‘Sensory Trail’ For Middlebush Park Approved By Open Space Committee

A township Girl Scout received the Open Space Advisory Committee’s go-ahead for a project at Middlebush Park at its January 18 meeting.

The Scout, Grace Glynn, a Scout with Troop 60607, wants to do the project in furtherance of her quest for the Scouts’ Gold Award.

Her idea is to install a sensory trail along an established trail in the park. She said the installation could be used to encourage parents with children on the Autism Spectrum to get out and use township trails.

Glynn, a Junior at Mount St. Mary Academy, has been a Scout for 11 years, and is now a Scout Ambassador. She also has volunteered for several township and regional organizations.

Glyn’s plan, she said, is to install two or three “activity stations” along the trail. The stations, she said, would “compliment the existing play structures that the town has already placed along the trail.”

“The result will be an inclusive play area where children of all abilities can interact and play with each other,” she said.

She said the areas will also “create a therapeutic space that families and their therapists can use with kids with Autism, ADHD or a sensory processing disorder.”

Activities that could be installed along the trail include a spinner panel, a finger maze, and a music station, she said.

The project is being funded through a small grant from the Helen Cody Foundation, she said. Glynn said she was also counting on Franklin Township to make a donation to offset the cost of supplies.

Township Manager Robert Vornlocker said that would not be a problem.

Glynn said her project is pending Girl Scout approval and design finalization.

“I think this is something that is so important and so needed,” Committee member Deana Luchs said.

Committee chairman Bob Puskas agreed.

“It’s a worthy project,” he said. “I think we’re doing a great thing here.”

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