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Naturally Accessible

menu_book picture_as_pdf bookHelen Smith Resource Web Australia
Issue_19_October_2016-62

On the Narrabeen Lagoon TrailEva Gomiscek

How many overnight bushwalks do we have in Australia? With thousands of destinations and all the on track and off track options there are plenty for a lifetime of walking. Yet for people with a disability, bushwalking options are much more limited.

Naturally Accessible

Helen Smith, National Parks Association of NSW

62 | BWA October 2016


Incredibly, after a detailed search, I haven’t found a single overnight walk anywhere in the world that is promoted as accessible for people who use a wheelchair. Yet there are plenty of people with disabilities exploring wild places, so why is there such a big disconnect?

I think it comes down to information provision. Tracks do exist for people with mobility restrictions to go adventuring, camping and overnight bushwalking. Sure, there will be a number of obstacles and barriers to overcome, but knowing exactly what they are and where are the first steps to designing strategies to overcome them (e.g. ducking underneath a gate, bringing enough people on the walk to help you up a few steps). We just need to find a way to share that information so that more people can get out into amazing wild places.

The National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) is thrilled to introduce a new project “Naturally Accessible”. It’s about improving access to natural places with better information. We think this will not only help our older members continue bushwalking for many years to come, but it will also prove to have enormous benefits to the broader community such as people in wheelchairs, parents with prams, and others.

Traditionally, accessibility issues have been solved with infrastructure. That means going in and concreting or boarding over all natural barriers and creating smooth, short

tracks. Of course, the advantage of these tracks are that literally anyone can do them, but the disadvantages are that these tracks are expensive and slow to develop, and substantial infrastructure fails to connect the user with nature.

Hence, in NSW, the types of accessible walks that we have are all extremely short, taking users only a few minutes to complete. We don’t think that this is a fulfilling way to access natural places, and we believe we can do better.

We want to turn the idea of accessibility on its head and give back the choice to the user to decide whether a track is suitable for them or not. Information-based solutions address the needs of a range of people. For instance, people with heart conditions need flatter walks, and others need seats at regular intervals. We give choice by providing information on barriers and facilities, integrated with online bushwalking sources like Wildwalks. Information-based solutions are an alternative to going in and concreting everything, and sit well with the NPA's ethic of minimal impact bushwalking.

Let’s take Frank as an example. Frank had a stroke last year which left him weakened on one side of his body. Now he uses a crutch to get around. He still loves getting out bushwalking with the family but needs to rest frequently along the track. Therefore, a walk with regular seats is important for him. So a good solution for Frank is track notes with information about the frequency and type of

It’s about improving access to natural places with better information.

... give back the choice to the user to decide whether a track is suitable for them or not.

BWA October 2016 | 63


Team photo of Naturally Accessible with NPWS at the Kamay National Park. Left to right: Sasa (NPWS), Matt (NPA) and Helen (NPA). Photo credit Sasa Dolinsek.

seats on the track. This information could be presented as icons on a map, with more detailed notes at the end. If available online, Frank could search for tracks with seats no more than, say, 500 metres apart.

This concept could then be applied for communicating other barriers as well including gates, fences, gradient, surface, etc. We hope to help a broad range of people in the community, from bushwalkers with medical conditions, to people in wheelchairs or others who need walking aids right through to families with young children and prams.

We’re looking for volunteers to interview for the first stage of the project. We’d love to chat to anyone and everyone who is interested in this research and can help us identify how best to use information-based solutions to help people get out into natural places. Getting out into nature has enormous

social, emotional and health benefits for everyone, so if you know anyone that is interested in helping, please get in touch!

NPA is emerging as a leader in accessibility. We want to help our members to bushwalk for longer and to share this also with the wider community. Information-based solutions fit in with the philosophy of the NPA: by reducing heavy infrastructure and increasing availability of high-quality information, we can help people and have less impact on natural places. NPA wants to be the driving force of social change, where the act of going for a simple day walk in a national park is possible for anyone and everyone in Australia and all visitors have meaningful and fulfilling experiences in nature.

For more information, visit the NPA Naturally Accessible website or contact me at Helen Smith.

We hope to help a broad range of people in the community ...

We’re looking for volunteers to interview for the first stage of the project.

64 | BWA October 2016