New Playground Opens At Camp
The new Raven's Roost wooden playground, which opened Sept. 18 in the upper playground at Woodcrest Retreat, rises high into the trees. In fact, a few of the trees are encompassed by the platforms of the structure.
"We had talked about a treehouse," said Jason Martin, operations director for the camp and conference center. "It's the feel of a treehouse without being a treehouse. It's not using any trees to support it, but trees are in the midst of it."
Raven's Roost was made possible when a proposed Woodcrest project was canceled and a donor graciously allowed the funds to be transferred to create a new playground instead.
In the fall of 2020, Martin and other staff members brainstormed ways to expand the playground, which is located adjacent to the pool. "We put our heads together as a staff and came up with detailed points for what we were looking for," explained Martin, who then utilized his background in construction and design in drawing up the plans for Raven's Roost.
A large climbing web made of ropes provides added fun and an interesting design element. Martin stated that the web existed as part of the playground prior to the construction of Raven's Roost. "We designed the structure around it, and now it's an access point to get up to the platform," he said.
According to Martin, construction on the project began in March, with volunteer laborers, mostly retired men who had worked in construction, at the site on Monday and Wednesday mornings. "Having no designated completion date allow(ed) us to use volunteers and take our time," said Martin.
Adding to the playground to improve on existing offerings is part of the mission of Woodcrest. "We are always looking for (things that will influence) kids to want to come back to camp," said Martin. "We wanted to beef up this playground because of how much it gets used," he added. "We wanted something they could climb up and around (on)."
More information about Woodcrest may be found at http://www.woodcrestretreat.org.
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