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Gertrude Boyden Wildlife/Nature Refuge – PART 2
1298 Cohannet St.
Taunton, MA. 02760
Phone: 508-821-1676
http://www.greenfutures.org/associates/boyden.html

post1.jpgLast night my friends and I  decided to pack a picnic dinner and head back to the Gertrude Boyden Wildlife/Nature Refuge to do a wheelchair accessibility review of the parts that we missed when we were there last week. (See Gertrude Boyden Wildlife/Nature Refuge – Part 1 review).  I especially wanted to see the Osprey nest , the covered bridge and the fishing area.

view-from-trail-lloking-at-osprey-area-but-coudlbt-get.jpgAfter eating our dinner at a picnic bench in the wheelchair accessible picnic area we followed the trail on the map that lead to the covered bridge. On our way we encountered a very narrow dirt trail with a steep cliff along the path. There is no safety fence to separate the trail from the edge of the cliff. This trail also had tree roots sticking up and would be very difficult for a person in a manual wheelchair to travel along. 

2-stps-lead-to-bridge.jpgI was in my Quantum Electric Power Wheelchair so I had no problem traveling along this path. When we arrived at the covered bridge we discovered that there were two steps that prevented me from going any further in my wheelchair. I was disappointed that I couldn’t access the bridge in my wheelchair but didn’t give up!

followed-another-path-to-end-of-trail-ended-rot.jpgWe then decided to follow another trail that was supposed to lead to the covered bridge so we went the other way around by the fragrance garden. We traveled far and again became disappointed due to this trail coming to an end. The trail is closed at this point due to rot. This trail which is closed would have led us to the Osprey Nest as well as the covered bridge.

There was one more trail we saw but since it wasn’t shown on the map my friends and I decided not to attempt to go on it since we encountered problems the last time when we didn’t follow the trails on the map. (See my Part 1 review).

I give the Gertrude Boyden Wildlife/Nature Refuge – PART 2 ZERO STARS for there is no wheelchair accessibility to the covered bridge, Osprey nest or fishing area. They would need to pave paths , replace the two steps at the covered bridge with a ramp,  rebuild the rotted wooden trail that is closed and place a safety fence between the path and steep cliff leading to the covered bridge.