A whole new kind of park

RONAN — Most city parks have slides and swings, some have see-saws or monkey bars and the occasional bouncing dinosaur. But have you ever seen a playground with a zip line running from an eagle’s nest into a bear den?

Have you see-sawed on the wings of a dragonfly, climbed to the top of a teepee or run amok amid a metamorphosing frog or native bull and cutthroat trout?

You probably haven’t because in the world of city parks, those things don’t exist. Not yet, anyway.

Ronan City Parks director Jennifer Rolfsness is introducing a whole new way to look at community play space. Going beyond the traditional playground and into the world of interactive play pockets, Rolfsness is weaving together natural and cultural elements of the magnificent Mission Valley and Flathead Reservation in order to offer Ronan residents and vacationers the chance to learn, exercise and have fun — all at the same time.

Rolfsness uses the term “play pocket” to describe each individual play area with various themes related to local ecosystems and culture. Areas will have informational signs to teach kids about the ecosystem’s plants and animals and interactive voice boxes will speak key words in Salish, Kootenai and English with just the press of a button. Rolfsness hopes to eventually build five playgrounds and connect them all with a system of walking paths.

“It will be an outdoor classroom where kids will be able to have fun while moving on a synergistic path,” she said. “People can work at their own pace and it will encourage exercise because kids won’t be confined to one area, they’ll want to move along and see what’s at the next destination.”

The idea for such an elaborate recreation system originated last October when Rolfsness attended a trails conference in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“They had a presentation on Tennessee’s Riverwalk Park, one of just a handful of these parks in the United States,” Rolfsness said. “When I was listening to the presentation, I got so excited, I just knew we had to do this in Ronan.”

So far, designs are in the works for aquatic, woodland and cultural-themed play pockets. Rolfsness said she would like to see the first area under construction by July with three completed by next September.

“We have such a beautiful area here with natural resources that are abundant,” Rolfsness said. “We want to educate our children as well as get kids moving.”

Ronan’s parks department already spearheads a number of events throughout the year that encourage kids to be active outside. Earlier this fall, Rolfsness and a dedicated group of volunteers organized Ronan’s “Bike and Walk to School Day” and in the spring, the “Annual Bike Path Appreciation Day” draws families from Ronan through Polson to Salish Kootenai College in Pablo where they can have a complementary lunch, play games and earn prizes for their hard work.

“We’re doing our best to curb the high rate of childhood obesity here on the reservation,” Rolfsness said.

While forging ahead with her creative vision has thus far relied on the limits of her imagination, the project is quickly nearing the point where only cash, and quite a bit of it, will keep the dream alive.

“We are going to have to do some major fundraising,” Rolfsness said, estimating it will cost $500,000 to construct all five play pockets.

While Rolfsness and her staff have already begun to ramp up the grant-writing effort, members of the community now have the chance to contribute to the fundraising campaign as well. Just in time for the holidays, the Ronan City Parks staff is selling personalized bricks, which will be inlaid along the entrances to the Ronan Park and Path system. Bricks come in 4x8 and 8x8 inch blocks, call 676-0211 for more information.

“It’s never been developed before and that in itself is what is so unique and specialized to our area,” Rolfsness said. “We want to be a destination for families, you know. Stop in Ronan.”