Category Archives: Recreation

July 25, 2018 · 6:24 am

We all want to be BEACH BUMS – Sand no longer a barrier on beaches in Nova Scotia

“There’s a healing within coming to a beach and I think everyone across Canada can relate to it,” (Rose Mary MacDonald, IDA’s vice-president).

I’m back in Nova Scotia for the summer and, as always, inspired by the kind of work that happens here. One of the real gifts of the east coast is the beaches – and while they’re beautiful restorative energizing places for many of us – beaches are (still) NOT available to all of us (which is *&$^%#!). But this is changing… On Inverness Beach in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, sand is no longer a barrier for those with mobility challenges.

The Inverness Development Association and the Inverness County Accessibility Committee are working together to make the beach more accessible by investing in some beach-friendly wheelchairs, blue mats leading from the boardwalk to the water’s edge, and some floating chairs.

These blue mats provide a path from the boardwalk to the water’s edge on Inverness Beach, making it easier to walk and push other accessible equipment. (Kayla Hounsell/CBC)

Photo by: Kayla Hounsell/CBC

Christine Hannigan says it will be much easier to get to the beach now. (Kayla Hounsell/CBC)

Two of the beach-friendly wheelchairs, mats that make it easier to walk on the sand and two floating chairs that allow people to go in the water. (Dave Laughlin/CBC)

This equipment is all part of a larger project to make the Inverness Beach fully accessible including ramps and accessible parking spaces and bathrooms to provide the “whole [accessibility] package”. It’s the first beach to do so along Atlantic Canada and I hope it prompts others to do the same – come on lets do this!

Check out the original story covered by CBC Nova Scotia here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/accessible-beach-equipment-arrives-in-inverness-1.4730080

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Filed under Accessibility, Barriers, Design, invention, Mobility Aids, Posts, Projects, Recreation, Wheelchairs

February 21, 2016 · 4:31 pm

“Lego have just rocked our brick- built world!”

In 2013 I wrote a post about personalized prosthetics, where occupational therapist Christina Stephens designed and built her own Lego leg. Lego’s most recent contribution to the toy world is making a huge impact around the globe.

At the end of January, Lego unveiled its first minifigure using a mobility device at the Nuremberg toy fair. The one inch tall plastic figure is a part of a “Fun in the Park” set, which will be available for purchase in June, and is the first of its kind (despite having produced approximately 600 billion Lego pieces to date).

Though only one inch tall, this minifigure sends a commanding message of inclusion and has the power to influence our cultural perceptions, which is why Lego fans, parents, and disability groups are celebrating. It may have taken over 60 years to get here and he’s just a little dude, still this represents something much BIGGER!

Dr. Who, Halloween, and the most awesome wheelchair costumes!

How does all this fit together?

1. It’s the 50th anniversary of Dr. Who! The long running BBC science fiction tv series about the adventures of a time-traveling humanoid alien known as the Doctor. My brother and I seriously loved this show when we were kids – it has great characters and some seriously creative low-tech special effects!

2. Dr. Who travels in this super cool ship – the TARDIS – a time machine that is bigger on the inside than the outside.

The TARDIS used from 2005 to 2010

3. It was Halloween a few weeks ago and I’ve started to notice an awesome trend toward Wheelchair Costumes (what a great idea!). There are lots of great ones out there, but one of my all time favourites is from the UK of Dr. Who and his TARDIS!

From the mind of a dancer comes a new kind of wheelchair

With their body as the joystick, these hands free wheelchairs allow dancers with disabilities to soar –

Dancer Merry Lynn Morris teaching one of her students in the hands free wheelchair – that expression says its all…

The soul of the chair comes from Morris experience with her father who was in a wheelchair. Finding it difficult to get close to him, to hug him, she felt the chair ‘caged in’ her father. Combined with her passion for dance, Morris later began to re-imagine a hands free wheelchair that was more ‘open’ to the world.

The science of this chair – which is controlled by the body – comes from a collaboration with a team of engineers at the University of South California –

The potential of this – of hands free chairs that respond to the body and are designed in a way that facilitates interaction and inclusivity (physically and socially) – blows my mind! Bring it on!

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Filed under Accessibility, Design, Inspirational, invention, Mobility Aids, Personal Stories, Photos, Posts, Projects, Recreation, Videos

Tagged as athletes, design, disability, innovation, mobility, movement, wheelchair

July 24, 2013 · 11:55 am

Portable mats make beaches accessible – about time!

Now here’s a COOL design for those HOT summer days! Mobi-mats are lightweight, durable, portable mats that can be rolled out onto sandy beaches making them accessible to wheelchairs, walkers, canes and strollers.

Mobi-mats in action at Rockaway Beach NYC

These mats are being used on beaches around the world including Rockaway Beach in New York and beaches in Rio de Janeiro.

Recently, Wasaga Beach just outside of Toronto purchased some mobi-mats making their beach one of the most accessible in the province. CBC Metro Morning interviewed town clerk Twyla Nicholson about the town councils decision to purchase the mats, and the impact its having on residents and visitors to the beach.

Simcoe-Grey MP Kellie Leitch pushes Frank Nunnaro, Wasaga Beach resident and Accessibility Advisory Committee member, down the new Mobi-mats towards the water at the ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, July 11, 2013

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Filed under Accessibility, Articles, Design, Inspirational, invention, News, Photos, Posts, Recreation

Tagged as design, innovation, mobility, movement, new york city, Toronto, wheelchair