Did you know that there are currently nearly 300 play spaces in India made entirely from scrap? Incredibly there are, and the number is set to keep growing.

This is all thanks to a brilliant scheme set up in 2015 by Pooja Rai, and now the lives of thousands of children, all over India, have been vastly improved by (in her own words) “The Power of Play”.

As a huge advocate of recycling, I was really struck by the ingenuity, vibrancy, and sheer scale of what has been achieved by this unique project over the the last six years.

The first play space was created by architect Pooja Rai, and a handful of volunteers, when an idea came to her from seeing children playing on broken concrete pipes, and using their slippers as badminton rackets. Once built, word spread rapidly, and unsurprisingly other communities across India also wanted a park just like that first one.

Now based in Bengluru, Anthill Creations are a not for profit organisation, who are rapidly using up concrete pipes, old tyres, and other scrap waste, to bring colourful, sustainable, safe play environments to children within those communities. Each time a new park is created, the children are asked how they like to play, thus making every new playscape completely original, each one tailored to those children’s ideas and wishes.

Pooja sums it up beautifully by saying “Every child, rich or poor, deserves the simple joy of a safe playground”.

There are currently 283 parks, in 18 states, right across India.