Vision Awareness Training at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Bobbie Lane
, 20 March 2026
Vision Awareness Training at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
Staff, volunteers with Steve from ESVS © Charlie Peverett

Bobbie Lane

Communications Officer - RHDC

We were thrilled when East Sussex Vision Support offered to visit Rye Harbour Discovery Centre to provide vision awareness training for some staff and volunteers.

It was a really interesting day, which started with a seemingly simple exercise, getting into pairs and having a conversation with our eyes closed. It soon became apparent how many visual indicators are normally used. It was difficult to concentrate once these were removed. Being in a busy room, we also had no awareness when someone was standing next to us, unless they announced themselves. It highlighted the importance of making someone who is visually impaired aware when you arrive and leave.

ESVS in the Discovery Centre © Bobbie Lane

We then learnt about aids that people may use and what they mean. Some canes are symbolic, to let others know that you are visually impaired. Did you know that a red and white cane means that someone has sight and hearing loss?

Steve explained how difficult it can be to navigate when there are items abandoned on paths, such as bikes, or other obstacles. It's really appreciated when visitors keep paths and doorways clear on the reserve.

We tried glasses that simulated different types of vision loss and were taught how to guide someone safely around the reserve.

ESVS training © Bobbie Lane

The discussion turned to wildlife, and we realised that bird ID app Merlin isn’t helpful for those who are visually impaired. Volunteer Cliff emailed Merlin about it. They shared a great resource by Birdability, which offers information to birders with sight loss.

Steve with Guide Dog Rosie © Arthur Sloman

East Sussex Vision Support kindly donated a desk magnifier to the Discovery Centre, which we’re pleased has already been used by many people - such as Lauren, who gave some wonderful feedback:

Using the desk magnifier © Lauren Eade

"I visited Rye Harbour Nature Reserve to try out their new desk magnifier! Donated by East Sussex Vision Support, it’s an incredible piece of tech that can make birdwatching more accessible for people with a vision impairment.

From the comfort of the Discovery Centre, you can have a cuppa and see birds on the reserve using a large screen with over 20 times zoom. It didn’t just enhance my experience, it revolutionised it.

Usually, I struggle to see birds over a distance, even when they’re pointed out. This time, I was spotting birds even my sighted partner couldn’t find. I’ve never seen them in such clear detail before. I think some of the other visitors were peeking over my shoulder.

Desk magnifier © Arthur Sloman

I’ve previously never been keen on magnification because my acuity (clarity of vision) isn’t affected by #CVI. However, this really changed my mind. It was so easy to use and produced clear images, even in torrential rain. We saw a Kingfisher, Little Grebe and several Sandpipers. Mallards, Cormorants and Coots were aplenty in the hides too. Thank you to the team for making Rye Harbour Nature Reserve more accessible for #Blind and #PartiallySighted people!"

The desk magnifier is available for anyone who needs it, free of charge. Email the office to book: [email protected] or call 01797 360 960.

Following the training, we now offer free places for carers and sighted guides at our events.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1787393077.81310 [907] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1787393077.84660.0335Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1787393077.84670.0001Server address: 216.73.216.140
1787393077.84670Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1787393077.84670Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/vision-awareness-training-at-rye-harbour-nature-reserve
    [s] => vision-awareness-training-at-rye-harbour-nature-reserve
    [1] => vision-awareness-training-at-rye-harbour-nature-reserve
)
1787393077.84690.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787393077.84780.0009 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1787393077.84960.0017 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24376358
1787393077.85010.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24376358
1787393077.85050.0004 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-08-22 10:04:00' AND saleTo>'2026-08-22 10:04:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1787393077.85160.0011 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='vision-awareness-training-at-rye-harbour-nature-reserve')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 10:04:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1787393077.85630.0047 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787393077.85680.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3908 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 10:04:00'
1787393077.85780.001 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1787393077.85850.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1787393077.85920.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=279 LIMIT 1
1787393077.85970.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1787393077.86010.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=189 LIMIT 1
1787393077.86060.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787393077.86070.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1787393077.86170.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 10:04:00' AND postSlug='vision-awareness-training-at-rye-harbour-nature-reserve'
1787393077.88970.028Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787393077.89040.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1787393077.89240.002Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1787393077.89260.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1787393077.89350.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1787393077.89480.0013 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787393077.89860.0038 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787393077.89920.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787393077.9020.0029Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1787393077.90210 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787393077.90280.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787393077.90330.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787393077.90570.0024 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787393077.90690.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787393077.90760.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787393077.910.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787393077.91080.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1787393077.91360.0027 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1787393077.91410.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787393077.91430.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='35' LIMIT 1
1787393077.9150.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1787393077.91530.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='vision-awareness-training-at-rye-harbour-nature-reserve')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 10:04:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1787393077.91810.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787393077.91850.0004 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787393077.92030.0017Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1787393077.92110.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3908 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1787393077.99180.0707 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1787393077.9920.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787393077.99230.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='35' LIMIT 1
1787393077.99310.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1787393077.99380.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1787393077.99450.0007 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787393077.99730.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787393077.99770.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787393078.00040.0027 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787393078.00120.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787393078.0020.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787393078.00250.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787393078.00570.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787393078.00630.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787393078.0090.0027 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787393078.01260.0036 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1787393078.01330.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1787393078.01380.0004 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787393078.0170.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787393078.01760.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787393078.02030.0027 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787393078.02250.0023 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787393078.02340.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787393078.02390.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787393078.02690.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787393078.02740.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787393078.03020.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787393078.03130.0011Request time: 0.2194
1787393078.03130Process time: 0.2193
1787393078.03130Memory: 1.6555