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Avon Visually Impaired People

Case Study Working with Visually Impaired Groups

Inspiration In Autumn 2008 Bedfordshire Bat Group member Jude Hirstwood gave a presentation at the National Bat Conference with the Count Bat Project Co-ordinator on the experiences and successes of the bat groups work under the Count Bat banner in the Queens Park area of Bedford, an ethnically diverse area designated as socially deprived.

Amongst the listeners was Heidi Cooper-Berry, a bat carer and committee member of Avon Bat group. Heidi was enthused by Jude’s talk and after chatting to her afterwards was keen to try and reach new audiences in her own region.

“Last week I met up with Jude Hirstwood and I just had to

spring into action! “

Chapter 1 - First steps The first step was to check with the rest of Avon Bat Group that they were happy for

the group to be involved in Count Bat, so Heidi proposed it at the next committee

meeting.

“The Count Bat project work got approved by Avon bat group. So it’s all good to go

– what happens next?”

In the meantime the Count Bat co-ordinator had reported to the project steering group that there was a keen volunteer in Bristol. Steering Group member Claire Wickham suggested that she had contacts in that area within visually impaired and deaf and hard of hearing groups and that they would be a good audience to engage.

www.bats.org.uk/batsforall

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As a result the three arranged to meet up over the winter to brainstorm possible events for the following summer. They decided that there was definitely potential interest out there from visually impaired and deaf and hard of hearing groups in attending bat events and that, with the support of members, the Avon Bat Group would be able to deliver these. As a next step Heidi wrote an article in Avon Bat Group’s newsletter to get members on board;

Chapter 2 - Plans take shape One thing that impressed Heidi from the Bedfordshire Group’s experience was that an initial training session (in their case on working with ethnically diverse audiences) was seen as a key first step in giving people confidence to get involved. Claire agreed and suggested contacts for suitable people to provide training on visual and hearing impairment. Over the spring while Heidi was busy with her veterinary exams Claire emailed her contacts and then together with the Project Officer met with potential trainers as well as groups to see what kind of bat events they might like to attend. Both the trainers and the groups were taken with the idea and keen to be involved.

Chapter 3 -Training A local visually impaired trainer, Paul Sullivan, was recruited to lead the training together with deaf trainer David Jackson. Both trainers stressed that in a single session only the basics of accessibility and issues relating to visual and hearing impairments could be covered. It was decided to concentrate on introducing visual and hearing impairment, the basic considerations when running bat events with

“Firstly introducing myself – my name is Heidi – you may have met me at the AGM. At the BCT conference I was incredibly touched at Jude Hirstwood’s talk on her and her bat groups experiences on the Count Bat project and I wanted to get involved! .I have tonnes of enthusiasm, but I am only one, and as a team we could do so much more.”

“This sounds really interesting. I am sure some members of the Avon Sports and Leisure Club for Visually Impaired People will be interested. In the meantime, I would be happy to meet with you to discuss possible dates and the programme”

“Thanks for the email. It would be good if we arrange a date to meet and discuss possibilities for an event for deaf children and families and also

possibility deaf parents with hearing children.” “I am the Local Events and Activities Assistant for Action for Blind People. Having looked at the Count Bat Project website I feel that a workshop and bat walk for visually impaired people in the Bristol area may be of interest. It would be good to meet up and discuss any ideas you may have on the topic.”

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visually and hearing impaired people and on raising volunteers’ confidence in running such events.

The half-day training was free to attendees and advertised

to bat groups and related organisations across the south west. 15 people attended, mainly from Avon Bat Group but also from Somerset and Herefordshire Bat Groups.

Feedback for the training from attendees was very good;

But under ‘suggested improvements’ a few people highlighted that having the trainers give feedback out in the field would be a logical next step;

Chapter 4 - And so the events begin Both trainers were keen to stay involved and Claire and Paul suggested that an indoor talk as well as a subsequent outdoor walk should be held. This worked well, firstly in recruiting attendees for the walk and secondly in providing at least one accessible event for older attendees who may not have wished to go on an evening walk.

The talk was held in a room hired at the RNIB offices in Bristol as it was a location many visually impaired people were aware of, close to public transport links and with good access facilities – all factors Paul had highlighted as instrumental in making visually impaired people confident in attending something different. It was advertised using a simple poster which was distributed through the training contacts and also via an internet search of local visually impaired groups.

“A very interesting and informative morning”.

“Really helpful to raise awareness and make you think!”

“Both trainers really inspiring and gave confidence.”

“Maybe follow-up with walks to involve the trainers – this would increase your confidence”

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Heidi and the Count Bat Co-ordinator led the talk assisted by Gill Brown, an Avon Bat Group member who had also attended the training. 12 visually impaired people attended and Heidi brought along her long-term captive bat Princess. Heidi and the Count Bat Officer shared the structured talk while Gill oversaw handing round props and answering queries. 12 visually impaired people attended and the session ran for two hours.

Tactile props such as toy bats, life-sized foam bat shapes and bat detectors with raised tactile strips, along with audio recordings of different bat calls proved key to the success of the talk and ease of its delivery. And of course the chance to be close to a live bat and hear it chattering and echolocate through a bat detector was popular. The most useful prop was probably the simplest, the plastic bat toy. For those attendees who had been blind since birth the toy was particularly helpful in explaining what a bat was and as it was an anatomically correct life-size model we were able to use it to point out features such as wing structure and ear shape.

