How can we help to make more beaches accessible?
In our last blog, “A rising tide for accessible beaches,” we spoke with Bern Walker of Accessible Beaches Australia about what fully accessible beaches could look like.
Here, Bern tells us more about the work Accessible Beaches Australia is doing to make this a reality.
How does Accessible Beaches Australia work with individuals and local governments to make more beaches accessible, and what has this achieved so far?
When the organisation was first established, there were about six accessible beaches in Australia–now there’s about 165. We help both individuals and local governments with the process of making this happen, from start to finish.
We do a lot of advocacy work with people who’d like to access the beach, but feel they aren’t being listened to or prioritised by their local governments.
So we also work with Councils all over Australia, providing guidance and advice on their journey towards beach accessibility in all different forms. This can involve doing beach accessibility audits, helping with grant applications, and then looking at how the delivery of those programs actually happens.
Learn more about our services on our website.
How can people with disabilities and their care networks better advocate for beach accessibility?
If people want their local beach to be more accessible but are facing brick walls with councils, reach out to us. We are happy to take on people’s cases and approach councils on their behalf.
Another thing is to find an ally in local government who will help take up your cause. It can be difficult to find the right people to speak to amongst all the red tape, and as anyone with a disability knows, the hard part is having to consistently keep pushing to get heard.
So what I recommend is to email your mayor and councillors–their email addresses are almost always listed on their website for direct contact. Plead your case and say it shouldn’t have to be a plead in the first place.
"I've heard from people in palliative care that one of the highest final requests is to go to the beach one more time. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just continue to do that all our lives, and have that just be the norm, so that we don't get to a point where people can no longer go?"
Do you get any anecdotal feedback about the benefits of beach accessibility?
All the time. We always get people telling us about how they’ve been to the beach for the first time in 10, 20, 30 years–or for the first time ever– and how it makes them feel amazing. On the one hand, we’re really happy to hear that, but it also makes us sad that it’s taken so long for that to happen.
I’ve heard from people in palliative care that one of the highest final requests is to go to the beach one more time. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just continue to do that all our lives, and have that just be the norm, so that we don’t get to a point where people can no longer go?
I recently did a beach audit in New South Wales, and I spoke to some elderly residents who were down at one of the ocean pools, which only has steps to get in with a handrail.
They told me that many of their friends can no longer come down with them. They used to swim every day, all through winter and everything, but they can no longer access the area.
They told me they feared when that would happen to them, because it’s part of their lifeblood. I would love to see a day when that is not the case. That regardless of your changing abilities, you can still do something that you enjoy and that gives you so much vitality.
And the research is clear that the more actively people are engaged with their community and doing things they love, their longevity and health outcomes are must better. We’d love to see that always be available to people.
What are some of the gaps you see from Councils in terms of developing more accessible beaches?
So many Council disability inclusion action plans list “beach access” as one of their top priorities. But unless you have a fleshed out plan to make that a reality, it’s not going to happen.
By not designing spaces that everybody can use, and not having the discussions about when and how that will become a reality, it sends a clear message that those people aren’t as valued as everybody else. It’s as simple as that.
We need to push Councils to have genuine community consultations that involve people with access needs in the co-design process from the start. This doesn’t mean those people need to design everything: It just means working in collaboration with the people who need to use the space, so their needs are met.
This is more valuable than presenting the community with three design options for beach infrastructure and calling it community consultation, when none of them address accessibility needs.
What are some of the reasons (or myths) for not being able to develop accessible beaches?
Sometimes it’s topography, and reasonably so. Not every beach is going to be accessible.
Another is cost. But I think that message is a hard sell in places where brand new, multimillion-dollar facilities are being built, then saying the cost is too high to enable people to get down to the beach. That’s a really hard sell to say to people, “We can afford this, but we can’t afford that.”
Another is that it’s just too hard. There is a massive misconception with councils that it’s too hard and people are going to want too much. I say to them, communication is key, engage with the community: Tell them, here’s our plan for the next three years and what exactly we’re going to invest in along the way.
I would say that well over the majority of people would be more than happy to go, “Okay, we know they’re doing something. They’ve got a plan, they’ve committed the money. We know what’s going to happen.” It’s important to communicate with people rather than simply worrying that they are going to want too much.
Accessible Beaches Australia also has a Beach Directory, can you tell us more about this?
We pride ourselves in providing the most detailed directory listing of accessible beaches in Australia.
We have about 70 beaches currently listed, and I’m aware of at least another 80 or 90 more. It can be difficult to get the information, because comprehensive detail is important to us: Beyond just knowing about the accessible features, we also want photos so people can conduct their own research and work out if that’s the right location for them.
Some people might be looking at whether there is a changing facility, or where the parking is located, whether there is shade, or the distance from the car park to the facilities, or whatever the case may be. So the more information we have the better. So people can get on and have a look.
If you know of a beach that’s accessible but isn’t listed, or if you have more up to date information about a listed beach, please send an email with photos to info@ accessiblebeaches.com.
Lastly, why is this organisation and this work important to you? What do accessible beaches mean to you as a parent?
I have a daughter who’s 14 years old and has Prader-Willi syndrome. And while she is physically capable, she finds the feeling of touching sand just so overwhelming from a sensory perspective, and having to piggyback her on the sand is very difficult.
But when she sees a beach mat, she’s so excited that she can run just straight down into the water without worrying about getting sand on her feet and having that feeling. I understand and fully appreciate the challenges of inaccessibility, and get to see the benefits of access.
I just want to share with people that people with disabilities have every right to be valued and every right to be included. I hope to one day see a world in our country where that is much less of a challenge, where people are valued and included in every aspect of their life, and that not being something they have to work hard for.
Bern Walker
Bern joined the Accessible Beaches team in March 2022. Bern is the mum to Emilia, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome.
Bern has extensive experience, not only as the mother to a child with a disability but also in the Not For Profit sector where Bern was previously a Board Member and President for the Prader-Wllli Syndrome Association of Victoria.
Bern is an active member of the disability community and is passionate about inclusion for all in every aspect of life.
Bern also brings to Accessible Beaches her experience in Strategic Planning, Business Analysis, and Project Management, to run their programs, manage the Beach Directory and undertake stakeholder engagement.
