Play is everywhere. It slips through sidewalks and across continents. In this episode of Play Nature Podcast, host Rusty Keeler welcomes playworker, play advocate, and “friend of play” Marc Armitage. Marc is joining from Australia with stories that stretch from Yorkshire to the far corners of playgrounds and city streets. 

Together they wander through big questions. What is play? Who gets to decide? And what happens when we simply give children space and time to be?

Marc invites us into the mindset of playwork which is less about outcomes, more about conditions. He shares how playwork is both a profession and an attitude, rooted in history yet alive in every moment a child drifts into flow. 

From adventure playgrounds to city design, from the “three frees” to the quiet power of standing back and observing, the conversation reminds us that children don’t need us to script play. They need us to notice it.

This episode reminds us to trust the process, widen the lens, and remember that the spirit of play is already alive in every child, just waiting for room to roam. 

Play is universal. Play is ancient. Play is the thing children just do.

Links:

marc-armitage.com

@marc.armitage.at.play on Facebook

Learn More: rustykeeler.com | @rusty_keeler_designs 

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