Wild wood adventure
1
The Pitch
Problem statement
Evidence shows that outdoor play, & play in nature in particular, is associated with a range of health benefits including increased physical activity & emotional wellbeing. But opportunities for play, particularly outdoor, adventurous play are diminishing. Those from more disadvantaged backgrounds, &/or living in urban areas tend to be disproportionately impacted. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these inequalities when so many children and young people (C&YP) were isolated from friends & outdoor play time restricted. Local area data for Oxford (LSOA 2019) shows many C&YP in our community reside in the top 10% most deprived nationally for health, disability & living environment.
Solution
SOAP has recently secured a 5 year lease from Oxford City Council at peppercorn rent for a small strip of woodland. The overall goal of the project is to fully incorporate this into the exisiting adventure playground to increase C&YP's ready access to high quality, adventurous and diverse outdoor spaces. We are seeking funds to remove our current fence and establish a new boundry fence (total cost £5,980) that brings the woodland into our site. Additional funds for landscaping, including assesment of existing trees, new planting and technical input & support from play specialists, Oxford City Council ecologists, and their parks department are being sought elsewhere.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
SOAP's focus is on outdoor play and activities and our staff - supported by an active local volunteer managment committee - are experienced at delivering varied and exciting outdoor sessions for C&YP of different ages and abilities. These skills have strengthened and expanded through the pandemic, out of necessity to continue to deliver in-person, low risk sessions for C&YP after school and through the holidays. The recent acquisition of the wood presents an exciting opportunity to diversify the range of experience we can offer C&YP at SOAP and strengthens our ability, based on a growing body of evidence, to support the health and wellbeing of local C&YP through outdoor play in nature.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Supply and install approx. 110 linear meters of mesh security fencing. 2 mtr high v-mesh. | £5,000 |
Beneficiaries
800 people
Expected impact
Primary beneficiaries will be local C&YP aged 7-14 years, and their families/carers. C&YP and their faimlies/carers from across Oxford and beyond who attend our holiday playschemes will also benefit. The main impact will be on the physical and mental wellbeing of C&YP. A growing body of evidence shows that outdoor play is associated with a range of health benefits including increased physical activity and emotional wellbeing. Impact evaluations of forest schools, similar to our woodland site, show an impact on C&YP's confidcence, social & communication skills, motivation, physical skills, and knowledge, understanding and interest in natural surroundings and respect for the environment. We will develop several key outcome, output and process indicators to document impact at different levels. A secondary impact of inclusion of the wood will be SOAP's income generation activities. We hope to offering the site for children's environment groups and hire it for woodland parties.
Track record
"SOAP is an amazing place where children develop and build their confidence in a safe, exciting environment". (Matt, Year 6 Teacher, SS Mary & John Primary School, Oxford). Attendance data from 2020 & 2019 In 2019 (pre-coved) SOAP was open for 136 days between March through October and there were 7,916 child visits during this time with an average of 58 (range 21-122) children visiting per day. Over half (54.2%) of visits were from children over the age of 7 years, and one in five of these visited independently or without a parent/carer. Forty six percent of visits were by children under the age of 7 years. We ran 40 youth club sessions with an average of 37 young people attending each session. Covid had a significant impact on attendance through 2020. We were open for 54 days between lockdowns and there were 906 child visits over this time. We ran 17 youth club sessions with approximately 18 young people attending each session.