Jeffrey and MacKenzie with one of their trail chairs
The Pinery Provincial Park in Grand Bend has a variety of services available to visitors with accessibility requirements this summer – including an all-terrain wheelchair.
Discovery & Resource Management Supervisor with the Pinery Alistair MacKenzie says that making the park accessible to everyone is an ongoing effort,
He says that making the parks a place for everyone is something that is extremely important to them,
A beach wheelchair makes sandy areas a place for everyone
One service that they wish more people knew about, is the all terrain wheelchairs they have for visitors to borrow. The Pinery has both trail and beach chairs that can be used by visitors to enjoy areas of the park that are not accessible using a traditional wheelchair.
The existing chairs were purchased through the assistance of Friends of the Pinery, who work to assist the park in applying for grants, and drumming up fundraising through community partners.
MacKenzie says that he hopes the program will gain some popularity, necessitating the purchase of additional chairs,
Another option that they offer is their accessible boat launch, a service that Gayle Jeffrey, of Friends of the Pinery says that it is extremely popular,
When the park said they saw a need for the boat launch, Jeffrey says that the Friends of the Pinery made it happen,
MacKenzie says that the work to make the park a place for everyone to enjoy is never finished,
One of the Pinery’s accessible paths
For more information about their accessible services, you can always contact the park directly – they can be found online at ontarioparks.com/park/pinery
Written by: B. Shakyaver