First 5 Humboldt hosted world-renowned playground expert and risky play advocate Rusty Keeler, for a multi-day visit to our childcare community in September. Rusty Keeler is a designer, author, and speaker with a unique sensitivity to the sights, sounds and experiences of childhood. For over 30 years Rusty has traveled the world designing natural outdoor play environments and speaking about the benefits and beauty of saying “yes” to children’s play. Creating a sense of place and playful connections to the natural world are at the heart of Rusty’s design work. Described as a cross between Mr. Rogers and Jerry Garcia, Rusty is the author of multiple books on play and playscapes.
Rusty started with a consultation at the Hoopa Child Development Facility in Hoopa on Friday morning, September 14th. There he was met by the facility director, education director and several of the teachers to discuss play-yard possibilities, challenges and ideas. He recommended wide open sand areas, adding a hill, using logs as barriers, and pulling up some areas of artificial turf to add soil and grass. He had creative suggestions of how the teachers could make their ideas come to life. One area can be a traditional fishing camp complete with nets, boulders and drying “salmon”, while another corner is perfect for a traditional (play)home that the children can go in and out of. Although the yards don’t have trees and they can’t be planted there due to the underground infrastructure, pots, tubs and raised beds can be added for plants and shrubs throughout all three yards. Staff took copious notes and are now focused on grant-writing to fund some of their ideas and seemed energized and inspired by the visit.
That same evening, Rusty joined about 40 childcare providers from centers and family childcare homes all over the county for a dinner at the Jefferson Community Center in Eureka where he spoke about the joy and wonder of children exploring nature and testing their strength and skills by interacting with the natural world, and the many ways that childcare providers can foster exploration through the environments they create. A slide show included photos of children in many environments and seasons and everyone went home with a goody bag of books written by Rusty Keeler, as well as one of his signature “kid faucets” to offer on-demand water that stops flowing when it is not being pressed.
The next day, Rusty toured 5 separate childcare facilities along with First 5 staff and about 20 childcare providers. At each site, the owner or director gave us a tour and also highlighted areas they specifically wanted support with, whether it was a mud kitchen with no storage, a long expanse of fence or a bare corner. Not only did Rusty share his expertise at each site, but the tour was a fantastic opportunity for idea sharing and networking. Childcare providers had ideas for each other, shared what they had tried or used at their own sites, and made new connections. All involved appeared energized, inspired, validated and excited to go back to their own sites and put some ideas into action.