Outdoor play is vital for positive socialisation and development of children including cognitive, psychological, and physiological benefits. Playing outdoors increases attention, creative thought processes and problem-solving skills as well as combating obesity, mental health problems and improving social skills of children. Encouraging and supporting outdoor play is particularly important today, where the daily time interval children are engaging in physical activity is contracting. However, the lack of shade and hot playground equipment make it unsafe for children to enjoy playgrounds in summer. This situation is particularly problematic in times where summer heat is increasing as result of climate change, which already limits the time for safe outdoor play. Now more than ever is it necessary to start building climate-smart playgrounds. This report has two parts. Part 1 establishes the facts around heat in playgrounds. We document surface, air and feels like temperatures in public playgrounds across the Cumberland Local Government Area. All playgrounds were visited repeatedly during warm and hot conditions in the summer of 2019/20 and 2020/21. Part 1 also provides systematic analyses of surface temperatures of SBR, EPDM, TPO, synthetic turf and real grass. In Part 2 we describe the process, outputs and outcomes of a playground transformation at Memorial Park in Merrylands. The playground is in the Local Government Area of Cumberland City Council in the geographic centre of Sydney. With support from the NSW Government, Cumberland City Council, industry partners and inputs from a range of stakeholders, we created Australia’s first dedicated UV-smart Cool Playground. Since October 2020, the playground is enjoyed by the local community. Research data showing the avoided heat, improved thermal comfort and reduced exposure to UV-A and UV-B are provided and demonstrate the functionality of the playground
