In this, the 100th year of the National Park System, a first of its kind project has been completed to make the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Strong, City, Kansas accessible for the visitor who is blind or visually impaired. This groundbreaking work was completed by Craig Phillips (LHS 1967), MS Ed. COMS, a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist and teacher of the blind and visually impaired formerly of Lenexa, Kansas and now a resident of Lake Saint Louis, Missouri, marked the trails, recorded routes, defined landmarks, and placed electronic waypoints with input from Ranger Jeff Rundell using the Trekker Breeze+, a GPS device designed for use by travelers with visual impairments. The device is manufactured by Humanware of Drummondville, Canada, and automatically provides auditory information that relates to the traveler’s location and position in real time, as well as recorded anecdotal commentary about the flora, fauna, history, wildlife, and other pertinent information about the geographic position in the environment. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve has forty miles of trails, and one of the trails winds through a pasture populated by a herd of bison. The device informs the traveler of the surroundings, alerts the traveler of the impending danger of traveling through this area, describes the bison’s history, diet, behavior, and provides the user with the sound of a bison for familiarity.
The visitor center has purchased four of the devices; and they will be available to all travelers in the park, for the sighted traveler can benefit from the information that is provided as well.
For further information contact Heather Brown, Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services at 620.273.6034 or heather_brown@nps.gov or Craig Phillips at 913.645.8262 or at cleep1700@att.net