Tree Branch Fort in Umoja Park
A fort made from fallen eastern hemlock boughs in Umoja Park. Photo: Ross Schmucki
On Christmas Eve, a large limb from an eastern hemlock came down in Swarthmore’s Umoja Park. Two residents who live near the park wrote to us about it.
The kids in the neighborhood have been having fun building forts with the tree branches in Umoja Park. It is nice to see the fallen tree be used and appreciated. I have seen small children with their parents walking up to the downed tree and trying to get under the branches. I have seen a mother and her young child stroll down the sidewalk waving sprigs of the tree’s bows.
My kids went to the School in Rose Valley, and my wife, Kim, worked there for many years. The kids built similar “forts” of tree branches in the woods on the edge of the playground. They would have their own economy, collecting and trading mica, bits of stone, and other doodads. The fort in Umoja Park reminds me of those.
Research shows that children need quiet, natural outdoor places to play. It helps them process their world and their emotions, explore their own inventiveness, and practice negotiating play rules with friends. None of this requires an expensive trip out west. It can happen in a slapdash fort under a tree in a park.
– Ross Schmucki
After a wild winter storm, in the wee hours of Christmas morning, Santa dropped off some marvelous playground equipment in Umoja Park.
The kids are thrilled. They have stripped the branches to build a small village of elf houses. Yesterday, six little children were climbing on the big toy and swinging in its boughs — much like non-human primates in National Geographic films.
It reminds me of my childhood playgrounds, before lawyers dumbed them down. It’s a joyous place, and it’s fun to watch.
I hope the Grinch won’t take it.
– Berenice Saxon
If you, your children or grandchildren, or other relatives or friends have played in small natural spaces in or around town, we’d love to hear about it. Please email us at editor@swarthmorean.com.
