Australian guidance documents informing nature playspaces for children: a scoping review

Authors: Dankiw, K., Miller, N., Kumar, S., Baldock, K. & Tsiros, M.

n Australia, the absence of standard practice guidelines for nature playspace development prompts reliance on guidance documents from government agencies and nature play advocacy groups, posing challenges for end-users. Therefore, the aims of this review were to map recommendations for nature playspace creation/planning, design, implementation, and management within the Australian context. Ten databases and grey literature sources were searched from inception to August 2023, with inclusion criteria focusing on children aged < 18 years, recommendations describing nature playspace creation/planning, design, implementation, and management within the context of Australian outdoor playspace settings. Data extraction was performed in duplicate to identify recommendations for the creation, planning, design, implementation, and management of nature play spaces, followed by a descriptive synthesis of these recommendations. Out of 7,123 articles, 10 met inclusion criteria. The types of documents included were reports, general guides and one regulatory guideline. Nature play was described diversely, with commonalities in elements like trees, water, and plants, but inconsistencies in development approaches led to recommendations lacking clarity and detail. There was a lack of explicit detail regarding development context, suggesting a need for context-specific guidelines. While the included guidance documents provide initial frameworks for guiding nature play, they lack comprehensive, evidence-based recommendations for diverse contexts. Future research should focus on creating standard practice recommendations to ensure safe, age-appropriate, inclusive nature playspaces promoting health and developmental outcomes.

Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education

2025