By Townhall Chicago News Staff
The Chicago Park District on Thursday opened a four-acre outdoor exploration garden at the Garfield Park Conservatory designed to connect children with nature on the city’s West Side.
The Child Wild Exploration Garden at 300 N. Central Park Ave. is the first of its scale in the country to sit in an urban, densely populated neighborhood, according to the Park District. The permanent installation will be open year-round.
“The Park District plays a crucial role in the lives of millions of park visitors by providing access to natural environments prime for exploration like the Garfield Park Conservatory,” General Superintendent and CEO Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said in a news release. “With the opening of the Child Wild Exploration Garden, we are ensuring children in our city have a place to get active, discover nature’s beauty and take a moment to breathe.”
The garden features natural landscaping, interactive discovery zones and custom shade structures for visitors of all ages. It was designed as a model for what an urban nature experience at a conservatory can be, according to the Park District.
Mary Eysenbach, Chicago Park District director of conservatories, said the project was 20 years in the making.
“The idea is that we make a place that kids think is wild, but we also needed their caregivers to feel comfortable letting their kids go off an adventure, like an off-leash area for kids,” Eysenbach said in a WBBM report on the opening.
The garden targets children from birth through age 16 and addresses a specific barrier to outdoor play: caregivers’ perception of safety. While many parents are hesitant about letting children roam outdoors, the space is designed to feel wild to children while appearing safe to adults, according to the Park District.
Instead of asking families to travel to nature, the garden brings nature to where families already live, according to the announcement. The approach recognizes that many children in dense urban neighborhoods may not have easy access to natural environments outside their immediate community.
“This is so important in the heart of the city because there are a lot of kids we know who actually never leave their neighborhood,” Eysenbach said in the WBBM report. “So the concept of them being able to go to a place that is ‘wild’ is not realistic. They have to be able to walk to it.”
The garden is free, but reservations are required. Hours align with the conservatory’s schedule: Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations can be made online at garfieldconservatory.org/visit.
Garfield Park Conservatory, one of the largest conservatories in the nation, is located on Chicago’s West Side and has long served as a community anchor. The addition of the outdoor garden expands the conservatory’s programming for families and young children.
Source: Chicago Park District
