Beautiful, fun and productive
We believe in landscaping for a sustainable future. We hope to ignite in kids a love of nature, so that they will be the ones who grow up to preserve it. We are convinced of the invaluable role that complex, natural environments play as a resource for learning and shaping our sense of responsibility about tomorrow. We strive to create beautiful, sensory nature-filled spaces where kids are free to harness their imaginations and explore their inner boundaries.
“Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our children's health
(and also, by the way, in our own).”
- Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods
Our designs aim to respond to kids’ innate desire for play while working in sync with nature’s intricate ecosystems. We aspire to make having fun and learning about the natural world a holistic synthesis in children's experience. We propose functional elements such as pathways, platforms and climbing structures that blend into, and integrate seamlessly with, an abundance of lush and edible green. Playgrounds should be magical spaces of learning and creativity within a natural environment rather than "plonked” structures devoid of their physical context.
EKG seeks to design spaces which engage all the senses through careful selection of textural, colourful and scented plants, foliage and fruits which change through the seasons, and by including elements such as ramps and bridges, elevated play areas, wildlife habitats, balancing and climbing challenges, swings, and natural features such as creeks, boulders and water features.
As a parent and Permaculture gardener, owner Steve Webb is conscious of the quality of the food we consume and the integrity of the food systems we are part of. He has a strong passion to see children growing up in urban environments being connected to the food they consume - how their fruit and veggies grow; how soils, air, water, food, animals and waste are so intimately linked; and how each of us has a role to play in contributing to and shaping these systems.
"Childhood is a time of rapid physical, mental and emotional development. Time spent in nature provides a diversity of sounds, sights, smells and textures, and a variety of plants, animals and landscapes that children can engage with. This mental and sensory stimulation is important in human developmental processes."
Quote from National Tree Day report Planting Trees: Just What the Doctor Ordered. Read full report here.
EKG founder and head designer, Steve Webb shares the vision behind the gardens and play spaces we create.
“Depriving kids of play and contact with nature (and the magic that happens when both of these are present) is contributing to the epidemic level of childhood disorders, depression, obesity and allergies that mean that for the first time in recorded history our children’s life expectancy will be shorter than ours.”
Mike Jones, Planet Earth's Most Playful, 2014
For more on integrated play-learning environments, download our Whole-of-School Learning PDF
Read more about outdoor spaces which engage all the senses, visit the 7 Sevens Foundation website