Langwood Education Center site of nature camp for IESBVI students
IESBVI note: This article used with permission from the Wapello Morning Sun. It was written by Katie Hammond and has been edited by IESBVI for space.
Kids who are visually impaired and blind paddled, fished, hiked and held snakes and turtles at a nature camp at Langwood Education Center in southeast Iowa June 19-23. Camps for these children are held all over the state, hosted by Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (IESBVI). However, this was the first time Louisa County Conservation naturalists provided this inclusive week packed full of adventure.
“I was surprised by how not different the camp was.”
Lana Artz-McComb, Louisa County conservation naturalist
Lori Brown, an orientation and mobility specialist for IESBVI, approached Louisa County Conservation with the idea to share outdoor recreation skills such as hiking, paddling and archery with her students. IESBVI teacher of the blind and visually impaired Christina Freeman and Chad Brown, Lori’s husband and IESBVI assistive technology consultant also worked with Lori and Louisa County Conservation to hold the day camp. Six students aged seven through 12 attended, some of them traveling as far away as Davenport and Fairfield.
“I was surprised by how not different the camp was,” said Lana Artz-McComb, Louisa County Conservation staff naturalist. “The biggest difference was adding time for the students to acclimate to the activity space, whether that was in the lodge, a canoe or an activity at a picnic table.” Artz-McComb learned adding more descriptive language to her directions helped guide campers as well. “There were different levels of comfort with the outdoors.” she continued. “I enjoyed watching the amazing accomplishment of everyone’s goals, in just five days.”
Freeman encourages people to keep the same expectation for blind or visually impaired students as they do for sighted students. “How the students achieve the goal might be different, but they can still achieve it,” she said.
Some of those goals that were achieved included paddling canoes and kayaks, practicing casting, fishing, archery, preparing food, hiking, crafts and more. Some of the accommodations to improve students’s independence in the activities include putting tape on the paddles to indicate which side is the front. A similar strategy was used during catsin practice and arcery. Targets have a box which “beeps” and help students aim in the right direction. One of the campers suggested turning on a radio located on the dock to guide paddling campers back to land.
Photos by Katie Hammond and Lana Artz-McComb
Left to right: Jasmine Murray made opossum and coyote plaster casts at camp. She is holding a cast up in each hand and smiling. Raelyn Shelby learned to like Oscar the fox snake. Raelyn is smiling while the snake wraps itself around her white cane. Taylor Jack Strause practices paddling on land. IESBVI staff Chad Brown is behind Taylor Jack, and helps him experience the motion paddles need to make.