This month, we are really excited to share our kayaking sensory story, produced as part of our ‘Re-Storying Landscape for Social Inclusion’ collaboration.
The overall aim of the Re-Storying Landscapes project is to inform interpretation, access and management decisions that respect the diverse ways in which landscapes are sensed, valued and experienced by individuals and groups over time.
One strand aims to develop and use sensory stories to help support safe and rewarding water-based experiences amongst people with complex and profound disabilities. In sensory stories, each sentence is partnered with a rich sensory experience.
Our kayaking story has an extra twist – the words also form the verses of the lyrics of a sea shanty, composed by music therapist, Liz Eddy, and sung by The Include Choir.
So, you may choose to sing it as a sea shanty, or to simply use the shanty chorus as a way of signalling the beginning and end of the story.
This resource has been developed by Joanna Grace (Sensory Engagement and Inclusion Specialist and Founder of The Sensory Projects) in collaboration with Sarah Bell (University of Exeter), Simon Allison (Sense) and Access Lizard Adventure (a specialist organisation offering accessible kayaking adventures in Cornwall, UK).
Some people kayak at sea, some people kayak on lakes, lochs or in quarries. We have two versions of this story, one for sea water, one for calm water. You can hear these different versions of the shanty online.
The view from a kayak on still water with a low sun and other kayakers in the distance.
The story can be experienced at home to gain a sense of what it feels like to kayak for people who may never feel comfortable on the water. We will be sharing the sensory story with six at-home kayakers in the next few weeks, who will be very kindly letting us know how they experienced it in case there are changes we can make for future kayakers. Joanna has produced a short video with more information about this online.
The story can also provide a stepping-stone to kayaking, building points of sensory familiarity in a safe space before visiting a kayaking site or encountering a kayak for the first time. You can listen to Joanna explaining the value of sensory stories as an access resource in this helpful online video.
In coming months, we will also be sharing the story with six in-situ kayakers (supported by Access Lizard Adventure) to explore how it shapes their experiences at a calm lake-side kayaking spot here in Cornwall.
You can download a copy of the kayaking sensory story in the booklet below. The booklet also contains more information about the project, the value of sensory stories, a list of sensory materials to gather before sharing the story and how to introduce them during the story. As we are in the process of piloting the story, please do let us know if you use it and how it is received.
We hope this project will encourage people to think about sensory landscape access in new ways, and perhaps initiate a whole new library of aquatic sensory stories for people to enjoy!
For more information on sensory stories and how to share them, you can download a free guide online.
Joanna also runs fantastic sensory story training that the kayaking instructors involved in our project have been completing online this year, so do get in touch with Joanna directly if you would like to find out more about this (sensorystory@gmail.com).
