A musky smell grabs us on one side of the driveway. A few steps further, those of aromatic herbs. On 2,300 m², the sensory garden designed within the Institute for Young Blind People (INJA), located in the VIIth establishment in Paris, is designed for both smell and touch. Here a massif to caress, there very fragrant flowers, a few birdsong add to the bucolic side of the place. Today, 120 children attending school here, from kindergarten to high school, benefit from it on a daily basis, as well as 200 professionals. In September, the general public will also be able to benefit from it on weekends and during school holidays.
"We started from the observation that the young people of the boarding school and the staff benefit from it during the week but every weekend and during the school holidays, the establishment is closed and we thought it was a shame that no one took advantage of this space," says Roxane Jeseck, head of external relations at INJA. A partnership agreement was voted to this effect in the Paris Council on Wednesday. The City will be responsible for guarding and maintenance during opening periods.
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"The sensory side, the smells, the tactile, it's very important for us, visually impaired, but it's beneficial for everyone. All the senses are engaged," enthuses Roxane Jeseck, as she takes a tour of the flowerbeds with her guide dog. The project was born in 2021 thanks to the Givaudan Foundation, Dior, the Ile-de-France region and the ARS.
A blind football field project under study
This green space still requires some development work that will take place in July. In particular, it will be necessary to create a new access to the public via the rue de Sèves, opposite the Necker hospital.
The INJA building, which dates from 1843 and is protected as a France monument, will remain closed to the public. "Louis Braille lived and died within our walls," says Roxane Jeseck. Here two gardens, the sensory garden, on the rue de Sèvres side, and another garden on the rue Duroc side, available to students. The INJA has the project to build a blind football field. It will be the first of France.
The discipline will also be present at the Paralympic Games in Paris next summer. The institute is preparing to participate, with its sports students registered in competition, but also through the reception of a number of athletes, coming from foreign delegations to the boarding school during the month of August.
