- Tucked away in different areas of our state, there are magical places waiting to be discovered. One of those is the Reservoir Botanical Garden off Spillway Road in Rankin County.
Who doesn’t love a stroll on a garden path? The sight of brightly colored flowers, trees with interesting bark or leaves, butterflies that gently light upon blossoms, in search of sweet nectar. Sunlight peeking through the leaves, dappling the trail with dancing shadows and light.
Now imagine having no sense of sight. The flowers, trees, and butterflies are impossible to see.
The scenario is often quite real to those who are vision impaired. But thanks to a convergence of the right people with the right ideas coming together at the right time, there is a special place in Rankin County for all to enjoy.
The Botanical Gardens (on the Reservoir) Garden Club officially added the Braille Trail to the gardens in 2020. The instigator, advocator, and researcher who got the ball rolling for the trail to become a reality is Roger Parker.
How the trail came about
Roger, who passed away last year, lived with ALS, and his long-time passion was traveling in the Western United States. On an extended visit to the West in 2019, he and the love of his life, Faye Evans noticed a walking trail that was accessible to the blind with the addition of braille signs and tactile markings. Roger began to research ‘braille trails’ and realized there was not one in Mississippi.
Roger was inspired by his sister, Nan Wilson, who has worked as a teacher of visually impaired students in several school districts. Roger met one student, Emily Smith, in May 2019 when she was spending the weekend with Nan. Roger and Emily hit it off and Roger kept thinking of her long after the weekend was over.
“He wanted to donate his eyes to her,” says Nan. But realizing that wasn’t possible, Roger’s mind went to work, and he committed himself to having a braille trail in Mississippi a reality before his death.
Roger’s son, Nicholas Parker, was the supervisor at the Northwest Point branch of the Brandon Library. An impressively active garden club meets in the library, and Nicholas always enjoyed their presence, and he came to know the ladies. The club members had maintained the botanical garden that followed a 0.6-mile path through the gardens behind the library for roughly forty years.
When Nicholas heard of Roger’s search for a braille trail in Mississippi, he told his dad about the garden club and how beautifully they tended the gardens. Roger planned a trip to the library and invited Nan and Emily to join him. Roger wanted Emily’s perception of the trail as a person who is blind.
“It was September 6, 2019, and the trail through the garden was beautiful, say Nan. “There was a grand array of plants and trees indigenous to Mississippi. Roger helped Emily touch the bark of the different species of trees, to feel the leaves and petals of the plants and bushes, and he described a body of water as they walked past. We enjoyed hearing the birds as well, and Roger identified the different species for us.”
Roger prepared an appeal to the garden club to propose making additions to the existing trail so that it would be accessible for the visually impaired. Nicholas approached the club about Roger’s plan and Martha Brackin, the club’s president, invited him to their meeting on December 11, 2019. Roger shared his vision with the group.
Becoming a reality
The next two years were challenging because of the COVID pandemic, but with the help of volunteers and the Pearl River Valley Water Association, the physical labor was handled. Nancy Magee, Jeanine May, and Lynn Porter made an amazing team, securing grants, arranging workdays and more. They even had the braille signs created. And because nothing is ever perfect, Nan notes that sign number twelve on the trail is brailled incorrectly.
More volunteers joined the effort, with a team that included knowledgeable bird enthusiasts, an architect, geologist, and other minds who worked together to make the Braille Trail a reality. A phone number is listed on the entry sign which provides recordings of each trail stops.
On the day of the opening, Martha Brackin read a history of the garden club, written in 1979.
“It included ideas for the future of the garden,“ says Nan. “And much to everyone’s surprise, the last line of the history was ‘and the club plans to develop a braille trail in the future.’ How humbling it is to see how God performed this miracle to make the Braille Trail a reality. We can see His hand at work, behind the scenes as he brought the right people together to accomplish a need that was identified over forty years ago.”
Roger wrote a note to the garden club to express his appreciation for making his vision come to life.
“I am always amazed when you plant a seed, in the proper environment, it will provide in such abundance. The challenge for us is to slow down and appreciate what nature provides so unselfishly. I have had a wonderful life, but never allowed the time to slow down and share what I took for granted. In 2016, I was diagnosed with ALS. I do not now take even a breath for granted. During my journey in 2018, while browsing trail information in Cody, Wyoming, I was given a seed. Like a nursery, I planted that seed with Nan and Nicholas. We transplanted the seed to each of you in the garden club. It was the perfect environment! Despite obstacles the world is still struggling with, you have persevered and thrived. Mississippi now has its first and only Braille Trail. It is in the perfect environment for people to enjoy, regardless of their physical challenges. Let us slow down and enjoy this place and nature to the maximum. I want to thank everyone involved: foresters, biologists, teachers, grounds keepers and garden club members for nurturing the seed.”
The Reservoir Botanical Gardens are located at 2230 Spillway Road, Brandon, Mississippi.
Another Special Outdoor Place
If you’d like to spend a little more time outdoors, another special place is the Simmons Arboretum, nestled at the end of St. Augustine Drive in Madison. The special green space reserve has been enjoyed by Madison residents for roughly 20 years now.
The 10-acre arboretum is home to rustic walking trails, native trees and plants, and abundant wildlife. The trail has small hills, wetlands, and at least one “well sunken road” that Natchez Trace officials speculate was a part of the original Trace road system. The well-marked signs identifying native plants make any trip to Simmons Arboretum an educational hike and a beautiful adventure. This is just what Dr. and Mrs. Walter Simmons had in mind when they generously gave the land to the city of Madison.
