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Speaker 1: Today is the day that we cround the best in

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Speaker 1: mid Canibury, thinks to EA Networks. However, we've struck a

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Speaker 1: bit of an issue. It appears from the Facebook page

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Speaker 1: that we don't actually have a clear winner, so I've

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Speaker 1: had to bring in the heavy artillery. Would you believe

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Speaker 1: there's such thing as the National Playground Awards? Well play

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Speaker 1: Spase to be exact. The man who helps bring this

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Speaker 1: together annually from an outfit called Recreation of Heroa is

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Speaker 1: Karen Smith. Wanting to draw on his guidance, I began

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Speaker 1: by naturally asking what is it that you look for? How, Karen,

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Speaker 1: do you judge the best playground in the country.

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Speaker 2: Play elements definitely key path to it, but it's more

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Speaker 2: about what community has been the same and the journey,

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Speaker 2: you know, what reflects the playground and the local identities,

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Speaker 2: What are the stories and what are the needs in

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Speaker 2: that area too. You know a lot of really good

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Speaker 2: playgrounds have met a bit of a gap where you know,

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Speaker 2: people don't have the toys in at home and they

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Speaker 2: need the space to release a bit of energy and

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Speaker 2: maybe connects as a bit of a community, you know.

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Speaker 2: So I think that's what makes it a good playground,

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Speaker 2: it becomes that community.

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Speaker 1: What's the most unusual or creative feature that you've spotted

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Speaker 1: in a playground?

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Speaker 2: Karen, It was a bit of a hard one because

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Speaker 2: I come from a pretty wacky world of playgrounds and

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Speaker 2: parks and things like that, so we always see some

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Speaker 2: weird stuff and we kind of getne to it. But

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Speaker 2: probably the wackiest would be just a bit down the

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Speaker 2: road from you and Homadu, the steampunk playground there, and

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Speaker 2: you look at that on first inspection you go, oh,

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Speaker 2: that's pretty wacky. But they've really embraced the steampunk side

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Speaker 2: of things. You know, there's lots of really cool design

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Speaker 2: features in their playground down there. So heads off to

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Speaker 2: Omadou for being a bit weird, being a bit imaginative,

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Speaker 2: and really leaning into that sort of local identity.

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Speaker 1: They've done a couple of nearby parks which locals are

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Speaker 1: prepared to travel for and always rave about. Then you

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Speaker 1: see play at Caroline Bay, and then also in christ

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Speaker 1: Church that Margaret Mayhey playground, which happens to be just

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Speaker 1: across the road from our christ Church end in my office,

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Speaker 1: So that's dangerously convenient. Why do you think it is

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Speaker 1: that people are drawing into those spaces, like what makes

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Speaker 1: them elite?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, a great question. The Margaret Mahee Playground was probably

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Speaker 2: one of the first sort of true destination spaces. And

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Speaker 2: I'll probably get kicked in the comments on from my

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Speaker 2: areas around this, but that was probably truly one of

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Speaker 2: those ones where it was it was post rebuild and

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Speaker 2: it was a real sense of you know, bringing people

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Speaker 2: back into the CBD and christ Church and it's a

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Speaker 2: really good example of a big destination space which sort

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Speaker 2: of catered to a large amount of different play opportunities,

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Speaker 2: which is really great in Caroline Bay and Timado. That

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Speaker 2: was a awesome example of community engagement actually led by

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Speaker 2: a bunch of community volunteers. So they did a fantastic

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Speaker 2: job working with Timito District Council delivering probably the undeliverable.

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Speaker 2: You know, they really leant on a lot of sponsorship,

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Speaker 2: goodwill and in sourcing money and creative ways, and they've

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Speaker 2: delivered an outstanding playground and you know, something that people

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Speaker 2: are willing to travel to, and I think that's really remarkable.

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Speaker 1: What's your measure of success when you've got the kidlets

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Speaker 1: in tow.

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Speaker 2: My measure of success is if they're still playing after

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Speaker 2: half an hour. If they're sort of bored within ten

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Speaker 2: minutes or you know, bored under their half an hour area,

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Speaker 2: then it's missed the mark a little bit somewhere. Whereas

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Speaker 2: if it's given them the space, because imagination least to

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Speaker 2: sort of creative play ideas and things like that. So

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Speaker 2: if it gives them an opportunity to be curious, to

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Speaker 2: play in a way that they feel and not sort

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Speaker 2: of you know, if some playgrounds are built and developed

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Speaker 2: to dictate how you can play, and some are built

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Speaker 2: and developed so it's up to the kids on how

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Speaker 2: they use the space, and I think those ones are

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Speaker 2: the real success story. You look at sort of the

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Speaker 2: built environment right where your slides and your monkey bars

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Speaker 2: and your swings and things like that, there are a

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Speaker 2: myriad of other play items. You know that the world

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Speaker 2: is kind of endless in their world now, it's amazing

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Speaker 2: what's out there. But you know, those natural elements as

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Speaker 2: well are equally as important, I believe as well. So

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Speaker 2: if you can, if you can have sort of areas

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Speaker 2: which bring into maybe a bit more of the environment,

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Speaker 2: you know, the tile and understanding their own backyard a

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Speaker 2: little bit more, that's great. Water play. If you can,

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Speaker 2: if you've got the ability to do it, that's fantastic,

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Speaker 2: you know. I often talk about the power of water.

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Speaker 2: You think about a really hot day and you've been

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Speaker 2: knacked from work and you have a shower, you feel

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Speaker 2: a million backs. So it's the same for kids. You know.

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Speaker 2: It's the whole touch and feel and sensory element of

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Speaker 2: water which can actually be quite a calming but also

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Speaker 2: brilliant play aspect to any sort of playground.

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Speaker 1: Although a consequence of that can be I took young

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Speaker 1: Ellis to the Timuld playground on the weekend and you

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Speaker 1: have some residents in the ponds nearby, the duckies and

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Speaker 1: the swans, and she wasn't too keen about them chasing

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Speaker 1: after it.

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Speaker 2: No, Yeah, and that can cause some machine, specially this

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Speaker 2: time of year when they might be protecting some of

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Speaker 2: their own own little lies of course. Yeah, but hey, look,

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Speaker 2: if there's a chance to write a swan, go for it,

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Speaker 2: you know,