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Key facts around physical exercise as presented by the World Health Organisation : Physical activity has significant health benefits for hearts, bodies and minds Physical activity contributes to preventing and managing noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes Physical activity reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety Physical activity enhances thinking, learning, and judgment skills Physical activity ensures healthy growth and development in young people Physical activity improves overall well-being Globally, 1 in 4 adults do not meet the global recommended levels of physical activity Up to 5 million deaths a year could be averted if the global population was more active People who are insufficiently active have a 20% to 30% increased risk of death compared to people who are sufficiently active More than 80% of the world's adolescent population is insufficiently physically active Children should be participating in a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Having a playground that engages them can make getting those 60 minutes of exercise easier and more FUN! WHO physical activity recommendations in a 24-hour day: Infants (less than 1 year) should be physically active several times a day in a variety of ways, particularly through interactive floor-based play and should be unrestrained for more than 1 hour at a time (e.g., prams/strollers, high chairs, or strapped on a caregiver’s back) Children 1-2 years of age should spend at least 180 minutes in a variety of types of physical activities at any intensity, including moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity, spread throughout the day; more is better. Children 3-4 years of age should spend at least 180 minutes in a variety of types of physical activities at any intensity, of which at least 60 minutes is moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity, spread throughout the day; more is better Children and adolescents aged 5-17 years should do at least an average of 60 minutes per day of moderate-to-vigorous intensity, mostly aerobic, physical activity, across the week. should incorporate vigorous-intensity aerobic activities, as well as those that strengthen muscle and bone, at least 3 days a week. GET PHYSICAL - order your Jungle Gym today

"I recently had the pleasure of working with Toni Hayward of Rustics Jungle Gyms. After calling more than one local supplier of jungle gyms, Toni was the only person to make the meeting. I found Toni to be very professional in her approach to our needs. We didn't want a standard installation as our daughter is older than the usual jungle gym user. We wanted a course that would suit my very active child and challenge her mentally and physically as well as look good in our property. She gave great advice and was flexible in her suggestions. Toni was happy to do site visits and her service was quick. I had been toying with this idea for over a year and Rustics made it all come to life in under two weeks from making the decision! The workmanship is top-class and the installation was neat, tidy and fuss-free. Toni did an inspection on completion and we are extremely happy with the end result. I would have no hesitation at all in recommending Rustics Jungle Gyms - East London's best kept secret for active children!" Lyndré Marais-Meyer We wanted a course that would suit my very active child and challenge her mentally and physically as well as look good in our property. Toni gave great advice and was flexible in her suggestions.

Carol Colburne chose to remember her late mother Lynn, by installing a Rustics Jungle Gym at the New Beginnings Day-care Centre in Southernwood, a Rotary project to which Lynn had dedicated much of her time. Carol says, “We are all in agreement that this is a wonderful way to remember my mother. She lived life well and had a passion for children of all ages....from babies to those in their second childhood! I share her belief that we need to start better education as early as possible and this Jungle Gym is our way of continuing to contribute in a small way, while celebrating the dedication of my Mother to pre-school education. As my mother would say, ‘Forget fees must fall. Educate our pre-school children!’ Thank you, Rustics Jungle Gyms, for installing the jungle gym so quickly and professionally.” “The children absolutely love the Jungle Gym – so much so, that the staff are able to use it as a reward for good work and good behaviour. The strenuous outdoor play is also helping to exhaust the children so that when quiet time arrives, they are all more than ready to settle down for a nap. The improvement in the behaviour of our children is noticeable since the jungle gym was installed.” Mercy Samente-Mensah, owner/principal of the New Beginnings Day Care

