Creating places for nature play

Children learn to love nature by playing in it. To nurture that connection, a number of land trusts and conservation groups in Pennsylvania have created nature play areas within their preserves.

The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania offers a one-acre nature play area, called DiscoverGround, on its Beechwood Farms Nature Preserve. Set among woodlands and a wildflower meadow, the play area features a sandpit, a tree house, a climbing trunk, tunnels and serpentine walls. Operations Director Brian Shema says, “Time spent in this unstructured space enables children to build confidence, use their imagination and appreciate what nature can offer.”

Tips from Nature Play: Nurturing Children and Strengthening Conservation Through Connections to the Land, by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association:

• It can be simple! You just need natural elements that kids can interact with, like dirt, sand, water, flowers, sticks, trees, logs, berry bushes or leaf piles.

• Attract wildlife with butterfly gardens, birdhouses or boards that kids can lift to find bugs.

• Encourage kids to play with nature — not just outdoors.

• Let children invent their own play.

• Offer quiet spaces for peaceful, reflective activities.

• Relax your rules. Kids may do some damage — like trampling plants or muddying a stream — but it’s minor in perspective.

• Check for safety hazards on a regular basis and carry liability insurance.