Actions Beyond Our Borders: International Collaboration Leads to a Nature Playground in Brasilia National Park, Brazil
From the very beginning, Playcosystem® was designed to be a resource Bernheim might use to inspire natural play regionally and beyond. We designed and built it ourselves so that we could gain the knowledge we would need to help others design and build their own nature play environments. We knew that if we could empower others to create their own play environments, more natural play would start to appear in the world. This would result in more children connected to their natural world.
In June the Children at Play Network (CAPN) flew to Brasilia to work with a team from Brasilia National Park on the apron of Brazil’s capital city. For over a week, we worked with a passionate team from the park that included educators, conservation officers, facilities managers, and philanthropic supporters from the Alana Foundation.
We transferred information about our experiences, stories about why Bernheim supports free play in nature, and how-to guides that made them comfortable taking the first step. Before we left, they had a fleshed out conceptual plan to build the first of what we hope will be many natural playgrounds in Brazil’s amazing national conservation lands. We also made lasting friendships around the universal love of play.
A little over a month later they are doing it! We just received photos of the first play elements going up in their Ecossistema do Brincar. We now have Playcosystem® partners in Brazil.
This opens the door to an ongoing partnership between Bernheim and Brazil that we can’t wait to nurture more, and it sets the stage for even more actions beyond our borders.
