'Natural playground' planned at Murrysville Community Park

Carly Greene laments that some children don’t know the simple pleasure of heading to the nearest stand of trees to play in the woods.

That’s the reason the director of the Murrysville Parks and Recreation Department is looking to install a natural playground at Community Park this spring.

“In essence it’s just a playground built from natural materials,” she said. “It gives kids a chance to use their imagination a little more, and if we’re able to source the wood ourselves, the only real cost is the impact surface that we’re required to install.”

Greene was inspired by a similar project built by Westmoreland County at Northmoreland Park in Allegheny Township.

“I’m not copying them, I’m complimenting them,” Greene said. “We think it’s a great idea, and it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for years.”

Greene said public works staff is looking to source hardwood trees locally to use for the playground, which could include features including a multi-log balance beam and a circular “stump jump.”

Parks staff is expecting to build the playground at the southwest corner of the park, behind the Leftwich Pavilion. She’s hoping a combination of volunteers and public works staff will join forces to build it in the spring.

Compared to the cost of modern playground equipment — which can quickly balloon up to six figures, as Murrysville officials discovered in the past when creating a new playground at Murrysville Community Park in 2019 — the natural playground is a minimal investment with a lot of return, Greene said.

“We just wanted to add something different,” she said. “Something like this is easily replaceable, and it’s also something that can be modified and set up in different ways.”