MADISON, WI – A proposal submitted by the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired to create signage for three garden spaces and four flowerpots in the Council’s sensory garden at 754 Williamson St. has been selected to receive this month’s AARP Wisconsin “Small Dollar, Big Impact” grant.
AARP Wisconsin is awarding $1,000 grants each month throughout 2024 to projects across the state that are designed to make communities better places for everyone to live, work and play as they age. Judges selected this project after reviewing dozens of proposals submitted from all over the state.
Lori Werbeckes, Fund Development Director for the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired, said the grant will help them create two large signs at the garden’s two entrances off Williamson Street and Livingston Street that will welcome people and direct them via a QR code to a website that tells them why the gardens were created, what makes them “sensory,” and explains the sensory appeal of each plant.
Smaller signs will identify the plants by their sensory value. All signs will be large print and embossed with braille. Information accessed using the QR code will also be available to visitors in audio format.
The Council worked with master gardeners to turn overgrown flower beds into three sensory gardens and four flowerpots outside its offices. “Our goals were to beautify the spaces for our visitors, staff, and neighborhood, and to make them appealing and interesting to council clients who are living with vision loss,” Werbeckes said. “The plants in our sensory gardens were chosen for their aromas, textures and sometimes bright blooms.”
The Council wants to invite people into the gardens by placing a large print and braille sign in both locations, welcoming them to touch, smell and see. Additional funds will allow them to label the plants, describing their sensory appeal.
“Introducing people to sensory experiences not focused on sight will also make them more aware of how people can view and enjoy the outdoors without the sense of sight,” Werbeckes said. “Visiting the Council for their vision needs can be a very emotional experience for our clients. Beginning or ending a difficult appointment in an outdoor garden space designed for people with vision loss could be relaxing and rejuvenating, especially since many of our clients live in apartments without access to garden spaces.”
The Council previously received two grants to create the gardens, but the cost of signage was higher than anticipated. “Receiving this $1,000 grant will help us create sturdy and readable signage for people who are blind or visually impaired, do justice to the work done by the volunteer gardeners, and withstand Wisconsin weather,” Werbeckes said.
The mission of the Council is to promote the dignity and empowerment of people who are blind and visually impaired through direct vision services, policy advocacy and public education. Vision services include vision rehabilitation therapy, low vision evaluation, online support groups and access to technology training. Many of these services are provided free of charge.
The Council also awards scholarships to postsecondary students who are blind or visually impaired. The Council’s advocacy promotes equitable policies and practices related to transportation, pedestrian safety, health care, employment, education, civil rights, and accessible voting.
“Last year, we distributed 438 free white canes to people in 48 Wisconsin counties,” Werbeckes said. “We staffed more than 700 appointments for access technology, orientation and mobility training, braille instruction, low vision evaluations and vision rehabilitation.”
Darrin Wasniewski, Associate State Director of Community Outreach for AARP Wisconsin, said, “We are pleased to be able to collaborate with Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired to add inclusive signage to their sensory garden. We applaud them for utilizing AARP’s catalog of free community resources, particularly Creating Community Gardens for People of All Ages and Creating Parks and Public Spaces for People of All Ages, when planning their project.”
Werbeckes said, “We are grateful to AARP Wisconsin for seeing the value of inclusive signage in our new gardens and for awarding us the funds to make them possible. The “Small Dollar, Big Impact” program is a gem for small organizations in Wisconsin.”
AARP Wisconsin’s launched its “Small Dollar, Big Impact” grant program in 2020 and is now in its fifth year of helping proposed projects move forward in rural and urban parts of the state. For more information, visit www.aarp.org/WIsdbi
