Playscape coming to Wickiup Hill

TODDVILLE - Linn County Conservation is constructing a play area to give children the chance to interact with nature.

The natural playscape, at Wickiup Hill Learning Center in Toddville, will be made out of materials such as sand, logs, boulders and sticks, according to Sarah Wendt, conservation education specialist at Wickiup Hill.

'Right now, Wickiup Hill, the whole learning area, you have the trails,” Wendt said. 'Kids do like to walk on the trails, but it always seems like they're kind of afraid to get off the trail.

'We want them to feel like it's okay to get off the trail.”

Children and families will be able to explore the playscape together. It will be built across from the garage attached to Wickiup Hill. The area, overlooking the wetland, will have a shaded area where parents and caregivers can sit, Wendt said.

'The naturescapes provide that open ended creative play and investigation,” she said. 'Nature can be perceived, observed, touched. It's fostering the respect for the land and making them feel a connection to nature.”

Linn County Conservation is working with Abundant Playscapes of Iowa City on the design, which is expected to be completed by winter. Construction will start in the spring, Wendt said.

The learning center also is hosting input sessions for children and adults to get feedback on the project.

At the children's input session, a designer brings out a truckload of loose parts such as plastic tunnels used for construction projects, Wendt said. Staff watch while children play and observe their choices. Afterward, children draw what their favorite part of the day was.

Wendt estimated the total cost of the project to be $100,000. The center recently received a $25,000 grant toward the project from ITC.