Celebrating big wins for Inclusive Play

Variety Livvi’s Place at Edgebrook is Victoria’s Park of the Year! 

The playspace, developed in partnership with Stockland, the City of Casey and Spiire architects, was bestowed the honour in the 2021 Park & Leisure Australia’s National Awards of Excellence last month (November). 

Edgebrook also won an AILA Victoria Landscape Architecture Award in June.   

And it’s not the only one – Variety Livvi’s Place Glenfield, created with Campbelltown City Council and Place Design Group, has won the Playground Design and Development Award from the National Sports & Physical Activity Convention 2021 Australian Sport, Recreation and Play Innovation Awards!

With so much recognition for these designs, we thought it was a good opportunity to explain what makes a Variety Livvi’s Place a thriving play hub the whole community can enjoy together. 

“Fun and inclusive engagement and planning with all kids in the community leads to the creation of fun, inclusive bespoke playspaces that are used, loved and enjoyed from the moment we open the gates and for generations to come,” says Variety’s Head of Inclusive Play, Kim Becherand. 

We also: 

• Take a child first approach and take the lead from the real play experts – our KIDS!  
• Deeply engage with families and all in the wider community and work hard to reach all those who might not engage with a survey online by holding inclusive workshops to explore the concepts of inclusion and play and what we need to create a welcoming space of belonging, safety and fun for everyone to enjoy and share together. 
• Work with the project team, designers and the community to support collaboration to support participation by all in planning. Know there is more than one way to create an inclusive design. It’s about asking the right questions. The kids and those living with disability have the answers. 
• Encourage inclusive and universal design principals from the initial design phase. 
• Explain it doesn’t have to cost more to be inclusive. 
• Promote inclusive designs to provide safe, welcoming and comfortable spaces with multiple options of choice to get to, approach and participate in opportunities that enable play and interaction with others in a valued and respected role. 
• Know that simply adding or putting in accessible equipment does not make a space inclusive and you can’t bolt on or add inclusive design.