$4m nature play space opens at Sydney's Centennial Parklands

The highly anticipated Ian Potter Children’s Wild Play Garden has officially opened in Centennial Parklands.The Garden is designed to be an outdoor learning experience for children aged 2-12, of all abilities and backgrounds. It is made up of dry creek beds, an Artesian water play area, bamboo forest, tunnels, turtle mounds and the Park’s first treehouse. This beautiful 6000 square metre garden, featuring 12,000 plants - firmly establishes Centennial Parklands as Sydney’s leading nature play space.

The WILD PLAY Garden encourages children to climb, run, jump and get dirty. It encourages physical literacy and a greater engagement with the natural world.

Executive Director of Botanic Gardens and Centennial Parklands Kim Ellis said the project has been funded through generous donations from The Ian Potter Foundation, other philanthropic foundations and more than 700 individual donors with the support of Centennial Parklands Foundation.

“The importance of this garden extends far beyond a place for children to play outdoors in a Park,” Mr Ellis said.

“This Garden will provide children with opportunities to reconnect with nature at a time when many have rapidly decreasing access to nature and the outdoors.

“As with any project of this scale, safety is the key, and we have delivered Sydney’s leading nature play space within one of Australia’s best loved public parks.”

Ian Potter Foundation Chair Charles Goode said the Foundation’s support for Wild Play was due to the success of The Ian Potter Children's Garden in Melbourne and also the clear evidence of the benefits of providing dedicated outdoor spaces for children in urban areas.

“The Ian Potter Children’s WILD PLAY Garden reflects the Foundation’s history of supporting projects that improve the lives of children and the wider community,” Mr Goode said.

Entry to the Garden is free, and the play space is now open between 10am and 5pm every day.