Planning for Play Conference
I was delighted to be invited to speak today at the Planning for Play and Recreation seminar, organised by the Irish government’s Department of Children, Disability and Equality. This was hosted in Athlone, Ireland on October 2025.
I shared the Make Space York project, a grass roots project which focuses on creating welcoming parks for teenage girls to help reduce the steep drop-off in girls’ park use as they enter their teenage years. I talked about how engagement (in all its different forms, which continue today) led to the co-creation of a new area in Rowntree Park with the equipment girls said they wanted, as well as to our Make Space Festival of free events – and how we’ve brought the community along with us on this journey.
It was an incredible day full of inspiration and good practice from across Ireland and beyond. Highlights included:
Tim Gill keynote speaker, reminding us to look beyond “KFC” (kit, fence, carpet) playgrounds and to think more holistically about play- play beyond the park!
Helle Nebelong, Danish landscape architect and pioneer of natural play, sharing her passion for inclusive, health-focused, creative green spaces. (I’m all for asymmetrical playscapes!)
Nicola Tickner from the Department of Children, Disability and Equality demonstrating how data can be used to understand where playgrounds are- and where they should be.
In the afternoon, we heard brilliant short presentations from:
Carlow County Council and Monaghan County Council (Ireland) Council on accessible and inclusive playground design.
Waterford City & County Council on playful communities and pop-up play
And finally, youth voices from Comhairle na nÓg, who are helping evaluate new spaces for teenagers being developed in Ireland.
I came away inspired by so many passionate people doing meaningful work to make play more inclusive and accessible for all. The fact Ireland has flagged teens as a group needing provision means they are trailblazers, and there are some great things happening including the work of South Dublin County Council Teen Spaces and the new projects to come elsewhere following some funding in spring 2025.
I love that Ireland has a government department with a remit that ensures children and young people have a voice in shaping the policies and spaces that affect them – should be mandatory everywhere! So many great ideas and connections from today – more to share soon.
Thanks to
Deirdre Reidy and Bairbre Meaney -from the DCDE for the invite.
Image on left: Tim Gill and Robyn Monroe Miller – (Australia International Play Association) awarding Tim Gill a ‘licences to play’. Right the DCDE Team.
