Eales Preserve, PA - Improving Accessibility

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Eales Preserve, PA - Improving Accessibility

Improving Accessibility
In early 2021, avid outdoorsman Scott Wilson set out to visit Eales Preserve—a place he has enjoyed many times over the years—but came up against an obstacle right at the start. An entrance gate installed to deter ATV use on the preserve was making it impassable for people who use wheelchairs or similar mobility equipment. So, Scott—who now uses a wheelchair and is a member of the organization Individual Abilities in Motion (I AM)—reached out to TNC’s Pennsylvania team to see if changes could be made.

That first contact kicked off a working relationship between the two groups to look at how accessibility could be improved at local TNC preserves, with Scott and others from I AM providing firsthand feedback. The first of those changes is a new gate at the Eales preserve that allows wheelchairs, recumbent hand bikes and other mobility equipment to access the trailhead.

“Making places like nature preserves accessible opens up a lot of opportunities for people. It’s important to improve accessibility wherever we can to allow the broadest range of individuals to experience what nature has to offer,” says I AM president Joe Salva. “Just because an individual has a mobility impairment does not mean that they have less desire to enjoy the same places as everyone else does and experience all the beauty this area has to offer.”

I AM focuses on helping people with mobility impairments celebrate and develop their personal abilities so they can more fully engage with the world, making them a perfect partner in making TNC preserves in Pennsylvania and Delaware more accessible for all.

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