Inside a secret garden-esque nature park in Mount Rainier, you’ll find lots of hidden treasures for young kids who love to explore the outdoors.
Located at 4211 31st St., the 31st Street Neighborhood Mini-Park includes a rain garden, a “food forest” with paw paw trees and other natural features like tree stumps for jumping and climbing on, brush piles, a walking trail, and even a lean to where kids can play.
The park is designed to be interactive, so kids can do things like use a watering can next to a rain barrel or move a group of old stumps into a circle for a picnic.
Colorful cartoony signs explain the role that different plants in the park play in feeding local bees and birds, such as the nourishment that zebra swallowtail butterflies get from paw paws.
The park draws on similar open-ended plans promoted by the “adventure park” movement that came about after World War II, as children in bombed-out cities in Europe were found playing in undirected ways in empty lots.
It’s also in line with other “food forest” parks that have sprung up along the Route 1 corridor in Hyattsville and College Park.
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