Sprawled along the Pacific coastline near San Francisco, Golden Gate National Recreation Area is full of wildflowers, beaches, and old-growth coastal redwoods, shrouded with a thin layer of marine fog that dissipates in sunlight. Visitors fish, hike, camp, and surf, the temperate climate and ocean views providing a boost to their mental and physical health. While different parts of the recreation area have various accommodations for disabled people, such as wheelchair-accessible visitor centers, the 16% of the world’s population that experience a significant disability today still face many barriers to accessing nature and fully participating in outdoor experiences in natural areas around the world. Only around half of the outdoor spaces reviewed by scientists account for some physical disabilities, and other forms of disability are rarely considered, according to a recent study published in the journal People and Nature. A shuttle for individuals needing assistance on Alcatraz Island, part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Image credit: Golden Gate National Recreation Area Accessibility Program Researchers reviewed readily available information on disability accommodations at outdoor spaces designated as Biosphere Reserves by UNESCO. They chose these places in particular because the designation comes with a mandate to foster the relationship between people and nature and serve as models for environmental sustainability. Rather than contacting the Reserves or conducting interviews, the researchers tried to replicate the experience of a person with disability searching for information available online. “I have disability,” said study co-author Sasha Kosanic, a physical geographer at Liverpool John Moores University…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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