Imagine being a keen hillwalker who loves the outdoors but then being unable to enjoy it because of sight loss. Fortunately, many veterans of the Armed Forces who have visual impairment can climb their favourite mountains again, thanks to Sight Scotland Veterans.
Jason Turnbull is a centre officer at Sight Scotland Veterans’ Hawkhead Centre in Paisley. The keen hillwalker, who is a former healthcare support worker, has been at Hawkhead since it opened five years ago. A few months ago, the centre’s IT suite installed its first VR headset and already it is having a positive impact on its users.
Jason, who is responsible for organising activities for the veterans, is combining his passion for hillwalking and the power of virtual reality so that many of the veterans at the Hawkhead Centre can experience Scotland’s great outdoors again.
He explains: “I had previous experience with VR headset, so I was very keen to try it at Hawkhead. I watched 360-degree videos on YouTube and thought to myself ‘I can do better than that’. So, I bought a 360-degree camera and took it up the hills with me.
“I then began showing the veterans who are keen hillwalkers, and those who weren’t, the footage and there was a very positive reaction. They said it was ‘like being back on the hills’.”
The centre officer explained that because the VR headset lenses are close to their eyes, the veterans can experience the video footage like those without vision loss.
He adds: “I thought I am on to something here, so I have been going around as many Munros as I can so they can come with me.
I am starting with the centrally located ones, in and around Crianlarich, like Ben More and Stob Binnein. I edit the footage and show the veterans when I come back, and they are saying it is absolutely unbelievable.
“It’s reawakening something in them. It is so rewarding to watch them and see their reaction. Perhaps it has been many years since they’ve climbed that hill, but they realise where they are. The VR allows them to revisit somewhere that was special to them. It triggers all those memories and sparks positive feelings within them.”
Noreen Smith, a former army nurse who has Macular degeneration, who regularly attends Sight Scotland Veterans’ Hawkhead Centre, has always been a great hillwalker but had to give up her passion due to her vision impairment. She explains: “The VR is just wonderful, it is just like you are back there again, it brings back so many happy memories for me. I can see the whole landscape, all the tremendous views, it really is like I am walking up the hills again.”
Brian Wilson, who works in Sight Scotland Veterans’ Linburn Centre, is also seeing, first-hand, how VR is having a huge impact on the centre users.
Brian comments: “In many instances, it enables veterans to see again, which is just amazing. As the screens are very close to their eyes, and includes large, bold images, it helps people with low vision see better and up close.
“Some of them find it quite overwhelming the first time they experience it. It opens up a whole new world to a person with a visual impairment.
“It is fully immersive and allows them to completely forget about the outside world. They can forget about their eye condition or any other problems or stresses they have and just relax and enjoy the experience.”
For more information, please visit https://sightscotlandveterans.org.uk
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