ACCESS FOR ALL MEETS INTERPRETATION AT WEKIWA SPRINGS

 

Posted: 3/11/2016 | By: Park Ranger Meghan Lauer

APOPKA, Fla. - On Tuesday, February 9, Park Ranger Meghan Lauer at Wekiwa Springs State Park presented a new interpretive and accessible program called “Birds of Wekiwa Springs: A Multisensory Experience" for a group of students with blindness and low vision from central Florida. Park Ranger Lauer independently researched, planned and developed this unique accessible program.

The program featured an hour-long classroom component comprised of a presentation and bird calls, as well as two-dimensional models of bird skulls, raptor talons, track castings, bird feet molds and a taxidermied wood duck for students to touch. Additionally, students were provided braille versions of the presentation and birding list. A field experience followed, complete with a 30-minute tram tour throughout sandhill and scrub habitat where many bird species were heard and celebrated.

Orange Audubon Society educated the students regarding backyard birding recruitment as well as bird identification in the field. This well-received program will be offered several times throughout the year, coinciding with birds migrating through the park. 

For information about ongoing events at Wekiwa Springs State Park, click here.