for children than what most people may realize. Their natural appearance is not only eye catching and engaging, but also promotes an environmentally friendly area for kids to play and learn. The opportunity to use different real world elements to play and climb around on has actually proved that kids want to play more and use more of their imagination then they do with the traditional metal and plastic playgrounds that are full of color.

At Creative Playscapes, we have embraced the Natural Playground Concept. Natural Playgrounds have become highly popular with many of our customers. These playgrounds offer kids a soothing natural environment with educational and interactive natural play elements. We strive to heighten kids sensory skills, challenge their motor skills, and teach them about our world. These spaces often double as a natural classroom. We utilize natural and environmentally friendly materials to design hill slides, tunnels, play gardens, balance areas, swings and more. Adventure, curiosity and education are our goals for the design.

The natural playground offers many opportunities for creative play. They can sometimes be less expensive initially than a traditional playground. Our Landscape Architect embraces these jobs, and enjoys designing a space that meets the unique needs of your facility. We inventory the site, study use patterns, and interview the staff and the kids to develop a program for the play area that uniquely fits your vision and budget. We develop illustrative plans to document the project and help communicate the concept to your user group. We develop budgets, generate detailed designs, and then pull in our talented construction team to make the project a reality.

The possibilities of Natural Playgrounds in Athens GA are almost limitless. We use a variety of on-site aspects when Jon designs the natural playground, from parts of cool trees lying around for kids to climb and explore on, stumps we man make safe to climb on, or create a natural table tea parties. Rocks are an excellent avenue for kids to play and be active, we can incorporate specific rocks designed to generate interest and activity to most natural playgrounds Jon designs. We have used rocks where kids could pretend they are mountain climbing and numerous other imaginative adventures. You just never know what kind of journey a kid’s imagination will take them to on a Natural Playground.

Natural Playgrounds encourage children to explore, pretend and be adventurous, thus gaining motor skills while on their adventures without even realizing it. We continue to design and built natural playgrounds in and around the Athens area for schools, churches and Home Owner Associations, click here to see examples of our work

#AthensGANaturalPlaygrounds

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Athens GA Natural Playgrounds first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

Natural playgrounds in Winston Salem, NC provide a lot more for children than what most people may realize. Their natural appearance is not only eye catching and engaging, but also promotes an environmentally friendly area for kids to play and learn. The opportunity to use different real world elements to play and climb around on has actually proved that kids want to play more and use more of their imagination then they do with the traditional metal and plastic playgrounds that are full of color.

At Creative Playscapes, we have embraced the Natural Playground Concept. Natural Playgrounds have become highly popular with many of our customers. These playgrounds offer kids a soothing natural environment with educational and interactive natural play elements. We strive to heighten kids sensory skills, challenge their motor skills,and teach them about our world. These spaces often double as a natural classroom. We utilize natural and environmentally friendly materials to design hill slides, tunnels, play gardens, balance areas, swings and more. Adventure, curiosity and education are our goals for the design.

The natural playground offers many opportunities for creative play. They can sometimes be less expensive initially than a traditional playground. Our Landscape Architect embraces these jobs, and enjoys designing a space that meets the unique needs of your facility. We inventory the site, study use patterns, and interview the staff and the kids to develop a program for the play area that uniquely fits your vision and budget. We develop illustrative plans to document the project and help communicate the concept to your user group. We develop budgets, generate detailed designs, and then pull in our talented construction team to make the project a reality.

The possibilities of Natural Playgrounds in Winston Salem NC are almost limitless. We use a variety of on-site aspects when Jon designs the natural playground, from parts of cool trees lying around for kids to climb and explore on, stumps we man make safe to climb on, or create a natural table tea parties. Rocks are an excellent avenue for kids to play and be active, we can incorporate specific rocks designed to generate interest and activity to most natural playgrounds Jon designs. We have used rocks where kids could pretend they are mountain climbing and numerous other imaginative adventures. You just never know what kind of journey a kid’s imagination will take them to on a Natural Playground.

Natural Playgrounds encourage children to explore, pretend and be adventurous, thus gaining motor skills while on their adventures without even realizing it. We continue to design and built natural playgrounds in and around the Winston Salem area for schools, churches and Home Owner Associations, click here to see examples of our work

#WinstonSalemNaturalPlaygrounds

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Winston Salem NC Natural Playgrounds first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

Designing, building and supervising the construction of a natural playground is a thrill for Jon.  As we work together and interact, we often times get separated for extended periods of time and when we regroup to discuss our projects, Jon always wants to talk about the natural playgrounds he is working on.  It’s a lot of fun to see a grown man so happy and enthusiastic about his job.  Jon is by far, the most entertaining co-worker I’ve ever had!

