Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Special Outdoor Spaces

A multi-sensory garden is a varied outdoor space where children can relax and feel safe, find comfort as well as challenge, explore and investigate and enjoy the company of others whilst benefiting from fresh air and natural light. A sensory garden is not just an outdoor area that has been packed with obvious sensory experiences such as scented plants, tactile surfaces, mirrors etc as these places easily become sterile and uninspiring. No, a true multi-sensory space should be a magical space which nurtures curiosity and appeals to all of our senses and not just the main five. As well as taste, sight, hearing, smell and touch it should also address the sense of heat and absence of heat, balance and body awareness. It needs to be a varied landscape divided into separate spaces with enough space between to prevent sensory overload.

Sensory rich spaces are brought alive when there are plenty of opportunities for children to discover, explore and relax and where challenging elements as well as elements of surprise are incorporated into the landscape. Green environments have a positive therapeutic effect on humans and is believed to reduce stress levels, therefore the use of plants is crucial for a sensory garden to be successful. No man made object offers what plants do with their dynamic and ever-changing qualities.

These special outdoor spaces appeal to all children, and they should be fully accessible and integrated spaces that children of all abilities can enjoy together. The use of specially made adjusted furniture such as wheelchair accessible tables, raised sand and water play facilities add to the play opportunities for children with disabilities. However, what is most important is that there are spaces where children with disabilities can play with other children. For example spaces where children in wheelchairs can lie down and play with others by crawling, rolling or sliding. At no time should specially made play equipment be placed in a separate area away from where other children play.

There are a number of practical issues to consider when designing outdoor spaces for children with disabilities. First of all access. Not only do paths need to be well surfaced and of a certain width, the transition from the inside to the outside should also be as easy as possible for children using wheelchairs or other mobility devices. There should not only be steps that connect different levels, instead changes in level should be avoided or ramped appropriately. Further, children with disabilities often have greater sensitivity to the sun and cold winds, therefore shade and wind protected areas should be incorporated to provide comfortable outdoor places to play.

Although water is an important feature in any garden we believe it is particularly important in a sensory garden as it can stimulate so many of our senses. The cool and wet feel of water can be very stimulating. The sound of water can be very relaxing and visually slow trickling water can have a calming effect. Water can also be played with in many ways. Moving water can be used to ‘ferry’ floating objects where their journeys can be followed with the eye and being able to create sound with your body by splashing water is both fun and rewarding particularly to those with restricted mobility. To further emphasise the sensory qualities incorporating sand, pebbles and grasses can enhance both the experience and the landscape surrounding the water further.

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