Our Mission

Imagine a world where all children have a love for and a connection to nature, are able to exercise their right to play, and do play taking calculated risks outside. 

Our mission at Muddy Hands is to provide children with opportunities to connect with nature whilst learning through gardening and other outdoor activities and play. Being outside gets children moving and whatever they are doing, there's usually more exercise involved than when being inside or at home. Not only is exercise good for children's bodies but it can also help make them more focused. 

I decided to start Muddy Hands Garden and Nature Play as seeing my own two boys so happy and thriving in nature brings me a great deal of happiness and this is something that many children here in Taipei have limited access to. The benefits of playing outside in nature are well documented; improved mental health, improved physical strength, better coordination, increased creativity and even a stronger immune system to name just a few. Children connecting to nature is paramount if there are to be any guardians of the natural world in the future to protect it in the years to come. 

A garden creates bountiful experiences and opportunities for learning at the same time as providing healthy food for all that look after it and increasing local biodiversity. Muddy Hands is a space for children to not only learn about gardening and ecology, making and building things, but also to make new friends and be given an opportunity to play freely, outside in the fresh air. No screens, no instructions. Just the joy of child-led, unstructured outdoor play in an environment that naturally stimulates creativity, imagination, social interaction, language enrichment, negotiation, collaboration, resilience, and an acceptance of failure. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

Muddy Hands Garden and Nature Play is situated on the border of the ShiLin and Beitou districts on the edge of the Yangminshan National Park and is easily accessible from the hustle and bustle of the city. Our site is nearly half an acre, (500ping), and includes two large indoor spaces; a classroom/workshop/activity room with a kitchen area, and a large foam matted play room equipped with a variety of loose parts materials, balancing beams, and a traversing wall . It was recovered from its previous use of some fifteen years ago and has been renovated using repurposed and reused materials wherever possible. Outside we have a vegetable and flower garden which follows Mel Bartholomew's square foot gardening method, a pond and a large gravelled surface for outdoor play. We are surrounded by trees and wild grasses and are working on increasing the biodiversity of the site by planting new native species and encouraging insects, birds and other wildlife to come and makethe Muddy Hands Garden their home.