Ford Motor Company Grant and Volunteers Build New Outdoor Amphitheater at Kensington Metropark

If you have visited Kensington Metropark Nature Center recently you might have noticed a new outside addition on the northeast side. The Metroparks received a grant from Ford Motor Company Fund for $7,500 to create an outdoor amphitheater at the nature center. With the help of 18 volunteers from Ford, and 108 volunteer hours later, the Kensington Metropark Nature Center now has an accessible outdoor education amphitheater. The amphitheater will be used by the Nature Center Interpreters as an outdoor classroom and meeting place to conduct educational programming that introduces visitors to the surrounding forest, wetlands, and meadow habitats. The amphitheater includes an already existing firepit that will be utilized for campfire talks during night programs and as a place to warm up during the winter events.

The outdoor amphitheater will have available paths leading to both the front and back of the building. It is designed with a minimum of 36 seated adult spaces on three rings of benches arranged in a semi-circular position facing the woods and the firepit. To keep the area completely accessible, the floor of the amphitheater will remain a flat surface with each ring of benches increasing in height. This arrangement will allow viewing to be maximized and offer better seating choices and comfort for all visitors. The Metroparks could not have done any of this without the help and hard work of the Ford volunteers. Next time you are at Kensington Metropark, check it out, and be on the lookout for future programs happening there!