Using touch, smell, sound and taste, participants were able to enjoy object handling and species identification table-top activities that enabled them to learn about nature and wildlife in their local area.

“Our idea from the start was to connect isolated people to their local parks, something that we (sighted people) take for granted.”

Pam Bennett, Project Lead

The project focused on the natural heritage of Errington Wood, Linthorpe Cemetery, Ward Jackson Park and South Park across the Tees Valley region. Participants learned about a variety of flora and fauna in the area, from increasingly scarce wildflower populations through to bats, hedgehogs and the critically endangered pine marten.

The Sensing the Wild sessions enabled participants to socialise and exercise with each other as a means of improving their health and wellbeing.  

The project enabled nature experts to learn more about working with people with complex needs. It also provided visual impairment disability awareness training for the volunteers.

Pam Bennett, Project Lead said: “Our idea from the start was to connect isolated people to their local parks, something that we (sighted people) take for granted.”