Connecting the Holland Community with Nature

GMB, The ODC Network (ODC), and the City of Holland partnered to create the Sally Smoly Nature Playscape at Window on the Waterfront Park (WOW). This 1-acre park within a park had a $350,000 budget, the last $100,000 of which was raised through a $50,000 crowdfunding and a matching grant from MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places program in the summer of 2021. Located two blocks from downtown Holland, the project introduces the first playground within a 20-minute walk and also serve residents of nearby senior living facilities. The project supports ODC’s mission to connect people to nature and provides play and learn spaces.

Sally Smoly Nature Playscape is sited in a central greenspace on existing parkland. The park offers climbing structures constructed of logs, nets, rocks and boulders; slides; fully accessible, looping walking paths and features making the space usable for people of all abilities; creative play areas that include a playhouse, sand, a deck lookout and sledding hill; hammock posts; an amphitheater and stage space plus a pavilion and benches; large grassy greenspace for games and activities; landscaping with a focus on a natural environment with an abundance of native plants and vegetation; fencing for the early childhood area; and adjacent parking.