COLUMBIA, MD-Ambitious improvement plans proposed by the Inner Arbor Trust for Merriweather Park here could cost more than $30 million to complete.

Among the ideas incorporated into its draft plan for the park, the Inner Arbor Trust proposes replacing portions of metal and chain-link fences that surround the Merriweather amphitheater with an 871-foot landscaped steel tube called the “Caterpillar.” The Caterpillar would have openings that would serve as gateways to the concert pavilion, according to the Washington Post.

Martha Schwartz, the curator of the new park, said, “The Caterpillar will be a spotted beast —the 'spots,' being holes of varying sizes through which changeable pots of flowering plants, naturalized forest species, lights that glow and illuminate the pathway along its sides, and light sticks sprout from its skin like the taller fuzz on caterpillars. It will also provide a necessary function; to create a (871-foot) boundary between the Merriweather Performance Pavilion and Symphony Woods in the limited time when there are performances, but remains an open gateway most of the time so that the public can wander freely throughout Merriweather Park.

She added, “It will also be a playful Caterpillar. Its 'skin' will allow individuals and community groups to participate in planting its sides with seasonal flowers, vegetables as well as compose music or poetry that will be heard through the Caterpillar's integrated and interactive sound system. It will also reflect back the sounds of the forest or, if programmed through one of its apps, sing you a birthday song.” For a detailed look at the draft plan for Merriweather Park, see story in the Washington Post.