Our much-loved Eltham North Adventure Playground (ENAP) has won a major national design award.
The Kidsafe National Playspace Design awards recognise excellence and innovation in the provision of safe, creative playspaces across Australia.
ENAP, designed by Jeavons Landscape Architects with Gardiner Architects and constructed by naturform, was the winner in the Public Playspaces $1 million - $3 million category.
The Kidsafe awards showcase the achievements of communities working with designers and the playground industry in creating amazing play environments.
Our community was devastated when the original adventure playground was destroyed in a fire in December 2017.
The new playground was rebuilt in a huge collaboration with the community and opened only a year after the fire.
The design followed extensive consultation and was based on the ideas and feedback from the community with the key themes of adventure, climbing and nature play.
The designers worked to balance replicas of the previous design elements with new ideas, paying homage to the traditional woolshed and history of the area.
Nillumbik Shire Council Chief Executive Officer Carl Cowie congratulated the designers and all those involved in such a special project.
"The new adventure playground is much-loved in Nillumbik and draws visitors from across Melbourne," Mr Cowie said.
"It was a huge blow when the original playground was destroyed. But it's great to see what our community can achieve despite adversity."
Kidsafe Victoria Executive Officer Mel Courtney said this year's awards had a special focus on inclusive play integrating with the natural and cultural environments.
"These inspirational playspaces encourage healthy participation in recreational activities for children across the nation," she said.
Jeavons Landscape Architects Director Mary Jeavons said: "We're thrilled this new version of the original adventure playground has been embraced by the community."
