A newly formed non-profit in Alberta is ensuring the province’s rivers and lakes can be enjoyed by everyone.
Accessible Waters allows people with disabilities to experience the water — a first-of-its-kind inclusive recreation option in the province
“(It’s) meant to provide an opportunity for people of all sorts of mobility limitations and physical disabilities to access the waters, lakes and rivers of Alberta,” said Sarah Pollock with Accessible Waters.
The wheelchair-accessible boat hit the water in June. It’s been completely retrofitted for those with mobility limitations in mind.
“It was important for us to do this — that we do it the right way,” said Accessible Waters captain Butch Pollock.
“We had to do a lot of leg work and a lot of stuff through proper insurance to be able to offer this service.”
As a family, the Pollocks have always enjoyed being out on the water but realized many don’t have access to that privilege.
“Seeing all these people that are doing all these wonderful things on the waterways — floating, canoeing, kayaking, other people going on boats — and there’s part of the community that doesn’t even get a chance to get close to the water,” Butch said.
Before launching, they researched how a service like this would be received.
“The response was huge,” Sarah said.
“Everyone said there was hardly any accessible recreation and people really wanted it.”
Accessible Waters has hosted about 12 tours so far, mostly exploring the North Saskatchewan River.
“(It’s) kind of dear to our heart and it’s been very overwhelming, the response we’ve been getting,” Butch said.
The Pollocks said they are learning as they go and thinking of ways to expand the experience in the future.
“We’re thinking of package options — being able to take people out to a river if they have the means to go on a picnic or heading into the city or a small fishing trip,” Sarah said.
‘It was fantastic’
Marla Smith and her service dog Kuno have done a couple of tours of the river with Accessible Waters.
“You don’t get opportunities like this a lot when you’re in a wheelchair,” Smith explained.
“Adaptive recreation is really often expensive, it’s inaccessible, hard to get to — not something that’s easy to find in the disabled community as a whole.”
She said being on the water is an incredible feeling.
“The feeling of the wind in your face — you can feel the water move under you — it doesn’t feel like you’re in a wheelchair,” Smith explained.
“(Kuno) never gets to have his nose in the wind, the ears flapping, because even in a vehicle he has to be crated.”
Smith said it’s nice to have accessible recreation options outdoors.
“It’s fantastic that we have this — even for accessible tourism,” she said.