Opening Access: Making Conservation Information Available to All

By Mitchell Clark, INLC Volunteer

If you’re a frequent visitor to the Inland Northwest Land Conservancy’s website, you may have noticed something new. Your conservancy has added an accessibility widget to make it easier than ever for everyone to get information on events, conservation efforts, and more.

If you’re unfamiliar, it’s the blue button floating in the bottom righthand corner of the page. Clicking on it will bring up a variety of options that let you change how the website looks and behaves to better match how your vision works, and how you prefer to read. You can make sure the website is optimized for a screen reader, adjust the contrast and colors on the page, and even remove images or animations if you’d rather only interact with text.

According to Jason Clerget, founder of INLC’s web development partner Propaganda Creative, the widget is possible because of new technologies that make it easier and cheaper to implement a wide range of accessibility features. “The fact is that before these innovations, you were looking at anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 to make this happen,” he said. The new tools not only make it affordable, but make it easier for developers to make sure that the site stays accessible, even as new content is added to it.

Clerget says this isn’t the first site Propaganda’s added a similar widget to, and that they’ve received great feedback on it. “We’ve had a lot of people call and say this thing is awesome,” he said. “People have looked at this, and been able to utilize sites in a way that they weren’t able to before.”

It’s vital that our region’s outdoor spaces, and information about them, are accessible to everyone. Robin Redman, a local advocate, points out that there are numerous benefits to outdoor access. “Countless studies have found that outdoor experiences reduce stress, anxiety, ADHD symptoms, obesity, blood pressure, and depression while improving physical fitness and mental health,” she said. “It also provides for often lacking social engagement needs of individuals isolated due to lack of mobility and/or vision. Together, these elements result in improved quality of life.”

However, according to Redman, not everyone has been able to access all of the Inland Northwest’s natural spaces. “It has historically had limited opportunities for adaptive outdoor recreation due to lack of accessible trails, adaptive equipment, and instructors trained in adaptive solutions for individuals with mobility and/or vision-impairments,” she said.

Things have been improving. Organizations like the Spokane Nordic Ski Association, Washington Trails Association, Washington State Parks, Evergreen East, Spokane County, and the City of Spokane have all worked to address accessibility issues at places like John Shields Park, Bear Lake, and Selkirk Lodge in a variety of ways. “It’s exciting to see positive changes happening locally and regionally that address existing barriers to participation in outdoor recreation, providing for inclusion,” said Redman.

There remains work to be done, both by the Conservancy and other agencies. Redman points out that websites have to be compatible with assistive tools, and reliably updated with the information we need to decide whether we can access a natural area, as do trailhead signs. “There’s nothing more frustrating than to have hopes and expectations for a fun outing in nature be waylaid due to something as simple as a fenced or gated entry that doesn’t allow for passage of a wheelchair.”

Part of what’s needed is more awareness about what issues exist. Redman points out a few, such as gates or fences that make trails inaccessible to wheelchair users, and the availability of ADA toilets, shelters, and parking spaces. “As each of us wander in our special natural areas, observe our surrounding through the discerning lens of someone who has limited access. It may be that, in the near future, that person needing accessibility will be you or I,” she said. “Addressing barriers and providing for accessibility during initial land-use planning is beneficial for all.”

Obviously, making your conservancy’s site ADA accessible is only a small step in the journey to make sure that everyone can enjoy the Inland Northwest’s beauty. However, it’s also an important one that makes it easier than ever for anyone to learn about ways to get outside and enjoy nature, and to protect it for years to come.