Playground Review: Blue Jay Point County Park's Nature Play Area

Nature play areas are among the popular trends in playground construction these days. Here in the Triangle, we're seeing more and more of them.

The play areas are a big change from traditional playground with monkey bars, swings and slides. Instead, they rely on natural materials such as stumps, tree "cookies," sticks and other items. The goal is to provide a place where kids can explore and play on their own, creating their own narratives and building their own play areas.

In fact, Robin Moore, a professor of landscape architecture and director of the Natural Learning Initiative at N.C. State, is a leader in helping to develop sites like these.

The small area, just up the paved walkway from the park's traditional playground, includes a stump jump, castle construction, sand area and blocks made from tree trunks for building. It's all set under a stand of tall trees, making it a cool and cozy place to play.

Watch the video for a closer look at the play area at Blue Jay Point, 3200 Pleasant Union Church Rd., north of Raleigh.

My kids love these play areas. It's a different kind of experience than the running and climbing on the traditional metal and plastic play sets. But it's still active play as they jump across stumps or haul sticks and branches to build a fort. And I seem them using their imaginations so much more.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of these across the Triangle.