Podcast 69 - Gardening By Touch, Sound, Smell and Taste with Andrew Hesser
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This week I\\u2019m speaking to Andrew Hesser, the man behind Bryan\\u2019s Quest, a website and YouTube channel dedicated to exploring the natural world from the perspective of Bryan, a blind person. Andrew is also blind and draws on his personal experiences of gardening, volunteering for the National Trust and getting out and about in nature to produce videos and a library of resources for gardeners, in order to highlight how the natural world can be experienced without sight.
Dr Ian Bedford\\u2019s Bug of the Week: Grasshoppers
About Andrew Hesser:
\\u201cI\\u2019ve been blind for many years and I\\u2019ve enjoyed the challenge of study, work and family life.\\xa0There have, of course, been difficult times when I\\u2019ve struggled to keep positive as I\\u2019ve \\u2018battled\\u2019 hard to get information made accessible to me.\\xa0It is, for example frustrating to find shops full of cookery and gardening books totally inaccessible to me.\\xa0Then there are the significant challenges of getting around using buses, trains, taxis and on foot, especially in new locations.
It is only in the past five years, or so that I have started to discover new ways of engaging with and enjoying nature and this naturally leads to wanting to learn more about the wonderful wildlife we are all surrounded by.\\xa0However, much of the natural world is presented in a visual way, with colourful photos in books and amazing television documentaries.\\xa0In fact it\\u2019s easy for all of us to think of nature being predominantly a visual experience, with all those beautiful views across gardens, countryside landscapes and hill-top vistas.
However, I continue to explore the opportunities to appreciate nature using hearing, touch, smell and taste.\\xa0There is a lot of work to be done to arrange facilities and services to fully exploit the use of all five senses to appreciate the natural world.
Gardening is one readily available pastime that brings me very close to nature. Without sight all of the non-visual senses can be applied to get success in the garden and a feeling of achievement.\\xa0 However, this can only be obtained by developing discipline to be \\xa0methodical, patient and resourceful to get truly meaningful pleasures from sowing, growing and caring for plants.\\u201d
What We Discuss:
Some of the biggest challenges faced by partially sighted or blind gardeners
Navigating around the garden and other outdoor spaces
What we\\u2019re missing out on in gardens if we just focus on the visual
Playing to the other senses - including particularly good plants or garden features
Methods and processes that help when working in the garden\\xa0
Gardening as an activity for those visually impaired people who may not have already tried it
What do visually impaired people need more (or less of) of in public gardens?
Helpful resources\\xa0
Links:
www.bryansquest.org\\xa0
Bryan\\u2019s Quest on Twitter\\xa0
Bryan\\u2019s Quest YouTube Channel\\xa0
www.look-uk.org\\xa0
Mr Plant Geek\\xa0
Candide App\\xa0
Get in touch:
Email\\xa0podcast@rootsandall.co.uk\\xa0
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk\\xa0
Twitter\\xa0@rootsandall\\xa0
Instagram @rootsandallpod\\xa0
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Support me on Patreon\\xa0
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