LINCOLN SQUARE — Get ready to go wild at Welles Park.
Groundbreaking on the park's Nature Place natural area is set for mid-July, according to Sue Smock-Lawson, a member of the park's Greening Committee.
The one-acre wild space, at Montrose and Claremont avenues, is replacing a former playground and will include a natural play area — think logs and rocks instead of metal and plastic — as well as quiet areas, hidden nooks and buzzing wildlife.
Neighbors can learn more about the project at an upcoming "play date" set for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., June 8. Children and adults will have an opportunity to play and build with natural materials, among other activities.
The movement toward "nature play," which aims to incorporate natural landscape and vegetation into children's outdoor play, is being promoted by the National Wildlife Federation and U.S. Forest Service, among other entities. The Chicago Park District was among the agencies that helped develop national guidelines for nature play areas.
When the park district approached the Welles Park Advisory Council with the idea for the Nature Place, members were immediately excited by the concept, said the council's president Doug Mulderink.
Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th) has pledged $30,000 in aldermanic "menu" money toward the project and the advisory council committed to raise $30,000 on its own.
The group is halfway toward that goal, and also turned out the vote for the park district to receive a $20,000 grant for the Nature Place — a strong enough show of support for the Park District to give the project the green light while the remainder of the funds are raised, Mulderink said.
"What I like is the energy we've gotten into the advisory council," he said. "It's been a whole separate effort and gotten new people involved."
Rendering of the planned Nature Place. [Welles Park Advisory Council]
