Elkhart County Parks plan a ribbon-cutting event Wednesday for a new addition to their newest park, Corson Riverwoods County Park. It’s an effort to get kids playing more outdoors and get their parents and families moving too.
From 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, officials will unveil the park’s new Pollinator Playpath. It’s a 1.5-mile path featuring a giant crawl-through beehive, climbing trees, and accessible swings and twirling elements.
Parks director Ronda DeCaire says the concept, marking a national trend, is to create trails for young children and their families within a park, where they can stop to play and learn at stations.
“So it gets an entire family moving together, whereas the older concept is you have a playground, and the parents sit on the bench and watch the kids," DeCaire says.
And DeCaire says getting young children outdoors is more important than ever, as parents have become increasingly fearful of letting their children play outside unsupervised, and children are so drawn to screens indoors.
“So creating spaces like the Pollinator Playpath are super important for creating those spots where families can feel safe taking a trip to a nearby park and being in those nature spaces.”
