Why is a Natural Play Area Needed in Fargo Moorhead?
Children in Fargo-Moorhead have access to numerous parks, playgrounds, and sporting activities. However, children today have much less time for unstructured play  compared to previous generations. Why does that matter? Unstructured play is critical to children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. It is advised that children have twice as much time for unstructured play compared to structured play. Many adults remember the joy of free, outdoor, natural, unstructured play from their own childhood, but this is a distinct contrast from children today who are much more sedentary and who tend to participate mainly in adult-organized activities. This lack of play is contributing to the mental and physical health crisis in children.Studies show natural playgrounds increase physical activity compared to conventional play areas and are preferred by children because they find them challenging and more interesting. One study found that natural playgrounds in the UK had 55% more children visiting (and 14% more adults) when compared to conventional playgrounds in the US, and kids were about 18% more active in natural playgrounds. Natural play areas also have a lower rate of injury when compared to conventional playgrounds. Natural play areas typically cost less than conventional playgrounds to build as well. |
The FM Rotary Foundation's goal is to raise $1,270,000 to build a world class Natural Play Hill and bike skills park. The goal is to create a unique, fun and challenging playground to promote physical activity, get kids outside year round and promote healthy development in local kids. |
This project also envisions building a bike skills park. Biking instills confidence in kids and helps develop balance, strengthens joints, muscles, bones, and the heart and lungs. Bike skills parks are playgrounds for bikers that include a variety of natural obstacles such as rocks and logs, imaginatively created features such land ladder bridges, teeters, and dirt jumps all collected in a small and easily accessible location. These can most easily be thought of as a skateboard park designed specifically for mountain bikes. As mountain biking popularity increases, these parks are often being constructed and designed for younger kids to help introduce them to the sport and provide a setting to develop the skills to allow them to eventually ride on more advanced trails.What will you do at Riverfront Park?
