Assuring the access to nature education and nature experience for impaired people

The Gesäuse National Park is a beautiful natural landscape. Three visitor centres (Admont Information Office, Weidendom adventure centre and Gstatterboden National Park Pavilion) are barrier-free, as well as the "Lettmair Au" theme trail and the barrier-free Leierweg hiking trail. Many offers are available for both individual visitors and groups, so that people with limited mobility can also enjoy a special natural experience in the Gesäuse National Park. You will find a specially marked disabled car park right next to the Weidendom.

For more information please visit https://www.nationalpark.co.at/de/naturerlebnis/barrierefrei (in German).

In Austria the Naturpark Kaunergrat in Tyrol serves as a good-practice-example for barrier-free facilities. Especially for people with motor impairments a variety of offers is provided. It is possible to rent useful equipment such as handbikes, monoskis and cross country ski sleighs. To reach more elevated beautiful spots like Gepatschhaus, Falkaunsalm or Aifneralm, Swiss Tracs (motor assistance for wheelchairs to be able to go up steep slopes) are available as well. The bog and natural monument Piller Moor may be explored on a 700 m long wooden boardwalk, which is designed as an educational walk with information displays.

Close to the nature park center Naturparkhaus Kaunergrat the viewing platform Gacher Blick is located and may be reached with a wheelchair as well. Another viewing point, the Adlerblick, provides spectacular views of the valley of Kaunertal and many mountains higher than 3.000 m. The platform is located on a 100 m high rock face, a wide gravel path leads up there. Nevertheless an electrical wheelchair or a Swiss Trac is necessary.

Swiss Trac users can go up to the restaurant Bergrestaurant Sattelklause, which is located at 1.900 m. Alternatively visitors can take the 4-seat-chairlift, whereby it is possible to bring Swiss Trac, wheelchair or pram. Close to the restaurant you can find an educational trail about the native fauna, which is easily accessible. To go down to the valley it is possible to use mountain carts – this also applies to wheelchair-users!

Kaunergrat has a playground called Bach am Moos that is accessible for children with motor impairments and also accessible for wheelchair-users.

The glacier region Kaunertaler Gletscher has been known and appreciated as a skiing area by people with motor impairments for years, as it is possible to reach the cable car, lifts and ski slopes from the car park with disabled parking without barriers. They have wide slopes suitable for monoskis and barrier-free bathrooms at the accessible restaurant Weißsee. Since this season the skiing area has implemented special lanes for monoskiers at the lift stations. Furthermore the staff at the lifts and the skiing instructors are trained to work with people with motor impairments. Other nice options are the four cross country skiing tracks that are accessible for wheelchair-users and may be used with sleighs which one could also rent on site.

There are several barrier-free accommodations available in the nature park, e. g. the hotel Weißseespitze. It offers 30 rooms that are even suitable for paraplegic people.

A very useful tool for planning and making excursions is the “Rolli Roadbook” (“Rolli” is a German colloquial term for “wheelchair”) for the region Terra Raetica, which includes the Naturpark Kaunergrat. It contains information about the accessible routes and Swisstrac tours like starting and end point (including height and distance), difficulty, condition of the tracks, duration and a contact number for further questions. Furthermore there is a detailed description of the routes, pictures and maps. The routes have been tested by wheelchair-users.

More information under: www.kaunertal.com/de/Ihr-Kaunertal/Barrierefrei (in German and English).

All people should be able to experience the natural treasures of a national park – this was the idea in the Eifel. The national park gates (entrance portals) are the ideal starting points for a visit. Those are information points, which also offer various exhibitions on the themes of the Eifel National Park. The national park gate Gemünd is one of five facilities of this kind. All exhibits here are provided with Braille. The control panel of the diorama is equipped with Braille as well.

The barrier-free nature experience space “Wilder Kermeter” allows access to nature without obstacles. The stations for wildlife observation and guided hikes address people with disabilities in general. The "Kermeter" (mountain ridge between Gmünd and Heimbach) forms the ecological heart of the national park. There, visitors stroll through mixed forests of copper beeches, which develop back into second-hand wilderness without human intervention.

