Exploring Access to Nature Play in Urban Parks: Resilience, Sustainability, and Early Childhood

Nature play is an important component of the development of resilience in early childhood. Nature play is also an element of urban sustainability through a consideration of access to urban nature. From the foundation of access to nature play as a part of both resilience and sustainability considerations, a mixed-method case study was initiated. Spatial analysis, survey outreach, and focus group methodology have been combined to consider whether city parkland provides access for preschools to incorporate nature play, and, further, whether other barriers may exist to limit or prevent the use of city parks for nature play by preschool programs. The results indicate the existence of quality proximate access, but other factors creating barriers for broader application of nature play exist. The results also illustrate the critical role of public access to public parks as part of urban sustainability and the development of resilience in young children. The implications for the use of city parkland for nature play are presented.