Having easier access to green urban spaces and thoughtfully sprucing up public parks would ideally be higher priorities for cities across the U.S. In Missouri, nonprofit conservancy Forest Park Forever and the City of St. Louis celebrated the groundbreaking yesterday of the upcoming 17-acre Nature Playscape in historic Forest Park, located in the western part of town. 

Scheduled to open in 2020, Nature Playscape is being built to encourage local residents of all backgrounds to get outdoors and allow kids and their developing minds to engage with nature and reap the benefits of spending time outdoors. The project is the first of its kind at this scale in the region.

A team of landscape architecture and play-space experts that included the Natural Learning Initiative, H3 Studio, Interboro Partners, and Rubus Landscape Architecture developed and designed the project in collaboration with Forest Park Forever and the City. Local children from more than 20 schools, recreation centers, and youth/education organizations were also able to engage in the design process, according to the nonprofit.

Located at the heart of Forest Park in between the 1904 World's Fair Pavilion and the Jewel Box, the $4.5 million Nature Playscape (which is being funded by Forest Park Forever donors) will be split into eight activity areas that include a Meadow, Wetland, Bottomland forest, a Spring, and Mounds. The current design will also include 280 species of mostly-native trees, 600 native species shrubs, over 100 species of grasses and flowering plants, and ADA-accessible paths, to name a few details.

“Up until now this area had just been mowed turf. In restoring these 17 acres to more natural landscapes, the project not only offers an incredible amount of nature-based fun to visitors, but it also continues our long-term efforts to be responsible stewards of the Forest Park grounds,” said Greg Hayes, Director of Parks, Recreation & Forestry for the City of St. Louis, in a press release.