Nature Play Passport FAQs
How do I get a passport?
Passports have been offered to P&Cs at primary schools around Western Australia. If you are at school and have not received a passport and would like to have one, ask your P&C to contact us to make a bulk order (more than 20) for your school.
We are also happy to post bulk orders of passports (more than 20) to playgroups, day care centres, sporting associations, or any group that works with children aged 3-12.
Alternatively you can pick up a passport at Nature Play sponsored events.
We apologise, but at this time we do not have the resources to send out passports to individuals. But keep your eye out for updates by registering for our Nature Play newsletter or signing up for our Facebook group.
What questions are asked during registration and what will you do with this information?
At registration you will be prompted to answer the following questions:
- First name
- Date of birth
- Mum or Dad’s e-mail
- Postcode
- Boy or girl?
We ask for your children’s birthdates so we can send them age-appropriate missions. We ask for Mum or Dad’s e-mail so we can keep parents in the loop about what the kids are doing as part of the missions. Each time a child completes a mission, an e-mail is sent to Mum or Dad asking them to confirm it has been done. When the parent confirms, the next mission is “unlocked” online.
It is not necessary to give us your child’s gender or postcode during the registration process, but it will help us to tailor future missions to be more relevant to your local area and possibly to better match the interests of boys and girls.
Nature Play WA will not display this information on our website or share is with any other organisation.
Is there anything else I can use my passport for?
Yes there is! There will be special events throughout the year that will have unique missions for you to do and stamps and stickers for you to earn.
Keep your eye out for updates by registering for our Nature Play newsletter or signing up for our Facebook group.
The passports can also be a great resource for schools, groups or even families who want to make up their own set of missions! Write your missions down and get started. As you finish your missions mark the mission pages with stamps or stickers that you can find at the local post office or stationary shop, or make a stamps of your own!
Will it cost money to do these missions?
No, the passports and most missions are free. However, some missions, like “Visit a National Park”, may incur a small entry fee. If you find this cost prohibitive, feel free to substitute the mission with a free alternative like visiting a local regional park.
My kids are different ages. Can they both do the missions?
The passport missions have been designed to be age-specific, with different activities for children from 3 – 5 years, 6 – 9 years and 10 – 12 years. However, the missions for the 6- 9 age group are similar the 10 – 12 age group, but with small modifications occasionally thrown into the older age group to increase the level of difficulty. Feel free to modify the missions to suit multiple kids.
I’m scared to let my children do these missions without me. How do I help them without changing their experience/exploration?
If your kids are very young, or have not yet developed “street smarts” or you just feel nervous about them going out on their own, why not supervise them, but at a distance? For example, when you take them to a park, watch them, but let them explore and lead the activity on their own. Try not to intervene unless it is a real safety issue. Consider using these outdoor times as an opportunity to talk to your kids about things like safely crossing streets, stranger danger and dealing with an emergency.
I don’t know how to do the missions (as a parent) ... where can I get some extra help/advice?
We have tried to provide links to extra help or advice for missions where needed. If you still want more help, search the internet, take out a book from your local library or ask advice from a neighbour or grandparent. You never know, your kids might even be able to brainstorm to help you figure it out! If all else fails, feel free to modify the mission to make it more manageable for your family, or you might consider asking advice from families in our Facebook group.
Most of the missions can be done around my house or local community, why don’t you get us to go somewhere more exciting or further away?
Ideally we would like kids to be able to do the majority of the missions on their own, without having to rely on adult supervision or transportation, especially in the older age groups. Whether you live in the inner city or on a bush block, there is a world of fun available right on your own doorstep, kids just need the opportunity to find it.
Where do I get the stickers for completing missions?
There are two sets of stickers attached to the middle of each passport.
The “mission stickers” are meant to be placed on the corresponding mission page when a mission is completed.
The “back page stickers” can be used when the activities suggested at the back of the passport are completed. This includes geocaching, surfing, hiking and visits to the Rio Tinto Naturescape, Perth Zoo, the Bibbulmun Track, the Munda Biddi off-road cycle trail or National Parks. You don’t need to do these activities as part of the mission challenges, they are just to give you some extra ideas for a bit of family fun.
Who should use the Nature Play activity passport?
