If you’ve been reading The Mud Pie Mission since its inception, you know I am a believer in fate. The concept of the Nature Movement, especially in regard to helping alleviate symptoms and provide alternative coping methods for children with ADHD, was introduced to me at a time when I was very much seeking answers for my five-year-old son, who was diagnosed in spring 2011. Now that we’re a few months into our mission, I can tell you with certainty that the purposeful reintroduction of nature into my son’s daily life, and more importantly the commitment to unstructured time in nature has impacted Henry in so many positive ways. On our outdoor adventures, I’ve watched with a full heart as all the beautiful parts of him shine forth easily and comfortably. He is not overwhelmed; he is calm and focused. The anxiety and pressure I sometimes see him struggle with in structured situations is a faint memory. In the quiet of the outdoors, he is confident and bold—he is in his element. Like love, Nature empowers us to be and embrace our true selves. And there is nothing quite like Henry being Henry.
I think fate was at work again in August when, coincidentally, during our visit to my childhood home (West Chester, Ohio), the Cincinnati Nature Center was unveiling its new Nature PlayScape—one of the nation’s largest pioneer efforts to provide a safe area of natural playing ground for children. How fortunate that we would have the opportunity to experience what will surely become a model for families, communities, schools and churches across the country that subscribe to the Nature Movement and all it has to offer our children at this particular time in history—when technology’s impossible pace and hyper-yet-sometimes-vapid connectedness is, in some ways, stealing away our essential selves and our innate abilities to connect, heal, renew and, well, be human ... Because now, I get to share it with you.
The Marge and Charles Schott Nature PlayScape, located inside the Cincinnati Nature Center’s preserve of land in Milford, Ohio, offers 1.6 acres of “native plants, fallen logs, boulders, rocks, water and soil … and very few man-made structures,” as described by Kristi Masterson of the CNC. What’s even more special is that the land devoted to the playscape is fenced in for safety—something parents cite as a major obstacle when it comes to letting their children fully embrace nature in the way they did when they were young (and the world was a better place, etc.). The CNC partnered with the University of Cincinnati Arlitt Center to make the playscape a reality, and even consulted with Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods,” to help guide them in this important project.
Now to tell you the experience of this magical place.
At first, as we moved our eyes over the gently sloping hills and trails, the rocky creek with its grand waterfall, and all the mysterious tree-shaded alcoves, it felt like we had simply happened upon a really great “neck of the woods”—everything that makes a forest fun all in one place, yet still wide open. Just leaves, trees, pebbles, and fallen branches. Even the benches and gathering areas were rustic and unassuming.
That said, I carefully watched the eyes of the children who entered—knowing some of them had never been to a playground such as this. Even Henry who had come to love the woods, questioned why I had even called it a playground. Where was the slide? No sandbox? No rope climb or zip line? What about the big, giant pirate ship to look out for the bad guys? This was a different kind of playground, I told him. This was a place where you get to choose your own adventures.
As we turned the corner into one of the many discovery zones along the trail (some even specially designed for the preschool set like Sadie, my littlest), we found children playing in a wide and (what seemed to them accidental) pool of pebbles. They were scooping them up and letting them run through their fingers, making pictures with sticks they’d found lying nearby, filling up hollowed out tree stumps that doubled as tiny seats. This was a sandbox! We had similar experiences throughout the playscape. Children hunted and gathered for the items they needed to create their own toys and tools—and instead of everyone fighting over a shovel or truck, they each had exactly what they wanted and needed born of their own imaginations.
Down at the edge of the creek, children didn’t even stop to ask before pulling off their shoes, peeling away their socks and tip-toeing through the shallow water. Some took leaves and made boats, others dropped in rocks to watch the rings they’d create on the surface of the water. Henry and I sat at the top of the waterfall where we could listen to its sounds and feel the heat coming up off the rock. After that, we came upon a sculpture of tree branches that had been shaped into a sky-high tee-pee; and we added to it! By then, Henry was having real fun. We raced each other up and down the trails. We lifted our noses in the air and tried to identify scents of flowers that came on rogue breezes. We discovered completely untamed sections of the playscape that we claimed as our own. And we followed the map to the great gray boulder, where Henry stood and looked out over the playscape. Who needs a pirate ship?
It was an awesome experience. And it makes me hope along with the CNC that this special place will inspire others to create similar playscapes throughout the country. Masterson said the Nature PlayScape has already welcomed visitors from far and wide, coming to Ohio specifically to experience this new way of play.
I wrote this piece today to do my part to spread the word, to plant the seed of possibility—to be part of the movement.
You can view the slideshow of our day at the Cincinnati Nature Center’s Nature PlayScape by visiting the Mud Pie Mission on Facebook. I encourage you to learn more about this project and read the rest of the story at CNC and University of Cincinnati online. Note that the Nature PlayScape is open year-round, providing children an all-seasons experience with nature in a safe, accessible environment. Check out the special events they'll be hosting throughout the fall and winter featuring stories by the bonfire, hot chocolate—and even maple-sugaring.
