© Underdog Heavy Industries 1969-2011   Heathlands Primary School We were asked to develop a playground and wild area for the reception year.  The space was long and narrow running along the edge of the school building. The brief included a bike track, sandpit, play tower with various physical challenges, water-play, music and sound play, growing and digging beds and a wild area. We built a large play tower with a bridge, spiral access ramp, ladder and stairs. After noting the movement of the sun across the site we made intricate coloured windows which throw constantly changing projections onto the structure.  We involved the children in the design of the spiral ramp and drew around a number of them to produce the coloured silhouettes you can see in these pictures. As the school had a special interest in music we consulted with the head and music teacher to construct a music area at one end of the playground.  The centrepiece to this is an eighteen note plosive aerophone played with bats; you can see it in the image to the left.  Other instruments were added; tuned according to the suggestions of the school. Planters for growing vegetables and flowers, and a digging area were used to provide definition to the bike track. We transformed the entranceway of this playground into a wild/natural area involving the planting of a willow dome and a mixed native wild hedge.  We built a bug tower to help provide shelter for a variety of insects and give the children a good opportunity for mini-beast investigation. Heathland School has a great website which includes a slide-show of this project being constructed. Finally we built a nautical sandpit with a bit of bite.  This has fine detailed paintings whilst the shark’s jaws have a very practical purpose; closing to cover the sandpit and prevent it becoming a magnet to local cats!