Artificial grass ideas are the perfect solution for the needs of any playground. Schools especially love the low maintenance, cushioned falls, and aesthetically pleasing options. Therefore, sites up and down the country choose artificial turf for their play safety surfaces. However, it’s no secret that children need creativity in order to spur their imagination and inspire their play. We are here to tell you that artificial grass can be used in a multitude of ways to achieve this.
PlaySmart has compiled inspiration and ideas on how you can use your artificial grass in creative new ways. Utilise these grass ideas to provide an engaging and immersive play experience for children of all ages and abilities.
1: Time-Out Areas
If you’ve ever been around a playground, you know kids take ‘play hard’ almost too seriously! For those worn out after a fun playtime, artificial grass ‘time-out’ zones’. This is a good way of giving children a way of stepping back and preventing them from becoming too tired. But it is also a very beneficial idea for children who may have difficulties with socialising, sensory processing, or similar.
These time-out spaces mean children have a quiet place to retreat to when overwhelmed by their surroundings. Creating an ideal space for a quiet moment or being away from other children.
2: Underneath Playground Equipment
Safety is of paramount importance when it comes to playing. PlaySmart recognises that and therefore has developed safe artificial grass ideas to improve protection. We have developed our own unique shock pad for fitting underneath artificial grass to provide an extra layer of protection. The SmartPlay system is a perforated shock layer that, under artificial grass, meets critical fall height measurements from 0.7m to 3.0m. When the inevitable slip, trip, or fall occurs, SmartPlay has you covered.
3: Artificial Grass and Wet Pour
One of our favourite artificial grass ideas is a fun, inviting play space that helps spur children’s imaginations. By combining artificial grass and wet pour, we create a wider range of designs with unique colours, shapes, and patterns.
There is a lot of evidence in research that bright colours and creative patterns help children’s early development. It can additionally assist in imaginative play by providing inspiration for role play or similar play. By combining our quality RubbaSmart wet pour and Green Frog artificial grass, your creative possibilities are endless!
4: Running Tracks
Running has a whole host of physical and mental benefits. Therefore, a running track is a common fixture in many schools. They make excellent additions to P.E. lessons, after-school clubs, sports days, and athletic teams. It’s easier to encourage kids to get up and get active when the facilities are right in front of you!
There are plenty of different artificial grass ideas and options available. Also, some turfs are designed more for a sports surface. Selecting an artificial grass design with a more astro-turf-like surface ensures a better grip for running and a cushioned surface.
5: Road-Themed Play Area
As we already know, playgrounds need fun and creative designs in order to inspire imaginative play. PlaySmart has many requests for customised playgrounds and we’re happy to work alongside our clients, using all our expertise and resources to turn our client’s vision into a reality.
A common request is creating a racetrack or road theme for a school, which PlaySmart can easily create through using a velour grass ‘carpet’ that is soft, able to incorporate patterns and designs, and really helped spark the imagination of children playing on it.
We hope this article gave you some inspiration for how you can use your artificial grass in creative ways, but we’re sure there’s plenty more ideas out there! Please get in touch using the link below if you have any requests, and we’ll help you turn your playground vision into a reality!