The Timber Crescent Natural Playground Restoration Project

Abstract

The Timber Crescent Natural Playground (TCNP) is a pilot project with the Town of Fort Smith and a selected final project for the Restoration of Natural Systems Diploma. The project aims to develop a greener and cheaper form of designing play spaces while simultaneously addressing the issue of nature-deficit disorder in children. The natural playground was designed around five main features built out of all-natural materials such as river driftwood and regular stumps/logs and boulders. Nature workshops were held at the playground to validate the project's underlying purpose through outreach. The project was overall well received by the community. Recommendations to the Town of Fort Smith include continued monitoring of the buried logs for rot and decay, a hazardous tree assessment concerning people's property, and to continue to put value and effort into making green spaces like the Timber Crescent forest and natural playgrounds accessible to all people in the community.