Work will begin late this spring on the Rotary Natural Playground in Riverfront Park, just north of downtown on First Avenue

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The Natural Playground at Riverfront Park looks like a “go” this summer.

Donations for building the new attraction – designed to nestle against the walking and biking trails along the Red River just north of downtown Moorhead – have reached $900,000, just $100,000 short of the million-dollar goal. With a number of major donors still to be contacted, project chairperson Heather Ranck of the FM Rotary Foundation predicts the final push will surpass the ambitious goal. “We’re in the final stretch,” she says. “It’s within our reach this spring.”

The Rotary Natural Playground has been in the works since 2019, when Moorhead Rotary and Fargo’s four Rotary clubs came together to plan something different for the community’s youngsters. Working with Confluence Inc., planners have laid out a vision that’s built, not with concrete, plastic and rubber, but with Nature’s own building materials – sandy paths, boulders, logs, shrubbery and trees, and a generous dollop of the kids’ own creativity.

The plan also includes an adjoining bike skills park, where young bicyclists can pedal up and down hilly terrain, land bridges and a variety of tricky surfaces.

The playground is being underwritten with fund-raising by the Rotary groups. It will be built on city parkland and maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department. Confluence Inc., a landscape and architecture firm with nine offices across the Midwest including Fargo, is handling the design. The planning committee and Parks Department are meeting with engineers this week.

The project, Ranck explains, is intended to bring back the freedom and fun of unbounded outdoor recreation – the kind of free-time activity that today’s parents and grandparents remember from their own childhoods. Today, children’s time is closely scheduled among organized, coached activities. When they’re not in school, they’re often staring at a digital screen. The hours of free play their elders remember from childhood have been largely replaced by regimented activities and video games.

The vision of what the Natural Playground can offer the community has grown from its birth on the eve of the two-year pandemic. “We envisage an open pavilion for hosting events,” Ranck says, “and a lot more lighting. We want to create a four-seasons attraction. Darkness comes early in winter. During Frostival, we could see how much of a difference lighting makes on these long winter nights.” An interactive art installation on which children can play has also been added to design discussions. It is expected to become a regional attraction for families.

The biggest adjustment planners have faced, however may involve working with the riverbank site itself. The heavy clay subsoil along the river, compounded by potential flooding, must be taken into account in designing a playground that will be built to last.

The park’s development will be fully funded through the Rotary fund-raising campaign. Due to the additions and changes, as well as rising material and contracting costs, the goal had to be raised from the initial $600,000 target. The clubs have stepped up, Ranck says, along with major donors who have expressed support the vision. At the top of that list are the John Valentine Fund (established by one of the founders of Aldevron), the F-M Convention and Visitors Bureau, Sanford Health Foundation, and Scheels. According to Ranck 198 donors have contributed to the project so far.

More information and links to contribute can be found at www.fmrotaryfoundation.org and click on Natural Playground.