“Feel, this is the smooth bark of a beech.” Forester Kees van Son takes the hand of a walker and lets him feel the tree. “It’s really very slippery,” says Van Son. “On the left there is even moss on the bark.”
Van Son is on the road with a group of blind and visually impaired in the forest near Drouwen. Staatsbosbeheer organizes an excursion for people with poor visibility once a year. Nature cannot see the participants, but feel, smell and hear all the better.
“The walks always make me very happy,” says Elisabeth Smelik. “It gives me a feeling of freedom, a feeling of space. As a blind person, you are much more inside than you want, because you are always dependent. I can walk to the station independently with my stick, but that does not give this feeling.”
Walker Klaas Bovenkamp joins with that. “It’s very relaxing. You learn something from it and you find other people. It’s Magnifique!”
According to Van Son, these walks are not at all different from other tours through the forest. “Of course you have to describe and tell more about the landscape, but otherwise it is not that much different. The participants also want to be treated as seeing people. This group is very grateful. I get so much energy from this. Actually, I just do it for myself.”
Curious how the walk is like? Then watch the video below.