爆料社区

Amazing things can happen when you pair passionate people who share a playful vision for their city and those who are dedicated to advocating for play.

Championing play is key for Palmerston North City Council鈥檚 Manumea Duri - as she puts it, 鈥渟he鈥檚 that voice in the background saying what would play look like here?鈥�. 

Manumea has been with the Council since January 2023, through 爆料社区鈥檚 Local Play Workforce Project, as their Local Play Advocate. Championing play from within the council, Manumea is ensuring that play remains central in council discussions.

Out-of-the-box ideas

The Council鈥檚 developed a play policy in 2021, working with local community play champion Heather Knox and key members from the Strategic Planning and Urban Planning teams. Manumea鈥檚 role has been instrumental in bringing the policy to life and kickstarting the many exciting play initiatives happening in the city. 

For instance, Manumea collaborated with 膩konga from local schools to brainstorm ideas for a local footpath. The result was a 25-metre 鈥榬acetrack鈥� complete with a speedometer for pedestrians and a painted play trail. 膧konga designed elements, such as a 鈥榳alk the plank over shark-infested waters,鈥� were brought to life by local artist Mike Marsh.

These playful visual elements, funded by Waka Kotahi | NZ Transport Agency, not only spark children鈥檚 creativity but encourage more active transport to and from school. Tamariki love being dropped off a bit further away so they can race their friends or walk the imaginary plank.

Further play inspiration saw the council get creative after noticing blank walls outside city libraries. Thanks to the talented students at UCOL Polytechnic, the walls were given a boost with child-friendly digital animations. The projections not only support tamariki cognitive development but encourage creativity and active transport, as wh膩nau make their way around the city centre to look at them.

Collaboration is key

Manumea and the council have been working closely with 
Whitney Le Comte, the Play Lead at Sport Manawat奴,
to advocate for the importance of play across government
agencies.

Together, they created play packs for K膩inga Ora to give
families moving into new housing developments, as a way
of welcoming them to their new homes and neighbourhoods.

Sport Manawat奴 provided a selection of fun play equipment
and the council added playground maps and copies of their
鈥�, which encourage people to get
outdoors and explore Palmerston North鈥檚 great places to play.

The way of the future

Manumea doesn鈥檛 believe saying 鈥榥o鈥� to play is an option. There are many low-cost and no-cost ways to incorporate play into everyday life.

鈥淗aving a playful city creates a more vibrant and welcoming place to be 鈥� this aligns with the Council鈥檚 strategy of safe and thriving places and spaces for our community,鈥� says Manumea.

The key to moving forward will be working with community to bring their ideas to life.

鈥淚f we collaborate closely with our community champions and local heroes who are passionate about doing cool things, we鈥檒l let what鈥檚 cool shine even brighter.鈥