Creating a Community of Playmakers

This short film celebrates play moments and memories from our Play Makers project that worked throughout the year to re-imagine the Wisbech Adventure Playground in fantastical ways. The project began in April with a series of workshops for schools and families, run by CCI artists Debbie Hall and Filipa Pereira-Stubbs with Susanne Jasilek. People of all ages were invited to weave stories and dream structures, exploring play, adventure and the outdoors ….all ideas were included (however weird and wonderful). We continued to work alongside the Playteam in the autumn, reaching out to other groups working with families and young people in the community and helping to celebrate all the positive play opportunities the playground offers.

One of the key aims for this stage of the project was to work together to celebrate and make visible all the positive and purposeful forms of play connected with the playground. A charter for children’s play was produced illustrated with images of children at the playground. Photo stories were also made and display boards created that can travel back to partners and different groups and be part of sharing new conversations about the work.

 

With thanks to the incredible Playteam; children, staff and families from Orchards Primary School; Krazydays and Oasis Nurseries; staff of Octavia Hill Museum.

Playmakers - a charter for children's play
Playmakers explore building
Playmakers play with squishy things

  • I feel very proud to go there - I go there and I’m like ‘I helped make that’..like the signs on the outside…when my mates see that and say ‘oh it’s amazing, it’s actually got Spinney written on it’, I say ‘I helped make that’ and the arches I say ‘I helped make that too’……I am really surprised that it all came together and that no one ripped down the stuff – the dome has stayed – it’s important that things can stay there.... I think kids really didn’t have a say about what went in there and now with arches and the domes and things like that the kids kinda of have a say about what looks good or doesn’t.

    Conor, Karolis, Chelsea, Kiri, Donatas, Sophie, Conor, Freddy and Shanell, students from County School

  • But what we created - the ambience, the atmosphere - we were all siting round on the rocks, talking about anything that came into our head, but using that as a joining thing...using it with your hands, you’re doing something with your hands – but it makes the conversation flow...it was absolutely superb.

    Brian, Playteam

  • The project idea put forward by Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination and Wisbech Adventure Playground certainly stood out as an innovative approach. This was initially challenging in terms of our assessment and our understanding of how the activities planned would lead to the desired outcomes. After detailed consideration, and perhaps with some reservations, the project was funded. Now 6 months on, as the impact of the work begins to be analysed, we are encouraged by what has been achieved and we are delighted by the way in which the project team has delivered.

    Jane Darlington, Chief Executive, Cambridgeshire Community Foundation

  • The intention of the Community Fund was to enable communities to take forward initiatives that they felt would make a positive difference to reducing deliberate fires. This project was not something that we as a Fire Service would ever have thought of undertaking, yet the project has made a big impact in the local community and has reduced anti social behaviour in the area, a clear indication that given the opportunity communities are best placed to understand what will work for them in their area. We are pleased to have supported this initiative and thank all those involved for their hard work.

    Rick Hylton, Area Manager, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service

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Date:
01 November 2014
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