When Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve introduced its Nature Playscape in May 2018, an idea already had begun floating around to improve the five-acre subsection of the preserve.
Spurred by a $4,000 donation in 2018 and a funding campaign introduced at Wesselman Woods’ 50th Anniversary Green Gala fundraiser in 2022, an ambitious project began to construct an expansive treehouse in the forest’s mid-canopy.
Unveiled on June 27, the Arwood Family Treehouse offers ramps, rock walls, rope bridges, and climbing ropes. The new is named for Cathy Arwood, who donated more than half the project’s cost in honor of her son Alex Arwood and daughter-in-law Kristina Arwood, who is Wesselman Woods’ Marketing and Community Engagement Director.
Director of Development Jerry Rairdon says the new feature is attracting significant attention to the nature preserve, a 310-acre site on Evansville’s East Side doubles as the nation’s largest urban old-growth forest.
“Just the news that we have been sharing about it has driven up memberships,” Rairdon says. “I remember when I first came here two years ago, we’d get a membership or two on average a week, and now it’s one or two a day.”
The private project, which was funded through the donations of supporters of the Nature Preserve and built by Tomahawk Services LLC, cost $260,000. Officials at Wesselman Woods say they aren’t done yet, with plans underway to link the preserve center to the treehouse via a direct trail, for which $20,000 has been raised.
“I think a key thing about this is that the whole nature playscape is a place where kids can climb trees, swing on vines, get dirty, and experience risk,” Rairdon says. “Kids spend a lot of time on screens and don’t get to experience this, but that’s a very important skill in life to undertake and experience risk.”
Starting June 28, the treehouse will be open to the general public. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 3-12, and free for children under 3, as well as for Wesselman Woods Nature Preserve members. The nature preserve is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays at 551 N. Boeke Road.