The Playful Green Planet programme began with two landmark pilot sites in Coldside, Dundee and across multiple sites in Hull in 2024.
In partnership with the Eden Project and Bath Spa University, these pilots were the first of their kind in the UK: transforming green spaces in urban, economically disadvantaged areas into outdoor playrooms and classrooms, co-designed with children and their communities.
In Coldside, one of Dundee’s most economically disadvantaged areas, the local stewardship is led by a coalition between the MAXwell Community Centre and Garden, and Toadstool Trails – a project by local artist Suzanne Scott in collaboration with the Dundee Medical School Healthcare Improvement Team.
Together, they work with children to co-create nature-based play spaces inspired by Forest of Imagination’s mini Edens, building connections between play, place and wellbeing.
In Hull, the pilot was coordinated by experts from the University of Hull’s School of Education. Their vision is to create ‘environments of inquiry’ across the university’s network of green sites, engaging schools, teachers, and local authorities in playful learning rooted in nature.
These spaces are now used as experimental outdoor classrooms, offering new ways for children to interact with the natural world while building confidence and curiosity.
Across both pilot sites, the impact has been encouraging. In their first six months, they have:
INTERVENTION
Become a Playful Green Planet Steward, and bring outdoor play to your community
The National Lottery Community Fund (Climate Action Fund) has generously funded the first two pilots and founded Playful Green Planet stewards in Dundee and Hull.
The RSA announced that it will kickstart a pilot of its radical Playful Green Planet intervention, supported by The National Lottery’s Community Fund.
Could the RSA’s Playful Green Planet intervention help create a world where every child has access to nature-based play spaces?
Becoming a nation with children at its centre in 10 courageous steps.
