Backcountry opens at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Ellis Groves of Carpinteria takes a break after stepping onto the stumps behind her. The activity is part of the fun on the Backcountry, which opened to the general public Monday at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Michelle Cyr gestured excitedly as she stood on a trail on a warm, sunny day and talked about an area she loves: the new Backcountry.
The interactive area for children and their families opened to the general public Monday at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Ms. Cyr, who’s the garden’s youth and family gardens program manager, told the News-Press that the area allows kids to interact with nature.
The area includes garden Executive Director Steve Windhager’s favorite spot, the Fallen Forest.
The forest consists of trees, including pines and oaks, which have fallen in the garden or other places. They’re anchored on a hillside, and kids climb up it by holding onto a rope.
Earlier this year, Mr. Windhager explained that kids get “the experience of climbing a tree without having to run the risk of falling 20 feet to the ground. If you fall off these trees, you’ll probably fall four or five feet and land in a nice cushion of 20 inches of mulch, which meets guidelines from the state of California for appropriate play space.”
The Backcountry’s highest point is the Raptor’s perch, which is similar to a tree house. To reach it, you walk over a rope bridge, which the News-Press found is more challenging than it looks, but some kids managed just fine on Monday.
Back on the ground, a young Carpinteria girl, Ellis Groves, enjoyed stepping from one stump onto another around a path that zig-zagged a bit. Her mother, Joya Groves, was impressed with what they had seen so far after having been in the backcountry for 15 minutes.
“I think it’s great. I think they did a really nice job,” Ms. Groves told the News-Press.
A short while later, the News-Press ran into Ms. Groves and her family again at the Hornets Nest, one of the Backcountry’s structures. This one has a special purpose. It houses children’s books, and Ms. Groves was reading a book to Ellis under the Backcountry’s natural shade on this sunny day.
Here, it’s very easy to forget about civilization. The Backcountry is a whole other world, and dogs accompanying their owners seem to like it as much as people.
In one area, a little dog, Walter, was interested in a round structure and decided to walk through it.
While the garden is primarily designed for kids ages 5-13, it can appeal to anyone who’s a kid at heart.
Mr. Windhager told the News-Press earlier this year that if you can’t find him in his office, he’s enjoying a trek up the Fallen Forest.
email: dmason@newspress.com
