New Nature Play Space Opens In Lincoln Square

CHICAGO, IL — A ribbon-cutting for a new nature area was held in Lincoln Square Saturday. The 1.23-acre Welles Park Nature Play Space is located at 2333 W. Sunnyside Avenue in the largest park in the neighborhood. The new space offers people of all ages a chance to take a stroll and play in nature.

The new play space was funded by a $20,000 Meet Me at the Park grant from the National Recreation and Park Association and the Walt Disney Company. Ald. Ameya Pawar also committed $30,000 in Aldermanic Menu funds to the park.

"It represents a great addition to the park where people of all ages can enjoy open space, read a book, sit, relax, listen to the birds; a place where children can play in a natural setting and use their imagination," Pawar said in a 47th Ward newsletter.

For four years, the NRPA and Disney have launched an annual Earth Month campaign to fund local park improvement projects in cities across the country.

The Welles Park Advisory Council also held an It's Your Park Day event over the weekend. Volunteers picked up one-hundred pounds of litter, the playground was raked and many trees received new mulch, the council said.

Main images: 1 - via Welles Park Advisory Council; 2 - via Google Maps Streetview