The other week, Jon and I were talking about natural playground products and how to implement them into his designs.  He likes to use a variety of man-made replicant products (because they are safer and more durable) in conjunction with the natural pieces that fit into the design for the customer.

• Dirt, ground, earth (or whatever you want to call it) is a great natural playground product. We can build mountains, make valleys or move it around to literally any design.
• Trees, stumps or tree trunks work great for a variety of applications. Jon will hand pick the piece and supervise the preparation prior to installation to ensure it is to our standards of safety.  But a good tree trunk can easily make steps, small jumps and obstacles on the play course.
• Tires from heavy equipment are an option Jon considers on our larger projects. The placement of a very large tire can create a sitting/reading area or sand box.
• Man made products are an excellent option. Poles and be designed as trees and used for supporting climbing nets or slides.
• Concrete can easily be formed and coated with a safe and vibrant exterior and made into an un-imaginable number of natural playground products. These are Jon’s favorites because they are the safest and built to industry standards from the factory.

When considering a natural playground, do some online research at the many options available for the children to play and learn on.  You will be pleasantly surprised at how many cool things are available.

#NaturalPlaygrounds

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Natural Playground Products first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

We love kids, so naturally Christmas is our favorite time of the year!  Our children get so excited just thinking about Santa, Stockings, Snow and Presents (of course) that is flows over to us.

We will have another fantastic holiday season with our families and hope you do too!

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Happy Holidays from Creative Playscapes first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

 Click here to watch the video

The Myers Park UMC in Charlotte worked with us to design and create their new natural playground.  The project design was the most intricate; as we knew those would be a major portfolio piece for the Natural Playgrounds aspect for Creative Playscapes.  We had a lot of fun designing and building this very unique natural playground.

Jon was really on his game when he drew this playground outline.  I am always amazed at the skills my friend has and he really blew everyone away with this natural playground layout.  Here are a few of the play areas Jon designed into the playground and as always, we encourage you to watch our videos and visit our website.

• Water Stream w/ Boat & Water Fall
• Rope Climb
• Slide
• 5’ Mountain w/ Stairs
• Chalk Board
• Production Stage
• Planter Boxes

We appreciate Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte for allowing Jon to video this project for our website and You Tube channel.

#NaturalPlaygroundCharlotte

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Natural Playground at Myers Park UMC in Charlotte NC Video 2 first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

Click here to watch the video

The Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, hired us to design and build a natural playground.  We had a lot of fun designing and building this very unique natural playground.

A lot of thought went into the design by Jon and he really exceeded expectations with the natural playground.  Here are a few of the play areas Jon designed into the playground and as always, we encourage you to watch our videos and visit our website.

• Prayer Flags
• Tree Stumps
• Balance Beams
• 170’ Trike Path/Boardwalk
• Sand Pit
• Music Area
• Hiding Bench
• Log Cabin

We appreciate Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte for allowing Jon to video this project for our website and You Tube channel.

#NaturalPlaygroundCharlotte

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Natural Playground at Myers Park UMC in Charlotte NC first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

Every natural playground we design and build in Charlotte is unique, Jon has never replicated a design, (I think he would explode LOL).  One of the aspects we customize for our playgrounds is the surface area; we study the area, kids and playground equipment and utilize several safety surfaces in most natural play areas.

EPDM Surfacing:
Rubber base made of recycled granules, providing rubber depth and forms the “cushiony” or impact portion of the surface.  On top of that we install the EPDM, or wear course which makes up the wearing surface and adds the color to the surface.  EPDM is an excellent surfacing for safety, low maintenance and aesthetics.

CRM Surfacing:
Loose fill materials made of recycled off-road tires which are shredded into rubber mulch and then colored to resemble natural wood.  It’s very user friendly and gives a natural look to the play area.

Tile Surfaces:
Pre-engineered tiles work great for natural playgrounds; they are premanufactured for color accuracy and very tight dimensional tolerances

Artificial Turf:
Manufactured turf, when combined with waterproof, recycled foam pads, provides a natural, low maintenance, and safe turf system that is economical, clean, and free draining.

Loose Fill Materials:
Loose fill materials may include shredded rubber, sand, pea gravel, and engineered wood fiber mulch (EWF).  All must be installed to a depth of 9” minimum and all protect to different fall attenuation heights.

