NATURE PLAYSCAPE

If you want to do something nice for a child, give them an environment where they can touch things as much as they want. - Buckminster Fuller

What is the Nature Playscape?

The Welborn Baptist Foundation Nature Playscape was established in May 2018 at Wesselman Woods. This area provides play opportunities for children to follow their own ideas and interests within a wooded landscape consisting of rocks, and fallen logs, and native plants. With just over five-acres of natural landscape, our Nature Playscape is one of the largest in the country.

Guests who wish to visit the Welborn Baptist Foundation Nature Playscape must enter through Wesselman Woods Nature Center and show a valid membership card or pay the regular admission rates. Become a member today!

The Arwood Family Treehouse

A project ten years in the making! The Arwood Family Treehouse came to life in June 2024. The Treehouse reaches its highest elevation at 12 feet, allowing guests to climb to new heights in the forest and capture new views of the mid-canopy.

The ramps, rock walls, rope bridges, and climbing ropes give people of all ages many ways to adventure. With the overlook at Odonata Pond, you may even catch a glimpse of the local turtle population.

So, grab your hiking shoes and put on your outdoor attire – it’s time to play!

Photo by Andrew Layer

Photo by Andrew Layer

Bernhardt Family Bird Sanctuary

This plot of land features additional trails, nature play “rooms”, and the plants and structures within the sanctuary serve as a haven for wild birds.

With it came other new additions to the Nature Playscape including a red bud tree tunnel, a dry creek bed ecosystem, and more nature-based play features. These installations promote more harmony with human guests and local wildlife.

After they experience one of the largest nature playscapes in the United States, guests are welcome to hit over four miles of trails on 294-acres of nature preserve. Take in the beauty of this living artifact!

RULES FOR KIDS

  • Get Messy.

  • Touch it all (except the wildlife).

  • Be respectful of others and of this special place. Do not harm the plants or wildlife.

  • Use rocks and sticks for creating, not for throwing or fighting.

  • Explore. Pretend. Make friends.

RULES FOR GROWNUPS

  • Keep the gates closed, to help prevent children from leaving the area unattended.

  • Stay in Playscape, but sit back and let your child explore.

  • Encourage age-appropriate risks.

  • Be respectful of this space.

  • Remember that children are 100% washable.

Treehouse Rules

  • ROPE BRIDGES: Ten people MAXIMUM on each bridge at one time. NO RUNNING or BOUNCING on these bridges.

  • CLIMBING: Two climbers MAXIMUM on the rope nets at one time. No climbing on the outside of the Treehouse.

  •  One person in the ROPE TUNNEL at a time.

  • NO THROWING anything from the Treehouse.

INVITATIONS

An invitation is a set of loose parts like rocks, sticks, logs, pinecones, stumps, nuts, grass, and leaves throughout the Nature Playscape. Let your child(ren) find these invitations and engage with these parts.

IMAGINATION

We encourage children to follow their own interests and ideas without adult interference.

RISK & PLAY

A risk is a challenge that a child can see and chooses to, or not to, undertake. Risk play develops parts of the brain in charge of decision-making. Allow your child(ren) to create their own path in the Nature Playscape.

To learn more about the Welborn Baptist Foundation Nature Playscape, please visit our question and answer page.