In her article in Parenting Science, Gwen Dewar, Ph.D outlines 12 benefits of outdoor play and provides tips to help your child get them. Many of the benefits she highlights do not require anything more than space and a willingness to go out to play. But at least five of them are enhanced by the use of outdoor playground equipment (see highlights below). A jungle gym for your home, school or community does not need to be expensive and the benefits are unmistakable for the development of children. 12 benefits of outdoor play click on this link to read more about each and learn how to help the children in your care access those benefits Outdoor play can reduce a child’s risk of becoming near-sighted. Outdoor play helps ensure that kids get enough sunlight -- and that's good for their bodies and brains. Kids get more vigorous exercise when they’re outdoors. Outdoor play provides kids with greater freedom to develop their athletic abilities – to run fast, jump far, and climb. Outdoor play offers young children special opportunities learn new words and concepts. .When kids play in green spaces, they reap special psychological benefits, including better recovery from stress, and enhanced concentration. Connecting with nature may also lower a child’s risk of behavior problems. Cooperative outdoor play can help children learn social skills Positive nature experiences teach children to respect -- and protect -- the environment. Wrestling with sleep troubles? Outdoor play doesn't make kids sleep longer at night. But it may help children fall asleep more easily. Outdoor play may encourage kids to take calculated risks – and become more confident in their abilities. By itself, outdoor time probably doesn't prevent obesity -- but it's a good first step toward a more active, healthful lifestyle! Who wouldn’t want those benefits for their children? Invest in a jungle gym to create more outdoor play opportunities.

Jason first made contact with the Rustics team on Tuesday and by Friday he had a brand new Jungle Gym installed in his garden. He became his children's hero over the course of just a few days! If you would like to be a hero in the life of the children in your care, give us a call on 043 748 5880 or drop us an email

The Windfarm service station, located on the N2 between Port Elizabeth and Jeffrey’s Bay, claims to be different from any other fuel retailer in the country. It has been designed to cater to the needs of the literally millions of travellers they have served and listened to over the years - they have indeed created a very special place. In addition to the coffee shop, convenience store, Shell petrol station and fast food restaurant they have made a real effort to cater to the needs of the whole family by including a Tarantula Play System from Rustics Jungle Gyms. They are also be the first rest and service facility with both a flow and pump track for cycling. “We chose the Tarantula because it is sturdy and looks like fun – I would certainly recommend it for all organisations who want to entertain a lot of kids at the same time. The Rustics team were great - Toni helped us at the end of the year when almost all the manufacturers were closed. The response on our queries was fast and informative.” Rhonwen Steyn of Infrastructure Consulting Engineers, Project Manager for the consultant design team of The Windfarm “The Rustics installation team worked well alongside the construction team on site. They were experienced; each member knew his role and worked independently. I would also like to commend their team leader who has good communication skills and was easy to work with - all feedback during installation was received and acted upon with a positive attitude.” According to Josua van Niekerk Construction Manager at Aggregate Construction for The Windfarm project, “The play area looks very good. I haven’t tried playing on it myself yet but looking at the kids playing there, it seems to be a winner.” Carel Bakkes, Director of The Windfarm

Here are a few that our internet research presented. If there’s nothing here that sparks an idea, do another search – there are hundreds of ideas out there and there is sure to be one that ignites the fire! Apply to the Sport & Recreation Sector of the National Lottery (https://www.nlcsa.org.za/sport-and-recreation/)/ They issue a list of priority funding areas each year which inform where funds will be directed to for that year. The sector is committed to “Provide sports and recreation facilities that are accessible to communities”. A Tarantula is a piece of sports equipment and fits neatly into this funding category. Applications are accepted throughout the year. Apply to a bank or other asset finance institution – The Tarantula can be marked with an asset number and can therefore be used as collateral against a loan supplied by your bank or other fund supplier. Criteria will depend on the institution, so give them a call and see if they are able to help Crowd Funding - Crowd funding is an internet-based financing method that involves getting many people to contribute a small amount each to fund a project. The key to success is finding a service provider who can help you formulate and enact an enticing campaign. An internet search will easily reveal local crowd funding service providers – look out for those with a charity section and international reach. US Dollars go a long way in South Africa! Hold events and activities to raise funds Host a team-based obstacle course or ‘Amazing Race’ type treasure hunt to get your community involved in your fund raising. This offers local businesses a great promotion opportunity. They will pay you to bring potential clients to their door and those that don’t offer a location on the treasure hunt will pay for their employees to take part as a teambuilding exercise. Host a 5km fun run in your area. Join up with a local running club – they will know what is required by the local authority to make this happen legally and safely. Offer a branded item (T-shirt/bandana/water bottle) to all entrants to encourage them to enter and get the costs covered through sponsorship by local companies Hold a Raffle - Get local businesses to donate vouchers and combine them to make an awesome raffle prize – this is especially good in tourist areas where you can put together a weekend-away package including food, accommodation and entertainment vouchers for the winners. Sell something at local markets – for example get items from your local farmers at discounted rates, bundle them together and sell them for a profit. A bag of mixed vegetables for R100. Obviously, what you sell, depends on what your local area produces Garage Sale - Host a community-wide garage sale. Ask churches, students, parents, and service providers to donate their well-preserved, second-hand items for the sale. The key to any successful fundraising initiative is promotion! Promote via school and local business organisation newsletters Ask the local paper or radio station to do an interview or send them a short write up – this should be free Use your Facebook and website pages (or create new ones especially for your activity) and other social media platforms Give yourself enough time to plan and above all promote like there’s no tomorrow! Good luck with your fundraising initiatives - we hope to hear from you soon!

