Speaker 0 00:01:00 Good evening. Thank you for joining disability and progress, where we bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show. Thanks so much for joining us also. Thank you, Miguel, for your crafty engineering abilities. It is snowing. Um, and thank you, Charlene doll, my research team. Hello, Charlene. Good evening,
Speaker 2 00:01:26 Everyone
Speaker 0 00:01:28 Tonight, we're talking about building accessibility, par accessible parks and accessible playgrounds, which there are probably not near enough. We are speaking tonight with Alyssa Lyle canned aides director of programs and Lauren bowling, a mom of three, and inspiration for the candids Berthoud adaptive park project. Good evening, ladies. Well, thank you so much for having
Speaker 2 00:01:58 Us. Hi, so nice to be here and hopefully
Speaker 0 00:02:01 I, hopefully I pronounced everything correctly. Um, how do you pronounce your city birth it. Okay, thank you. All right. Um, yes. Um, well this is, there's probably not near enough playgrounds. I wanted to start out by, um, talking about who is candidate.
Speaker 2 00:02:29 Yeah, I can take that. So candid, um, is a nationally active nonprofit organization, um, that rallies volunteers from all walks of life to build thriving communities. Um, we have a pretty broad scope of programs, um, that allow us to respond to evolving community needs. Um, but our tagline is fueled by people power. So the idea of inviting folks to take an active role in making their community a better place idea that kind of ties everything together.
Speaker 0 00:03:00 I think that kind of helps too with, um, having pride in the community. Sometimes I think people that build the community have the pride in the community and when it's done for them, it's not, you know, it doesn't mean as much.
Speaker 2 00:03:13 Yeah. And, um, so we, we do those through a variety of different program areas. Um, so we distribute canned water following disaster relief or for disaster relief. And that's kind of the first interaction we may have with the community, um, is right in their immediate time of need. Um, but from there we try to take the communities from surviving to thriving, um, and the way that we do that we help provide access and opportunities for underserved youth, um, to experience music arts in the outdoors, um, and try to protect and restore the environment and invite people to take a little pride in their community because we find that when they, um, you know, are an active, have an active role, uh, in where they live, that it's easier to, um, yeah, really have pride in, in where you are. Um, and it also through these volunteer events, it kind of gathers people together, uh, around one common goal. Um, so you can set aside, you know, political beliefs, socioeconomic status, um, race, um, ability, um, and you all come together for a common goal that, you know, beautifies the community or helps, um, kids in need.
Speaker 0 00:04:30 And where did you get the name?
Speaker 2 00:04:34 Um, so yeah, we get asked that a lot candid, um, has evolved, uh, from our, uh, original mission. We were parts, um, were born within the walls of Oscar blues brewery. Um, and as part of that, um, Oskar blues brewery is famous for being the first craft beer in a can. And so our founder and current executive director, uh, was the director of sponsorships there and had this vision for starting this really unique nonprofit to just give back in a variety of different ways. Um, but we were kind of, um, skyrocketed into action when tragedy struck in the homeplace of Oskar blues, uh, which is Lyons, Colorado, and Longmont, Colorado close by to this birthday project. Um, there were some historic floods that really just devastated the community. Um, and from that candid was kind of born, um, more quickly than expected. And so we, um, provided relief, disaster relief and just individual grants just to get people back on their feet. Um, so we have our roots and kind of the craft beer space. Um, but since then we've moved into, uh, having our own signature programs. Um, and we are a publicly funded, a 5 0 1 C3
Speaker 0 00:05:58 And you're in all 50 states.
Speaker 2 00:06:01 Yeah. So we are based in Longmont, Colorado. Um, but we are nationally active. Um, we have as of last year, or maybe the year before last year was a bit of a blur, uh, have done something in every state. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 0 00:06:21 So, um, does this mean that you actually have a presence in all 50 states or do you just kind of, um, touch all 50 states? Like if they need help you guys help?
Speaker 2 00:06:33 Yeah. We, we find communities in a variety of different ways, um, with that the broad scope of programs that we have, we have four different program areas, um, and that kind of allows us to be really adaptable. Uh, so if we see a need in a community and we can find funding, um, to make a difference, or if we find partners that we just love their mission, then we can get together with them and find a way to make, um, something happened in their community. Currently, we're kind of trying to, uh, expand and make our, make our, um, uh, impact more meaningful. So we have concentrated a little bit more on two core cities, um, and that's the Longmont and Denver area, uh, which is where we are based in Nashville, Tennessee. Um, so we're, we're growing into a point where we will activate wherever there's a need, um, and wherever we can, but we're trying to make a more meaningful impact. So people know that they can count on candidates to provide opportunities for them to give back.
