Nature Trail Offers Multi-Sensory Outdoor Experience, Focusing on Blind People

Newswise — An appreciation of nature and enjoyment of the outdoors is not limited to those who can see. But nature trails that offer interaction with forests and the natural environment are quite limited for people who are visually impaired or blind. Well-designed environmental education programs, such as New Jersey’s Sensory Awareness Trail, can offer a look at nature through all the senses.

This trail is the subject of a report in the current issue of the journal Insight: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment and Blindness. It is part of a special issue exploring recreation, sports and play for people with visual impairments.

Blind and visually impaired people often have low levels of physical activity, motor skills, and recreational opportunities. This special issue presents interventions that can remove social barriers, ensure safety, and improve the lives of the visually impaired by encouraging physical activity through sports, exercise and interaction with nature.

With the Sensory Awareness Trail at the New Jersey Forest Resource Education Center, environmental educators created a multi-sensory curriculum that meets New Jersey Core Curriculum content standards. It was adapted from an existing environmental education program, Project Learning Tree, which offers a curriculum that any state could adapt to site-specific needs.

Exploration of the New Jersey forest site is encouraged through multi-sensory awareness activities of listening, smelling, touching and tasting. On guided tours, participants are taught to listen to the sounds of running water and animals; to smell the forest scents of leaves, bark and berries; to feel the sun, wind, and soil textures. “Talking tree” kiosks provide individual lessons and hands-on experiences, such as touching pinecones and animal pelts.

The physical layout of the trail includes 5-foot-wide crushed gravel and raised wooden walkways stable and well-drained enough for wheelchair access and for those with balance issues. A 36-inch high guide rope with tactile indicators is set on posts every 10 feet along the trail. Benches, kiosks and outdoor classrooms offer breaks along the 1.5 mile loop of the trail. The trail offers a safe outdoor environment where orientation and mobility skills can be developed. The interactive, hands-on activities encourage independent travel and exploration.

The trail was put into use in 2001, and about 2,500 people of all abilities put it to good use each year. Of course, the multi-sensory trail is not limited to those with visual impairment. Sighted visitors are encouraged to close their eyes, walk along the guide rope, and use their other senses to take in the sounds, smells, and other natural wonders of the trail.

Full text of the article, “Developing a Multi-Sensory Outdoor Education Program,” Insight: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment and Blindness, Vol. 4, No. 4, Fall 2011, is available at http://www2.allenpress.com/pdf/aerj-04-04-03.pdf

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About Insight: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment and BlindnessInsight: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment and Blindness is a quarterly journal in the field of education and rehabilitation of persons of all ages with low vision or blindness. The journal features excellent research that can be applied in a practical setting as well as best practice examples that contain enough detail to be implemented by other practitioners. The journal reports on informative and helpful practices, research findings, professional experiences, experiments, and controversial issues. It is the official publication of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). To learn more about the society, please visit: http://www.aerbvi.org.