ACT Parks and Conservation Service wins at the 2019 Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards

ACT Parks and Conservation Service jointly won the Excellence in Innovation, Design and Access award at the 2019 ACT Chief Minister’s Inclusion Awards!

This award recognises an organisation, team or individual who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to accessibility or innovation in design to create greater inclusion for people with disability.

ACT Parks and Conservation Service have demonstrated a strong commitment to providing accessible and inclusive events, activities and locations. The judges were impressed by the range of inclusive initiatives undertaken by the ACT Parks and Conservation Service team. The ParksVR team have been working with partners across the disability and community sectors to create nature based virtual reality (VR) experiences so that the ACT’s parks and reserves are accessible to everyone.

The ACT's first wheelchair accessible barbeques have been installed at Cotter Bend and Pine Island which allow operators to wheel underneath the barbecue to use the cooktop, a wonderful example of inclusive design in everyday facilities. ACT Parks and Conservation have taken an inclusive approach to their work at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve by creating wheelchair accessible pathways throughout the Reserve. They have also purchased a TrailRider (all terrain wheelchair) and celebrated Tidbinbilla opening its doors with an annual open day, providing a range of fun and inclusive activities for everyone.

In awarding the joint winners of this category, the judges considered the variety of contexts and ways inclusion can be progressed in community. The judges recognise that some initiatives are designed for universal benefit where the outcomes are broad reaching to many people across community; and others are designed to meet specific needs with the outcome having a deep impact at an individual level in enabling people to be able to go about their daily lives as independently as possible.