The NatureStation, new from Ray Parry Playground Services

Ray Parry Playground Services are always looking for new and exciting products to introduce into their portfolio. With ties to major equipment manufacturers, the inventory of 'off the shelf' products is vast. But when Ray and son Tom Parry had an idea for a new, exciting project, they didn't realise the impact or potential at first.

What started as a musing involving humble discarded pallets, Ray and Tom shared the idea with their web/graphic design guru Chris Jones of Shropshire Web Design agency Pixelmakers, who added some of his own magic to the project.

Ray's idea was simple...

We were looking for a unique product which would introduce the outdoor study of nature into schools in a more innovative and fascinating way than just letting the kids loose in the gardens. Thomas came up with the idea of using old pallets outdoors at the school to encourage wildlife to nest inside and create homes. Mini-beasts, hedgehogs and plants would love the dark, undisturbed environment. But just pallets seemed a little bit clumsy.

That's when we shared the idea with Chris from Pixelmakers. Between the three of us, we developed some sketches, and Chris suggested a 'Trivial Pursuit'-style wedge configuration... and from those early pencil sketches, the NatureStation was born.

Ray Parry, MD

The early design sketches were nothing more complex than six wedges in a hexagon configuration, with the idea that each 'wedge' could independently house a different natural habitat.

Before too long, Ray took the sketches to his carpentry experts, who quickly worked out the optimum construction to make the NatureStation strong, modular and secure - whilst also allowing a universally usable space within each wedge to be maximised and at the same time be accessible to children of all ages.

I couldn't believe that the conversation and ideas we'd had over a coffee had given birth to such a monster of a project... The idea I had in my head and the rough sketches I'd made with Ray and Tom were all of a sudden transformed into what looked as near to a finished production model as you could want. When Tom bought in the photos of the first NatureStation, it was almost like witnessing the coming-of-age of a child... it's fantastic.

Chris Jones, Pixelmakers

The name 'NatureStation' was also subject to some thought between the three. Working under the project codename "Nature Observatory", Chris soon set to work in getting some 3D representations of the product fleshed out. During these design stages, it was soon realised that this configuration allowed a huge, broad set of applications beyond anything they'd dreamed of.

Ray finally settled upon the name 'NatureStation', and after several prototypes had been developed, the NatureStation was finally released for testing with some inquisitive children. They immediately were fascinated with what they saw, and unsurprisingly, the team at Ray Parry Playground Services were more than satisfied with the work done so far.

By coincidence, Tom Parry's better half is a school teacher at primary level. Her input into how the NatureStation could nestle easily within the school curriculum provided invaluable. Tom comments:

Jackie is obviously involved with schools and children in ways that we aren't, and when I shared the idea of the NatureStation with her I could already see her cogs whirring. She helped us outline and define areas in which she believed the NatureStation was invaluable, and they were areas beyond our own thoughts. With her help, we have realised the potential and almost limitless applications of the product, and she's also helped us to market the product by identifying the specific areas of interest in schools.

Tom Parry

For more information, see the NatureStation pages on our site. Click here.

A fantastic new innovation in bringing nature...

The NatureStation, new from Ray Parry Playground Services

Related pages

The NatureStation

What is the NatureStation

The NatureStation in school curriculum