Ribbon-cutting ceremony held for new playground at Gwen Cherry Park
MIAMI - A new playground debuted at Gwen Cherry Park Thursday along with new slides, and a zip line.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava attended the event, which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside county commissioners and Miami-Dade Police Chief Freddy Ramirez.
"The zipline; definitely a great feature," said Levine Cava. "whoever was a part of that design thank you very much!" said Levine Cava, as she laughed to the crowd after trying the zipline out herself.
The landscape architects behind the idea for the zipline, and overall design of the park told CBS4 News they wanted to highlight the area's natural habitat.
"We want to use the existing trees as the beginning of the design, said Barry Miller, co-founder of Savino-Miller Design.
"Also, this area is part of the Pine Rockland of the county, so the idea was to amplify that and bring back that type of ecosystem," said Adriana Savino, co-founder Savino-Miller Design.
The playground is a one-of-a-kind playground called a "nature-based playground," designed to encourage children to spend more time outdoors.
"I'm excited, especially because the children are excited, " said Commissioner Jean Monestime, who represents District 2 in Northwest Miami-Dade, where Gwen Cherry Park is located.
"Of course, this is an investment in our youth and our children; this is an investment in the families in this area," added Commissioner Monestime.
In addition to the new zip line, and the park features new swings, a spinner, a slide set into a hill, and musical instruments. . There are also new bicycle racks, trash receptacles, and park benches.