In addition to a barrier-free network of trails, the barrier-free nature experience area includes vantage points, fascinating panoramic views of the lake landscape and the nature discovery trail "Der Wilde Weg". There, ten mostly interactive stations along the 1.5 km long trail provide information about wilderness, forest development and biological diversity in the Eifel National Park.

There is a bench about every 250 meters. Additional sensory couches have been set up at four locations. Here, visitors can enjoy the view into the treetops, listen to the sounds of nature or simply relax. At the Kermeter rest area, the Hirschley vantage point and the Wilden Weg research station, tables are also available for resting.

Visually impaired hikers are being completely guided by tactile systems through the area. They also find a paved guidance system at important points. The vegetation edge can be felt along the path and serves as a guide strip. The only exception is the wooden footbridge at the beginning of the Wild Path. A continuous handrail enables orientation there. At locations of benches and signs, attention fields run across the path. At crossroads, there are guiding strips. All information in the Wild Kermeter is available in raised capital letters and Braille or acoustically. A leaflet on the Wild Path is also available free of charge in Braille.

The exhibition “Wildnis(t)räume” (German for wilderness areas, wilderness dreams) can be experienced by everyone with all senses. More than 50 touch installations invite the visitors to touch. Scents can be sniffed out and over 30 loudspeakers give an idea of the "Sound of Nature". There is plenty of seating options and enough space for a wheelchair or pram. A tactile guidance system shows the way and all information is available in many different ways: in easy language, raised script and Braille. All texts and graphic representations have sufficient contrast sharpness. Media guides that can be lent free of charge offer an audio description and translation into German sign language. Mobile sound amplifiers are available. Tactile overview plans help with spatial orientation.

A tactile guidance system leads also from the nearby bus stop (distance approx. 220 meters) to the visitor centre.

The exhibition is part of the "Forum Vogelsang IP" and can be reached via a visitor centre with sales counter and shop. There are several sign posted parking spaces about 170 meters away. Within the visitor centre, seating is available everywhere.

Barrier-free sanitary rooms are located in the visitor centre, in the exhibition "Wildnis(t)räume" and in the nearby gastronomy.

At the counter of the visitor centre and in the exhibition, trained staff is available to provide personal assistance and answer questions. Buy booking in advance by telephone, arrangement of an individual assistant as well as provision of a rental wheelchair is possible.

Rangers and forest guides regularly attend advanced training courses on the subject of accessibility. They are trained in making guided tours attractive for people with and without disabilities.

For more information please visit https://www.nationalpark-eifel.de/de/nationalpark-erleben/barrierefrei-unterwegs/ (in German).

Wonderful nature experience is possible in the Müritz National Park. In order to make this accessible for blind and visually impaired nature lovers, special guided tours are offered from various starting points in the park. Those include a bat tour, a birdcall hike or a guided hike to observe and listen to the cranes and deer in autumn.

The tours are coordinated by the Hohenzieritz Nationalpark Authority. Here, visitors can also obtain further information.

On the ground floor of the Boek manor, the permanent exhibition "Die Fischer von Boek" (The Fishermen of Boek) has been placed. It offers the opportunity to touch a lot of the exhibits. An audio guide including additional descriptions suitable for the blind can be lent. Visiting the exhibition „Im Reich der Buchen“ (German for: In the kingdom of beech trees) can be also recommended for blind and visually impaired persons.

At the manor, there is also a relief board where the hiking trails through the Müritz-Nationalpark are depicted. Additional Information can be found in the audio guide. There are Braille brochures available describing the offers for guided hikes through the national park. Next door to the manor, a restaurant invites visitors to linger and offers menus in Braille.

The outdoor area offers the possibility to explore the floor plan of the manor house with a colourfully designed tactile model.[1]

The 3.5 km long nature experience trail „SpurenWeg“ is accessible for blind and visually impaired people too. This trail is more than a forest trail, as it is full of memories of earlier times. In the course of the trail, visitors will recognise the landscape as an interplay of human culture and wild nature. At the various stations, visitors find information also in Braille. An accompanying booklet to the SpurenWeg in Braille can be lent.

More information can be found here: https://www.mecklenburgische-seenplatte.de/barrierefreier-tourismus/mueritz-nationalpark (in German).

