GOSHEN and ADEC Collaborating to Propose Sensory Trail
The City of Goshen is collaborating with ADEC, Inc. to propose a sensory trail to help connect individuals with disabilities to the health benefits and wonder of nature.
Sensory trails are built to have a series of experiences along a route designed for users to engage with their different senses. Varied surfaces and stations housing different smells and sounds are features of sensory trails, which are often planned for people with disabilities.
The City of Goshen’s project proposes developing a GPS-enabled app accessed by a phone or tablet while on the trail to connect users to nature in a fully immersible sensory trail experience. The app will locate and identify unique natural features, pinpoint interactive spaces where individuals can participate in their sensory experience, and provide opportunities where users can select to listen to music, poetry, or historical information.
Stationary live nature cameras will be placed to provide individuals who cannot participate on the trail with accessibility to the same mental health benefits of the sights and sounds of nature from their home.
On Monday, Dec. 28, Goshen’s Board of Works passed an agreement with ADEC to work together as they apply for a Community Connections for People with Disabilities Grant, which is offered through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs in partnership with the Indiana Division of disability and Rehabilitative Services.
A virtual public meeting will be held on Monday, January 4, 10 a.m. utilizing Zoom in which the project will be discussed in more detail and in which the public will be invited to provide input. To access it, click here and type in the passcode: 176172. Attendees also can call (301) 715-8592 or (312) 626-6799, enter the meeting ID: 899 3848 5387, and enter the passcode. Press # to continue onto the meeting.
