Laverack Nature Trail will be a great resource for all ages

To The Daily Sun,

The Laverack Nature Trail at Hawkins Brook, located in Meredith is an accessible trail and will link Prescott Park to the Meredith Village Savings Bank and beyond.

Yes, I can cite research that describes the benefits of walking and being in an outdoor environment. Exercise and natural spaces positively enhance peoples’ ability to learn. Outdoor spaces improve their mental health and physical well being. However, I will leave the specifics of these important statistics to another contributor.

The residents of Meredith will profit from this accessible trail. Let me first describe a trail in a different community. Because an accessible trail is so welcoming, this particular trail attracts people of all shapes, sizes, and ages. The day I was there adults were reading informational signage while children were running along the path. Several enthusiastic women with walkers in hand, visiting from a nearby retirement community, were strolling along the busy walk-way. Other visitors sat on benches, relaxing, taking pictures and watching the aquatic activity in the pond.

I am excited that Meredith residents will soon have a similar experience. Not only will visitors enjoy the Laverack Nature Trail at Hawkins Brook in multiple ways but both children and adults will have an interesting and safe way to travel from the Community Center or the school campus to the shopping center, waterfront, and Main Street.

Local children will access the nature trail via the Inter-Lakes schools connecting trail. With an out-door classroom within a short walking distance of the school campus, students will have multiple opportunities to observe their environment and practice science in its’ many forms. Additionally, both visitors and Meredith residents will have the additional opportunity to learn how to protect our environment.

No longer will you need to drive to Laconia, Wolfeboro or Ossipee to find an accessible trail where friends can walk and talk together. The Laverack Nature Trail at Hawkins Brook will have two trailheads, one behind Meredith Village Savings Bank and the other near the tennis courts at Prescott Park. There will be no nasty lumps and bumps to trip someone who has challenges with balance on this graded path. A parent or grandparent can push a child’s stroller. A child or adult may even pull a wagon or bag on wheels. While others may need to employ a walker, a cane, or walking poles as they explore this path.

Finally, lifelong leisure activity: walking, bird watching, photography, and sketching in a natural environment, will now be a reality for individuals with walking disabilities or those who age and per-haps develop a disabling condition. Even if that disability requires the use of a wheelchair, they will still be able to explore a wooded trail and be immersed in a wetland habitat right here in Meredith.

Paula Wanzer

Meredith