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Description
From the moment we are born until our older age, the environment, in which we live, greatly impacts our health and well-being. People who spend more time in such environments are known to have far better physiological indicators, better mental health and overall, well-being, including lower depression, anxiety and fatigue rates. Green spaces, such as parks and playgrounds, bring people closer together, decrease loneliness and connect local communities.
Project Joined in the park is encouraging usage of public green spaces among the disabled children and their families. Our mission is to empower vulnerable disabled children as well as their parents/caregivers, that they could spend their free time actively outdoors, improving their physical literacy, connecting with their abled peers and be better accepted in a wider community. We are striving for inclusive parks and playgrounds, which would become the place of connectivity and solidarity both among children and their parents/ caregivers.
To achieve our goal, we will be organising and executing numerous activities in the time span of one year. Some will be for empowering children with disabilities (or their guardians), others to raise awareness among decision-makers, planners and open space managers.
Training for decision makers will be organized in collaboration with Chamber of Architecture and Spatial Planning of Slovenia (ZAPS): survey on familiarity with and taking into account the specifics of open space planning for physically challenged children (survey at the beginning and end of the project), workshop "Put yourself in my skin" on a selected inclusive playground, training for more inclusive planning of public space, especially children''s playgrounds - presentation of recommendations and guidelines (as part of ZAPS vocational training).
Summary of project results
The project “Združeni v parku” addressed the problem of inadequate accessibility and organization of public green spaces, particularly playgrounds, for children with disabilities and their families. The goal was to improve the quality of their leisure time and enable greater physical activity and social inclusion within the community.
In Europark and Keršmančev park, we removed six key barriers, improving the accessibility of playgrounds for physically disabled children. A survey showed that families of these children visited the playgrounds more frequently and for longer periods. We were pleasantly surprised by the willingness of the municipal services in Kamnik and Zagorje to collaborate and improve the accessibility and usability of playgrounds. The municipal administrations actively supported the removal of barriers, and some had already been removed, with further improvements planned, including the design of a new school playground in Kamnik based on prepared recommendations.
The project successfully raised awareness among spatial planners about the importance of inclusive design for playgrounds, with a professional training session and workshop that strengthened the knowledge of 80% of the participants.