Bayswater Primary School, Perth WA
A introduction from the school: In 2015, Bayswater Primary School and the Bayswater Primary School Parents and Citizens’ Association commenced a four-year project creating a nature playground in the school …
A introduction from the school:
In 2015, Bayswater Primary School and the Bayswater Primary School Parents and Citizens’ Association commenced a four-year project creating a nature playground in the school grounds.
This space – christened ‘Imaginature’ – was developed by the P&C gardening committee and the parents, teachers, staff and students of Bayswater Primary School. We utilised only the labour of the gardening committee and the school community and the total cost of the project was $15,000. This was funded by the P&C, community grants and the school.
The development of Imaginature has been guided by these principles.
- Provision of diverse opportunities for students to engage in nature play – that is, open ended play with branches, dirt, stones and water
- Provision of a space for all children from years 1 to 6 to interact (rather than only years 1 to 3, as it had been previously)
- Use of natural materials wherever possible
- Planting with local indigenous and native Australian plants
- Use of second hand, salvaged and re-purposed materials, both in construction and for loose parts play
- Created by the school community
- Thriftiness
Information about and photos of each of the components that make up Imaginature can be viewed on the Imaginature pages of the BPS P&C website – www.bayswaterpandc.org/Imaginature.