Residents of Holy Angels in Belmont have a new way to enjoy the great outdoors.
Volunteers recently completed a 600-foot concrete nature trail at Camp Hope, allowing people with disabilities to enjoy the outdoors even from a wheelchair.
Duke Energy employees have donated time for the past 12 years to improve Camp Hope, and the nature trail is one of the latest additions, said Sister Nancy Nance with Holy Angels.
“The staff is able to bring (residents) closer to nature,” she said. “It’s a great adventure for them to be able to do that and not have to worry about getting stuck in dirt and wheel over sticks and stones. It’s very natural around it. It’s really a beautiful trail.”
CampHope is off South Point Road in Belmont, nestled along the South Fork River. Three bridges cross small streams near the trail. Floating docks allow residents to fish and boat.
Duke Energy volunteers also made the bridges possible. And the projects are paid for by the Duke Energy Foundation, Nance said.
“It’s making it possible for them to experience the sights and sounds of nature, actually out there in the experience,” she said. “We’re not bringing it to them, they’re going there.”
Residents enjoy the camp in the spring, summer and fall.
Holy Angels staff gathered there Friday afternoon to formally recognize Duke Energy by dedicating the nature trail in the company’s honor.
About 160 people attended to also remember the spirit of the first Holy Angels resident in Belmont, Maria Morrow.
Sunday marked the third anniversary of her death. She came to live at Holy Angels in 1956, only a few months after her birth.
“Her mother was originally told that she would not live, that she had extreme physical and mental disabilities,” Nance said. “She fooled them all. She was never able to walk, but she was a very sharp and very smart young lady.”
You can reach Wade Allen at 704-869-1828 or twitter.com/GazetteWade.