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Everyone is invited to experience the ANT, otherwise known as the Autism Nature Trail, an innovative magical trail just completed last month in one of the country’s finest state parks — Letchworth State Park.
This is a trail like none other. It’s a trail where visitors can make music in the woods, enjoy a quiet swing, design and make a teepee, and walk along a path of stones from the Genesee River.
This one-of-a-kind project fits in perfectly with the philosophy of William Pryor Letchworth, a Buffalo industrialist and ardent conservationist, who rescued and preserved the area that carries his name. The Park is an easy 90-minute drive southeast of Buffalo.
Letchworth retired early from his business and devoted the rest of his life to social reform, focusing his efforts on the poor, juvenile delinquents, prisoners, epileptics, the blind and mentally ill.
“We think that Letchworth would be very proud of this newest development in his park,” explained Loren Penman, a retired educator from Batavia and one of a trio of women who conceived the idea seven years ago and went on to oversee the development of the groundbreaking one-mile trail. “Eventually some people involved in the project dubbed us ‘the ANT Aunts.’”
The germ of the idea for the trail emerged from a conversation between Penman and a neighbor, Susan Herrnstein, about two boys they knew with autism — one from Albany and one from New York City — who each experienced a sense of calm during separate visits to Letchworth.
They teamed up with another neighbor Gail Serventi, a retired speech pathologist as trail co-founders. Sadly, Susan Herrnstein died a month before the opening. A rock and flower alcove along the trail has been created in her memory. The sign at the entrance to the trail is “The Autism Nature Trail at Letchworth State Park - Susan Gouinlock and Family” — her maiden name.
Their research led them to Dr. Temple Grandin, a professor at Colorado State University, who is well known as an advocate for people with autism and was diagnosed with autism herself at age two. She is the author of several books on living with autism and was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in nearby Seneca Falls in 2017.
“She offered the team specific recommendations for the trail: find a place in deep nature,” Penman said. “Seek out program staff who are both autism experts and experienced in the outdoors. Offer challenges but build in predictability and choice. Make the trail a loop so that the end is visible at the beginning. Create opportunities for soothing movement with seating such as cuddle swings and glider swings. Provide small private spaces for recovery from meltdowns.”
The trail’s founders enlisted an advisory panel of families, academics, and special educators. They also partnered with nearby Perry Central School District and the Family Autism Center, which operates Camp Puzzle Peace. Staff will be providing programming for the trail on weekends through October, resuming weekend programming in the spring. It will be available daily throughout the summer.
“This is very much a place for everyone,” Penman said. “While others are trying to integrate people with autism, we are making a sensory place accessible to the general public so the whole family will be engaged here.”
The finished trail has all of Grandin’s recommendations and more. The trio has raised $3.4 million toward their goal of $3.7 million, which will provide an endowment for long term maintenance and programming. New York State provided the land, but the rest of the project has been totally privately financed.
Not only is it the first ever nature trail specially designed to engage people with autism and other sensory disorders, but it is wheelchair, power chair, stroller accessible and has features for all ages.
“A woman had tears in her eyes when she learned about this trail,” Penman explained. “Her mother loved the outdoors and had been diagnosed with dementia. She said that at last she had a place to take her mother without worry.”
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Throughout the development of the trail neighboring communities have been very much involved. The unique metal bench made from the trestles of the park’s old railroad bridge was fashioned by a class of BOCES metalworking students. A metal ant sculpture was created from recycled engine parts by another group of BOCES students.
Activities along the trail will support and encourage sensory perception while also providing enjoyable activities for visitors of all ages and abilities. The trail loop features eight stations offering a range of experiences, from quiet engagement to active exploration and adventure.
The Trailhead Pavilion marks the entry and exit for the trail. Orientation materials are available here as well as online. The Sensory Station is filled with items from the park to touch and smell, such as pinecones, bark, stones, flowers, and leaves.
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The Sunshine Slope weaves through mounds of woodland plantings of different heights. A viewing platform provides a vantage point for visitors to look further into the woods or backward from where they came. The next station is the Music Circle where visitors can experiment with nature inspired instruments.
The Reflection Knoll offers a quiet place under a canopy of trees to listen to the sounds of nature. There are cuddle swings, gliders, and alone zones here to help provide a sense of well-being. This is the halfway point on the trail and visitors may choose to move on or end their trail experience and use a bypass to return to the Trailhead Pavilion.
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The Meadow Run and Climb is a space for running, jumping, climbing, balancing, and testing strength, coordination, flexibility, and confidence. An obstacle course, made primarily of logs and boulders, follows in a zig-zag formation.
The Design Area encourages imagination, using natural items found along the trail to create patterns and structures such as that teepee.
The Playful Path honors the joys of being in the woods. There are a series of twisting paths covered in different surface materials such as river stones, sand, grass, and soil.
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The Celebration Station on the exit side of the Trailhead Pavilion marks the end of the trail. Visitors will be encouraged to express their thoughts and feelings using different media to communicate the message: “I was here, and I have a voice.”
The trail is next to the Humphrey Nature Center. The 5,000-square-foot educational facility focuses on sustainability and environmental education. It includes restrooms, meeting space, classrooms, a butterfly garden, displays of animals including deer and bear and interactive exhibits that promote activity within the park.
Travel Tip of the Month: For more information visit autismnaturetrail.com. Check the website for programming and activities. The trail is free and park admission is also free from November through April. From May-October a $10 per car entrance fee is charged. There are also yearly passes and free admission for seniors on weekdays. For information on Letchworth State Park go to parks.ny.gov or call 585-493-3600.
Deborah Williams is a veteran travel writer whose work has appeared in national and international publications. She lives in Holland, NY and is the recipient of the Society of American Travel Writers’ Lowell Thomas Gold Travel Writing Award.