10 Nature Play Games to Play With Trees
We live on a blue planet, yes, but also a planet of trees. In fact, 60,000 species of trees grace every continent and corner of the globe (except the polar regions, parking lots, and some misconceived playgrounds!)
Trees are as magnificent as they are prolific. With their roots in the earth and their branches in the sky, trees harvest sunlight, purify air, turn sand to soil, shelter life, create climate, and provide fuel for fire. They can live to be more than 9,000 years old and they range in height from the 115m tall redwoods of north America’s west coast, to the dwarf willow at just 6cm tall.
In Western Australia we are blessed with the soaring Karri, the fragrant peppermint tree, sandalwood and jam wood, the mighty jarrah, the impenetrably hard wandoo, the beautiful flowering banksias, the whispering sheoaks, the marri tree that provided medicinal treatments to Noongar families, and so many more.
And according to research they are neither mute nor devoid of thought. They communicate by releasing chemicals into the air, through electric impulses through their roots, and through fungal networks. They are known to sustain the stumps of felled neighbours for hundreds of years by feeding them water and nutrients.
Trees feed us with fruit and provide us with timber to build and warm our houses. We use their wood to fashion chairs and tables and to make utensils, tools, toys, cots and coffins.
So, when your child looks up at a tree and wants to climb it, know that it is not a random request. They come from a very long line of tree climbers. And being drawn to trees is something deeply felt from our first moments of life to our last. It starts from the moment we are first placed on a dappled blanket and allowed to reach up at the dance of shapes and shadows, to smell the damp earth, and to be settled by the rustle and song above.
Trees are, among so many things, also the ultimate play structure. At once climbing gym, shade canopy, provider of loose parts, and perhaps the greatest call to a child’s imagination beyond the human voice.
And so we thought we’d share a a few ideas of games your children can play in a tree. But as always, these are just a starting point. Your kid, with time and permission, will find so many more ways to play.
10 Nature Play Games to Play With Trees
1. Climb and climb again
Teach your child to climb safely. Always keep three points of contact – two hands, one foot, etc. Never trust your weight to a limb thinner than your arm. Listen to your fear. If your inner climber says it isn’t safe, it isn’t – so start where you are comfortable and move from there when you are ready.
2. Swing from a branch
Just swing by your hands, or add a knotted rope, a tyre, or a wooden swing.
3. Lie underneath a tree on a blanket or on the ground
Read a book, tell a story, watch the leaves or the birds. This is something you can enjoy at every age.
4. Tree hug game
Go somewhere with lots of trees close together (park, forest, that spot at the edge of the school playground). Blindfold one of the players and have another player lead them (carefully) to a tree. The blindfolded player hugs the tree and uses all their senses to try and remember “their tree”. Their partner then leads them, still blindfolded, away from their tree. The tree hugger then removes their blindfold and tries to identify their tree.
For more like our tree hugging activity, be sure to check out our Talk N Walk conversation and activity cards.
5. Pick fruit from a tree and eat it outdoors
Seeing, touching, and smelling where food comes from, and then tasting it, is a great way to get kids to try new foods. If you don’t have your own fruit tree, try Googling local orchards to see if they offer seasonal fruit picking options.
6. Build a platform or a tree house
A tree house is the ultimate imaginative play space! Just be careful not to damage the tree. Remember there is a thin living membrane that keeps the whole tree alive by ferrying nutrients and water up and down just under the bark.
7. Build a cubby around a tree, or suspend one from a branch
A more temporary imaginary play choice, building a tree cubby can be as simple as leaning sticks up against a trunk, or hanging a sheet or tarp over a low hanging branch.
Or, level up by making a bell tent by:
- Tying a rope to a branch and letting it hang down to 1m-1.5m from the ground
- Taking a sheet or tarp and bunching up a handful of it right in its middle
- Tying the rope to the bunched-up sheet (using a clove hitch or similar knot)
- Tying short pieces of rope to the corners of the sheet using the same bunching method
- Tying loops in the end of the short ropes and using tent pegs to peg them to the ground
8. Fall asleep in a hammock slung between two trees
Hammocks are great at home and on camping trips. There are also hammock tents, or add a mosquito net or light tarp, if you want to level up and sleep all night held up by trees.
9. Spend a day in a forest
Remind your children that trees are living things, that they communicate with and support each other, and take the time to enjoy a whole day amongst the trees.
10. Plant a tree
If you can plant a tree at home so you can watch it grow. Alternatively, find a local tree planting initiative in a park or conservation reserve. Use this as an opportunity to learn about some of the amazing tree species that call WA home, and to discuss how our actions impact the world around us into the future.
