For the June issue of Memphis Crossroads Magazine, Toni Lepeska went Inside the new ... Shelby Farms Park Woodland Discovery Playground. Our special web-only content explores some trivia and aspects of how the playground fits into Shelby Farms' master plan.

Memphis Crossroads, the Chamber's quarterly economic development magazine, is available free at select locations throughout Memphis (including Schnuck's markets), via mail for Chamber members and at the Chamber's offices on the 2nd floor of the Falls Building, 22 N. Front Street.

Safe and comfortable

Volunteer docents are available at various times to help children with equipment and enforce safety and assist in case of heat exhaustion. Nooks of quiet also are provided for parents who might want to settle down with a book while their children are playing. Water fountains are located at a “comfort station” at the entrance to the playground.

Eye on design

Six months or more of research went into formulating what type of playground should be designed. Two books guided Shelby Farms officials, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv and American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space by Susan G. Solomon. Solomon even made a site visit and gave hands-on help to Shelby Farms. Design took about a year and construction took another year.

The skeleton of the arbor was erected with 166 steel ribs and winds a fourth of a mile through the playground. Permeable pea gravel formed the walkway. About 15 different types of trees, 25 types of perennials and five types of vines were planted against the arbor and within the site. Designers created “play nests” that focused on various types of play and leisure. The first nest is a lawn area for picnics. The second nest contains a curly slide, a sand floor and water pump for children to enjoy. A third nest holds several slides and climbing apparatus. A fourth nook under a tree was designed for children to rest and get away from the bustle of play and for parents to sit and read or socialize. A fifth nest holds swings and spinning equipment. Another nest provides the web of ropes and tree platforms for climbing. A final nest provides a wooded area for children to roam.

Part of the whole

Woodland Discovery Playground is part of a master plan and a series of projects that are transforming Shelby Farms. About $75 million worth of improvements are underway, including planting of 1 million trees. As for remnants of old playgrounds elsewhere at Shelby Farms, they will remain for an undetermined time, but to be sure, their replacements will be well thought out to create a new generation of playground. “As we build other playgrounds, each will be specific to generate a certain play,” Adams said. “I don’t exactly know what that looks like. We’re going to have to research it.”