Exploring the benefits of nature for blind and visually impaired people

Who should attend?

Please note: this event is by invitation only. For more information, please contact Dr Cheryl Willis.

Event overview

An outdoor, interactive workshop for adults who are blind or partially sighted to understand how they perceive, value and benefit from interactions at the coast.

What will participants gain from the event?

Eleven participants, who have been identified through Royal National Institute for the Blind networks in the South West of England, will be transported to Teignmouth beach where they will take part in a series of activities to explore how people benefit from nature.

Our focus will be on how different senses enable these benefits and how people interpret them. This is particularly important in the absence of or reduced aesthetic appreciation of settings, and a need to understand how best to facilitate nature interactions for different groups in society.

Participants will then be transported to nearby Cliffden Hotel for group discussion around memories of different environmental settings and the ways in which they promote well-being.

About the ESRC Festival of Social Science

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science offers a fascinating insight into some of the country's leading social science research and how it influences our social, economic, and political lives - both now and in the future.

You can find out more about the University of Exeter's festival events on our web page, or by emailing esrcfestival@exeter.ac.uk