Closing the nature gap: A good IDEA for people with disabilities

Despite the many benefits that nature offers, many nature sites are not as accessible or welcoming as they should be. (1–4) In 2020, the restrictions mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a widespread shift to remote work and education. This shift, combined with limitations on travel and public entertainment, prompted a sharp rise in outdoor activities (5). Visits to parks, preserves, and refuges increased dramatically, highlighting issues of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) for minority groups, including people with disabilities.

These changes have raised awareness of barriers to engagement in nature. (3–7) While physical barriers are most recognizable, underrecognized factors also affect access for racial and gender-based minorities and individuals with sensory and cognitive disabilities. In its research and advocacy programs, the Center for American Progress refers to these disparities collectively as “the nature gap.” (1) While acknowledging the importance of public policy, the Center cites education and engagement as fundamental strategies for closing this gap.

During the pandemic, interest increased in birding, an outdoor activity second only to gardening in popularity in North America. Birdability (https://www.birdability.org/), a nonprofit that collaborates with National Audubon Society, is contributing to efforts to close the nature gap. Founded by Virginia Rose, a wheelchair user with spinal cord injury, Birdability relies on interested birders to supply practical information on birding sites to the global crowd-sourced Birdability Map. (8)

Through online resources, contributors learn how to conduct comprehensive Birdability Site Assessment Checklists and upload them to the Birdability Map, providing a source for detailed information for users of different abilities. The Site Assessment Checklist covers locations, facilities, parking, and amenities, as well as the availability of staff and adaptive equipment. Checklist items also address the likelihood of loud noise and crowds, and potential safety issues.

“Too often, a trail described as accessible is not accessible for an individual,” said Cat Fribley, Birdability’s executive director. “The goal of the Birdability Map is to enable birders to make informed decisions about whether a given site is accessible for them.” Citing data from the National Audubon Society, Fribley reports that Birdability Checklists have been submitted for 1,760 sites in 19 countries, and for all 50 states in the US. Google analytics shows robust data for Birdability, which has appeared in 82,000 searches over the past nine months.

In consultation with birders with a variety of access needs, the Birdability Checklist was developed by Freya McGregor, a disabled birder with a clinical background as an occupational therapist in blindness and low-vision services, and Birdability's first staff member. McGregor subsequently began Access Birding LLC (https://accessbirding.com/), which provides consulting and training services for nature organizations striving to welcome all members of the community, particularly those with disabilities. (9,10) She has conducted novel research on adaptive equipment for birding (11) and, as a research associate at Virginia Tech, is involved in National Science Foundation-funded research exploring the intersection of disability, wellness, and birding, and increasing accessibility and inclusion for disabled viewers of wildlife. (12)

McGregor views birding as a therapeutic tool that has far-reaching benefits. “We know that being in nature benefits our health and well-being and fosters social interactions, and community participation (6, 7, 9, 13) – all pluses for people with disabilities,” she noted. “Also, as people engage with nature, they learn more about the environment. That likely means there will be more people who care about the environment and are willing to protect it.” (9,14) Improving accessibility also creates pathways to career and volunteer opportunities in outdoor recreation and conservation. (15) These types of opportunities may help expand job options for the chronically underemployed minority of people with disabilities. (16)

Given the rights of all people to equal access (17–19), the importance of community participation to quality of life, and the many benefits of exposure to nature, equity in environmental engagement needs to be a major goal for agencies, organizations, and local communities.

“We need to remember that the largest minority is people with disabilities, and it is the only minority we may join at any time – temporarily or permanently,” noted McGregor. “Closing the nature gap benefits us all.”