Easter Seals Camp Horizon had a lot to celebrate this past week with the recent unveiling of a ‘unique trail-ready wheelchair’ called the Park Explorer.
“It is challenging to get someone with a physical disability out onto a trail, so the Park Explorer opens up so many more places to explore and opportunities for our campers to be a part of,” said Anna Garcia, director of operations at Easter Seals Camp Horizon.
The camp has been the ‘leading provider of outdoor recreation for children and adults with disabilities and special needs’ for 50 years.
The Park Explorer was developed by Alberta Parks’ staff and funded by Vogogo Inc., which has provided the camp with two of the chairs. A Park Explorer ‘allows people with limited mobility to maneuver on rougher terrain.’
Local inventor Christian Bagg and engineering design students from the University of Calgary and SAIT were involved in the development of the project and unveiled the first trail-ready wheelchair Feb. 13 at Fish Creek Environmental Learning Centre in Calgary.
Garcia said the one they just received was designed specifically with their campers in mind, who may be able to control the steering and brakes, but need a little help with the actual momentum.
She described it as being designed ‘almost like a tricycle with three wheels’ and said there can be someone behind the chair pushing it or someone in front where it can be ‘tethered with a tow rope.’
The camp will be receiving a second Park Explorer in a few months when Bagg and the students finish the end of the semester.
Garcia said that Bagg has created different generations of the Park Explorer and there was one that was unveiled at their big fundraising event last year – the Banded Peak Challenge.
“I think what is really amazing about this is he (Bagg) is in a constant state of ‘how do we make it better?’, which is such a unique perspective when it comes to accessibility,” said Garcia. “It is not just that one chair has been designed to help make that experience possible, but that he keeps pushing to make it even better.”
Garcia said that if people wanted to check out the Park Explorer and get involved, they could do so at this year’s Banded Peak Challenge, which will celebrate its 15th year. For more information visit easterseals.ab.ca.
