Routes into Trees

Westonbirt Arboretum

September 2005

The Routes into Trees project was established to develop and improve orientation, information and interpretation materials for visitors to Westonbirt Arboretum, opening up access to a wider audience, including disabled people, through the production of new interpretation materials.

Sensory Trust worked with the national arboretum to help develop and improve its provision of information and interpretation, concentrating on the area of the Old Arboretum.

An initial stage of consultation has already taken place in the form of visitor surveys and focus groups.  The focus groups involved were:

• Cirencester Opportunity Group - a mother and toddlers group formed for children aged three to five years old with learning difficulties, including autism, speech and language issues.

• St. Mary's Day Centre, Cirencester - a group of older people  with varying degrees of mobility impairment

• Stroud Vision Art - a group of visually impaired people ranging from a gentleman born without sight, to a lady who lost her sight only five years previously

• A group of volunteers and members of the Friends of Westonbirt.

The groups were asked to address the issues of :

1. What information was important/interesting to them
2. In what format would that information be useful to them.
3. How easy was it to orienteer around the arboretum.

We used a mixture of the following tools with the groups so that they provided us with information relevant to their issues and also offered a comfortable environment in which they could do so:

• Place Mapping
• Sensory Mapping
• Walk and Talk
• Nature Palettes
• Picture Connections
• Widgits

A report was prepared based on the findings from the consultation and included recommendations on the next phase of developing materials and inclusive information that would take the arboretum another step towards providing an inclusive visitor experience.

Westonbirt is currently seeking funding to enable these recommendations to progress.