Indiana State Park Accessibility Assessment Project
Project Description:
The Indiana State Park Accessibility Assessment project will address accessibility to experiences and areas at five Indiana State Parks within the AWS Foundation catchment area of Northeastern Indiana. Funded by the AWS Foundation, the project enables Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands staff to conduct accessibility assessments of pre-identified areas within each park, including on-site evaluation and data collection, followed by an interactive review process. Eppley also provide disability-related training for State Park personnel and develop a visitors guide for persons with disabilities for these five parks.
The project met a need for Indiana State parks to identify and assess accessibility deficiencies and barriers and improve disability awareness and accessibility competencies of state park staff serving the public. The project had a goal of engaging the disabled community in Northeastern IN, and state park knowledgeable experts to identify key experiences that all visitors should have at these five State Parks to ensure these experiences are accessible for all people, regardless of abilities. The project used listening sessions and interviews with key stakeholders to better understand the primary purpose of visiting the parks and key experiences that visitors should or do undertake. Community service providers and clients were invited to participate as well as state park officials and visitor-tourism experts in this geographic area The Eppley Center staff managed all interactive processes, documented findings and authored a report of recommendations for each state park and the AWS Foundation to address accessibility needs at these State Parks.
An unusual feature of the project was an interactive qualitative research process to identify 'key experiences' that should or do occur at each park in order to plan for disabled individuals to enjoy these same key experiences. For the purposes of this project, key park experiences are those park experiences that are "musts" for park visitors in a visit or 'journey' throughout the park. Key park experiences were identified through interview research, listening session research, research of online experience found on social media, identification of park interpretive themes, review of the activities and programs highlighted in park communications, and a review of each park's purpose as identified by Indiana State Park tradition, history and policy. Examples of key experiences include:
1) Learn about the greater ecosystem and preservation of natural and cultural heritage at a park location.
2) Experience and appreciate the water based and nature-oriented recreation opportunities available at each park.
The expected benefits of this project include increased access for all people in Indiana State Parks in the Northeastern part of Indiana, improved awareness of the needs of disabled people in Indiana State Park visitor serving personnel, and targeted improvements to the physical environment at the five Indiana State Parks for improved access.
Keyword(s):
Accessibility in the Outdoors, State Parks, Accessibility Assessment
Core Function(s):
Performing Research or Evaluation, Continuing Education/Community Training
Area of Emphasis
Recreation-Related Activities, Quality of Life
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
None
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Mulit-County
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
