New 'Forest School' To Help Sunset Park's Lack Of Playgrounds

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — A new "forest school" program in Sunset Park will help children get outside in a neighborhood that was found to be among those with the least playgrounds in the city, owners said.

Brooklyn Wild, which launched for the first time last fall, offers rain-or-shine classes to children in local green spaces. The classes are facilitated by staff trained in "playwork," an approach developed for adventure playgrounds that supports children's playtime through minimal intervention.

Founder Stacy Boyd said she hopes the program can give children a break from the structured day-t0-day schedules during the school year, especially for those that might not have the opportunity to go outside otherwise. Those goals seem even more relevant this year, she said, after the city's comptroller named Sunset Park one of New York City's "playground deserts."

“Kids in Sunset Park don’t play in vacant lots or on the street very much anymore. The few playgrounds we have are crowded or in need of renovation, and even there, play is often interrupted or led by adults," Boyd, who is a mother of two, said. "Children are members of our community. They deserve the time and the public space to play freely. Gathering for play is how they will experiment and grow into curious, motivated, empathetic adults.”

Sunset Park recently landed on a list of the 15 areas in the city that have the least number of playgrounds for the number of children that live there, or less than seven for every 10,000 kids. In Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace, which were grouped together in the report, there are only 5.1 playgrounds for every 10,000 children, putting the area 10th on the list of 15. That number is also likely to only go down as the neighborhoods' populations rise.

Boyd said that playing outside has been shown to spark creativity and improve everything from gross motor skills, social skills, resilience, confidence, mental health and even engineering and math skills. The American Academy of Pediatrics has even recommended that doctors prescribe play, she said.

Brooklyn Wild is now accepting registration for its fall classes, which begin September 10 and will pick the kids up from area schools. So far the program is only operating out of Sunset Park, where she and most of the staff live, Boyd said.

Learn more about the program here.