Nature-based play helps young minds grow

Have you spied a pademelon, bandicoot or possum outside your bedroom window lately? Camp Banksia is home to native wildlife as well as resident ducks, swamp hens and a host of other birdlife. Frogs and tadpoles enjoy our pond (you can kayak there too) and there are lizards and bees and butterflies – all kinds of wonderful creatures big and small.

Nature-based play is encouraged in our open spaces and bushland and there are plenty of fun (and safe) ways for young people to get their hands dirty as they explore and engage with the natural environment.

Researchers at the University of Western Australia* have found that natural playgrounds provide children with more opportunities to develop gross-motor skills than typical pre-formed playgrounds. Play in natural settings is also more diverse, imaginative and creative and can help develop language and collaboration skills.

A stay at Camp Banksia is filled with natural, fun, educational experiences. Our comfortable cabins are set within 6 hectares of natural parklands and are a short ramble from both the Port Sorell beach and Pitcairn nature reserve.

The beach and estuary is home to shorebirds – including around 400 Oystercatchers – and there are shellfish, sea snails, sea stars, surf and soldier crabs and even little penguins to be seen by those with a careful eye.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

For more structured learning, the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Discovery Ranger runs activities at our site including Rock Pool Rambles and Bush Survival Skills. The North West Snake Catcher can also present an interactive and educational show on reptiles where you can feel the skin of a snake or pat a lizard (if you’re brave!)

A stay at Camp Banksia can be a wild, wonderful and naturally good experience – our friendly team (and the wildlife) look forward to welcoming your group!

* Dr Lisa Wood and Dr Karen Martin, The University of Western Australia

 

Image attribution:

“cheeky pademelon mom” by Daniela Parra F. is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0