Accessible Birding

For the ‘Hard of Walking’

While some nature reserves are sensitive to the needs of some disabled people many are either inaccessible or only address some mobility or other disability issues. Very few have thought through the needs of all disabled birders. Moreover, there is still a tendency to make the assumption that disability access and wheelchair access are one and the same.

Clearly there is a need to make hides and paths accessible to people who use wheelchairs… indeed it would be a great start, but this would still not help many people whose mobility is limited, nor those who have problems with sight, hearing etc. Until quite recently no organisation existed to focus on these problems and bring some pressure and information to bear.

I have a vested interest having suffered from arthritis for 60 years. A condition that always makes walking a problem and can, at times, very severely limit the distance I can walk. A little thought at many reserves, parks and other public spaces would make a huge difference to me and, obviously, a great many other people.

The needs of the wild world must come first of course, but that aside, a little effort could make many places much more accessible than they are, to very many more, indeed the majority of, people. Such improved physical access needs to be combined with greater sensitivity by all birders to those with special needs. The last thing any disabled person wants is to feel singled out for special treatment. I know of one birder who has great pain when walking who does not take advantage of a policy at a RSPB reserve which would make his birding a much more comfortable experience. He could drive the mile between the car park and the first hide – he does not do so because he prefers the pain to the other options, which are the accusing and disapproving looks of birders who walk the mile, or the patronising smiles of most of those few who realise that it is not idleness but disability that allows someone to drive there.

Our society, particularly the commercial part of it, tends to cater for the average rather than the range of people who make it up. Such narrow perspectives make life difficult for the majority not just minorities. For example, the majority of people would benefit from ramps and wide door access into public buildings, but the average person can cope with steps and a narrow entry.

Not all birds are Lesser Roadrunners – ©Dubi Shapiro

The majority is made up of disabled people, overweight people, elderly people, young people, pram pushing parents etc. Why is it that the tall, able-bodied, slim male has everything designed for him? Could it simply be because he is most often the designer! Even now a majority of reserve staff are fit young men who are unaware of how the provision they make matches their own physique. It is some help that more able-bodied women are now reserve wardens, simply as that means that a range of heights gets better catered for.

So, disability access is an issue that calls for societal change. Society and its provision is the problem, not the person with a hearing aid, wheelchair, crutches, walking aid or a white stick. After all, if we settled for the average provision in all things most of us would look bizarre; wearing size 12 dresses and size 6 shoes, and this would be the men as well!

(Incidentally, even dress makers are behind the trend always offering more size 10 or 12 than all the rest put together whereas the average British woman is a size 14!)

Our watchwords are ‘Barrier Free Access’ and ‘Diversity’. The fact is that good design is no more or less expensive than poor design and good design allows more use of provision. Moreover, there is NOTHING that improves access to people with mobility issues, that makes access worse for fully able-bodied people!

Birding For All (see above) was set up to combat poor attitudes and provision across the board. It exists to encourage everyone to think about what can be achieved with sensitivity and good design, often for the same money as current provision, if it is thought about at the outset. It is not just about reserve paths and the design of hides and their access. Optics manufacturers need to think more about spectacle wearers, tour companies need to think about whether the hotels they use offer accessible facilities for people who need to use wheelchairs, the list goes on.

Consider, for example, (and it is a real example) the reserve manager who has laid level paths with even dry surfaces so that wheelchair users can get around and has then fitted a narrow kissing gate at the beginning of the path!

Consider that too the many hides up and down the country that have a ramp up to them but no viewing slot at a suitable height for someone using a wheelchair, let alone different height viewing slots and benches for us diverse users.

Consider, above all, the terrible standard design of hides that cause the majority of people to come away with a crick in the neck or aching back because the average has been applied to the height of viewing slots and benches rather than a range of heights.

Consider this; a baby may weigh six pounds. An adult could easily weigh 200 pounds. Would it be sensible to offer them both the ‘average’ sized pants? One size does NOT fit all! It’s just a lazy formula that suits few.

I urge everyone, disabled or able bodied to visit the Birding For All website and join up (for free). US users might want to visit the BirdAbility website and support the cause that side of the Atlantic. After all, few birders will remain as mobile in their sixties and seventies as they were in their twenties and thirties. Most of us age, get sick, have accidents or have children, our needs change throughout our lives so making provision accessible for all will help every one of us!

Help make birding truly accessible to all.

Bo Beolens – aka The Fat Birder; Founder – Birding For All