The spaces children move through every day quietly shape how they think, feel, connect and learn.

A log can become a bridge, a balancing beam or the beginning of a story. A patch of soil can become a laboratory. A quiet pocket of planting can become the place a child goes to breathe, observe and settle. A garden can become a classroom, a refuge and a living system that helps children understand the world.

This is the thinking behind Urban Discovery, a Melbourne-based design, construction and consultancy company specialising in regenerative, therapeutic and play-based spaces.

Founded by educator and landscape designer Jenn Reed, Urban Discovery is calling on schools, kindergartens, hospitals, councils and community organisations to rethink the environments they create for children, and to recognise nature-rich habitats for play as essential infrastructure for learning, behaviour, wellbeing and belonging.

The call comes as research continues to support what many educators see every day. The Australian Institute of Family Studies’ 2024 review of nature play and child wellbeing found that nature contact can support children’s social and emotional wellbeing, with playing in nature linked to confidence, resilience, emotional regulation, social connection and learning.

According to Jenn, children’s environments should be treated as active participants in development, rather than the spare ground left after the building is complete.

“Children are always reading the world around them,” Jenn said.

“They read the ground beneath their feet, the plants around them, the places where they can hide, climb, gather, rest, test themselves and make their own decisions.

“When a space is fixed and adult-led, it tells children what to do. When a space is alive, layered and full of possibility, it invites children to think, move, negotiate, imagine and belong.”

From playgrounds to habitats for play

Jenn began exploring the relationship between children and nature-rich environments after 20 years in childhood education, where she saw the impact outdoor spaces could have on learning, behaviour, confidence and joy.

She said that background, changes the design questions from the beginning.

“What is the indigenous condition of this land?” “How will a child enter this space? Where will they feel safe? Where will they feel brave? Where can they move their whole body? Where can they be with others? Where can they be alone? Where can they take a risk and discover they are capable?” Jenn said.

“That is the difference between designing a children’s outdoor area and designing a habitat for play.”

Urban Discovery’s habitats for play bring together planting, logs, rocks, sand, water, loose parts, edible gardens, habitat features, gathering places, movement opportunities and quiet spaces for retreat.

Jenn said these elements give children choice, challenge, sensory input and freedom to interpret a space on their own terms.

“A stick, a seedpod, a puddle, a stone or a fallen branch does not come with instructions,” Jenn said.

“That is why children are drawn to them. They have to decide what it is, what it can become and how it might be used. That is language, science, engineering, movement, imagination and social learning happening together.

“Adults can underestimate the value because it looks messy. For a child, those immersive moments can be full of testing, thinking, confidence building and connection.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics’ clinical report, The Power of Play, says developmentally appropriate play supports social-emotional, cognitive, language and self-regulation skills, while helping children build relationships with caregivers and peers.

Why choice changes the day

For Urban Discovery, one of the most important shifts is recognising that children need different ways to engage with the world around them.

A well-designed children’s space gives them options. They can move, retreat, observe, climb, balance, fossick, build, gather or be quiet. For some children, that choice can change the whole day.

Urban Discovery’s therapeutic design approach includes scent, sound, water, foliage, balance, movement, loose materials and spaces for both quiet contemplation and energetic play. These elements are designed to support health and wellbeing through meaningful engagement with nature.

Jenn said this is important for all children, especially those with complex needs, children who have experienced trauma and children who find conventional environments difficult to navigate.

“Spaces that allow children to move and wriggle, retreat and observe, climb, balance and fall, fossick and explore, support regulation on a child’s own terms,” Jenn said.

“They can increase confidence, strengthen belonging and create the conditions for deeper engagement with learning.”

How the impact shows up

Urban Discovery has seen this impact across early learning and school communities.

According to Simone Myall, Indigenous Studies and Garden Specialist St Francis of Assisi, Tarneit, the space created by Urban Discovery had become a meaningful part of their community.

“We have navigated a year of significant ups and downs, challenges and wins, moments of despair, and many tears of joy. Through it all, the experience of the last 12 months has been nothing short of transformative for our community.

“The space you built for us has become more than just a garden, it is a sanctuary where we are learning to be successful, sustainable caretakers by listening to the land’s own story,” Simone said.

At Sophia Mundi Steiner School, where Urban Discovery recently created a new play space, educators have observed children spending longer periods deeply engaged in play, creating games, building water features, making cubbies and constructing entire worlds.

Teachers have also noticed stronger social interaction, cooperation and resilience, with students naturally negotiating risks, building confidence and developing friendships through shared experiences.

“The space feels alive. It is much more inviting, creative and engaging for children of different ages and interests,” said a spokesperson for Sophia Mundi Steiner School

“The natural elements and open-ended play opportunities encourage imagination, collaboration and exploration in ways that traditional playground equipment often does not.

“Children who may not usually join in structured playground activities have also found places where they feel comfortable and included.”

At Rangeview Kindergarten in Mitcham, Bush Kinder Teacher and four-year-old Educator, Stewart Allen said the Urban Discovery space was already influencing the way educators taught and children learned.

After a native blue-banded bee was spotted visiting flowers on the new plants, children began asking questions about pollination, care and custodianship.

“That discovery will provide further provocations for inquiry about animal and plant lifecycles, relationships and children’s place in their world,” Stewart said.

In another Urban Discovery environment, a child using a walker told the team they no longer felt they stood out.

Jenn said those moments show why inclusion needs to be built into the landscape from the beginning.

“The physical environment enabled a sense of empowerment and inclusion for that child,” Jenn said.

“That should be the minimum standard for children’s environments, not the exceptional outcome.”

A practical response to a modern childhood challenge

Urban Discovery believes the question facing decision-makers is no longer whether children benefit from nature-rich play. The question is whether adults are prepared to design, fund and protect the spaces children need.

According to Jenn, children’s spaces also have a broader community and environmental role.

“Children’s spaces sit in every suburb, every education setting and every community,” Jenn said.

“That means they carry enormous potential. They can increase shade, cool hot sites, hold water, support biodiversity, grow food, create habitat, bring generations together and give children daily contact with the living world.

“We should stop seeing these places as small corners of a site plan. They are one of the most practical ways we can support healthier children and healthier communities.”

A stronger standard for children’s environments

Urban Discovery wants education, health, planning and community leaders to move beyond standardised playground thinking and invest in habitats for play that reflect the full complexity of childhood.

Jenn said the built environment around children should be judged by more than compliance, durability and ease of maintenance.

“Of course, children’s spaces need to be safe and practical,” Jenn said.

“However, they also need to be beautiful, sensory, inclusive, layered, generous and alive.

“If we want children to become confident learners, resilient people, thoughtful community members and future stewards of the earth, we need to give them environments that make those things possible.

“These spaces matter because children are shaped by the world they are allowed to touch, test, care for and belong to.”

For more information, visit urbandiscovery.com.au

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