Play in the Hutt
Nominated as a finalist in the Community Impact category of the 2020 -New Zealand Sport & Recreation Awards
Winner -Recreation Aotearoa Outstanding Project award for Play in the Hutt 2021
We want to get our community PLAYING again! Play in the Hutt is a movement kick-starting action on play locally and nationally. We've partnered with Healthy Families Hutt Valley and Sport New Zealand to preserve and enhance play in our city.
WHY PLAY? Play is vital for our health and happiness - we want to get our kids out exploring and being active.
Play is essential for our cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. It builds fundamental physical literacy, fosters creativity and innovation and builds our ability to identify and manage risk.
Play contributes to not only children’s lives but also the well-being of whānau and wider community.
We believe that everyone has a role in growing the amount of play that our communities enjoy.
Play is where tamariki practice life.
Play Streets
*** Applications re open summer 2023***
Play Streets is an international movement where communities close usually quiet residential streets to allow for neighbours to interact and play freely outside their doors.
In order to keep you safe, there are a few criteria your street needs to meet: Thinking about the space you wish to close:
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Is there a dairy or other business on your street?
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Is the normal speed above 50kmh?
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Is there anything that blocks the view along the road?
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Is there a heavy amount of traffic?
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Is this a bus route?
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Are there many adjoining roads?
If the answer to all of these questions is 'no', than Play Streets may be for you!
Read more about Play Streets here
CLICK THE PDF TO APPLY FOR PLAY STREETS
If you have any more questions contact us
RETURNING SUMMER 2023!
Pukutakaro
Hutt City Councils Active in the Hutt team recognise the value of play in both improving physical activity and the overall wellbeing of the community. We appreciate play as the cornerstone of physical literacy.
Pukutakaro is a program designed to grow the amount of active play that our tamariki enjoy outside of classroom hours.
Pukutakaro is free and consists of a van full of ‘big ticket’ sports gear and other ‘wow’ items that our young people might typically not get the opportunity to play with. Our Pukutakaro programme is Tu Manawa Active Aotearoa Funded and is descending on schools in our city in 2021!
In 2020, we embarked on a research project, to understand the impact of our program on tamariki.
Read the Year One Pukutakaro Report here.
Play Days
We host a summer series of Play Days scattered around the community that celebrate local, unstructured play. Think bubbles, water play, craft play, sports, active play and more! We're on a mission to normalise playfulness across our city.
Check out our events section for a Play Day near you.
Are you keen to host a Play Day in your suburb? Let us know and we can support you!
Play Champions
We need Play Champions! We're currently building a tribe of community Play Champions, to help make our neighbourhoods healthy, safe, lively and playful spaces.
Have you got a play idea for your community? We can help you make it happen! We will work with you to discuss, develop and resource play projects and interventions.
Get in touch to grow play in your neighbourhood today!
Sport + Play
We hire out a trailer full of sports gear and play equipment! The Sport + Play trailer encourages, physical activity and playfulness and get your group moving!
This trailer is great for schools, community groups or events and includes bats, balls, nets, hoops and more.
To book the trailer, contact us.
Build & Play
We've got a trailer full of tools including saws, hammers, hand drills, and materials such as timber, PVC pipes and recycled items for children to create, build and play.
This is engaging construction play that offers tamariki opportunities for free, creative (and occasionally risky) play.
You can hire out our CK & Co Realty Build & Play Trailer! To book the trailer, contact us.
Play Research
Our Active in the Hutt team were asked to share their Play In the Hutt experience for Play Aotearoa. Check out their article here. And a special thank you to all the Lower Hutt residents who have contributed to establishing and growing this Kaupapa in Lower Hutt.
https://playaotearoa.org.nz/blog/the-power-of-play-in-the-hutt/
A question we are constantly exploring is -
How do we enable our tamariki and rangatahi to play more every day? We've researched and gathered local insights to point us in the right direction. We also align our play beliefs and projects with Sport New Zealand's Play Principles.
Click here to read Tākaro to Play, our local play research report. Want to know what Lower Hutt families are saying about play? Click here to read their experiences.
In 2020, we embarked on a further research project, to understand the impact of our Pukutakaro program on tamariki. We found that there are significant barriers to inclusion and play for NZ children.