A wheelchair user with their companion and a family with a child wearing headphones enjoy equal access to nature while feeding the birds and experiencing the open air in a scene picturing a 5 storey building complex surrounded by tranquil countryside and calm water.

Where do I start with accessibility?

If you’re beginning to think about access and inclusion in nature, this stop offers the essential foundations. It introduces the social model of disability and explores how barriers in places, systems and attitudes create exclusion.

You’ll also find guidance on inclusive language and a glossary of key terms to help build confidence and shared understanding within your organisation or team.

Alongside these concepts, this stop offers a clear and practical first step: understanding where you are now. You’ll find tools and guidance to help you carry out an access audit of your nature space, supporting you to identify what’s already working well and where improvements could be made. We’ve also worked with disabled people’s organisation Inclusion Gloucestershire to create a short film that talks you through what an access audit looks like in practice.

Together, these resources are designed to help you build a strong foundation and begin shaping more accessible and welcoming natural spaces.

Part 1: Understanding and learning about disability and mental health

The Social Model of Disability

Scope and the social model

This short video produced by Scope shares how people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or condition.

Language and Identity

Defining Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Key language and definitions to support conversations on equity, diversity and inclusion, produced by the Social Justice Collective.

Download — PDF document (opens in new tab)

Intersectionality

Co‑produced with young people from Peer Power Youth, this resource explores intersectionality and how different elements make up our identities and shape our experiences.

Download — PDF document (opens in new tab)

Part 2: Starting to think about the accessibility of your space or site

Accessibility Explained

What is accessibility?

Accessibility goes far beyond the physical. This video highlights the wide spectrum of access needs and why understanding them benefits us all.

What does accessibility mean to you?

Accessibility will mean different things to different people – hear directly from our Barnwood Circle Members about what it means to them.

Access Audits

What is an access audit?

In this short film produced by Inclusion Gloucestershire, learn all about access audits – what they are, what to expect from doing one and why they are important.

Access audit experiences

Hear from organisations across Gloucestershire about their experiences of undertaking  Access Audits at their sites.

What our Access to Nature partners said about Access Audits

In terms of quick or low cost gains, I’ve found it really helpful to speak to partners in the area who are already doing great things for access. I’ve also found that starting small, with expert-led access audits, ready made accessible furniture and lower cost interventions can still have a massive impact both for visitors and our longer term aims for accessibility.

Max Biddlestone, National Trust

Working with young participants who are experts by lived experience is incredibly rewarding and informative. They allow you to see the world through fresh eyes, take on new learning and understanding, and maximise the potential for everyone in our community to thrive. Our organisation is more inclusive, resilient and welcoming as a result. A greater number of young people can now access the outdoors.

Ros Marsden, Creative Sustainability

We continuously assess accessibility and inclusion at our site through a range of different methods and are very grateful to all our stakeholders who help us with this. Our most recent access audit with Inclusion Gloucestershire has been an important part of this. They worked with us to ensure the analysis covered every element of the visitor journey and through the lens of a wide variety of people. The report and summary document they produced allowed us to create action plans that are still ‘live’ documents years later to ensure we keep working hard to truly make a difference to people and planet.

Nia Crouch, Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Forestry England
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