In 2019, we shared a news piece introducing the fab work of Bryan’s Quest, initiated by trustee Andrew Hesser, and dedicated to supporting blind and partially sighted people to learn about wildlife and the countryside.
Since his invaluable contributions to the Sensing Nature research study in 2017-18, Andrew has explored numerous ways of getting close to nature as a blind person. One of his most adventurous activities has been to become a volunteer with the National Trust at their Glendurgan site in Cornwall, and he would like to thank the staff there and his fellow volunteers for making him so welcome.
The National Trust recently featured Andrew’s work in the Summer 2022 issue of their magazine. Authored by Karen Gregory, the article is reproduced here with kind permission of the National Trust.
Andrew is particularly pleased that we are sharing this article as, in his words, “it clearly demonstrates that: everyone, including visually impaired people, can get close to and enjoy the natural world by becoming a nature conservation volunteer; you can empower yourself by simply applying directly to conservation organisations, regardless of your level of sight. I became a volunteer just as sighted people do, without the need to join a ‘specialist’ scheme or visually impaired group, after all isn’t ‘independence’ the essence of inclusion?”
A fresh perspective
By Karen Gregory, National Trust
The summer flowers are blooming at Glendurgan Garden in Cornwall – but volunteer Andrew Hesser won’t see them. He’ll experience their beauty in other ways, and bring his unique perspective to his work as part of the garden team here.
Gravel crunches under our feet and the sound of birdsong drifts through the rushing of wind in the trees. The fresh, sweet scent of a ‘Lady Alice Fitzwilliam’ rhododendron gently perfumes the air and a sense of peace pervades the three valleys of Glendurgan Garden in Cornwall, as volunteer gardener Andrew Hesser shows me around on a fine May day.
Glendurgan Garden sits at the edge of the Helford Estuary, just above the hamlet of Durgan. It was created in the 1820s by the Fox family, and today its distinctive subtropical microclimate yields a lush and colourful mix of planting. We walk along winding paths punctuated by hot pink and deep red camellias and rhododendrons. The sloping valley sides are carpeted in wild flowers – bluebells in April, Andrew tells me, and cottage garden favourite aquilegia, or columbine, in May. Tree ferns, palms, bananas and a giant tulip tree tower overhead.
Andrew doesn’t see any of this, as he is blind. He experiences the magic of Glendurgan in a different way. ‘I get great pleasure and learn a lot from sounds,’ he explains. ‘Birdsong, for example, helps me to tell how tall the trees are. The trickle of the streams has become a landmark which helps me to navigate around’.
A former chemical engineer, Andrew has long had an interest in gardening and the natural world. In 2019, he heard a National Trust podcast about Glendurgan. ‘At the time, I was looking for more ways to get closer to nature,’ he says. ‘I’d already done some volunteering with a local wildlife trust, but I wanted the opportunity to volunteer more regularly and follow the seasonal changes in a garden. It took me two months to pluck up courage to send in my application form. I was worried I might not be given a chance to get fully involved, but the team has truly made me feel welcome and included. I’ve also been able to offer them a different perspective on the garden’.
Thinking about the garden in a different way
The gardening team at Glendurgan includes Ned Lomax, Assistant Head Gardener, and gardener Jamie Pikesley, who offered to buddy with Andrew. ‘One of the first things we did was work with Andrew to help familiarise him with the garden and spaces where he would be working,’ says Ned. ‘Glendurgan is a challenging site to navigate as it’s so steep’.
‘Working with Andrew has been such a positive experience,’ adds Jamie. ‘Considering how to help him learn his own way around has made me think about the garden in a completely different way’.
Andrew uses a cane to navigate his way around the garden. He finds that touching physical landmarks such as benches helps him orientate himself, so he uses his cane to tap against the stone edges of gravel paths.
At first, Jamie accompanied Andrew, covering small sections of path at a time and identifying landmarks together. Andrew recorded reminders for himself onto voice notes on his phone. Before long, he was able to navigate the journey to familiar workplaces such as the potting shed on his own, though Jamie still accompanies him when he is learning new paths.
‘For me, it’s very important to be independent and get from A to B on my own,’ Andrew says. ‘It takes a lot of learning, footstep by footstep. Having Ned or Jamie describe things to me and learning my way around means I’m able to appreciate the gardens as well as carry out the work they need me to do’.
Jamie and Ned worked with Andrew to identify what tasks would be most suitable for him. These include potting seedlings, planting out and raking the gravel path. ‘On one occasion I planted a lime tree,’ he says. ‘It gave me a confidence boost to be shown what to do and then trusted to plant the tree on my own’.
Andrew also enjoys being able to touch and smell flowers at different times of the year. Today, the ‘Lady Alice Fitzwilliam’ rhododendron is in flower and Andrew stops to hear Ned describe its white, funnel-shaped petals. ‘Some people say it smells like nutmeg,’ Ned says.
A holistic experience
In the months before the pandemic, Andrew was volunteering at Glendurgan once a week. He found the work helped him to keep active, contributing as part of the team felt purposeful, and being outdoors in nature improved his overall wellbeing.
‘One of the ways people relieve stress or address mental health issues is to go into the great outdoors,’ he says. ‘Wide open spaces can be stressful if you can’t see, so you can feel like you’re missing out. Being here at Glendurgan, learning the routes and being given jobs to do all contribute to making it feel like a friendly place to be. Volunteering here has had an amazing effect on my life in terms of the pleasure and enjoyment I get from it’.
It’s not just Andrew who has benefited from his volunteering experience. Having him as part of their team has helped Glendurgan’s gardeners to see the garden in a new light. ‘Working with Andrew has given me a much more holistic experience of the garden,’ says Jamie. ‘Usually with gardens, vision is so important, especially when it comes to planting schemes and getting the right sized plants and colours. The landmarks such as benches are usually things I take for granted or pass by every day and don’t really notice. Walking around with Andrew, you take in so much more of the garden. It’s made me realise there’s more to a garden than just the visual impact. I’ve had to be more aware of how landmarks shift in my surroundings and notice things like overhanging branches’.
The gardeners have also been able to observe how Andrew completes tasks such as potting out seedlings in a different way, relying on touch to tease out each root ball, an advantage with delicate young plants.
Andrew has big ambitions for the future. He recently set up a social enterprise to help visually impaired people connect with nature and has over 80 broad bean plants at home to attend to. ‘Volunteering for the Trust has given me a renewed interest in growing my own veg and the confidence to encourage other visually impaired people to enjoy and explore the natural world,’ he says.
The pandemic, as with so many others, has put paid to Andrew’s volunteering for the time being, but he hopes to be back at Glendurgan again as soon as he can. ‘My ambition is to one day give sighted people a guided tour of the gardens,’ he says. ‘Until then, I hope everyone can enjoy all the sounds, scents and atmosphere here’.
If you would like to find out more about Bryan’s Quest, you can get in touch via:
Website: BryansQuest.org
Facebook: @BryansQuest
Twitter: @BryansQuest
You can also get closer to nature by growing plants with plenty of advice available on the ‘No Eyes on My Potato’ Facebook group.
