The words “we’ve got nothing to play with” are soon to be a thing of the past with the arrival of 14 Gear Up play boxes to community sites across West Auckland.

Co-ordinated by Sport Waitākere and funded by NZCT, the boxes will include a range of play equipment including balls, giant Jenga, skipping ropes, cornhole and other outdoor play items. 

The new Gear Up boxes will be located near a number of community spaces including local Pataka Kai community pantries, libraries, schools, sports clubs, community organisations and shopping precincts.

Community members can borrow, play with and return the gear for others to use. The aim is for each local community to own and care for the box, and also add any gear they would like to. Each will include a trolley for easy moving and will have a kaitiaki (guardian) who is a trusted community member or organisation.

“Communities should have access to opportunities to be active and connect with each other. These Gear Up boxes put play at the heart of the community so they can be accessed by anyone, at any time,” explains Pauline Butt from Sport Waitākere.

“While improving the physical, social and mental wellbeing of community and increasing equity of access to outdoor play options, this initiative can also contribute to strengthening neighbourhood relationships.”

When Covid alert level restrictions allow, the Gear Up boxes will be rolled out over the summer months to help people take advantage of their local parks, reserves and community spaces. The arrival of the play boxes follows trialling of various play models across the Glen Eden and Lincoln North communities over the last three years.

The original Gear Up trial was conducted in Sunvue and Prospect Parks in response to the Waitākere Ranges Local Board initiative to boost the use of underutilised green spaces.

Community insights gathered by Sport Waitākere included feedback that there was ‘nothing to play with’. After a trial box was placed at Prospect Park, there was a noticeable increase in families coming into the park to play.

Funding from Sport New Zealand then allowed a second trial of a community play initiative called play portals.  Insights gathered from local tamariki and rangatahi again demonstrated that the lack of equipment was key to them not playing in local green spaces.

Owners of Sokols Swanson Fruit Shop, Kulwant and Kiran Singh agreed to act as kaitiaki of a trial box housed in the outdoor green space adjacent to their shop. The play portal was promoted with local schools, with great uptake from local children, explains Bea Enriquez, from Sport Waitākere’s Healthy Families team.

“The play portal was really well utilised by local tamariki and rangatahi. After the trial, Kulwant and Kiran agreed to continue being kaitiaki of the box, recognising that it brings positive connections between young people and outdoor spaces. What was once an empty carpark space and afterschool pick up zone has now become a place to do fun things.”

The success of the play portal initiative was recognised recently in The Kūmara Awards’ ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ category for enabling everyday fun, creativity and play among local children in many local (and sometimes unexpected) places. The awards are dedicated to placemaking, where people work together to make places better, not only for themselves but for others and for the place itself.

“We are so grateful to Kulwant and Kiran for getting behind this initiative and making it such a success. The play portals experience and learnings have played a really important role in shaping the Gear Up rollout,” adds Bea.

Article added: Monday 29 November 2021