Heath Reed, Andy Stanton

Playponics provides learning opportunities across health, wellbeing and STEAM subjects with environmental education and sustainable practices at its core. The project aims to instil better understandings in current and future populations of our relationship with the natural world. Working with communities in India the L4L design research team have developed the ‘playground garden’ equipment; enhanced with systems that harnesses users physical activity energy, to sustain a variety of hydroponic and conventionally grown crops. The play areas are being developed for schools and communities in India and the UK to impart and in infuse in participants, older and younger, privileged, and underprivileged, knowledge and understanding about sustainability practices in fun, kinaesthetically interactive ways. 

A pilot study was run in a remote rural village in Uttar Pradesh in 2021 and a first full Playponics set up is now running at St Thomas Girls School, New Delhi, installed in 2023. Research data from these sites will help further inform the system offer, short and long term impact metrics. With funding from Sheffield Hallam University, a UK version of Playponics is due to be installed in the Sheffield region by spring 2024 complementing a successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership funding application commencing in July 2023. The project has been selected for nomination by the Earthshot team for their 2024 Award.