Nature at play: way and opportunties of ludic experiences outdoors

The construct of play is one of the most variously interpreted, due to its transversal nature in the human experience, which leads it to being the object of numerous areas of study and research (Bondioli, 1996; Manuzzi, 2002; Braga, 2005; Antonacci, 2012; Braga & Morgandi, 2012). Depending on the epistemological perspectives from which it is observed and described, it takes on different meanings and connotations which make its definition simultaneously elusive and ex-tremely diversified.For these reasons, we limit ourselves here to outlining play accord-ing to three attributions. In the first place, we assume its heteroge-neous character, both in the definition and in the forms, ways, actions with which it is expressed. Secondly, we recognize its character of universality, given its presence in the first place in the history of hu-manity, as shown by games which date back to antiquity and even earlier (Fittà, 1997; Staccioli, 2008), then in that of every person, as indicated by the presence of playing at every latitude and longitude, lastly throughout the whole lifespan, starting from the game of smiling between babies and their caregivers (Garvey, 1977). Lastly, we share its being culturally situated, i.e. structured according to values, rules, meanings of a given space and time, of a given social group, of a given community, therefore it is affected in its proceeding and articulation by the conditions that the context makes available to varying degrees.The play to which we refer therefore, corresponds to an element that is connatured in the human experience, of which it is a vital and snecessary part for the development of individuals as well as for that of the quality of their lives and of others’ lives. In particular, referring to very small children, play is «the physical and behavioural equivalent of oxygen» (Hughes, 2001), that primary mechanism with which chil-dren encounter the world, including the natural one, and which lets them explore it, investigate it, interpret it and reconstruct it, in this way taking possession of it.In parallel, a yearning for nature has also often been indicated as intrinsic to the human experience, summarized in the concept of bio-philia, which means the innate feeling of closeness of man to other living beings (Kellert & Wilson, 1993; Wilson, 2002; Barbiero & Berto, 2016). A number of studies show that children have a strong and deeply rooted sensitivity towards the natural world: in this case too, it is a biologically determined attachment, which nevertheless is articulated in different ways in individuals, depending on various fac-tors, both individual and environmental. In particular, the experience of playing in nature has been shown in numerous surveys and many now classic studies (Hart, 1979; Moore, 1986) as a privileged way for children, which could easily be observed until a few decades ago in everyday experience.The nature to which we refer here is not necessarily wild but cer-tainly authentic. At least of green areas which preserve natural spaces and areas for the needs of children: these places, in this way, keep characteristics of unforeseeability and adventurousness which are necessary qualities to foster children’s play. On the other hand, this is much less present in outdoor play areas, which in recent decades have seen a progressive transformation, highlighting above all the dimension of safety and decreasing that of challenge and adventure. If, until that moment, playgrounds had challenging structures, often made of metal and of great heights, since the 1980s this equipment has been gradually replaced by other types in plastic and is generally much lower than the previous types (Hanscom, 2016). All this has led to an impoverishment of the quality of play and of the types of play that children can experience, but, conversely, it today represents an opportunity to rethink of outdoor playing and the relationship with the outdoors.