PROJECT OVERVIEW
Connecting to nature, especially outdoors, has well-documented benefits to physical and mental health, social well-being, and cognitive development. Unfortunately, most parks and natural spaces do not consider the needs of children with physical and intellectual disabilities and children with different sensory needs. Over the last year, the Parks Conservancy led a meaningful, inclusive, and accessible community engagement process to solicit feedback from individuals with disabilities, caregivers, teachers, and dozens of Pittsburgh-based organizations serving children with disabilities on the design of a welcoming and accessible trail and outdoor discovery space at the Frick Environmental Center.
This space is currently inaccessible and unreachable for wheelchair users and others with mobility challenges. The feedback collected during the community engagement process has been synthesized and incorporated into the design of an Outdoor Discovery Space and Sensory Nature Trail, which will become a first-of-its-kind space in a public park in Pittsburgh.
Encompassing three acres immediately adjacent to the Frick Environmental Center, the site will feature an accessible 1/3-mile trail that will wind through the woodlands and discovery stations along the way that encourage visitors to pause and participate in activities that promote nature-based learning and engage the senses. Gathering spots will allow visitors to the site to rest, reflect, and reap the benefits of time outdoors.
The site will allow the Parks Conservancy to forge partnerships with new organizations and schools and develop new environmental education programs that consider the needs of learners with exceptionalities and disabilities. Fundraising for the long-term care and programming of the space is ongoing.
Construction is scheduled to take place from summer through fall 2024.
This project is funded in part by an allocation from the City of Pittsburgh's Parks Tax Trust Fund.
