A multi-sensory garden for people with learning disabilities is being planned to lift the spirits of visitors to a day care centre in York.

Customers and helpers from the Hebden Rise Day Centre for people with disabilities, in Acomb, York, which has been entered in our Proud to be York campaign

But staff at the Hebden Rise Day Centre, in Acomb, need the public's help to get their unusual ideas off the ground and have entered the novel project into our Proud to be York campaign to give it a kick start.

Visitors to the centre have a variety of disabilities, including partial sight and deafness. So plans are in place to install a series of raised-level flower beds full of scented herbs and blooms that can stimulate the senses of smell and touch together.

Val Thomson, of Hebden Rise, said staff and visitors have already worked hard to rejuvenate a tatty corner of the gardens, but they need more expert help and funding to get their specialised multi-sensory proposals off the ground.

Val said: "We have got customers with learning disabilities, and many are partially sighted so anything to do with smell and touch is very important to them.

"We could plant herbs, like rosemary, and the sort of flowers that smell the most. Obviously roses would smell good but the thorns would be no good for the touch aspect, so we would need the sort of plants that are interesting to feel as well. For those in wheelchairs we would need specially constructed flower beds, so our visitors can get easy access to them.

"To win the Proud to be York campaign would be great because it might be able to help us by bringing people forward to give us a hand. Enhancing the environment of our day centre would give our customers the chance to experience achievement, success and pride."

We have entered the Hebden Rise project into the Residents category of our Proud to be York campaign, but if you feel your initiative or idea is worth shouting about, then tell us about it.

We will be publishing regular articles about interesting entries and the winners will be announced on Yorkshire Day, August 1.

Click here for Proud to be York

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.