Two women, one standing ad one in a wheelchair, make their way along a wooded path.
Disability rights advocate Judith Heumann, right, enjoys time in the outdoors with a friend. (Courtesy photo)

In honor of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, celebrated annually on Dec. 3, NatureTrack Film Festival’s award-winning documentary “The Accessible Outdoors,” was released and is now available to the public for free on Vimeo. It’s the organization’s holiday gift to the community.

The short film (running time is 15 minutes) was directed by Mitchka Saberi and Francisco Lopez, and executive produced by NatureTrack’s founder Sue Eisaguirre. It made the rounds to more than two-dozen festivals where it picked up several awards. 

“The Accessible Outdoors” highlights the importance of access to nature for people with disabilities and how important nature appreciation is in general. It features interviews with various disability activists and wheelchair users.

It also shows the Freedom Trax device for wheelchair users who long to be close to nature. Eisaguirre had asked NatureTrack’s development consultant to research a way to get docent Steve Schultz, a wheelchair user, safely on the beach or a trail under his own power, which was the spark for the film’s creation.

Now NatureTrack has multiple devices and makes them available for free to anyone using a wheelchair. Families can reserve a Freedom Trax for beach outings, or in local parks where terrain can be uneven. The devices are available to nonprofits that are also promoting the value of nature in our lives.  

“This past year, NatureTrack Foundation has expanded its outdoor field trips to be accessible to wheelchair users, and we’ve met so many wonderful people along the way,” said Eisaguirre. “Access to nature is a universal right, which includes our community members with disabilities.

“Getting out onto the beautiful trails and beaches in California should be accessible to everyone as part of their everyday life,”

She was able to get 10 devices, thanks to private donors and grants from the county of Santa Barbara and the state of California’s “Route to the Parks” push for more accessibility.  

To see the video and share it, visit https://vimeo.com/634811616.