Whether guided tours in sign language, barrier-free construction measures or online offers in easy language - the Black Forest National Park is aware of its role as a co-creator of a barrier-free society and takes it very seriously. This commitment is honoured by Lebenshilfe Offenburg-Oberkirch: the association awarded the National Park team the title "unhindered with each other”.

In the future, the National Park will continue to intensify its efforts to reduce barriers - both with regard to minor details, such as the selection of the annual programme events, and milestones, such as the planning of the infrastructure.

Currently, a new barrier free visitor center is being build.

More information under https://www.nationalpark-schwarzwald.de/de/erleben/barrierefrei-unterwegs/ (in German).

Contact: info@mahp.de

The Balaton Uplands National Park was established in 1997. It is located on the northern shoreline of Lake Balaton. The area of the national park is about 57.000 hectares, which consists of six landscape protection areas, e.g. the Kis-Balaton and Tihany Peninsula.

Improving accessibility for impaired visitors is an important priority for the national park. It dedicates special attention to adapt nature trails and visitor centres to different needs. The nature trails in the Balaton Uplands National Park introduce the most beautiful and the most diverse nature formations of the area. The nature trails are located in a relatively small area, but there are large differences in height level. Therefore, only certain sections of the trails can be visited by people with reduced mobility and wheelchair users. Guided tours are available for disabled people with different needs on these nature trails. Upon request separate guide may be provided.

The surrounding of the Belső-tó (“Inner Lake”) in Tihany is one of the most preferred areas to visit, because it is easy to be accessed and walked around even by individually. People are visiting the Belső-tó to learn about the water ecosystem. They also can observe gray cattle and ground-squirrel on the lake side. The rocks in the Kali Basin are accessible for impaired people too. The sandy sandstone outcrops can be found in several places along the roads. Touching different surfaces can provide an exciting experience.

In general the visitor centres of the Balaton Uplands National Park can be visited by people with reduced mobility. The toilets are barrier-free. Most of the exhibitions are interactive; thereby visitors can sense and touch the exhibited objects (for example the “Feel the rocks” game in the Lake Cave in Tapolca). The videos, displayed in the movie rooms have subtitles. Many visitor centres offers special programmes and workshops for interested visitors. The soup-ball making workshops, organised by the Lavender House in Tihany, is often attended by impaired people.

The website of the national park provides information on the nature trails, visitor centres and accommodation facilities for people interested in exploring the natural values of the area: http://www.bfnp.hu/en (in English, German, and Hungarian).

In the south-east Poland, there is a mountainous region called Bieszczady, seen as unavailable and the most wild of all mountain ranges in Poland. In recent years the Bieszczady region has become more and more open to host disabled visitors. Accomodation facilities suitable for people with all kinds of disabilities are on the rise, some resorts offer rehabilitation and hippotherapy.

Local tourist attraction - narrow-gauge railway is available for disabled people, train has special carriage adapted to transporting wheelchairs, toilets on the first and the last station are barrier-free. Solina Lake is one of the biggest attractions of the region, small passenger ship “Bryza” offers cruises for wheelchair users. Couple of mountain trails are ready for hikers with motor or sight impairments, those trails have paved surfaces, railings on the sides, wooden platforms above moors and bogs. In the village Uherce Mineralne, disabled tourists can experience a unique local attraction - bicycle trolleys (Bieszczadzkie Drezyny Rowerowe). Whole region is full of barrier-free museums, heritage parks and restaurants. Furthermore, a compact botanical garden without barriers was created in Wołosate village, it shows the region's most important plant species, including recreated in miniature polonynas of Bieszczady Mountains. Local action group Grupa Bieszczady operates in the wide area, members of this group offer guided tours for disabled people and seniors, where the programme is tailored individually, and nature photography courses for wheelchair users.

Webpage for more information (only in Polish) www.grupabieszczady.pl

Karkonosze is one of the most famous and most visited ranges of the Sudety Mountains, which are located in SW Poland. The most valuable areas are protected within the Karkonosze National Park, which extends across Poland and the Czech Republic. National Park Directorates from both countries, in cooperation with regional institutions, implement projects Karkonosze for everyone and Karkonosze without barriers - to make mountains accessible for people with disabilities. There are several routes available for wheelchair users in the valleys and some in high mountains, where assistance of an accompanying person is needed. The routes are properly marked in the field. Detailed brochure is available on the National Park’s website, describing specific routes suitable for people in wheelchairs, the elderly or families with young children.

