ChYpPS Urban Adventure Play projects

The nature trails at Cherry Hinton enable children, young people and their families to take part in activities and challenges near the pond at Cherry Hinton Hall.

The trails include a new pond-dipping platform as well as challenge and activity boards.

Downloadable activity sheets will be made available on the website soon.

For more information about the Play Trails, please email Jo Hunt at jo.hunt@cambridge.gov.uk or telephone 01223 457873.

The ChYpPS play boat is the first of its kind in the country and offers a unique experience for children and young people, schools, community groups and families to play on the River Cam. It is a custom-designed, 60-feet-long, 10-feet-wide narrowboat, which was delivered to Cambridge at the end of January 2011.

Sessions running from the boat include open access drop in sessions and closed group work, involving activities such as environmental art, river dipping, cooking and fishing projects. The boat will also be available for trips and overnight residentials, where there will be an opportunity to work the locks and steer the boat.

For more information about the ChYpPS community play boat, please email either Dan Mitchell at dan.mitchell@cambridge.gov.uk or Karl Wilks at karl.wilks@cambridge.gov.uk or telephone 01223 457873.

The ChYpPS Urban Adventure Play (UAP) Base at Cherry Hinton Hall provides a dedicated site to run Urban Adventure Play projects. It is a flexible space where groups can be taken on half or full day trips or on weekly projects. Activities are adaptable to the groups needs and can include:

• Campfires and cooking
• Woodworking (including whistle making, hammers and walking sticks)
• Den and shelter building
• Scavenger hunts, forest trails and blindfold games
• Natural art and sculpture

The base has proven very popular with groups as it provides a safe environment in which to explore risky play, using tools and learning skills that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. Both children and adults alike have expressed how calming the space is and how being outside enhances their play and learning experience.

We have a number of Forest School Level 3 trained members of staff and all staff have been internally trained in Urban Adventure Play. This means that we are able to transfer skills and activities and use them within our open access and targeted work as well as in the UAP Base.

For more information about this project please contact Jo Hunt at jo.hunt@cambridge.gov.uk or Karl Wilks on karl.wilks@cambridge.gov.uk or telephone 01223 457873.