Healthy living
Exercise and fitness
Seniors playground swings into action
The first playground in the UK aimed specifically at older people has opened in Manchester
The ‘Older People’s Play Area’ cost £15,000 to build and features 6 pieces of fitness equipment intended to provide gentle exercise for the over 60s.
Members of the local resident’s association (DAMRA) on the Dam Head Estate in Blackley started the project after being inspired by a similar play area in Germany.
‘It’s brilliant,’ says Louise Huntington, spokesperson for Northwards Housing who funded the project, ‘The idea is to bring the community together and encourage older people to exercise and have fun at the same time. The equipment is very gentle and it’s just next to a children’s playground so grandparents can nip over while the grandchildren are playing next door.’
Each piece of equipment has been designed to exercise a different part of the body. There is a skate machine to train the leg muscles and another based on skiing which is used to strengthen the hips. All the machines are simple to use and low impact so there is little chance of anyone sustaining an injury. Some parts of the stations are accessible to wheel chair users.
Joan Fitzgerald, 76, chairperson of DAMRA and the driving force behind the project was one of the first to try out the new playground. ‘It’s great,’ she said, ‘I went with a whole crowd of older people and we never stopped giggling. Too many people our age spend too much time indoors. This is a great way to meet people and get a bit of exercise at the same time.’
Joan hopes that people all over the country will take up the idea and we will see ‘Older People’s Play Areas’ springing up throughout the UK.
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