We at Northwest Playground hope that this note finds you well and you are off to a spectacular start to 2023! As the calendar rolls over, we at Northwest Playground Equipment are excited to restart our Monthly CEU presentation series.

In January, we are excited to spotlight our presenter Mara Kaplin from Playworld, who has extensively researched playground design with an emphasis on accessibility and inclusion. Here is a link to a document that Mara helped create, the Inclusive Playground Design Guide from the Northwest website.

Topic: Explore Inclusive Playgrounds

Course Credits: CEUs for a total of 1.0 Professional Development Hours 1.0 LA CES HSW PDH

Course Description: Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to physical, learning, language, or behavioral impairment. According to the CDC, about one in six children in the U.S. have one or more developmental disabilities or other developmental delays. It's no wonder the need for inclusive playgrounds in our communities continues to grow. This course will examine exceptional inclusive playgrounds from New York to Nevada and multiple places in between to discover what makes them successful. We will discuss decisions communities made to support the unique needs of their constituents, and we will also look at playgrounds with ground-based play, ramps, themes, unique climbers, and plenty of sensory play options.

Learning Objectives: 

• Discuss the most important elements of an inclusive playground.
• Define terms such as range of challenge, parallel play, and sensory play.
• Discuss the pros and cons of height on playgrounds.

• Thursday, January 19th at 1 pm PST

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your local rep. Thank you for supporting Northwest Playgrounds Equipments CEU initiative in 2023, our goal of Building Community Through Play and Design. We plan to hold this CEU event throughout the year on the 3rd Thursday of the month at 1 PST. We look forward to seeing you next week; if not, our next CEU presentation will be on Thursday, February 16th. Have a great weekend, The Northwest Playground Team