Thanks for your reply!
RE sphere collision, my assumption is that with this method, items would pop on and off, no fading (which I’d prefer if possible).
The decal is an interesting idea, but not sure how well that would work for the grass or trees that are parented to the ground (where there’d be a texture of the leaves and one for the trunk). From what little I know RE decals, I think it’s just a projection of a texture and does not respect the UVs on the surface.