Nature play engages children in unstructured and open-ended play in natural settings. It promotes physical activity, boosts the immune system, enhances problem-solving skills, reduces stress, cultivates curiosity, and fosters appreciation for nature.

Natural playgrounds, like the one in First Creek Park, encourage nature play using elements from the natural world to create an organic and sensory-rich environment.

Visitors can wade, splash, and look for crawdads in a creek fed by stormwater runoff from surrounding housing developments.

They can also enjoy log swings built into the playful landscape, climb boulders, pick raspberries from bushes along the trails, and explore woodland areas inhabited by dragonflies and prairie dogs.

The park is not only good for humans. It is also designed to protect the native ecosystem, providing habitats for various bird and plant species.