Bec and Asa chatted with Nature Play WA CEO, Kelsie Prabawa-Sear about connection and community through time spent outdoors.

“When you start talking to people in your community, you just feel better about yourself, about your community, about safety, about the world, ” began Kelsie. “Sometimes we take it for granted or feel like we’re a bit busy for it, but it’s really a really great thing to be a part of.”

Community Support

She added that when kids are connected to their community, they feel supported by people who aren’t their immediate family.

“It makes you feel a bit more confident and safer in your surroundings. The other beauty is that the more people we know in our community, the more people there are to check on each other.”

She said that incidents like a child falling off their scooter on the way to school or lost items can be resolved in more efficient ways when a community is connected to one another.

Outdoor Spaces

Kelsie said that the need for outdoor spaces far outweighs the need for commercial spaces, and comes with much less pressure.

“You don’t need any money, you don’t need to have anything actually, you can just rock up to the park and enjoy it and use it in whatever way you know you feel like.”

Juxtaposed against indoor spaces like cafes and event spaces there are expectations on finances and how children behave.

“For families with kids that have different needs as well, that can sometimes be a bit tricky, continued Kelsie.”

“Having kids within different age ranges can also be helpful. One could be running around and doing whatever and the other one’s playing in the sand quietly. We can move differently; kids are more likely to do things like run and climb and do cartwheels.”

Young Mums

Kelsie offered some advice to young mums who are looking for opportunities to connect.

“I was that young mum once with three kids and feeling overwhelmed,” she said.

Kids will usually find other kids at the playground and immediately start interacting, which gives them socialisation they may not get from being at home. Adults can also have a side-by-side chat as the kids play together.

“Instantly you have something in common because you live locally and you’ve got kids around the same age. So it is a really nice way to meet people.”

Check out the full chat with Kelsie Prabawa-Sear below