THE Clontarf-based Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) has teamed up with award-winning garden designer Leonie Cornelius to announce ‘The Great Outdoors’, a wheelchair-accessible show garden for Bloom 2019.
The garden, which features a cabin nestled in the wilderness, aims to create a simple accessible place of wild beauty for wheelchair users.
It is inspired by the organisation’s recent publication, ‘The Great Outdoors, A guide for Accessibility’, which provides guidance on applying accessible design to open up natural beauty spots to all, including trails, parks, beaches and waterways.
Chief executive of the Irish Wheelchair Association, Rosemary Keogh, said Ireland is renowned for its natural beauty, incredible landscapes and breath-taking coastlines.
“But given the nature and locations of the rugged and remote Irish landscape, accessing the great outdoors can present challenges for people with physical disabilities,” said Ms Keogh.
“Our Bloom garden, ‘The Great Outdoors’, is saying that everyone should rightfully be able to immerse themselves in nature, gardens and the wild. It aims to create a simple accessible space that excludes no one and to make the experience of enjoying a beautiful outdoors space the same experience for all people.”
Garden designer Leonie Cornelius said the question of what accessibility means is something she explored deeply while working with the Irish Wheelchair Association.
“I had never consciously realised how easy it is to take the accessibility of our natural spaces for granted,” she said.
“It made me view every step I took, when visiting wild areas such as meadows, forests and hills, in a new light.
I realised that exploring the great outdoors for many people is truly a challenge in accessibility.
“In our garden, a simple cedar structure, open at the front and growing more protected at the back, sits nestled within a wild garden to become a peaceful, inclusive haven.
“The structure design enables wheelchair users comfortable access, with a wide deck entrance and ample room for navigation, turning and companionship.”
The show garden will also collaborate with talented textile artist Sara O’Neill of Eadach designs, who will explore its vision from an artistic perspective, creating some very special fabrics for the cabin’s interior.
The Irish Wheelchair Association, with support from Sport Ireland and the Dormant Accounts Fund, launched ‘The Great Outdoors, A guide for Accessibility’ earlier this year. The publication provides developers and planners with detailed technical and practical advice across a range of environments on how to make Ireland more accessible to everyone.
For more information on the publication, visit www.iwa.ie/greatoutdoors.