This essay was published in the Healthy Planet
during the pandemic
and focuses on nature as the best playground:
I’m going to make a bold hypothesis:
Saint Louis has the best playgrounds on the planet.
Let’s start with Forest Park.
Much bigger than Central Park in New York
or Golden Gate Park in San Francisco,
it’s America’s most beautiful urban park.
Forest Park is a natural playground all its own,
even without the gigantic new children’s play-scape
currently under construction.
Any tour of America’s most amazing play spaces must include
the City Museum.
It’s so out-of-the-box it defies definition,
except as an adult playground,
which is a ridiculous thing to say but arguably true.
Citygarden,
(not originally designed as a children’s playground),
has become a magnet for children of all ages.
When viewed as a children’s playscape,
it blows Millennial Park in Chicago out of the water.
Throw in the children’s garden at the Missouri Botanical Gardens,
the new ropes course at Union Station and the Magic House,
and these anchor institutions alone
put Saint Louis on the map of best playgrounds.
Now turn your attention towards Turtle Park,
Rocket Ship Park,
the Children’s Fountain at Tower Grove Park,
plus inclusive playgrounds at
Tilles Park,
Forest Park
and Zachary’s Playground.
Does not the mosaic of great playgrounds come into focus?
Simply put,
Saint Louis has both a density and a diversity
of creative playgrounds.
Saint Louis is like a grand old lady who loves her children.
She throws her heart into the wide open spaces,
has the imagination to fill those spaces with surprises
and the pocketbook to keep them super fancy.
I enjoy nature travel and believe our gateway city is home
to the most creative playgrounds on the planet.
But how do we quantify this rather bold hypothesis?
Let’s encourage families to make adventure maps
of the places in parks
beyond the playground tape.
It’s something you can do
while maintaining social distancing
and pondering a rather bold hypothesis.
It also draws attention to the fact
that nature is the greatest adventure playground.
Let’s prove that Saint Louis has the most creative playscapes on the planet —
or at least enjoy finding out.
Buy our book if you need help getting started.
We worked really hard on it
and it took us a long time to make it.
We hope you like it.
Here’s the link on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542349230?tag=duckduckgo-ffnt-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1
Curated by Angela Wildermuth
Maps by Jessie Hoagland
Published by Green Spiral Tours
Let the wild rumpus begin!
Here’s a sample map:
Angela Wildermuth is a freelance nature teacher and the curator of the Urban Wild adventure maps. You can follow her or join small group nature camps during the pandemic summer at www.urbanwildstl.com
Tinkergarten is also running nature camps during the pandemic summer. You can find them or train to become a Tinkergarten teacher at: https://tinkergarten.com
greenspiraltours.wordpress.com 
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