The Project on Naturally Accessible

NA 1.0

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Naturally Accessible 1.0 was a 12-month project funded by Family and Community Services. Over the 2016 financial year, we identified what sort of bushwalking track information is useful to people with mobility restrictions and how to convey it effectively.

We interviewed a range of active bushwalkers with mobility restrictions to learn more about their experiences and understand the barriers that they face on a bushwalking track. We prototyped different ways of displaying information, and produced a track-note template with Naturally Accessible track informational overlayed on top of standard bushwalking notes.

NA 2.0

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Family and Community Services have continued to support the Naturally Accessible project into phase 2, which will run over the 2017 financial year.

This next phase of the project is about scaling up, and testing the boundaries of the naturally accessible framework by doing something really big – initiating the world’s first overnight bushwalk.

Our 5 outcomes will be:

Guide a series of 3 trial overnight walks with different groups of people with varying abilities. This will allow us to learn more about, what makes a great walking experience, what information can be added/removed and improved, learn how the experiences vary in different weather conditions, capture video and photos that can be used to promote the idea of overnight walking with people with disabilities.

Snowies

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Just before Easter 2017, we set off down to Kosciuszko NP to spend some time scouting out walking opportunities for people with disabilities in the park. We have had awesome weather, met some amazing people and enjoyed some stunning views.

Churchill Fellowship

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Late in 2016, Helen was selected as a NSW Churchill Fellow. Her fellowship was awarded to connect with groups in Canada, USA and Europe and share the progress we’ve made so far under the Naturally Accessible framework. The aim of the fellowship is to share our work and bring back new ideas to further improve access to natural places in Australia.

Helen’s 8-week travel over July–Aug 2017 included meetings with land managers and practitioners, as well as camping and getting out onto some interesting tracks and trails. Helen has also kept a track of some of the specific campsites and trails that she tackled in her manual wheelchair via her blog – we hope this helps others plan some interesting trips overseas too.

Wheely Big Bushwalk

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Wheely Big Bushwalk: a fun day out for people in wheelchairs, friends, family and others!

Events for International Day of People with Disability are so often indoors, focused on concrete infrastructure, lifts and ramps. And yet, the emotional, physical and mental benefits of spending time in natural places are relevant to everyone regardless of age, race or ability.

That’s why in 2016, National Parks Association of NSW celebrated ability on International Day of People with Disability by spending time outdoors, in Sydney’s beautiful native bushland.

UTS: Dean's Prize in Engineering

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We were thrilled to see Dave Lee awarded the Dean’s Prize for engineering at the University of Technology Sydney.

Dave has been exploring the idea of using sensors to help collect data on track conditions. The idea is to attach sensors to a wheelchair and gather data on how the chair moves along the track. The sensors determine the roughness of the track, the roll and pitch. With some smoothing of the data, it’s then possible to extract information on the track gradient and roughness.

Ministerial Forum

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We’re excited to have attended the Accessible Tourism Ministerial Forum held at Parliament House, Sydney. This was our chance to tell our story and let people know how passionate we are about equipping people with the knowledge base to undertake nature adventures. A great opportunity for us early on in the project.

We had an initial meeting with some of the main players in this space including Simon Darcey, a multidisciplinary researcher on inclusive access who runs an accessible tourism blog, and Lonely Planet’s Accessible Travel Manager Martin Heng.

FACS Support

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We’re thrilled to announce that the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS) have granted us funding to kick start our project. The funding will provide the man power and resources to explore more of our ideas and collate a handbook on the important barriers that people with accessible needs must be informed about in order to assess if a bushwalk is suitable for them.

Thanks FACS!

It’s an exciting stage for us to get enough financial support to get started.

Kamay National Park

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

We decided to head out to Kamay National Park to get Matt and Sasa a bit more familiar with what it’s like to use a wheelchair on a bushwalk. We were also interested in learning more about the NPWS Trailriders, one of which is at Kamay for anyone to use.

We started off on some of the simple tracks down to the waterway, where we could sit back and enjoy the ‘serenity’ of Botany Bay…