|
By JARRET LIOTTA
Correspondent
 on
Chiboucas' mother had to use a wheelchair to get around during the
last few years of her life. The family loved the outdoors, so he
and his wife, Elisabeth, often tried to find places to take her.
But they never had much success.
"We had a hard time finding places to get out in the
woods," he said. One time his mother and her wheelchair
nearly ended up in a pond on the rough terrain of a nature trail
in New York state.
But now, because of Chiboucas' efforts and other volunteers and
donors, people who might never have had the chance to experience
nature have been given a happy trail.
The Edna Strube Chiboucas Special Use Trail was officially opened
and dedicated last Saturday at the Connecticut Audubon Center in |
Fairfield. About 30 people hiked the mile-long path
through the woods and varied habitats of the Roy and Margot Larsen
Preserve.
Tiffany Johnson, 11, of Bridgeport, led the hike in her
wheelchair. She was a student at the center last year, but because
of the rugged terrain of the 7 miles of trails in the 170-acre
preserve, she was unable to get into the woods.
"It's awesome," said Lori Paradis Brant, an
environmental educator at the center. She said Johnson, an
ambassador for the Easter Seals, was thrilled to travel the trail.
"We couldn't get her out here this summer or last
summer," Brant said.
Work on the trail began in August. Brant said she has seen many
people with canes, walkers, and wheelchairs using the trail during
the past two months -- "and that's without it being made
public."
Fairfielder Robert Larsen, whose parents began donating sections
of the land for the preserve in 1963 and who had been reared on |
the property starting
in 1938, attended the dedication.
"I think Roy and Margot Larsen would really approve of this
magnificent trail," he said.
"It took longer than we thought it would," said Milan
Bull, the center's director.
Landscaping fabric was laid over damper sections of the trail,
over which a thick layer of road mix -- ground concrete -- then 3
to 4 inches of stone dust was poured, Bull said. Five major
wetland crossings were built.
Bull estimated the project's value at $500,000 to $700,000.
"It was a fairly ambitious activity," he said.
Chiboucas said he intends to start a Web site after the winter,
when the success of the trail can be judged. He'll look for
corporate donations to build other nature trails for the disabled.
"I'd like to see a network of trails around the
country," he said.
|
