Sea-ing Sense is here in our Tees Valley Region – a two year project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, connecting Blind and visually impaired people to the coast.
This is a Partnership Project between the Going For Independence CIC and the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust.
Daily contact with nature is linked with better health, less stress and improved concentration and accessing the natural environment, whether it is the parks and woodlands, moorlands, or rivers, seaside and coastal margins, it should be for everyone.
For the Blind and visually impaired multisensory experiences need to include all the senses – sounds, smells and touch and even tastes – that can become the key important dimensions of experiencing nature. There are many different sensory experiences to be had outside, from different textures underfoot, to the sounds of the sea, birds and insects, the feel of sand, shells, and coastal plants and the different smells of the local environment including ozone, seaweed, fish, and coastal flora and animals. The tastes of the seaside can evoke many memories for people – of seaside rock, crab salads, cockles and mussels, lemon-top ice creams and more. Wild places, however, are often perceived as places of risk, with obstacles and barriers for those with visual impairments which prevent them being able to safely access nature; this project will enable safe access and an uplifting experience for all involved.
Going For Independence is a National Community Interest Company based in Cleveland with extensive experience of working with people with sight loss. Following our innovative Sensing the Wild project, which was featured on the BBC Countryfile programme in December 2019, we have been successful in our application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for a new two-year project called Sea-ing Sense – uplifting the spirits of visually impaired people.
There are very few activities in the local area designed to be accessible by people with sight loss, who find it difficult to join community groups because of their particular needs. This project will provide a programme of seasonal activities and events for local Blind and visually impaired people all about the coast and coastal margins bordering the Tees Valley Region, starting in autumn 2022 and finishing at the end of 2024.The aim of the project is to help to re-build confidence and to lift the spirits following the Covid restrictions which have left many with sight loss isolated, lonely and depressed.
Workshops in the winter months will be led by wildlife experts from the Tees Valley Wildlife Trust, supported by GFI staff and trained volunteers to enable full participation and enjoyment, and we will also arrange talks by the RNLI and Coastguard, and coastal margin specialists, and in the summer there will be guided walks along the coast.
The project will showcase the work we are doing through a new website (sensingthewild.info) to be launched in 2024, and we will also be producing soundscapes capturing the history and sounds of the coastal places visited, to provide lasting memories for participants and a wider public.
If you would like to join us and volunteer to assist our groups we provide specialist Sighted Guide training for accessing the natural environment.
“Going For independence is a Community Interest Company – a social enterprise with over 14 years’ experience of supporting people to live independently. This exciting project will help us to extend our reach to a wider audience and build our capacity as an organisation to engage local visually impaired people with their communities and the natural heritage on their doorstep.” said Pam Bennett, Managing Director.
For more information on the project contact Pam Bennett, MD of the lead organisation, the Going For Independence CIC :
email: going4independence@ymail.com
Tel: 01287 204204
Mobile: 07908 835601
About the National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.
Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund
Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK. More than £30 million raised each week goes to good causes across the UK.
About the Going For Independence Community Interest Company
Going For Independence was established in 2008 and provides an independent information and advice service, specialising in equipment and adaptations for independent living and services for the Blind and visually impaired, plus a range of social activities in the community. We also sign-post people to UK- wide Independent Occupational Therapists.
Our aim is for people to be empowered to live life to the full and to stay independent, with choice and control over their lives.
Our mission is to help people to recognise the value of occupation and meaningful activity and to be motivated to engage with their communities.
View our website at www.goingforindependence.org and follow us on Facebook at GF Independence.
About The Tees Valley Wildlife Trust
Tees Valley Wildlife Trust is part of the influential UK-wide partnership of 47 Wildlife Trusts. The Trust has worked for more than 40 years to protect wildlife and wild places, and educate, influence and empower people. We manage 15 Nature Reserves and help others to manage their countryside sites. Our work is helping to secure the future of many important habitats and species, which might otherwise be lost.
The Trust works with local communities to improve the area’s natural environment and protect its wildlife. It achieves this through:
- Work with local authorities, businesses and others to protect, manage and enhance the natural environment of the Tees Valley. This includes strategic planning for the natural environment through a Tees Valley Nature Partnership, but the Trust also works through the planning process to help guide development and ensure the area’s best ecological assets are protected.
- Promoting lifelong learning in environmental matters through a programme of education and training. This includes education work with pupils in classroom activities, in creating wildlife and growing areas in school grounds and in supporting school visits to nature reserves and the Margrove Heritage Centre. The Trust also runs work-based training for young people who have left formal education and a range of courses and events for adults.
- Managing nature reserves to safeguard areas for wildlife and to provide places for education and the enjoyment of nature. The Trust owns and manages over 500 acres of land as nature reserves and has carried out works to many other areas of former industrial and under-used land to enhance its value for wildlife and for the benefit of local people.
Each year the Trust delivers a variety of projects to address particular local environmental needs. These range from activities relating to bats to a research project on the benefits of the natural environment on people’s mental health.
View our website at www.teeswildlife.org and follow us on social media @teeswildlife