Just a few kilometres from SuperCool’s headquarters on the Gold Coast, something powerful is happening in Eagleby, and it’s why SuperCool has chosen to support the work of the Australian Institute of Play (AIP).

Through AIP’s Neighbourhood Play Backyards, suburbs like Eagleby are quietly reshaping what community looks and feels like. These play spaces like ‘Joomunjie Land’ are simple in concept, but profound in impact – bringing children, families and neighbours back together around something fundamental but in rapid decline: play. 

Why Neighbourhood Play Backyards Matter

What were once disconnected streets in Eagleby, are becoming places of familiarity and connection. Parents speak of getting to know one another, children gathering to play, and a renewed sense of safety and belonging. Joomunjie Land is doing more than providing somewhere to play: this play space is rebuilding trust, reducing isolation, and strengthening community life.

Most importantly, for children, the benefits are significant. At a time when we’re seeing increases in childhood anxiety, obesity, depression, isolation and other mental health challenges, it’s clear that many children simply aren’t thriving as they should – physically, emotionally or socially.

Neighbourhood Play Backyards hope to be a solution to this growing problem. Through child-led, unstructured play, children naturally make friends, tap into their imagination, build creativity, resilience, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, not through instruction, but through real experiences: making, experimenting, collaborating, succeeding and, a lot of the time, failing and trying again. It’s this that sits at the heart of why we at SuperCool are supporting this work: creating opportunities for children to develop the skills and confidence they’ll carry with them into the future, as the next generation of thinkers, makers and problem-solvers.

A groundbreaking film

Launching at the end of July 2026, the Neighbourhood Backyards Documentary invites people to see what’s possible when communities come together and focus on children and play. 

At its heart, this is a local story of children, parents and neighbourhoods in Eagleby and Yarrabilba. But it’s also much bigger than that. The documentary brings together leading voices across human rights, psychology, child safety, occupational therapy, urban planning, community development, parenting, education, social research, and child and brain development, building a well-rounded and compelling case for Neighbourhood Backyards as a practical, proven response to some of the challenges facing children today.

SuperCool will be actively supporting and promoting the documentary as it travels across Australia and internationally, helping share this important story more widely.

We are also so intrigued by how these play spaces are filled with recycled “loose parts”: materials sourced from curbside collections, repurposed from landfills, and donations from local industry partners like us (pallets and cable reels) – these play backyards transform what would be waste into tools for imagination through the eyes, minds, hearts and voices of local children.

Supporting local initiatives

AIP’s purpose is to promote, enable and protect the right Australian children have to play, especially where they live. We are proud to support AIP, including contributing to the production cost of a new documentary sharing the story of these Neighbourhood Play Backyards in Eagleby and Yarrabilba.

As part of the HVAC/R industry, we believe the commercial sector holds real power to influence positive change. Guided by a think globally, act locally mindset, we’re increasingly focusing our efforts on the communities right on our doorstep.

While we continue to support state, national and global initiatives, we see local action as a priority for us, where we can really see that our support and resources are making an impact. We hope that our industry partners and colleagues will join us in supporting AIP and similar local community initiatives.