PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT VETERAN DOUG KNOTTS CELEBRATES 25 YEARS

Doug Knotts, President of Premier Park & Play, a playground equipment supplier for schools, towns, campgrounds, apartments, daycare centers and other community spaces in New England, celebrates his 25th Anniversary in the playground equipment industry.

Doug earned a Master’s Degree in Recreation, Sports and Leisure Management from Northeastern University and has been an NPSI certified playground safety inspector since 1995.

Doug has a natural understanding of the things that would excite a child, and applies it toward the design of playgrounds. He takes a collaborative approach to playground design, engaging the community, staff and school kids. He even advises and supports schools and non-profits in fundraising.

A supporter of the environment, Doug has made a wide selection of eco-friendly playground equipment and playground surfacing options available to his customers. These include products made from recycled milk jugs and playground surfaces made from recycled rubber or wood fiber. He also made sure that his company’s products meets all the safety and accessibility by complying with ASTM, CPSC and ADAAG regulations.

website: premierparkplay.com

Over the years, Doug has received many kudos from his customers, from City Parks and Recreations, Schools and Daycare Centers to Apartment Complexes and various Non-Profits.

“Mr. Knotts is always approachable and provides excellent service throughout the sometimes long and arduous process of planning, budgeting and actually installing new play equipment. He willingly meets with City personnel, elected officials and community members, and answers questions while providing helpful insight based on his many years of industry experience.”

“Doug Knotts was simply amazing to us and our cause. He even played in our poker tournament even though he had never played before just because he wanted to help us out!!! Which that RIGHT there speaks volumes to his dedication to the project.”

“Mr. Knotts has been a pleasure to work with, reliable, thorough, creative and understanding of the difficulties of fundraising for such a process.  He has a wonderful knowledge of his product, a creative type and a natural understanding of the things that excite a preschooler.”

“Doug’s considerate manner, attention to details on behalf of the customer and overall work ethic exceed the norm.  He is honest, patient and very dedicated to his customer and stands behind his product.”

For his part, Doug enjoys his work tremendously and looks forward to many more years providing fun and educational playgrounds for children all over New England!

About Premier Park & Play:

Premier Park & Play is a family owned and operated playground equipment supplier for schools, parks, child care centers, campgrounds and non-profits in New England. The Company is a state contractor for Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The Power of Play

What are your favorite memories of childhood play? Chances are those memories happened outdoors and included a lot of nature-based activities like digging holes, chasing fireflies, building stick forts or sand castles, jumping in big piles of leaves, or just fooling around with dirt or water. Mud pies, anyone?

Is it possible to form those kinds of memories today? Childhood has changed. With all the screen time, the lack of access to green space, and the emphasis on direct instruction and increased academic focus  in early childhood programs and preschools, it can be hard to squeeze in unstructured outdoor play.  We need to remember the importance of play in the child’s physical, emotional, and intellectual development.

Play is how children understand each other and make sense of their world.  They learn so much from play that it’s often called the “work” of childhood. Studies show that children learn best in an environment that allows them to explore, discover, and play.

Outdoor play in nature has a powerful impact on a child’s development. Research shows that school playgrounds with trees, fields, shrubs, and vegetated edges encourage creative play and build skills that will be valuable in academic learning too.  

There are entire preschools centered on nature play. One of the first in New England was established in 2006 at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Connecticut.  Several Massachusetts Audubon sanctuaries offer preschool programs.  However, nature play can be designed into the playground of your preschool using equipment designed specifically for early childhood outdoor play.  Nature of Early Play products, available through Premier Park & Play, reconnect children with the natural world through interactions with dirt, sand, water, animals, music, and plants.  Products like the Outdoor Classroom, Nature Bowl, and Garden Roof House provide hands-on opportunities for exploration.  For more information about preschool playground products, please contact Doug Knotts at 617-244-3317 or email premierparkplay@verizon.net.

Choose Eco-friendly Playground Equipment for Your Park or School

Saving the planet and going green is what we aspire to do, and as parents, we want our children to learn to be environmentally friendly as well. What better way to do that than to build an eco-friendly playground for our kids?

Many playground equipment manufacturers such as Playmart, one of Premier Park & Play’s manufacturing partners, build play structures with recycled plastic materials such as milk jugs. A small park bench uses close to 500 milk jugs and a larger play set can use more than 70,000 milk jugs. See how much we can contribute to sustainability by using eco-friendly play structures in our school playgrounds and municipal parks. In addition to benefits to the environment, recycled plastic does not rust, peel or produce splinters, thus providing a safe and beautiful surface for children to play.

Besides play equipment and playground benches, we can also use recycled rubber mulch, which is produced by recycling tires, for playground surfacing. Rubber mulch playground surfaces are not only eco-friendly, they provide the most shock absorption keeping children safe from fall injuries. A more affordable but still eco-friendly alternative is wood fiber mulch, which is free of paint, chemicals and additives.

Lastly, consider a nature-themed playground to teach your child to love nature and motivate them to become environmentally-friendly citizens, while having great fun with climbers, enclosures, panels, roofs, rocks and stumps in the form of natural elements like mushrooms and tree trunks. Above is a nature-theme playground in Riverfront Park, Erving, MA.

Premier Park & Play provides eco-friendly playground equipment and constructs eco-friendly playgrounds for schools, parks, child care centers and other organizations in Massachusetts, Connecticut and other parts of New England. For more information, please call 617-244-3317 or visit our website at premierparkplay.com.

School Playground Equipment - Choice and Installation

Educators know that play is one of the most effective ways for children to learn. That is why a well designed and installed playground is an indispensable part of a school. Here, we provide some suggestions for School Boards and PTAs to consider when choosing playground equipment and installing play structures on their grounds.

Carry out a needs assessment

Before you start reviewing the possible equipment or designs, it is essential to carry out a needs assessment. Some of the things to consider should include:

• Age of the children using the playground
• Size of the required play structures, as well as furnishings such as benches and planters, and outdoor shelters
• Number of kids who will use the playground
• Special needs to accommodate disabilities
• Constraints of your physical environment.

An experienced playground consultant can offer insights on other things that you need to consider before choosing the equipment for your playground.

Playground structure at Milestone Day School, Waltham, MA

Playground Equipment and Design 

The ideal playground should give children exercise, socialization, and learning opportunities. A great playground should have the equipment and design to stimulate kids’ sense of adventure and their need to explore and investigate. It should encourage kids to run, swing, climb, and then do it again! There is an undeniable link between a healthy body and a healthy mind, especially for growing kids. 

An excellent playground equipment supplier can help you choose the right equipment based on your needs. They can put together a playground design and construction plan to make your dream playground a reality!

Play Structure at St Mary School, Hampton, NH

Playground Installation - Safety and Accessibility

Every parent needs assurance on the safety of their children when using the playground. Playground safety includes not only the safety of the play equipment, but also playground surfacing, and the overall safety of the playground environment. An experienced certified playground safety inspector can give you a good assessment after a site visit. He can also ensure that your choice of playground equipment meets safety and accessibility standards established by ASTM, CPSC and ADAAG.

Premier Park and Play is a highly reputable provider of playground equipment and playground design and installation services. The company has designed and built many school playgrounds in New England. Owner Doug Knotts has over 20 years of park & playground industry consulting experience. He has a Master's Degree in Recreation, Sports and Leisure Management from Northeastern University and has been an NPSI certified playground safety inspector since 1995. Doug has a natural understanding of the things that would excite a child, and applies it toward the design of playgrounds. If your school is looking to install a new playground, please visit our website at premierparkplay.com and contact Doug at premierparkplay@verizon.net or call 617-244-3317.