Category: Access Nature Forums

Recap the Access Nature Forum with Flat Rock Brook Nature Center. The nature center is a 150-acre preserve in Englewood, NJ (Bergen County) with 3.6 miles of trails open and free to the public from dawn to dusk daily 365 days a year. Flat Rock Brook is committed to ensuring our preserve and our facilities are as accessible to all as possible, and would like you to join us to meet our team and hear about our projects and plans.

The discussion will include how they are making nature accessible, topics will cover:

• Accessible Trails
• Nature Playground
• Restroom Facilities
• Bridge and Pathways
• Gazebo and Picnic Areas
• Parking

In this Access Nature Forum we hear from Dr. Natalie Schultz-Kahwaty; Director of the Dance for PD program at Rutgers University – Mason Gross School of Music. Which received a stipend from PPA’s Nature: Accessible for All campaign. The stipend intends to enable Mason Gross to offer free programs for individuals with disabilities to participate in activities at the Rutgers Botanical Gardens and the Accessible Garden in New Brunswick, NJ. In this forum, we will hear about the project and its planning, implementation, and its outcomes.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provided a grant to fund the work of PPA and its partners in launching and sustaining the Nature: Accessible for All campaign. The Campaign is a collaborative effort by individuals, public agencies, and nonprofits to ensure that people with disabilities, their families, and allies can and do enjoy New Jersey’s extraordinary natural places.

Hosted by Michael Brower, an expert with Disability Rights New Jersey, this town hall event was for sharing information on the rights of people with disabilities. There is also a presentation by Eric Husta, Atlantic County’s Parks Director, on Estell Manor County Park, an example of a public nature preserve with good accessible options.
The heart of the Town Hall is a listening session and open discussion of challenges that people with disabilities face in getting into nature and sharing of ideas about how to improve access to natural places.
This is the first of three virtual Town Halls that Pinelands Preservation Alliance, Disability Rights New Jersey and Hopeworks are holding to learn how we can improve access to nature for people with disabilities, and form an ongoing coalition of people dedicated to achieving this goal.

The Access Nature Forum was delighted to host an insightful discussion led by Tom Hennigan from the JORBA Trail Association. In the presentation, Tom discussed how to provide access to native surface trails in the backcountry and adapt universal trail design principles to include a broad spectrum of trail users. He also provided an introduction to adaptive mountain biking and discussed guidelines for building inclusive, sustainable and accessible trails. His presentation includes recommendations for trail width, camber, turn radius, and grade to accommodate adaptive mountain bikes as well as considerations to balance accessibility, sustainability, and environmental impact when developing inclusive trails.

The inaugural zoom meeting provided a tutorial of the www.AccessNatureNJ.org website. We covered use of the mobile website, how to personally update information and we took feedback for improvements. More information about this project can be found at www.pinelandsalliance.org/the-pinelands-is-for-everyone/access-nature-forum/

Get to know your National Parks in New Jersey! Join us for a conversation with Jeremy Buzzell, Branch Chief for the National Parks Accessibility Program. He will discuss his role, current projects and initiatives, opportunities for networking, information on funding opportunities and resources, and items to focus on for our goals. There will be time to ask questions. National Parks in New Jersey include Sandy Hook’s Gateway National Recreation Area and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.