This City-run child care centre was an early adopter of the “natural play” approach to children’s outdoor play and learning spaces. As part of the original development, artists were engaged to design and build some very unique structures… After 10 years facility operations staff became concerned about the viability of these structures, daycare staff still valued the program that they could provide in this yard… our goal was to rebuild and restore these original “art” pieces in a way that would comply with the current standards and be maintainable… keep and fix the good stuff… solve a few problems… meet all the standards…

The embankment slide is a re-build of the original. A custom wood shelter provides a weather proof cover over the sand and water play tables. Two other play huts are now restructured and restored including the “covered bridge”- a public art piece registered with the City of Ottawa.