Sean Kane-Holland, Author at Nature: Accessible for All

Kingsway group listening to Pinelands Adventures staff during a program at Atsion recreation area.

Greetings to all the Access Nature allies! I am sure you can feel Spring is upon us! Birds are chirping, the flora is blooming, honeybees are busy buzzing around collecting their nectar, and we are all eager for outdoor adventures. With the new rugged adaptive mobility equipment that Pinelands Adventures is attaining, we will soon be providing educational eco programs to more of New Jersey’s population.

I am happy to announce that this April, Pinelands Adventures concluded three trial adaptive eco-tour programs in partnership with Kingsway Learning Center. For these programs, our Pinelands Adventures staff took five to six clients from Kingsway and their companions/caregivers on the ADA-nature trails at Atsion Recreation Area and Batsto Historic Village. At these sites, the ADA-nature trails are labeled as the Red/Blue Trail and Red Trail respectively. Both sites are in Wharton State Forest in Burlington County. These locations have accessible marked trails, parking, and restroom facilities. The trails are wide enough and have stabilized surfaces using compacted crushed stone to permit mobility devices such as strollers, wheelchairs, crutches, and walkers to have access.

Kingsway group enjoying the Sun during the Nature Rx program.

The first program presented was the Pinelands 101 course. The group met at Atsion Recreation Area. This program is an introduction to the New Jersey Pinelands. The participants learned about the uniqueness of Pineland’s fauna and flora and discussed its unique ecology.

The second program was held at Historic Batsto Village, and combined Pinelands 101 and Industries in the Pines. The group learned about the area’s natural resources and their importance to establishing early European settlements and prosperous local industries like those found at historic Batsto Village.

The third trial program was held at the Atsion Recreation area. This was a Nature Rx program. The group immersed themselves in the forest’s sights, sounds, and smells. This is a euphoric program designed to rekindle our relationship with nature.

We were blessed with fantastic weather on all three occasions, which both staff and guests greatly enjoyed. In addition, all three groups had a delightful time accessing nature-based recreation and educational programs in places they may not have been able to get to before without the guidance of Pinelands Adventure staff. Pinelands Adventures has been able to provide adaptive mobility equipment to make these programs more accessible.

Group photo of Kingsway Learning Center – Atsion Recreation Area

These three programs helped us assess how to best use the assistive mobility equipment we acquired. Individuals had the opportunity to test out each mobility device and provide feedback. The participants were asked to fill out surveys on the different pieces of equipment, indicating likes and dislikes, and then discuss these suggestions with the Pinelands Adventures team.

We have determined that our adaptive equipment has great flexibility for the terrain. In addition, this equipment satisfies a diverse set of individuals with differing mobility abilities. Our electric chair accommodates individuals with very low mobility while people with greater mobility and upper body strength can use our Grit Freedom chair. This equipment can also be steered by a companion/caregiver.

Moreover, from these trials, Pinelands Adventures has determined and developed plans for safety features to incorporate with the equipment, like safety instructions and contingency plans for staff and participants in the programs.

For me, these developments are truly exciting. This is a great opportunity to connect with and provide remarkable educational and recreational programs to an underserved portion of our community. It makes it possible for the entire family to enjoy the shared mental, physical and educational benefits of nature. This is an extraordinary project to be a part of and I am grateful to be a part of it.

Pinelands Adventures plans on offering programs using this equipment later this season and they hope to acquire additional mobility chairs. Programs will be able to accommodate groups of 5 or 6 individuals in need of mobility assistive chairs along with their companions to help assist them.

Keep a look out for my blog posts as well as the Pinelands Adventures website for when these programs may be available.

For those interested in researching more about these products I have provided the websites below:

Grit – The All-Terrain Wheelchair

Eagle HD Lightweight Foldable Wheelchair

If you have questions or would like to get connected with the Access Nature initiative, please contact us.

Nature is for everyone who seeks to enjoy its splendor – that is our motto. Spending time outside offers many physical and mental health benefits. These benefits include stress reduction, social bonding, and exercise. However, knowing how and what to plan for and finding places to enjoy outdoor recreation can seem daunting. There are countless variables to be considered when planning an outdoor adventure, especially when you have mobility or sensory concerns, deafness, or blindness.

There are many variables when planning an outdoor adventure, especially when you have mobility or sensory concerns, deafness, or blindness.

At the end of last year, The Nature Conservancy came to Pinelands Alliance (The Alliance) and the Access Nature initiative about an opportunity to collaborate on educational and tutorial films they have entitled Nature 101: Be An Insider, Outside!

These videos are geared towards novice outdoor enthusiasts and were created to inform those who may not have experienced outdoor adventures but are interested in doing so, with the proper knowledge and resources to make it a pleasant experience. The video that I helped with deals with accessibility considerations for folks with disabilities. Its premise is to promote the fact that the outdoors are for everyone. We want to build up this concept so that it becomes ingrained in our society’s way of thinking. This new way of thinking will encourage land managers, public officials, and the general public to consider ways to make their sites, amenities, and activities more inclusive for all.

We hope you will watch and learn about the valuable resources and considerations needed for you to enjoy your outdoor adventures. By going to The Alliance’s YouTube Channel you can access these videos. You can also visit The Nature Conservancy Hiking 101 webpage.