Speaker 0 00:07:38 That is excellent. I had never heard of you guys before, so I'm really happy to have you on the program. I think that's a really important thing to give back to communities and I can't, I can't stress it enough, so thank you for coming on. Um, I want to talk about the birth at adaptive project park project and what it is. Um, but w Lauren or, um, yeah, Lauren, why don't you kind of go first and tell us just a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3 00:08:10 Sure. Yeah. Um, my name is Lauren bowling and I have lived in Colorado my whole life. Um, I have not, I've moved about 15 miles from where I was born, so, um,
Speaker 0 00:08:25 That's unusual nowadays real,
Speaker 3 00:08:26 Real far. I, I love to visit other places. Um, I've been to, uh, Minneapolis once. Um, there's, uh, a camp there for children with CPU, um, that I have been, I've had my eye on and I'm really excited about for miles is future, but I can talk about that later. Um, so, uh, I've lived here my whole life. Um, I am a mom of three boys. I have a, um, just turned six year old and I have four and a half year old, almost five-year-old twins, um, identical twins, and we have kind of a, and I have a lovely husband, um, named Richard. Um, who's also a part of this project and who has been very supportive and, um, we have kind of a crazy story, um, about how we got here to this birth at adaptive park project and got, um, hooked up with candied. Okay.
Speaker 0 00:09:28 Okay. So why don't you tell that and hopefully we'll go. And, um, do you want to tell what the project is first or would you like to tell your story?
Speaker 3 00:09:37 Sure. Yeah. Um, I think I'll, I'll tell our story and feel free to stop and ask any questions. I think that our story is powerful. Um, and I love to share, um, knowledge about our story. I know that everybody's story is different. Um, I don't have very much, um, experience with disability personally, previous to having my son. Um, but something that I like to share is that my husband and I struggled with infertility. And so, um, all three of our pregnancy or both of our pregnancies, sorry, all three of our kids, um, came to us through IVF. Um, and, uh, the twins came through us, came to us after implanting one embryo, um, and with a less than 1% chance that embryo split, um, and which was shocking. And from the moment that they found the second baby, um, they told us that they were sick and we had a very, very tough pregnancy.
Speaker 3 00:10:49 Um, and they told us several times that their likelihood of survival was next to nothing. Um, and they told us, they asked us to, um, do selective reduction, um, which is choosing to give one baby, um, more chance of survival over the other. Um, so to cut off one baby's umbilical cord, um, they had twin to twin transfusion syndrome. So their hearts were literally beating against each other. Um, and they were fighting for life inside of me. Um, and it was very scary. Um, Mac, uh, was, uh, growth restricted. He was not getting enough blood flow and he was not getting enough nutrition and Myles was getting much too much blood flow. And he was in heart failure for most of my pregnancy. Um, I moved into a children's hospital, Colorado here, which was about an hour away from our home. Um, at 20 weeks gestation, I'm away from my husband and my older son who was just over one then, um, and lived at the hospital on 24, 7 monitoring.
Speaker 3 00:12:11 And the babies just kept chicken week after week after week, they made it and the doctors had no idea why they were making it. Um, and at 28 weeks, the doctor said that they had a better shot out than in. Um, and so for those that don't know, that's about three months early, um, and they delivered the boys and both boys were born not breathing, um, and had to be resuscitated. And so that's kind of where our journey begins and they were both taken to the NICU. Um, and miles, we found out about two weeks later when they did a brain MRI, um, had lost oxygen at some point during that journey, he had lost oxygen long enough that he had sustained a traumatic brain injury called PDL. Um, and, uh, a portion of his brain was dead. Um, and all the doctors could tell us that, um, that could possibly lead to cerebral palsy. Um, and that cerebral palsy is a spectrum diagnosis. So, um, it can mean anywhere from, you know, um, uh, different graphs on a pencil to quadriplegic, cannot speak, um, you know, full, full dependency. Um, and there's no way of telling anywhere in between. So that was two weeks into life for those little babies. Um, and we just had to sit and wait and watch and see how he developed and see what, what came to be, um, can
Speaker 0 00:14:05 People at definition on what CPR cerebral palsy is?
Speaker 3 00:14:10 Yeah. I mean, that's, that's so hard. So cerebral palsy, again, as a spectrum diagnosis, um, it's a, um, it can mean different things for many people, but it's, it's, it's, uh, uh, um, weakness or muscle weakness and, or, um, uh, um, the brain can't tell the body how to move for the most part. Um, whether that be your legs or your arms or your hand or your mouths, um, it's your brain, can't talk with your muscles and your nervous system. Um, and it affects everybody differently. Um, so for my son miles, we watched him develop, he has what we call spastic tri plegia cerebral palsy. Um, so that means that he is affected on his right side and his lower extremities and those muscles in his right arm and right leg and his left leg all get very tight, um, and regularly have spasms. And then his core is very loose. So it's very hard for him to sit up or, um, support himself through his core. Um, but we're very lucky because on his left arm is fully functional and he is not cognitively delayed, um, verbal,
Speaker 0 00:16:00 Well, that can make a huge difference.
Speaker 3 00:16:02 We, yeah, and I feel like every, every diagnosis and every different, um, every different, uh, disability comes with its lucky parts. Right. Um, I feel like, I mean, personally, that's how we, we choose to look at it. Um, there are good things about that we get out of this diagnosis and there are some things that are just a bummer.
