Sensory trail aims to educate children

The Earth Centre engaged with the community on Saturday to get their ideas for building a new Sensory Trail.

The aim of the development is to upgrade, renovate, and remodel the sensory trail, and to create new things through different artistic ideas.

The Earth Centre caters for disabled children and helps them to be physically active by engaging them in various activities, including horse riding, as a way of stimulating the riders’ minds and senses while their bodies and spirits are being stimulated by the horse and its movement.

Katrina Evans, the director of the centre, said they have started the sensory trail in order to engage the disabled children through visual art education, and to enable them to identify different things around the centre, and in doing so, help the children to engage with the world in an interesting way.

“The idea is to get the sensory trail to a point where we can open it to the public once a month. Then the local community can enjoy the space we have and walk the trail, either on foot, in a pram or wheelchair or even be led on one of our ponies if they are small enough. This is another way we can raise funds for the centre and share the beautiful, restful space with the community,” said Katrina.

Lauren Topp, a psychology student from Johannesburg University, attended the development meeting, and shared her reason for participating in it. She said, “I have done a lot of work with action and autism, and places that cater for the special needs of children living with disabilities, and felt the need to participated in the programme as it is something close to my heart.”