For more information in English please visit www.krnap.cz/en

The Wigry National Park is an area dominated by lakes, their vast diversity is one of the greatest landscape valours of the Park. It is a beautiful and unique place, wonderfully adapted for people with disabilities. Park Headquarters is a barrier-free building, next to which there is an electric wheelchair charging station. Inside, you can visit accessible and friendly exhibition, adapted to the needs of the blind (descriptions in Braille, audio notes, tactile exhibits, guidance system) and the mobility impaired (driveways, information boards at the appropriate height). Similar arrangements can be found in the Wigry Museum in the village called Stary Folwark. Due to the small differences in altitude in the Wigry National Park, as many as 82.5 km of routes adapted for disabled people have been designated, including the educational trail called Lakes. Additionally, several viewing platforms and decks are available for wheelchair users, from which beautiful views of the surrounding lakes and forests can be seen.

For more information (Polish and English) please visit www.wigry.org.pl

Here, the visitors can find accessible Wildlife Trusts reserves:

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/visit/accessible-nature-reserves

With a total length of 1,400 metres and a height of up to 21 metres, the low-barrier treetop path winds through the mixed mountain forest at the top of the Grünberg passing numerous educational and adventure stations: https://www.baumwipfelpfade.at/salzkammergut/

The barrier-free 21-metre high panorama tower Wurbauerkogel in the National Park Kalkalpen, Austria, offers a breathtaking view. 21 "two-thousanders" can be seen by a clear view: Dead mountains, Sengsen mountains and Haller Mauern almost ready to touch: more information here.

The park is designed to be as barrier-free as possible.

The grounds have a handicapped accessible, gradient free path system and several barrier free sanitary facilities. In addition to the classic "barrier-free elements", such as ground-level entrances, automatic doors with sensors, currently four handicapped accessible sanitary facilities and largely step-free terrain - the observation tower can be reached up to the 1st level with wheelchairs, handcart and pram - the planners of the park and its buildings have always paid attention to the aspect of "experience for 100 % of the guests".

The cooperation with corresponding associations of people with motor impairments as well as visually impaired has also contributed to the fact that the Park of Gardens is considered to be a "best practice example" in East Frisia. This can be experienced in various elements like the "Impressions Landscape" with its "Fountain for the Blind", the visually impaired signposting and many tactile elements, but also by offering the free hire of walking frames, wheelchairs and hand carts. For example, brochures in Braille are handed out to guests at the cash desk.

Detailed information is also available for:

• People with hearing impairment
• Deaf people
• Allergy sufferers and people with food intolerances
• Garden webpage is available in easy-to-read

A new exhibition with 650 bird preparations and lots of information and experiences about the local bird world is the new highlight in the park of the gardens Bad Zwischenahn. In cooperation with grauwert, attention has been paid to the needs of a wide range of target groups in order to realise accessibility as an attractive design for everyone. This is because the chosen financing and support programme required final certification of accessibility in accordance with the criteria of the Travel for All seal. To this end, grauwert continuously coordinated with architects and exhibition designers: Not only to ensure access to rooms and showcases with walkers or wheelchairs. Just as much importance was attached to offering exciting experiences to visitors with sensory disabilities: Interactive stations, clutches to touch and bird calls to listen to.
grauwert also made it possible to dispense with a deficit-oriented design in all details - as a result, visitors perceive the exhibition as comfortable and attractive.

More information under https://www.park-der-gaerten.de/en.html (in English and German).

On a tour with 42 panels - 30 of them with extraordinary, highly detailed photos and 12 inclusive panels with tactile elements and an art object - the exhibition "Railbreaking Nature" encourages visitors to discover urban nature. The exhibition was created on the former railway site in the Schöneberger Südgelände nature park in Berlin, Germany. There are special offers for people with visual impairments.

Click here for audio descriptions of the tours in German.