However the time taken to pass props around the group

had been underestimated and feedback showed the event would have been improved by having more copies of the props to shorten the overall length of the session. Playing different example bat calls worked well allowing people to interpret the action of the bat through sound (eg turning or closing in on an insect) as well as emphasising the aural nature of most bat walks. We were able to use this as a taster to encourage people to come along on the walk held the following week.

Many of the attendees booked on for the bat walk the following week at a local nature reserve. In all 15 visually impaired people and friends attended. Heidi was busy with her exams but three further bat group volunteers who had attended the accessibility training and a couple of friends came along to help guide people around the reserve.

The meeting point was at the village hall about half

an hour before dusk and visually impaired people booking on (the majority of whom knew each other

from other clubs) were put in contact with each other to share taxis. In this way only two taxis were needed both coming from central Bristol and carrying 3 or 4 people each. Bat group volunteers were recruited via an email sent to those people who had attended the accessibility training. The evening began with a quick talk about detecting bats and the history of the site in the village hall, before heading out onto the reserve with bat detectors.

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There was a road to cross to access the reserve and with a large group including a wheelchair user this required volunteers in high visibility jackets stopping traffic. The walk in the reserve covered a short distance with several stops and lasted around an hour. Unfortunately it rained and only two or three brief bat passes were heard, all pipistrelles. Despite the weather, attendees and volunteers enjoyed the evening, however it would have been improved by having further guides from the bat group as those people who were guided by friends or relatives did not have a bat ‘expert’ on hand to ask casual questions. Feedback for both the talk and walk was positive from the attendees.

..and the bat group volunteers

Chapter 5 - Subsequent batting Paul and his wife had their enthusiasm fired by the events and went on to borrow a bat detector to find out if they had any bats flying around their garden. They also took it to their local woodland to listen to the bats flying there. In 2011 when they heard that the local ‘Friends of’ group had arranged a bat walk in the woodland they decided to contact the organiser to see if anyone would be able to guide them on the walk. As Avon Bat Group were involved three members who had attended the initial accessibility training volunteered to help with guiding.

Paul’s feedback was that on balance he probably preferred the local ‘open to all’ bat walk to the walk that had been specifically arranged for a group of visually impaired people as it was chance to go out with like-minded people in his local community.

“I'm glad it was so well received, I had a great afternoon.”

“Thought last eve a good and positive experience for us all.”

“Thank you to you and your colleagues for a very interesting talk yesterday, my husband and I really enjoyed it. We would love to come to the bat walk on Tuesday.”

“Hazel and I really enjoyed the walk on Tuesday, there was a really nice,

friendly and relaxed atmosphere throughout the evening. Please pass on our thanks to the volunteers.”

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Epilogue - Going Deeper Avon Bat Group volunteers were involved in one further event for visually impaired people in 2011 when two members travelled over the border into Wiltshire to help with a three day residential advanced bat course. The course was run by the Bat Conservation Trust in partnership with AddVenture in Learning, an organisation giving access to lifelong learning for disabled people. The course was aimed at visually impaired people who had attended bat walks or talks but were interested in learning more to the point of being able to identify the different species in the field and understand their ecology and lifestyle. Thirteen visually impaired people from around the country attended along with 13 sighted guides. The course provided the opportunity to produce and trial further

resources such as audio versions of bat information leaflets, raised tactile images of bat sonograms and audio-adapted versions of existing bat training workshops. The course ended with Heidi bringing along her captive bat Princess to show the attendees.

Through the events run and contacts made a great deal was learnt about making bat events accessible to visually impaired people and contacts such as Paul, Claire and Heidi have since generously given their time to share their advice and experience.

“Thank you for a fascinating and informative few days at Grittleton last week. You have certainly fired up my enthusiasm for bats! I am now

arranging a trip to Brownsea Island to experience the bat colony there”.

Paul Cripwell, AddVenture in Learning “I would just like to say again how happy I am to have been a part of this”. Gill Brown, Avon Bat Group

“My highlight was the moment when a visually impaired person was feeling a thermoform and exclaimed the fact that until then hadn’t known

the shape of a moth let alone the bat.. for that comment alone it really hammered home – how great the Count bat project is. I want to be in a situation that I am actively attracting everyone to the wonderful world of

bats – and I can’t wait for next year! “

Heidi Cooper-Berry Avon Bat Group

“I would just like to say again how happy I am to have been a part of this”.

Gill Brown, Avon Bat Group

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Photos by BCT, John Morris and Bedfordshire Bat Group

Fact File

Partners: Avon Bat Group, AddVenture in Learning, Avon Sports and

Leisure Club for Visually Impaired People, The Bat Conservation Trust.

Target group: Visually impaired adults.

Resources: Bat detectors with raised strips, a CD of bat calls, plastic toy

bats and foam bat shapes, raised thermoform bat images.

Key points: Standard bat events can easily be adapted for visually

impaired people, tactile and audio props are vital tools. Visually impaired

people themselves are the best source of advice.

The Bat Conservation Trust (known as BCT) is a registered charity in England and Wales (1012361) and in Scotland

(SC040116). Registered office: Quadrant House, 250 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5RD

See also

E.1.c - Bats and Visually Impaired People - Film

A.2.a - Accessibility Guide – Making Bat Events Accessible to VIPs

A.2.c - Physical resources for events with VIPs