Woodcock Nature Center Debuts Renovated Playground

With summer camp in full swing, Woodcock Nature Center on Deer Run Road has recently renovated its playground to include some of the elements that make it popular with kids and adults alike. 

The playground, which kept its beloved treehouse, but added a sandbox, a rope apparatus and an area dedicated to art, is now more in line with the center's mission: to allow kids more time to play and explore in natural settings. 

"We call this [playground] our gateway drug to the outdoors," executive Henryk Teraszkiewicz told Patch on Friday. "With so many things distracting kids from nature, we wanted to provide a place where they could being to feel comfortable in this type of setting."

To Teraszkiewicz, children these days are more than distracted—they seem to be disconnected from the outdoors and he said that a condition described by some doctors as "nature deficit disorder" has been linked to numerous maladies, including childhood obesity and attention deficit disorder. And while playing on a traditional blacktop playground is, of course, better than sitting in front of the television or the computer, playgrounds in green spaces have even more of a benefit for children. 

"Studies show that while the strongest and fastest children come out as the leaders when playing with others on a blacktop playground, it's the children that have tested higher [academically] that become the leaders on greenspace playgrounds," Teraszkiewicz said. 

Woodcock's new playground also gives children that prefer more artistic activities to have an outlet with its chalkboards and sand art tools, Teraszkiewicz said. 

"Whether the child is more quiet and artistic or loud and boisterous, there's something here for everyone," he said. 

Although Woodcock's staff will be on vacation during the week of June 30 and the office will be closed, residents are more than welcome to enjoy the center's hiking trails and other outdoor amenities.