Yorkshire Sculpture Park: New family-focused ‘Little Wild Wood’ nature zone unveiled

The Little Wild Wood, made of recycled natural materials, is a play area for children and families to explore their creativity and get up close and personal with sculptures by local artist Brian Fell.

It is the award winning park’s latest offering which hopes to give children a designated area for play, and features a desert rat sculpture, den-building area, wooden house, and more.

Kirsty Fountain, the executive coordinator at YSP, was behind much of the design process for the Little Wild Wood, and said she hopes the area will encourage nature play for children and families.

She said the idea was that children would have "an area for them to explore their creativity in a natural environment, giving them a definite space in which children can feel it's for them."

Kirsty said this feeds into a growing appetite for nature play.

“I think there's so much at the moment about being in nature and wellbeing and how that actually assists your development.

"Certainly for children, and for adults, to actually be in nature and to play in nature is a really, really important part of that child's cognitive development and it really allows them to connect to the natural world and to have a better sense of caring for the natural world.”

Nearly every component of the Little Wild Wood is made from recycled natural materials, such as a willow tunnel made from overgrown willow which had to be cut back from the carpark, and tree stump stepping stones made from the branches of an on-site tree which was damaged in a storm.

Initial meetings for the play area began in August 2023, and the team were advised by YSP chairman and architect Peter Clegg, and trustee Sue Stuart Smith. From there, a collaboration of teams across YSP, including the estates team, technical team, and staff members from the development and curatorial departments, designed and built the play area.

Local artist Brian Fell has a workshop on-site at YSP. He has donated three pieces – a pineapple, an onion seat, and a two-metre-high desert rat sculpture – to the play area, which neighbours the Ha-Ha Bridge sculpture Fell was commissioned to create in 2006.

Clare Lilley, Director of YSP, said: “We’re really excited by Little Wild Wood and know it’s something our new and regular visitors will love. Creative play is central to YSP’s cause – play at all ages improves our physical, social, cognitive and emotional well-being and is an essential element of children’s learning and development.”

YSP said: “With a degree of freedom that is not available in the classroom or even many homes, children can visit Little Wild Wood to make and build, lift and carry, get muddy, create their own games and natural sculptures, think through challenges, bond with others and be inspired, but most of all, have fun.”