New plans have been funded at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, to enhance its play offer for children, as it looks to invest in its core family audience amid a significant rise in visitors.
Funded by The Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (The Friends) and Forestry England, the first development phase is now underway and scheduled for completion at the end of August, as part of the venue’s 10-year play strategy. The Friends has approved funding of £127,000, with additional investment being made by the Forestry England Investment Team.
Phase one plans include development of two of its distinctive play zones in the Old Arboretum. The brief is all about enabling every child, at every stage of development, to engage in play that challenges, encourages and stimulates them. This ranges from toddlers learning to grapple with climbing skills to older children engaging in risky play, and children with different abilities working to stretch their limits.
This overall scheme will create an accessible, open, nature-inspired zone of play to compliment the environment, with each part being curated to emulate nature. It will promote space and off-path exploration, further encouraging children to engage, as well as thrive, in nature. The design incorporates many distinctive features including the birdbox, an elevated boardwalk, tree nets offering canopy views, and speaking tubes mimicking the mycelium root structure of fungi.
By providing ramp access alongside other entry points, it ensures that children of all abilities can enjoy and explore the play zones together. Additionally, it offers a variety of play types, with adventurous, physical activities alongside quieter, more creative ones.
The scheme includes an observation point onlooking the quiet play space – a crucial feature for those on the autism spectrum. This allows children to observe and acclimatise to the space, facilitating an easier transition and providing a dedicated, calm area where they can more effectively prepare to play. This variety caters to different age ranges (including parents and carers), as well as different levels of support needs, assisting with the development of social skills and enhancing imaginative play.
Concepted by play designers Earth Wrights, the project is a collaboration between them, Westonbirt’s team, its focus groups and fundraisers. The purpose is to refresh and improve the existing offer as well as to increase visitor numbers. It also aims to better its experience for families visiting with children, particularly those aged 4 to 8 and those with additional needs, to promote an inclusive environment to learn through nature.
Neil Seegobin, Project Manager at Westonbirt Arboretum, said, “Westonbirt Arboretum offers the ultimate natural playground and thanks to The Friends and Forestry England, this project has provided us with scope for more ambitious pieces to encourage further interactive and exploratory experiences through nature, with the whole family. Through our new innovative and inspiring play offer, we’re updating and keeping experiences fresh for young visitors, and we hope this in turn helps generate new visitors and more re-visits.
In 2025 and 2026, a further two new natural play areas will be installed, in two phases. THis will include two zones in the dog-friendly Silk Wood, as well as redevelopment of Exploratree, its former play area aimed at the younger age group.
The Friends has agreed to fundraise to deliver phases two and three, and is seeking donations through grants and private donors. To contribute to the next phase of play, please make a donation or become a member of The Friends.A date for the phase one opening will be announced by Westonbirt Arboretum in due course.
https://www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt-the-national-arboretum