Santee Lakes Sensory Garden Dedication

The Santee Lions officially dedicated the Sensory Garden at Santee Lakes on Saturday afternoon. The garden is especially designed for the blind and sight impaired, allowing them to touch, feel and smell fragrant plants and trees and then read on a braille plaque what plant they have just experienced.

For more than six years the Santee Lions Club has been raising money and planning to build the garden, which opened to the public about a month ago.

The landscape architect for the project, George Mercer, said some of the plants and their respective placards are mixed up, but that they'd have that sorted out next week.

"It's just so rewarding to see people enjoying the garden," Mercer said at the dedication.

Members of the "Blind Community Center," officials, Santee Lions, other city notables and their families all joined the dedication and spent some time enjoying the garden.

A. D. "Ike" Enzenauer, the Santee Lions member heading the project, described the garden: "It is built up to about waist high with various fragrant types of plants and trees. This allows a sight-impaired person to move through it while touching and smelling various plants with a plaque in Braille identifying each plant or tree."

Santana Leos (young Lions) and El Cajon High School Leos along with adult Lions from the Santee and El Cajon clubs helped plant some herbs and flowers in the garden a couple months earlier. Lion Marilynn Enzenauer, who came up with the idea of a Sensory Garden, helped in the planting in order to see her dream come true.

The Sensory Garden is at Lake Four in the vicinity of the Handicapped Pier, another project of the Santee Lions and Lions International that was completed in July 2004.

The Santee Lions Club for construction of the garden, with all funds coming from local sources. Enzenauer said the Lions could still use about $4,000 to finalize all funding for the project. Worldwide, Lions clubs are recognized for their service to the blind and visually impaired.