We welcome your calls and questions regarding playground surfacing, natural playgrounds and our commercial line of playground equipment, including shade structures.

#NaturalPlaygroundSurfacesCharlotte

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Natural Playground Surfaces for Charlotte Playgrounds first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

Natural playgrounds in Charlotte, NC provide a lot more for children than what most people may realize.  Their natural appearance is not only eye catching and engaging, but also promotes an environmentally friendly area for kids to play and learn.  The opportunity to use different real world elements to play and climb around on has actually proved that kids want to play more and use more of their imagination then they do with the traditional metal and plastic playgrounds that are full of color.

The possibilities of Natural Playgrounds are almost limitless. We use a variety of on-site aspects when Jon designs the natural playground, from parts of cool trees lying around for kids to climb and explore on, stumps we man make safe to climb on, or create a natural table tea parties.  Rocks are an excellent avenue for kids to play and be active, we can incorporate specific rocks designed to generate interest and activity to most natural playgrounds Jon designs.  We have used rocks where kids could pretend they are mountain climbing and numerous other imaginative adventures.  You just never know what kind of journey a kid’s imagination will take them to on a Natural Playground.

Natural Playgrounds encourage children to explore, pretend and be adventurous, thus gaining motor skills while on their adventures without even realizing it.  We have designed and built numerous natural playgrounds in and around the Charlotte Metro for schools, churches and Home Owner Associations, click here to see examples of our work

#CharlotteNaturalPlaygrounds

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Charlotte Natural Playgrounds first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

As we have delved more and more into the Natural Playgrounds arena, Jon and I thought it would be a good idea to explain the concept of natural playgrounds and why they are popular and educational.  Here is an article Jon wrote that explains it very well, you can also read this article and see a lot of natural playground pictures on our natural playgrounds web page: Click Here…

The Concept:

Have you ever taken a child to a traditional public play area with a huge commercial playground and noticed they tend to gravitate toward a random mud puddle, a low hanging tree limb, or a colorful fluffy leaf pile?  Maybe they pull up the playground borders to search and learn about a wiggly earthworm?  Or maybe they are drawing pictures in the dirt or take a fancy to making ooey-gooey mud pies?  These are the types of play which stimulate sensory skills.  This is why educators are embracing the natural playground concept; they are finding this type of play actually helps cognitive skills as well as physical skills.  But most importantly, we at Creative Playscapes see it as good “old fashioned” FUN.  We want to let the kids play, make new friends, get a little dirty, and have a blast doing it.  This is the idea behind the natural playground.

Our Role:

The natural playground offers many opportunities for creative play.  They can sometimes be less expensive initially than a traditional playground.  Our Landscape Architect embraces these jobs, and enjoys designing a space that meets the unique needs of your facility.  We inventory the site, study use patterns, and interview the staff and the kids to develop a program for the play area that uniquely fits your vision and budget.  We develop illustrative plans to document the project and help communicate the concept to your user group.  We develop budgets, generate detailed designs, and then pull in our talented construction team to make the project a reality.

#NaturalPlaygroundsCharlotte

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post Natural Playgrounds first appeared on Creative Playscapes.

Jon and I have spent most of the winter of 2013 and a large portion of this year researching all natural playgrounds for kids to play on in the Charlotte Metrolina regions.  We love the concept because as kids, we played outdoors and rarely had the opportunity to visit a “Real Playground” with slides, swings and monkey bars.  We basically used what Mother Nature provided:

• Slides were n grassy banks
  Swings were made by our Dad’s with a tractor tire and a rope
  Monkey bars were tree limbs we could reach

Basically, we grew up like most kids in the 70’s that didn’t live in large cities, playing outdoors at creeks and in the wooded areas around our homes.

An all-natural playground in Charlotte would be very similar in concept to what we enjoyed as children, except it would be designed by Jon, not Mother Nature and built by Jon and me as well.  Here are some of the ideas we have bounced around after all the research:

1. Running water (like a creek) with rocks to climb on
2. Trees (specifically chosen) planted and used for climbing
3. Trails for hiking and exploring
4. Ground to dig in and play in the earth

4 simple ideas that could easily be designed and constructed (along with many others) into a natural playground right here in Charlotte.

Stay tuned to our blog as we delve more and more into natural playgrounds, you may be hearing more about one in Charlotte very soon.

#NaturalPlaygroundsCharlotte

Safety Starts w/ Stability!

Kurt Karriker
704-589-7455
Creative Playscapes

The post All Natural Playgrounds Charlotte first appeared on Creative Playscapes.