We are thrilled to announce the grand opening of nature play our brand new outdoor play area!
The nature play area is located on the northernmost edge of the Founders Garden and offers youth of all ages the opportunity to engage in safe, unstructured outdoor play. This space includes large logs to climb on, stumpery to balance across, a tunnel to run through, a loom to weave natural materials on, and so much more! Families visiting the Garden, students on a field trip, program participants, and all Garden guests will be able to explore, create, move, and play in this space.
The installation of the nature play area is the first step in providing our community with youth-focused outdoor play opportunities and will eventually lead to a larger scale nature play area and children’s garden as we develop our additional acreage over the next several years.
Did you know…
Nature play, especially in intentionally designed nature playscapes:
- Promotes child development skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, visual-spatial thinking, and more.
- Facilitates social development and well-being.
- Improves physical fitness.
- Supports creativity and imaginative play.
- Inspires collaborative play.
- Reduces violence and bullying.
- Reduces stress.
- Creates empathy for plants and animals.
This vision is being brought to life thanks to Community Grant funding from Rotary Club of Des Moines Foundation.