The Stirling Fathers’ Club arranges monthly evening events at which fathers listen to informative presentations, socialise and develop a feeling of comradery. In addition to the social aspect, the Club’s objective is to assist the schools tangibly and visibly. To make this a possibility, they arrange fund raising events. This year, this included a Cansa Shavathon, an annual golf day, steak evenings, a Father’s Club Expo at which fathers displayed their companies and services, and a raffle. According to club Vice Chairman, Raymond Gower, “The funds raised are used to improve the school facilities and this year we elected to install a new Rustics jungle gym for the Grade R’s.”

Imaginative play fosters mental growth by creating opportunities for trying out new ideas, ways of thinking and problem solving. In pretend-play, children face a variety of problems which they will solve using important skills that they’ll use throughout their lives. Many of today’s games for children have rules and a defined beginning and end. There are increasingly fewer opportunities to develop a child’s imagination than in previous generations. A well-designed Jungle Gym can provide just such an opportunity. The child must decide where to start and how to play. The individual poles, swings, ropes and tyres which make up a jungle gym can become whole new worlds. With a bit of imagination, they become anything from castles to spaceships and everything in between. Once the location of the adventure has been decided, it’s back to the imagination to create players in the story and a plot. The Rustics Tarantula is specifically designed to provide multiple options for movement from one side to the other without ever touching the ground. This lack of an obvious start and end point gives children an opportunity for creative play, problem solving and negotiation with playmates in addition to the more obvious upper and lower body strength, gross motor and balance benefits. The Tarantula incorporates many different horizontal, vertical, angled and moving elements to provide multiple stimulants for the imagination • four giant arches • a tyre tunnel in the centre • twisty monkey bars of ascending and descending loops • a set of more traditional straight monkey bars • a three-meter-long slide • two fireman’s poles • three hanging ropes and • a giant spider’s web An investment in well-designed outdoor play equipment is an investment in both the physical and mental wellbeing of the children who use it.

Playground equipment, though a large once off cost, is an amazing investment. Consider the number of children who benefit from it every day over the lifetime of the equipment and it becomes very cost effective. For example if you order the Tarantula (pictured above): 100 grade 1’s can play on the equipment every day That’s 100 kids per day for 200 school days per year That’s 20,000 kid-days of entertainment over the course of one year. Multiply that by the lifetime of the equipment, which for the Tarantula is a minimum of 10 years, – that’s 200,000 kid-days The physical and mental health benefits of well-designed outdoor play equipment are worth a hundred times more than the per kid per day cost. Click this link to read our newsletter on the benefits.

Several East London schools use the unit as a base for their fitness programme. One school has a dedicated fitness period during which each child runs a pre-determined course over the Tarantula. But its not only for children - Check out this video by Redefining Strength to get some ideas of how to use your playground equipment to get a great full-body workout. Every playground is different, but these moves should help inspire you and provide you with ideas about how to use swings, slides, monkey bars and ladders to design a workout to suit your needs.

Rustics Jungle Gyms recently installed its Tarantula Playground System at Parklands Special school in East London. We asked Deputy Principal, Jeanette Kelly why she chose the Tarantula. She said, “We purchased the Tarantula Play System for our Autistic Unit. Gross motor activities are very important for their development and, after investigating all the options, the Tarantula was the best option. It is a very good price and it allows a good number of learners to use it simultaneously. “It is exactly what our learners need. They can hang, climb and balance all on one structure rather than having many loose standing structures, which is a big space saving. Jeanette adds, “Individual teachers take their learners to the Tarantula during gross motor periods and the Physiotherapists are using it for therapy with individual learners and with small groups, e.g. a group of learners with Cerebral Palsy.”