The passports have been designed to be completed by children aged children 3-12. Age-specific missions are available, with different activities for children aged from 3 – 5 years, 6 – 9 years and 10 – 12 years. When your child registers, you will be prompted to enter his or her birth date. This will allow age-appropriate missions to be automatically allocated to your child. Please note that any information you supply us won’t be displayed on our website or shared with any other organisation.
I live outside the Perth Metro area, can I do the missions?
Wherever there is outdoors, you can do them! Most of the missions can be done in any neighbourhood, regardless of where you live. However there are some missions, like “Visit a National Park” that may require you to travel. If you are not able to do a mission because it is too far away, substitute it for a similar activity nearer to your home. Remember, imagination is an important part of nature play too.
Nature Play WA is also in the process of designing some location-specific missions for some regional areas. So far these have been completed in Bunbury and Geraldton. If you live in a regional area and would like to see some local missions included, please contact us here. Your mission suggestions for your local area are welcome.
How much do the passports cost?
The passports come at no cost to you or your organisation, plus most activities can be done at no cost by anyone who can get outdoors.
My kids don’t go to primary school yet. Can you send one to me directly?
Unfortunately we do not have the resources to send passports to individual children at this time.
If you are part of a playgroup, day care, or other organisation involved with children aged 3-12 and you would like to make a bulk passport order (more than 20), please contact us here.
Do I get anything for completing the missions?
Children who complete all ten missions will get a certificate you can print off yourself and proudly display on your wall at home.
Why would I want to do these missions?
It’s free, easy, outdoor fun for kids that can be done together as a family. In addition to being fun, getting kids outside doing unstructured play has benefits for their physical, cognitive and emotional development and ensures they build resilience and imagination that are so important to a fulfilling life.
How long will the missions take to complete?
The passport is not time based – children can work through them at their own pace afterschool, on weekends or during school holidays, as a good excuse for some fun outdoor play. How long it takes is up to you!
I’m having trouble logging in, how do i get help?
See our “How to Register” section for step-by-step instructions. If you are still having trouble logging in, please contact us here.
I’ve forgotten my passport number.
Click on the “Forgot my passport number” button on the passport home page.
I’ve lost my passport. Can I get another one?
Unfortunately we do not have the resources to send passports to individual children at this time. However you can check with your P&C or school to see if they have any spares.
There is a mission my child couldn’t do. Can we skip it or substitute it?
The missions are designed to be done in order and therefore cannot be skipped. However, if there is some reason that your child is not able to do a particular mission, feel free to use your judgement to substitute it with something similar, but more manageable.
I’ve done the 15 things to do before you’re 12. What should I do next?
Well done! Now let your imagination run wild and see what fun you can come up with on your own outdoors. Send us a picture of your coolest activities and we could feature you on our website and maybe even win a prize. Or better yet, make up your own set of 10 new missions.
I’ve completed all the missions. Are there any more I can do?
Congratulations! You are an official Nature Player!
At this stage we only have 10 missions, but we will be creating a second series in the coming year, so don’t throw your passport away! And there may be special events where you can get more stamps, so why not keep up to date by signing up for our newsletter or Facebook group. If you have any ideas for some cool missions, let us know by dropping us an e-mail here.
We don’t have a computer at home, but we want to do the missions. Is this possible?
If you do not have access to a computer at home, many local libraries have terminals that are available for public use.
I thought Nature Play WA was about getting kids outside to play. Why are you encouraging something that requires them to be inside using a computer?
The computer and other social media are part of our modern lives and are actually a really good tool for us to connect with parents and kids. It only takes a minute to pop online and download a mission, before running back outside to play. The idea is that once kids get the hang of free-range play (and parents feel comfortable enough to let them do it), they won’t need prompting from online missions. They will be too busy mucking around outside inventing their own games.
I would like to give feedback on the missions or make a suggestion for some new ones. How can I do this
We would be very grateful for your feedback and ideas relating to our passports. Click here to drop us an e-mail or join our Facebook group. We may not get a chance to respond to every person who writes to us, but we are definitely reading them and taking your suggestions on board, so stay tuned for future missions to see if we have used your ideas.
Should I throw out my passport when I complete the ten missions?
No, please don’t! We expect to create a second series of missions next year, so keep your passport so you can re-use them. We may also use the passports when Nature Play WA runs special events. Sign up for our newsletter or Facebook group to keep up to date on our activities and events.
