Woodland Sensory Trail for the visually impaired located at the historic Shelter House in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.

Hello, my name is Patrick Hunter.  I am a Life Scout from Troop 71 in Macungie and a freshman at Emmaus High School. I am building a sensory trail for the visually impaired at the Shelter House. I am trying to gather funds to install a post and rope railing guide system, in conjunction with creating a mulched, woodland path to assist able bodied and visually impaired individuals with exploring the beauty and history that is the Shelter House.

As part of its mission, the Shelter House Society http://www.shelterhousesociety.org/ maintains, promotes, and educates members of the community and visitors about the oldest, continually occupied structure in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. They are currently performing additional historic restoration and reconstruction efforts on the original fieldstone spring house, which is on the route of the sensory trail and woodland path. The intent of the path is to clear invasive vegetation, saplings, and other tripping hazards, line the pathway area with shredded bark mulch, and install pressure treated 4 x 4 posts with the associated rope guides between each post, to allow visually impaired individuals to traverse the path without assistance. I would like to install two (2) commercially procured signs with raised lettering (for people who recently lost their vision who have not yet learned to read Braille), with tactile details and a Braille description, so unsighted visitors can learn about the unique environmental aspects of the South Mountain area, and the Shelter House.

The project will require approximated 50-60 man hours to complete, including vegetation and tripping hazard removal, pressure treated post installation, rope railing, mulching the trail, and installing the signage. I have firm cost estimates on the posts and the synthetic guide rope, but the cost for the manufactured Braille signs is more of an unknown. We are currently pursuing bids with, and hoping for donations or a significant discount on the tactile and Braille signage from professional sign manufacturers and hope to coordinate it with the existing signage already installed at the Shelter House. I have discussed the intent of this project with the President of the Lehigh Valley Council of the Blind, Miss Liz Oleska, and have received approval from the Shelter House Society and the Minsi Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Volunteers from the Shelter House Society, the Scout Troop, Scout parents, Lehigh Valley Council of the Blind, and other volunteers from the community are anticipated and welcomed to contribute to this project. Any and all funds raised in excess of project costs will be donated to the non-profit Shelter House Society. Please contact my father via my GoFundMe account profile, should you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for considering to donate your hard earned money to this worthwhile Eagle Scout service project.