On Wednesday, about 40 Hamilton County students who are blind or visually impaired had the chance to do something they rarely get a chance to do - go for a hike in the woods.

Hamilton County Schools, Exceptional Education: Visual Disabilities has partnered with American Hiking Society, Tennessee State Parks, the Cumberland Trail Conference, Reflection Riding and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga made this trip possible.

This field trip got the children outside to enjoy nature, and to learn about the natural history of the area. The trail chosen for this event was the Cumberland Trail located on Leggett Road in Sale Creek. This paved portion of trail allowed individuals with mobility issues to have access to the great outdoors.

It provided the students with a multi-disciplinary outdoor educational experience.

Before the event, participating students received a CD teaching them the songs of 18 common birds found at the field trip location. This program was developed by Jeffrey Hunter of American Hiking, and engineered in the studios of NPR Music 88 on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). The UTC Environmental Research and Mapping Facility created a detailed map of the field trip site. This map is being used by the Hamilton County Schools Department of Visual Disabilities to create a tactile map and a large print map for the students. The tactile map will allow the visually impaired to “feel” the trail, the parking lot, Rock Creek, and other features with their fingers. The map will also identify obstacles and hazards found along the trail.

Several activities were included. The students started out as teachers themselves by instructing local volunteers in sighted guide techniques. The students also planted native plants along the trail in a natural landscape design. Representatives from Reflection Riding were on-hand to assist the children with this activity.

Reflection Riding generously donated most of the plants for this event. The children then had the chance to walk the length of the paved trail.

According to Pam Hudson, Director of Exceptional Education, “We are very excited to develop partnerships with local and state organizations that resulted in making this field trip a reality. This is going to be a great opportunity for these students to be a part of an innovative educational adventure that will most certainly have a lifetime impact. Our hope is that this field trip will inspire those students and their families and friends to continue to utilize, enjoy and learn by experiencing the many natural areas that are becoming accessible to our students.”

Generous funding for this event has been provided by the Public Education Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Reflection Riding and several local Lions Clubs. Signal Mountain resident and local Landscape Architect Karna Levitt donated her time and expertise to assist with the event.

As part of their outing students learned about the flora and fauna along the Cumberland Trail.
- Photo2 by Brooke Lynch