The Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden in Worcester launched a Braille trail on September 30.
The 154m trail has been designed to be easily accessible to the visually impaired, with special bricks laid on the path and boards containing information in Braille about various plants dotted along it.
The trail consists of plants and rocks that can be touched and aromatic plants that can be smelt, according to Ground Up.
“The main attraction is the explanations of our plants,” said Ricardo Riddles, Garden Manager at the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden.
He explains that what makes this trail different is that people can interact with the storyboards. “You can read it in Braille, you can read it in words, but you can also listen using a QR code,” he said.
These educational inserts are translated to English and Afrikaans and some of the audio transcriptions are in Dutch.
Along the lizard-shaped pathway, recorded recitals by local poets can be listened to. David Kramer, who was born in Worcester, is one of the artists and has recorded a song for the trail.
Everything is easily accessible with the use of raised flower beds, meaning that people don’t have to bend down to touch the plants on the ground.
