I'm at Elkhart County’s newest county park, Corson River Woods County Park, and we are going to learn all about it, including a focus on pollinators and really fun play pods.

I can't wait to explore it with Rhonda to care.

The director of Elkhart County Parks.

Hi, Rhonda.

Beautiful sunny day.

Tell us where we are because this is brand new in 2026.

It is.

And welcome to Corson River Woods County Park.

We are at the corner of County Road 37 and County Road 12, just northwest of Middlebury.

And this is our newest county park.

That's great.

What was the vision for this?

Because when I'm here, it feels different from some of your other Elkhart County parks or Saint Joseph County parks where I used to work.

Tell me what the what the big idea was for here.

Yeah.

So in 2018, Mr.

Tom Corson donated this parcel of land.

It's about 82 acres.

And we sat down with him to try to figure out what he envisioned.

And what he told us was, I just want to connect people with the outdoors in nature.

And so it was great to not have a whole lot of restrictions.

And we could let our imaginations roll.

Oh, great.

And it's positioned adjacent to a neighborhood, so I imagine it's a really nice resource for neighborhood families, but then also visitors from outside of the immediate area.

That is correct.

We're next to widening water subdivision, and those folks have adopted this as their local park.

But we have had visitors from South Bend, Mishawaka, Elkhart, Goshen, Lagrange County, everywhere in the region coming out to the site.

You know, I always like to say build a build it and they will come, right?

That's correct.

Build it and they will come.

So the highlight here is kind of this fun.

I think it's a mile and a half path.

Right a play path a pollinator play path.

So we're going to visit some of the stations.

But I love we're going to talk a little bit as we're walking in a little bit about planted here to attract pollinators.

Just so happens it's June right now that you and I are doing this.

Yes, it happens to be National Pollinator Week is the last week of June.

As always, always Pollinator week.

Okay, so how about if we go to at least one of these play pods that's right here behind us, and we can talk about what the idea is for each of these little fun play spaces.

Sounds great.

Let's go heavy.

As we're walking, we're passing by these fun story Walk placards.

So was this an Eagle Scout project?

It was an Eagle Scout project.

We had a young man, Logan Labneh, who lives next door in the neighborhood, and his brother loves to play over here.

So he he built a storybook trail for in honor of his brother.

Oh, that's so wonderful.

And the book that's up here now.

And it changes.

Write.

The book changes change.

And we try to stick with a pollinator themed book.

And this month or this quarter of the year is about monarchs.

Perfect.

There we go.

Maybe we'll get to see some butterflies as we're walking.

Maybe at the next play pod, we'll see something that's fun.

As we're walking to the play spaces.

There's beautiful flowers here, right?

Was that part of the plan?

It was part of the plan.

We worked with the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service and our partners for wildlife program, which involves the Turkey Federation, to plant 14 acres of prairie and over 7000 trees on this site.

Wow, wow.

That's a lot of the flowers that are here are helping pollinators, whether it's bees or wasps or butterflies.

And certainly for monarch butterflies, this plant, common milkweed is the best.

It is the best.

In fact, we just saw one fly away right before we approached this.

But this is common milkweed.

And so the monarchs will lay their their egg on this plant.

The caterpillars come out, they eat it, they build their chrysalis nearby and hatch into new monarchs, monarchs and all kinds of little critters.

They see milkweed, beetle and little flies and all kinds of things around there.

So definitely helping the pollinators.

Definitely.

I see a really fun space up there.

So I want to go check that out.

Sounds good.

Let's go.

Okay.

This is super fun.

So this play pad obviously features monarch.

So let's talk about that Rhonda I'd see kind of like the life cycle of monarchs.

That's correct.

So this is our monarch play pad which features a monarch that you can climb on a caterpillar and leaf that you can climb through.

Fun.

And they're so adorable.

They are adorable.

And these have become great photographic spots for parents and kids.

But this area was really designed for toddlers in mind, so it's easy for them to climb.

And we also wanted all the elements to be as accessible as possible.

So, you know, a child who doesn't have a lot of big climbing skills could easily get on this butterfly and take a ride.

We have expression swings at one of our other play pods, so a mom or dad can actually be on a swing with a child, and even with a child who has developmental disabilities can use those swings.

You know, I think sometimes people don't realize all the thought that goes into thinking about a play space for the broader community, right?

