Pictured L-R: Dr. Nicole Johnson, Alyssa Ruffo, Jenna Haskins, Chinonyerem Enwereji, Madelyn Hight, Courtney Kirshner and Mallory Schmidt
Among the beautiful canopy of trees and chirping birds in Kempton rests Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: now accessible to those with visual impairments. President of Kutztown University (KU) Dr. Kenneth S. Hawkinson loves spending time at Hawk Mountain and aimed to make the Sanctuary accessible to those with visual impairments. Partnering with Kutztown University’s Visual Impairment Program and university club The Braille Bears, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is now one of the few accessible nature and hiking areas in the community for those with visual impairments.
KU’s Visual Impairment Program, founded in 1962, is one of only six undergraduate programs in the U.S. that train future teachers of the blind. The Braille Bears work to bring awareness to visual impairments through community outreach programs. Both programs have a similar goal: to make the community easily accessible to those with visual impairments. At Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the visual impairment program and The Braille Bears recently worked together to put in place the necessary measurements, such as accessible signage and staff training measures, to make the space friendly for the vision impaired.
“Those with visual impairments have the right to enjoy life and nature without assistance,” explains Dr. Nicole Johnson, professor of the Special Education Program on Visual Impairment at KU. To make the sanctuary accessible, they first started with the signs. The signs at Hawk Mountain now feature Braille, a system of raised dots that can be read through touch, as well as phone scannable QR codes for auditory listening. The programs also had large print books with the signage information made available. But friends from the university didn’t stop there.
In addition to changing signage, visual impairment program students and The Braille Bears trained Sanctuary staff on how to properly approach someone who is visually impaired and how to guide them throughout the trails if she or she so desires. To aid in the effort, KU representatives put blindfolds on the workers to help them understand what it would be like navigating the trails blind.
By making Hawk Mountain Sanctuary accessible to those with visual impairments, the hope is that more doors for more opportunities will be opened to all. Ultimately, Dr. Johnson hopes for “a partnership with Berks County and the university to make things more accessible for those with visual impairments without guidance.”
