Wendell Foster’s Sensory Park & Garden Overview

The Sensory Park and Garden

The Sensory Park and Garden at Wendell Foster’s Campus is an invitation to experience the outdoors in a new and fascinating way. Designed for children with physical and cognitive disabilities and sensory integration impairments, the park offers many engaging features in a universally-accessible landscape.

Providing individuals with disabilities the opportunity to explore various environments is a priority at Wendell Foster’s Campus. Sensory Parks and Therapeutic Landscapes are new, cutting-edge approaches for meeting the physical, recreational, emotional and spiritual needs of people with and without disabilities.

Below: CEO Terry Brownson speaks at the
groundbreaking ceremony on April 28th...
(click to enlarge)
The goal of this project is to increase the quality of life for children and adults with developmental disabilities by providing a healing outdoor experience.

Progress and Development

With the help of the community, private donors, corporate sponsors and foundations, Wendell Foster’s Campus has secured funding to complete the first phase of construction for this project. The site is currently leveled and landscaped with winding wheelchair pathways, water features and prepared spots for future amenities. The projected total amount for this park is $1.3 million. This park will be the only place for families in Western Kentucky that provides outdoor stimulation that is accessible to all.

The second phase of construction, totaling $600,000, will add the amenities and features to create the sensory experience. Finishing touches include a fully-accessible playground with special rubberized surfaces created from recycled tires that will allow for effortless navigation. One of the features of the play area that is most exciting is the accessible tree house in which children will be able to explore and escape in a bungalow get-away.

Below: Bryant leads a prayer at the ceremony..

Swings, mirrors and colorful recreation gear will adorn the play zones. Meeting areas for family picnics and gatherings will include accessible tables and benches. Adequate and strategically placed shade structures will allow individuals with sun sensitivity to engage in outdoor community events without the threat of health complications. Interactive sculptures and musical instruments will be placed alongside the winding wheelchair paths to engage visitors in rewards-based activities. Signage and a welcoming totem pole of wheelchair wheels will also be added to maximize visitor comfort and park exploration.

The ultimate mission for this project is to enhance the quality of life for children and adults with developmental disabilities by providing a therapeutic and recreational site. Use of this park will provide families with the opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities with complete inclusion of all family members, even those who experience disabilities.

Top 5 Reasons Owensboro Needs a Sensory Park:

1. Sensory Integration- The definitively unique element of this park is that it is not just another green space but a therapeutic, interactive tool. With autism rates on the rise, communities are looking at providing meaningful opportunities for individuals with autism that are nurturing to their sensory deficits. Therapeutic landscapes are a cutting-edge approach to building community relationships and combating the effects of autism.

2. Family Fun- As long as there have been disabilities there have been children who have not been provided with equal opportunities. This park will provide a safe haven for families of children with special needs where there are no obstacles to play and disabilities disappear! A child who has been forever forced to sit on the sidelines while others play will, in this park, experience the joy of nature in the raised flowerbeds and water gardens, as well as the exhilaration of freedom on a fully-accessible playground with tree house and a challenging wheelchair maze.

3. Location-Location-Location- Families from all over Western Kentucky and even parts of Southern Indiana come to Wendell Foster’s Campus for services. But where can these same families spend leisure time with their loved ones? Nowhere close. The closest Sensory Park in Tennessee is one-third the size of the park being constructed here and does not provide most of the amazing amenities that have been designed to provide a truly invigorating experience. Other accessible playgrounds located in Chattanooga and Fort Campbell are at private institutions or military bases that are not readily available to the public. This is the only park close to this region that will provide a fully-accessible sensory experience to the public without fees or dues. For this reason, it is projected that families with special needs children will make Owensboro a vacation stop which will, in turn, pour tourist money into the Owensboro economy.

4. Interactive Setting – As more and more children-focused activities transition to interactive settings such as The Speed Art Museum of Louisville or our very own Owensboro Area Museum of Science & History, the focus of children’s activities is shifting from passive observation to interactive participation. Likewise, the knowledge that children respond and learn best through experience is becoming more widely-accepted, and it is exciting to see Owensboro on the cutting-edge of this movement with the Sensory Park. Several of the features of the sensory park are interactive in nature providing children of all ages and abilities with the chance to influence large sculptures, create sound and music, build and form structures, and explore and discover new adventures.

5. Life-Long Health- This park also provides a location for all individuals of the community to experience the outdoors in a completely new way. Although, designed specifically for individuals with disabilities, the park offers healing benefits to all! From infants who are absorbing the beauty and complexity of their surroundings, and children who will enjoy the vigorous play area and hands-on features, to adults and the aging who need to reconnect with the earth and unwind in a peaceful setting, this park promotes wellness on all levels in a variety of ways.

Click here for a view of the park

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Sensory Park

Wendell Foster’s Sensory Park & Garden Overview

Wendell Foster's Campus | 815 Triplett St | PO Box 1668 | Owensboro, KY 42303

Telephone: 270-683-4517 | Toll free: 877-932-2678 | Fax: 270-683-0079

Email: info@wfcampus.org

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