Friends of Webster County Conservation were putting the finishing touches on the new playground Monday afternoon as about 30 people gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The ribbon-cutting signaled the beginning of a new opportunity for kids to connect with nature, according to Matt Cosgrove, Webster County Conservation director.

“The playscape concept comes from the nature deficit disorder,” Cosgrove said. “Kids are not playing outside as much as when we were younger.”

The playscape is located west of the Heun Shelter where the road bends south, just north of the existing, traditional playground. It’s part of a larger plan for the area that juts out into the lake, which will be called Discovery Point.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Drew Vonsak, 3, of Fort Dodge, carries a golden pair of scissors after a ribbon cutting for the new natural playscape at John F. Kennedy Park Monday afternoon.

“We are encouraging our children to get outside and connect with nature by natural materials because we have learned if you don’t love something, you don’t take care of it,” Cosgrove added. “So the plan is to get kids connected.”

A tree house, rock climbing wall, and sandbox are just some of the features that have been added to the park.

The tree house bears the name Katie Lunn Treehouse, in memory of Katie Lunn, who died in a train accident in 2010.

Cosgrove said the project is part of the county’s environmental education programming.

“It’s part of a bigger concept of what we are trying to do here at Webster County Conservation and encouraging our citizens to use the outdoors,” Cosgrove said.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Vander Casey, 4, left, and Elliana Casey, 7, both of Fort Dodge, have a look at the scenery at the top of a new treehouse at John F. Kennedy Park Monday afternoon.

Efforts to make the playscape a reality began two-and-half years ago.

“When we updated our master plan for this facility, this was one of the main components,” Cosgrove said. “We wanted to get this started and implement it right away.”

The playscape is the first phase of Discovery Point.

The area also features prairie areas, new trails, and an observation tower.

It also has a water feature near the treehouse where kids pump their own water from a platform and it runs down through a dry bed.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Cambree Lunn, 10, middle, along with McKade Lunn, 7, Wesley Vonsak,4, and Drew Vonsak, 3, team up for the ribbon cutting ceremony at the natural playscape at John F. Kennedy Park Monday afternoon. The treehouse at the playscape is named after Katie Lunn, who died in 2010. Her nephews and cousins are shown here.

The project was entirely funded through private resources, Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove said new features will continually be added to the area.

“This will continue to be a work in progress,” he said. “We will add things to keep it new and different.”