Since 2009, Oliver Wotherspoon, trading as Cool Canvas, has worked to bring the best of the natural world to schools and play centres across the United Kingdom.

Combining a love of nature with his background in fine art, Olly has been able to work with early years education providers to design bespoke outdoors play spaces.
Fallen tree climbing frames, mud kitchens, hobbit hole hideaways, environmentally sensitive water play, living walls, willow structures and wildflower borders are just a few of the features of one of Oliver’s designs.

Business has thrived as the open-ended play environment provided by Oliver has been increasingly recognised as a ‘must-have’ by education practitioners. Children develop in leaps and bounds when they are given the freedom to explore a natural play space.

With this unique approach to outside play, Oliver and his wife, Tamsin, have won several awards. They have also had the opportunity to work with TV’s Alan Titchmarsh in Love your Garden and with George Clarke on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces.

Oliver and Tamsin have loved working with local communities to encourage imaginative play to flourish. Outside of the UK, Oliver and the team at Cool Canvas are partnering with Educational Consultant, Alistair Bryce-Clegg https://abcdoes.com, in a charitable project to provide a group of Ugandan school children with a purpose built play space of their own. Follow us on social media and subscribe to our blog to find out more.