You are currently viewing the research project web page for 'Countryside Experiences: perceptions of people who have impaired vision' as part of the University of Sussex website.
There are four main tabs:
This homepage tells you about the project.
The 'Get involved' tab is where you can participate in the project.
The 'Your experiences' tab is where you can read participants' first-hand accounts of their countryside experiences.
The 'Useful links' tab lists national and local organisation and services related to visual impairment, walking and the countryside.
The 'Get in touch' if you would like to contact the researcher.
My name is Karis and I am a PhD researcher conducting research at Sussex University to explore how the countryside is perceived and experienced by people who have impaired vision. This involves participants who are congenitally and non-congenitally vision impaired, partially sighted and severely sight impaired.
Why do this research?
Countryside and disability organisations have been at the forefront in researching how walkers who have disabilities experience the countryside (including the English Heritage, Forestry Commission, The Fieldfare Trust, Natural England and National Parks). This research has often focused on identifying the attitudes of countryside service providers and visitors, and proposing suitable environmental adaptions for different landscapes. This research aims to contribute to this agenda by providing in-depth analysis on how walkers who have disabilities, specifically people who have impaired vision, actually perceive and experience the countryside. That is, how walkers subjectively engage with, feel and sense the countryside.
So what's going on?
This research aims to provide a detailed account of how individuals who are blind and partially sighted perceive and experience the countryside. The primary methodology is participatory walking in East Sussex, in which I apply my experience as a Walk Leader and Sighted Guide to invite people local to the East Sussex area to join me for regular recreational walks over a period of two years. During these walks, participants and I will record our experiences through film, photography, walk diaries and sound recordings. Other methodologies in the research design include interviewing and focus groups. I am also rambling with the London Blind Ramblers Club and 4Sight (a monthly rambling club for people who are blind and partially sighted).
I would be really interested to hear your experiences of being in the countryside. I have created this website for anyone who has impaired vision or is a sighted guide to learn about the research and contribute their experience. I hope that further into this research, this website will become a place for people accross the country to share their experiences of walking in the countryside and to see how their experiences compare. This will be a place where we can enjoy reading about eachothers' experiences and perhaps get some tips on enriching our own.
The findings of this research will be made available in an accessible format to relevant organisations, including countryside service providers hoping to improve visitor experience and participation, disability focused organisations and rehabilitation programmes aiming to facilitate people in sensory orientation. Each submission through this website contributes to expanding and enriching this knowledge for useful application.
How do I get involved?
If you have impaired vision or are a sighted guide for someone who has, I would love to hear from you. Click on the 'Get involved' tab to find out more about how you can participate.
Who else is involved?
This research is working with local organisations, including Healthwalks Brighton and Hove City Council scheme, City Synergy Sports and Social Club for Blind and Partially Sighted People and the East Sussex Association for Blind and Partially Sighted People. Participating rambling groups currently include London Blind Ramblers Club and 4Sight. It is hoped that anyone who has impaired vision or experience as a sighted guide will be able to get involved, whether by joining me on the walks or submitting their experiences online.
A big thank you to Tony Osmand from the Mid Sussex Ramblers Club for kindly providing many of the photographs of the London Blind Ramblers Club on this website.