Information from the DBSV (barrier-free, in German): here.

A video in German about the exhibition is available on YouTube here.

The Herb Valley is an exhibition park and educational centre, located at Zánka. The aim of the park is to introduce the herbal flora of the Balaton Uplands in an interactive and experience-focused manner.

The exhibition park provides interesting and attractive entertainment for visitors. It offers various programmes and services for tourists, families, school groups, advocates of sustainability, alternative practitioners or herbalists.

In the Balaton Uplands, herbs are picked by hands, carefully selected, and processed by traditional methods. The interested visitors can also participate in the collection of herbs, and in the herbal processing manufactory they can see how herbs get processed (drying, distillation and the production of natural products). In the movie-room, visitors can see various films about herbs and their utilisation. At the tea shop, special herbal teas and syrups can be tasted. The aquatic garden, the sensory garden and the relaxation grass are designed to further enrich visitor experience.

The Herb Valley dedicates high attention to welcome disabled people among its visitors. The park was designed to be barrier-free. The exhibition centre and the garden can be accessed by wheelchair-users as well, there are ramps for the easier access. The toilets are barrier-free. In the sensory garden, the herbs are planted in raced beds, thereby it is easier for impaired people to touch and smell the plants. It is also planned to use pictograms to provide information on the herbs and their impacts.

The Herb Valley offers special programmes for impaired people, which includes e. g. introducing spices and other aromatic plants in the interactive smell-store, the sensory garden to touch plants and crumbling dry plants as well as tasting fresh plants and teas.

For more information please visit https://architizer.com/projects/herb-valley-centre-zanka/ (in English).

Sensory Garden is a part of an Arboretum in Bolestraszyce (SE Poland). The Garden is designed primarily for people with motor disabilities, sight problems and for elderly, it can be perceived with all senses. All visitors can admire and experience the beauty and diversity of plants, while moving along wide, gently meandering paths. Even though it is not a wildlife reserve, there are a couple of thousands species presented in the Arboretum, including Polish native plants which are rare and become extinct. The information boards are written in big font and in Braille. There are a lot of places to rest while touring, like benches. Plants with specific scent or facture are planted in raised garden beds, to be easily accessible for people on wheelchairs to smell and touch.

More informtion (only in Polish) bolestraszyce.com.pl/informacje-ogolne/ogrod-sensualny

Silesian Park in Chorzów is adapted to the needs and abilities of people with all kinds of impairments. The infrastructure is being adapted via the Park without barriers project. Every year, the Silesian Park Foundation organizes the Silesian Integration Picnic for Disabled People, as well as walks, workshops and meetings with disabled people and seniors in Silesian Park.

Webpage in English: www.en.parkslaski.pl

The Toruń Zoobotanical Garden is fully accessible for the blind and visually impaired people. Pavilions, such as the herpetarium and aviary, are equipped with audio information stands. All boards with descriptions of species are reachable by hand, written in Braille, some have raised drawings.Classes for blind children and adults are conducted in the Garden, where participants receive educational materials adapted to their needs. The Garden also runs a hortitherapy (garden therapy) program for people with intellectual disabilities to improve their social skills.

For more information in English please visit zoo.torun.pl/en

Moving the wheelchair on the sand is a real challenge. Baltic beaches in Gdańsk are adapted and prepared to welcome disabled people. A lot of beach entries have wooden platforms which help to easily get to the beach. In some entries, there is a possibility to rent an Amphibious - a light vehicle with wide wheels, which you can easily move on the sand, and also take a dip in the sea in it. The beaches of the Baltic Sea are not only known as a great tourist destination, but also for interesting natural dunes or species of crustaceans and birds not found anywhere else in the country.

More details (only in Polish) here: www.niepelnosprawni.pl/ledge

In order to enable all citizens to have contact with nature, universal rules have been developed in Spain regarding the accessibility of public parks and city gardens for people with disabilities. They are being implemented in some larger Spanish cities. The guidelines are developed in eight categories. They indicate, among other things, ways of simple space design and appropriate adaptation of paths (width, stops, lack of stairs). The rules talk about the types of information that should be found in parks and about information accessibility for people with various disabilities (height of the inscriptions, appropriate language). Architects of green spaces are encouraged to incorporate into the park such spatial elements that affect all the senses, e.g. fragrant plants, rushing water, substrates with a different structure or appropriately composed contrasting colored plants. Another important element of any urban green space is street furniture - benches made with smooth materials should stand out from the surroundings, manholes must be completely leveled with the ground.
Similar accessibility rules are developed for Spanish national parks.

