Category: State News

Somerset County Park Commission want to hear from you!!! Assist the county parks with your feedback for there all terrain wheelchair survey.

The Somerset County Park Commission is exploring options to obtain an all-terrain
wheelchair (ATW) and/or other power-driven mobility device (OPDMD) to have available for
use by park visitors. An ATW or OPDMD will help make SCPC parks accessible to more
individuals. If you, or someone you know could benefit from this offering, please consider
completing the survey and/or joining us for a focus group session. Your input is important!

Here is a link to the survey – http://www.somersetcountyparks.org/home/webforms/survey-all-terrain-wheelchairs

Check out this podcast from 2023. In this episode, Sean explains what he is doing to expand access to natural areas for people of all ability levels and how you can get involved.

Sean is the Access Nature Disability Advocate for Pinelands Alliance. He is focused on preserving, restoring, and interpreting natural and historic resources for current and future generations and ensuring everyone in our diverse collective community has a chance to enjoy the magnificence of New Jersey’s great outdoors.

Podcast Links:

Nature Disability Advocacy With Sean Kane-Holland

Nature Disability Advocacy Wit… – The Pine Barrens Podcast – Apple Podcasts

In this video Access Nature Disability Advocate Sean Holland takes the GRIT for a spin on the beach to test what the capabilities of our new mobility assistive equipment is, for our inclusive nature programs.

In this short clip, we follow one of our Pinelands Adventures educational staff Monica, who leads a group of students from Kingsway Learning Center on one of our trial inclusive eco-tours at Atsion Recreation Area.

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.