Achieving ADA Accessiblity at Camp Fire Wilani

[Music] In response to 2020's disruption and programming, the Outdoor School Program created two grants which allowed outdoor school sites and providers to focus on equity work and how it shows up in their programming and/or the physical design of their site. Camp Fire Alani is one of our grant recipients. Camp Fire Alani is so excited about these grant funds because we were able to update this property that we've been living and working on since 1960. It was grandfathered in with not a lot of ADA accessibility, and thanks to these grant funds, we've been able to convert our major bathhouse with the pool and hot showers and toilets and sinks to make it 100% ADA accessible with brand new concrete pads, wide doors, and an appropriately graded pathway to make sure that differently-abled people, folks of all abilities, all of our students can enjoy their time here at camp.

Being able to make these adjustments for kids with different mobility levels is helping us to think long term about how we can be constantly examining our program through different lenses, whether those lenses are cultural, or around ability, or around background, around mental health. How can we constantly be looking at ways to create inclusivity on multiple levels? And I'm just really looking forward to taking us to a place that we never thought we could be. Camp Fire Alani is so excited to be able to say yes to any community member, any student who wants to access our programs. And to have a school call me and say, "We have a student with limited mobility who's in a wheelchair," to be able to now have the adventure on hand and say, "Yes, you can come." It was so exciting this year when we got to bring Scarlett down our long, steep steps all the way down to the canoe area, and to see her laughing and smiling and being in a canoe because of the adventure, was so amazing. To be able to see every child to be able to potentially have access here is just... it changes your life. [Music]