For more information, you can download an article from "Temas para la educacion" (only in Spanish) here: www.feandalucia.ccoo.es/docu/p5sd6125.pdf

Excursion tours, panoramic routes, circular hiking trails: selected wheelchair-accessible hiking tours make the powerful mountain world of Tyrol a barrier-free experience: https://www.tirol.at/reisefuehrer/barrierefrei/rolli-wandertouren (in German).

The Nature Garden of Senses is located in Chyrzyn, next to the building of the headquarters of the Ujście Warty National Park. It is designed in the form of interactive games for people with disabilities. The surface of the paths is adapted to wheelchairs, descriptions are in Polish and German, and in Braille. The path consists of 12 stops, including exploring plants with all of your senses, recognizing bird silhouettes based on models, walking on various surfaces (sighted people are blindfolded), or imitating the sounds of nature with simple items.

More information (also in English and German) can be found here: www.pnujsciewarty.gov.pl

The Chiemsee Nature Guides want to make nature an experience for all senses. The pure experience in nature is the central topic of each nature tour. During a guided tour, blind and visually impaired people can feel, hear and smell nature as it is. Also seeing people are given the opportunity to explore nature with all their senses and even in the dark, e.g. during the tour "Bieber am Chiemsee" (German for: Beaver at late Chiemsee).

Furthermore, there is a portable and tactile map of Lake Chiemsee, which can be used to give blind people an idea of the lake and the region. Boat trips at the lake, during which nature guides describe the lake and the region with the help of the tactile map, are a great opportunity to practice inclusion actively and successfully on the subject of nature and culture.

For more information you can visit www.landschaftsfuehrer.com (in German).

Contact: info@landschaftsfuehrer.de

Since 2009, the EUROPARC umbrella organisation of national natural landscapes has been cooperating closely with the German Federal Association Lebenshilfe as part of its volunteers programme. Together they have succeeded in linking 17 national natural landscapes and "neighbouring" Lebenshilfe-offices in order to promote the commitment of people with intellectual disabilities to nature conservation. Initially, the main aim was to create a framework in which people with intellectual disabilities could also exercise their right to civic involvement. The focus was on the volunteers' need to do practical manual work.

Volunteers with learning difficulties receive offers in the form of a seminar in Easy Language. In this way, they can deepen their knowledge of nature, biological diversity and nature conservation. Well-informed and involved, they actively work with other volunteers on nature conservation measures in nature parks and biosphere reserves. In doing so, they consciously contribute to the protection of biological diversity.

With the project "Uninhibitedly committed: People with intellectual disabilities discover, experience and preserve the habitat of water", the cooperation partners are now pursuing a further goal: the need of volunteers to acquire in-depth knowledge, to apply it, to pass it on to others should receive more attention than before.

With this project concept, EUROPARC Deutschland took part in the competition for the German Nature Conservation Prize 2013. It succeeded in receiving the highly coveted prize. The prize money enabled the planned measures to be implemented in 2014 and 2015. The implementation of further measures is planned.

For more information you can visit http://ungehindert-engagiert.de/ (in German).

Making nature accessible and family-friendly - this is the goal of seven partners from the Münsterland region who have joined forces to create nature experience opportunities for all people. The Biological Stations and specially trained nature and landscape guides will be happy to take you on a voyage of discovery through their homeland. Information in German at: www.wegbar.de

The organisation Fundación Global Nature carries out routes with Joëlette and courses to train volunteers in the correct use, maintenance and driving of these chairs. This programme has been developed in 2013 in collaboration with the association "Montaña para Todos". Courses and outings are held in different natural areas. For several years, the project "Nature for all in National Parks" has been organized in Picos de Europa, Monfragüe.

For more information you can visit https://fundacionglobalnature.org/proyectos/naturaleza-para-todos/ (in Spanish).