Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 3, 1995 TAG: 9506050025
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SHEBA WHEELER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Not even a brutal winter storm or a lack of funds to hire workers could stop the Bedford community from completing a nature trail for people with disabilities.
The city of Bedford and two chapters of the Telephone Pioneers of America oversaw construction of the trail. Their efforts will be recognized today when the city is awarded a $10,000 national grand prize in an annual competition sponsored by the National Organization on Disability.
Bedford will host an award and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. in Liberty Lake Park, at which the trail wil be dedicated.
Individuals involved in creation of the trail were shocked when they learned that Bedford, with a population of 6,700, had been awarded the prize. Last year, the award went to Minneapolis, with a population of 387,000.
``It was mind boggling to win an award of that magnitude,'' said Fran Hart, director of parks, recreation and cemeteries in Bedford. ``We knew this was a fairly innovative project, and it took a significant level of cooperation among various agencies, groups and volunteers to help create this. Anybody can do a nature walk. But this one is made ... for people with varied needs so that they, too, can enjoy a simple walk through the woods.''
The estimated $120,000 project began in 1989 when the city purchased a 22-acre tract abutting Liberty Lake Park, and it was not completed until almost six years later. It took the combined efforts of several agencies and volunteer groups to complete the trail, even after the severe storm in the winter of 1993-1994 ravaged the town and surrounding forests - uprooting trees, knocking out power for more than a week and devastating all prior work on the nature trail. It took the group three months to repair the paths.
People with disabilities helped design the project, working alongside volunteers from the AT&T Telephone Pioneers of America (George Washington Chapter) and members of the Bell-Atlantic Telephone Pioneers of America (Old Dominion Chapter). Hundreds of city employees, members of the Boy Scouts, middle-school students and inmates from the Bedford County Jail logged more than 5,500 volunteer hours.
That effort of community perseverance and fortitude won Bedford the $10,000 award, said Shirley Sandage, director of program development for the National Organization on Disability.
``We look for a broad-based support of community when awarding these prizes,'' Sandage said. ``We also look for the active involvement of people with disabilities participating in the planning and carrying out of the project. The city of Bedford's activities matched our mission to expand the participation and acceptance of people with disabilities in all aspects of life.''
Pioneer Trail, the only multi-handicapped accessible trail in Virginia, is a 0.75-mile long and interconnects with two more difficult trails. It features a paved surface, a continuous hand rail to assist balance-impaired or blind individuals, 32 fitness stations and paved parking.
The trail loops through shadowed wetlands and forests. Deer, wild turkeys, black bear, other small mammals and many bird species are in the area. Plant species include running cedar, sycamore, maples, oaks and many others, some of which are endangered or threatened.
An average of 60 individuals use the three trails daily, including a large group of people with disabilities.
Recreation Department Supervisor James Ervin said he not only wanted to offer a nature trail accessible to people with disabilities, but to offer them a natural experience and a crash course in environmental education.
More than 100 numbered posts separated by 10 observation points have been placed along the trail to help individuals monitor their location on the nature walk. Each observation point includes a braille sign that corresponds to an audio taped narrative that takes the walker on a self-guided nature tour. Walkers listen to the tape as a speaker describes trees, textures, smells and other aspects of the environment that participants may encounter.
``Even without the award, a recreational park's mission is to provide recreation activities to all of our clients,'' Ervin said. ``There aren't too many recreation activities for persons with disabilities, so when we created this, we really felt good about what we were doing. We knew we were successful.''
The park plans to match the $10,000 prize with another $10,000 donated by City Council to place handicapped-accessible picnic tables in the area, near bathrooms that also are handicapped accessible.
by CNB