‘This is amazing:’ Children’s Nature Playscape gives kids a place to have fun at Bronson Park

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Annemarie Garber got a text message Friday morning from a friend telling her to check out the new playground next to Bronson Park. So, she and her two little ones — ages 2 and 4 years old — went over and saw it for themselves.

They were amazed, she said.

”They love water. They love sand. The love all of it. So, this is great,” Garber said. “This will be a regular for us. They’re having the time of their lives. My son is soaked.”

At 11:30 a.m., the Children’s Nature Playscape on Academy Street opened with dozens of children pushing through the gates and running inside to play.

Nine-year-olds Lincoln Morin-Kabell and Timothy Letcher said they both loved the jungle gym.

Mila Mosley, 5-years-old, came with her family and said that the sand and water were her favorite parts.

When asked how much fun she was having, she said “like a million percent.”

“It’s more for the community. It’s more for the kids. It gives them something more to do,” said her dad Mathew Mosley about the playscape. “I think it’s really beautiful. I think it’s great how they set it up, you know, it’s right in the middle of town right where everything is."

The playscape includes a jungle gym, tree stumps, logs, sand, a small pond, and a stream. The First Congregational Church of Kalamazoo, who owns the property, said it’s all meant to reflect nature to encourage kids to have fun with nature.

And, it gives children a place to play when they come to Bronson Park, said Howard Tejchma.

”We have a children’s museum [that's] indoors. We have a library, great. But where can kids be outdoors? With things that are built for them to use and is a creative space for them to engage with?” said Tejchma, the church’s moderator. “There are so few other places that even have a stream running through them like we have here in this Children’s Nature Playscape.”

The property sat vacant for years, next door to the church. FOX 17 reported in 2019 that it was rumored that condos would be built on the land but the church was fighting to buy it.They eventually did with the goal of turning it into something kid-oriented.

“We care about a lot of things but we have really said that we care about kids. We house in our church — for free — The Kalamazoo Drop-in Child Care Center. That’s so unique in the country, let alone in the state of Michigan, where families in need can have free child care, safe and educational childcare, for their children as they have to go to work [or to] doctor's appointments,” said Kristi Droppers, who leads the communications team at the church. “This is like the second part to that. We care about the kids in our community. This is a safe place for children, [ages] 2-10, to play with their parents, you know, unconstructed play and imagination play.”

Droppers said the church fund-raised over $1,000,000 to purchase the land and build the playscape. She said $600,000 is still needed for labor and additional construction like a performance stage and climbing wall.

However, she and Tejchma were in awe of how it’s turned out so far and were proud of the fruits of their labor.

“It’s spine-tingling to see what has happened to this property, from a derelict building that really had no hope of being resurrected to property for kids of Kalamazoo. It’s transformational in all aspects,” Tejchma said. “It came together because so many people cared about this idea of a playscape in Kalamazoo.”

Garber said she’s grateful, and she's happy that it's only five minutes from her home.

“You don’t have access to this kind of stuff. We have to drive 45 minutes away to have access to sand and water. So, this is huge” Garber said. “This is so important for their early development too. I’m a pre-school teacher. So, I know the value of this kind of property. This is amazing.”