That's correct.

That's good for everybody.

I want to try this out.

Maybe I can crawl through you.

Yes, you go for that.

Okay, so this is our monarch caterpillar that is larger than life, and the kids enjoy climbing on top of it, climbing through it.

And it's just a magnificent piece, not only as a play, but as art.

It really is so vibrant and so colored.

Yes.

What are these little interesting.

So these are our musical features that are in two of our play pods, where you can play a tune there.

I don't know if I can play a tune, but I can at least make noise.

That's fun.

There you are.

So we have these?

Yes, at two, two different sites.

Nice.

So it kind of incorporating all the senses for kids.

That's correct.

That is correct.

Well, let's walk a little bit farther and see what else we can find because this is super fun.

Sounds good.

Let's go.

And look at this American toe.

What a sweetie.

I bet he's out here to eat some pollinators.

Probably they are part of the food chain.

In part and part so.

And it's pretty plump.

So I'm thinking it must be doing okay, but it's kind of a hot spot, so it's hot spot.

Hopefully if you and I walk by, it'll find a cooler spot.

This is another play pod featuring ladybugs, right?

That's correct.

A lot of people don't realize it, but ladybugs and other beetles are actually pollinators too.

Yeah, and in the case of ladybugs, they also eat a lot of things that might be kind of annoying in your gardens.

Like aphids, right?

Correct.

Super nice to have around.

This one's kind of adorable.

Correct.

So let's see what else.

I love those eyeballs I love.

So we have this this climbing feature for toddlers.

But then we also have for kids who want a little bit more excitement, the older children, these climbing tree pods in our mushroom steps to get up here.

So that's what those are for.

Correct.

Yeah.

So cute.

Lots of people have a lot of fun climbing on these elements and getting a bird's eye view of, of kind of looking down on things.

Nice front and behind them.

Yeah.

This this mushroom is really adorable.

You know, kind of behind us, I see a lot of trees.

We've walked through some prairie like areas, but when it was donated, what did the site look like?

So when we first came out to the site, it was a cornfield.

It was.

And it had been utilized as a field for more than 80 years.

Wow.

Yes.

Wow.

Yeah, it's quite a big difference.

And what are some of the future plans maybe for this site?

Yeah.

So we know that people love their trails and they love walking.

And this trail is only a mile and a half.

So we do want to extend the trails on the north end of the park through some of the wooded wetland that's now growing, as well as give people some access to the rivers and hopefully a boardwalk.

Eventually, as the get more donors and funders, lots of things to think about for the future, which is really fun.

But already it's a great place for families because there are several other amenities like shelter, right?

There's picnic shelter.

That's correct.

And a restroom too.

We have a modern restroom.

We have a rentable shelter, bike racks, grills.

So lots, lots to see and do if you want to have a birthday party out here.

What a great spot for a children's birthday party.

It's got to run and do their thing on the in the play spaces.

That's really fun.

Yeah.

Well, this is a really fun and unique something really different for the region.

And I love that.

You know, like, there's a play pod that features honeybees.

You've got ladybugs, you've got monarchs, even birds, which we sometimes don't think of.

And I also know one other quick thing for families who are coming out on the website, you have like a it's almost like a pollinator scavenger hunt, right?

Like that's correct.

And that's really was designed for all ages.

So if people aren't into the bugs and the hummingbirds and the bees, they can come out and look for the flowers that are here.

So we have an identity identification sheet that shows all those great plants that have been planned.

And they can kind of like check them off in their head.

Like I found that one.

I found that one correctly.

Rhonda, what was the philosophy behind the designs of these pods in addition to sharing information about pollinators?

Right.

So in a typical playground situation, you have one large playground, and the moms and dads and the grandma sitting on benches.

And the idea for this play path is for families to move together.

Okay.

So whether it's walking or experiencing the play structure.

Yes.

Together it's all about movement and great health aspect.

Exactly to these features as well.

Well I think this is delightful.

I look forward to all of the new amenities in the years to come.

Congratulations on this new park and thank you for all the Elkhart County Park does.

And hopefully folks will come on out to Corson River Woods County Park and experience it for themselves.

Thank you.

Evie, for coming out today.

Remember, you can find your own outdoor elements when you visit area parks and natural areas.

We'll see you soon.