Community Play Space at the Hester Haring Cason Preserve

River Hook — the Hester Haring Cason Preserve is a 12-acre public landscape shaped by a layered history of agriculture, stewardship, and community investment. Formerly known as the “Sheep Farm,” the property remained in the Haring family for nearly a century before its acquisition by the Village of Upper Nyack in 2018, securing it as permanently protected open space. Today, the preserve functions as a hybrid civic landscape—combining meadow restoration, passive recreation, and small-scale cultural and educational programming. Its location between Hook Mountain, the Hudson River, and a growing regional trail network positions it as both a destination and a connective element within a larger environmental corridor.

The park’s design is guided by an intentionally light-touch approach, allowing the site to evolve through incremental, site-responsive interventions. Trails, restored meadows, and dispersed features support a range of uses while maintaining the legibility of the land’s agricultural past.

Within this framework, our work focused on the creation of a dedicated play environment built entirely from locally harvested logs. Avoiding prefabricated systems, the project emphasizes durable, site-specific materials and open-ended use. The design supports physical exploration, creativity, and intergenerational engagement, while directly responding to growing concerns around “nature deficit disorder” by fostering hands-on interaction with the landscape.

The play area is sited beside an intermittent stream and incorporates a historic ice house as a central feature. To the northwest, the space opens to a restored meadow, with a large maple log perch oriented to frame views and provide a gathering point. Shade structures and a boulder seating arrangement further support comfort, social interaction, and informal group use.

Developed in coordination with the park’s broader landscape strategy, this intervention builds on a framework established by Caroll Huber, whose master plan intentionally left this area open for focused development. The result is a material-driven play space that complements the evolving character of the preserve while offering a distinct, engaging destination for the community.