Category: State News

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.

In this video members of the Adult Program from Kingsway Learning Center in Moorsetwon, NJ participate in Field Day at Rancocas Creek Farm to learn garden skills and build on community engagement.

This video features a short interview with Ivette is the founder and CEO of Allies In Caring, Inc., a Hammonton-based nonprofit organization providing mental health counseling and educational services to Latino, deaf and other undeserved populations. As a Mexican-born child of deaf parents, Guillermo-McGahee has a deep understanding of the abilities and strengths in people rather than their deficits or illnesses. Ivette is also on the Board of Trustees at the Pinelands Preservation Alliance.

Check out this video and hear from advocates on the need for accessible nature sites and the criteria needed for creating and promoting these areas to the public. In this video, volunteers are evaluating the Blue Trail at Evesham Townships Black Run Preserve for accessibility for all persons.