NATURE AT PLAY

A long-awaited playground revives a community and rekindles a love of nature in its juvenile inhabitants.

Designed, supplied and installed by playground specialists Austek Play, Lakes of Cherrybrook is a natural inclusive playspace with water views and a wealth of fun play structures for all ages and abilities.

Featuring barbecues areas, shaded picnic shelters, a drinking fountain and plenty of seating, the Lakes of Cherrybrook Park is surrounded by bush walks, nature trails and viewing platforms, making it a boon to the local community.

An initiative of Hornsby Council, the park was scheduled for renewal under Council’s capital works program. Upgrades for improved access to and through the park via accessible pathways, additional public amenities and a new playground where the key features of the project.

The nature-inspired playspace was commissioned by Council in a bid to encourage physical and social interactions, with an imaginative component, providing plenty of opportunities for climbing, sliding and swinging. The playground is fully fenced to ensure safety for its users, while added seating makes it comfortable for parents and carers to supervise play.

With over 20 years of experience, Austek Play produce original design concepts for playspaces that cater to all abilities and encourage growth through play. The new playspace at Lakes of Cherrybrook is no exception. Reflecting the natural bushland surrounds, Austek chose to utilise timber as its main building component for this imaginiative play zone, along with other hardwearing materials that ensure it will stand the test of time.

Two timber climbing towers joined by a rope bridge stand as the central elements of the area, offering a climbing wall, rope play and two slides between them. Supplementing this dearth of play opportunities is an inclusive 3-bay swing and rocker to ensure there’s something fun for everyone.

Soft-fall surfacing provides a safe landing mat for excited players, while natural sandstone blocks define zones of play that spread throughout the fenced area, giving everyone room to move as well as forming additional structures to climb over or sit upon.  Surrounded by tall trees, the accessible pathways weaving throughout the play structures are well shaded, making it safe for kids to run from swing to slide all day.

Offering hours of fun for the whole family, the Lakes of Cherrybrook Park upgrade was a worthy local project that serves the whole community. “We are happy to finally open the playground after a long-anticipated wait from the community, who have been eagerly watching its construction over a period of four months,” claims Council.

PROJECT PARTICULARS

Client Hornsby Council

Location Cherrybrook, New South Wales

Playscape Austek Play