The Rindge Recreation Department hopes to see the rugged entrance to Tetrault Park become a place of play for local children.
Tetrault Park, which connects to the Rindge Town Forest, is owned and maintained by the Rindge Conservation Commission, and contains a system of trails, as well as tent sites and a wooden cabin that was gifted to the town along with the land.
The cabin is currently unused, but is structurally sound, said Rindge Recreation Director Dan Beemis, and members of the Conservation Commission approached him two years ago about collaborating on a project to make use of the structure.
Tetrault Park, located off Rand Road in Rindge, seemed an ideal location for a different kind of play place, Beemis said – what’s known as a natural playground.
Like any playground, a “natural playground” has play structures and slides, but they are made from wood, or use logs and rocks and other natural structures, and make use of the landscape, such as having slides follow the natural downslope of an embankment, rather than traditional plastic structures.
The Recreation Department has been in the planning phase for the natural playground since that first conversation two years ago, Beemis said, and the department is ready to begin fundraising for the project in earnest.
“The total cost of the project is $100,000. It’s an expensive project, to say the least,” Beemis said.
Beemis said that cost is an upper limit, and the Recreation Department hopes to work with local companies willing to work with the department, or add installations in phases to reduce cost.
The Rindge Recreation Department has had multiple fieldtrips to the Discovery Museum in Acton, Massachusetts, which has a natural playground that served as an inspiration for the idea, Beemis said. The playground would be located right at the entrance to Tetrault Park, at the gated entrance from Rand Road, and next to the existing cabin and tent platforms, and the start of the trail system.
“It’s really neat, and the kids love it,” Beemis said of the Discovery Museum natural playground. “It was a big part of the inspiration to have one closer to home.”
As part of the planning phase for the playscape, the Recreation Department used donations from P.O.O.R. – Pumpkin Organization of Rindge – a service organization that donates to community causes, as well as town impact fees designated for the Recreation Department to do design work on the park. Beemis said while the town has selected some features it would like to see in the playscape, the next phase is public feedback, and seeing what the future users want to see in a natural playground.
A hike is planned this summer as part of the Conservation Commission’s hike and paddle series which will include the trails around Tetrault Park, the cabin and the site of the future playscape. The Recreation Department will be seeking feedback from residents about what features they would like in the playground.