Play area - ground safety vs badger toilet

[borrowdale]

I’ve been eyeing up some of the “outdoor fun” setups on the Costco website. Many of them have platforms that are quite high off the ground and so I need to make sure my 3 year old is safe if he decides to jump off.

I get muntjac, foxes, badgers, rabbits etc visiting, if I put normal bark down I assume it’ll be used as a giant litter tray?

I don’t really fancy a “commercial” looking rubber surface. Are there any other options?

[Sford]

I just left ours as grass. The treehouse is about 5ft off the ground. Like you, looked at chippings etc but then just left it. They climb trees and all sorts without having anything but grass below.