We always design our playgrounds to meet CSA standards. We use these
standards as guidelines for the safety of children.
Playground Safety Concerns
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Fall
Heights
Our natural playgrounds are designed to eliminate fall heights.
Our version of a climbing apparatus is hills and fallen logs. The fall height from logs is under 12"
for children 18 months - 5years, and under 24" for 5 years and up.
Our hills have gradual inclines with no sharp drops, which make fall
heights 0".
Our signature component is the Hillslide. We install slides in sides of
hills with overhead barriers forcing children to sit down at the slide instead
of jumping or running down the slide.
There are numerous studies about children's injury rates.
Studies show that:
- Falls are the No.1 cause of
playground injury to children.
- Falls from playground
equipment are 4 times more likely to result in sever fractures then falls
from standing heights
- Falls from a climbing
apparatus is the No.1 standard play structure component that causes the
most injuries.
- Falls from slides is the N0.2
standard play structure component that causes the most injuries.
(Fiissel et al, Inj. Prev.
2005;11;337-339)
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Surfacing
Our Natural Playgrounds consist of 4 different surfaces.
- Grass (only in areas where
children will not trample it)
- Sand (in sandbox areas)
- Mulch (the predominant
surface for most areas)
- Rubber Surfacing (walking
paths (especially on inclines), trike paths, tracks)
CSA Standards require a "Crash Test"
- HIC (Head Injury Criteria) =
force to create fatal head injury
- HIC is measured to determine
the force of impact of a child's head on the testing surface.
The test is measured from 2 heights.
- 72.5cm (28.5") for
children under 5
- 95cm (37.5") for
children 6 and up
- Mulch Depth: 6"-12"
(15-30cm) of compact mulch depending on fall height.
- Rubber Depth: ~3" of
rubber depending on fall heights
- Standards recommend annual
inspection.
Studies Show:
- At fall heights of 100cm and 150cm,
the lowest HIC is at the 12cm (5") and 15cm (6") depths of mulch
respectively.
- 7.5-9cm (3-3.5") of
rubber surface is equivalent to 18 cm (7") of compact mulch.
(A H Gunatilaka et al, Inj. Prev.
2004;10;174-179)
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Sharp
Objects/Edges
Fallen Logs
- All fallen logs are cut to
join end to end.
- All edges are sanded and
rounded until perfectly smooth
Log
Stump Seating
- All stumps are securely
installed into the ground
- All edges are sanded and rounded
until perfectly smooth
Upright
Wacky Posts
- All sharp edges are sanded
smooth and rounded off
- All pointed edges are cut
flush and sanded smooth
Fastening
Hardware/Materials
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All bolts/nuts or fastening hardware are countersunk
to eliminate the chance of piercing or cutting
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