Speaker 0 00:16:34 We were talking about miles is disability and, and the outcome that has kind of been with CP. And, um, I wanted to talk about the accessibility or the, what the adaptive, um, parks project was because you are doing a big project now. So why don't you talk a little bit about that and how that got started?
Speaker 3 00:16:59 Sure. Yeah. Um, so my family and I moved last year, um, into a new development, um, here in Burford, which was very exciting. We moved from a, um, very inaccessible house to a ranch, um, with some accessibility, which was wonderful, such a big change for us. Um, and when we moved here as a new development, and so I contacted the developer of the neighborhood and, um, asked him if he had any accessibility planned for the community spaces, because we are in, um, we moved in, in phase one of this master plan development. Um, and, uh, we got to talking and he, uh, I offered to do some fundraising for any, um, excessive, uh, adaptive, um, pieces that he could add, um, to a playground that was going in here in phase one. And he priced out and used swing set for a park that's going in just about a block away and came back to me.
Speaker 3 00:18:09 And he said that he would match me dollar for dollar if we could, uh, uh, raise some money. And so we started with a, um, lemonade stand here in my neighborhood and we got tremendous support, just tremendous support from not only our neighborhood, but our entire community, just hundreds and hundreds of people who came out and just supported and really gave us, um, I can't explain the amount of support and the, the amazing, wonderful people here. Um, and that kind of sparked our interest in, in phase two, there's a much larger community sized park that's going in. And so we, we got to talking about the possibility of really putting in a full, a full accessible park. Um, it's something that's very lacking when I, when we want to go to a fully accessible park, which means a park with a rollable surface, a park that has ramps all the way up the structure, so that a wheelchair or a Walker can go all the way up to the top of the structure and then all the way back down.
Speaker 3 00:19:26 Um, and then there's, um, adaptive, uh, merry-go-round, there's adaptive swings. There's so many different adaptive pieces that can go into a park, but the closest ones to us is about 40, 45 minute drive. So when my family wants to go to the park and really truly be inclusive and have inclusive play, it's not a quick thing. You know, it's a big outing. We have to plan, you have to plan snacks and the right, the right clothing and extra clothing, and have already packed up. And then everybody's kind of tired and done by the time we get there.
Speaker 3 00:20:09 Um, so and so, oh, go ahead. Yeah. Yeah. So that's kind of where it was born. Um, and we, I have the wonderful pleasure of through my day job, working with candied and started talking to them about, uh, this opportunity and how to even get started. And they said, how do we, how do we join that? How do we jump in here? Um, and I said, please help me. Um, and we all just started meeting and the, the pleasure of this incredible endeavor has been so much of our, of our daily lives, right. Is, um, a little bit of a bummer and a little bit of a fight and, oh, I have to do this, oh, this is hard. But everything about this project has been, I'm so excited and everybody says, yes. And everybody says, how can we help? What can we do? And it's been unfathomable to me, the incredible illness of this.
Speaker 2 00:21:15 Yeah. So I can pop in there as well, just because at the same time, um, candid was working, um, with Lauren's employer, um, to put together some employee engagement opportunities. Um, and so we had worked with Lauren for a couple of years at this point, doing some of our signature programs, which include, you know, providing, um, healthy, active outlets like skateboards and bikes and, um, volunteers put them together. And then we donate them, um, to kids the next day. So our traditional programs, um, offer outlets, um, for able-bodied kids. Um, but this project was something that fit within it's called our treads and trails program, um, fit within that really well in a totally different way that Canada had never explored before. Um, we were trying to get underserved youth healthy and active and miles as an underserved youth. And, and, and for many in that mid Northern Colorado area, um, this was a need that wasn't being filled.
Speaker 2 00:22:18 And that's really what attracted us to this project, not to mention, um, just our personal relationship with Lauren. Um, so yeah, candida got on board and that is kind of how this whole thing spiraled, and then what makes it a really beautiful project is like Lauren said, everyone is saying, yes. Um, one beautiful thing about Candide's model is, like I said, it kind of takes a grassroots approach to giving back, um, everyone has their own gift to bring. Um, and that has been just exemplified in this project. Uh, whoever people in the community will reach out and say, I want to offer, you know, um, my specific skill or I have a major donation or, um, they just want to be a part of it. They want to host a fundraiser for us if they're a local business. Um, so it's really been an amazing community focused project.
Speaker 2 00:23:16 Um, and as it continues to grow, I think it's only going to be more so because one thing that, um, candid likes to build into all of our projects is the volunteer aspect of it. Of course. Uh, so as the park is, um, as the, we break ground on the park, we're going to have volunteer opportunities for people to really put their stamp on this park so that when, um, birth had residents go by, they can be like, I was a part of this, you know, from donating $5 to, uh, helping raise a piece of equipment or, uh, plant a tree there. Um, so that's a really unique way, um, that that really attracted candidate to this project.
Speaker 0 00:24:02 I want to give our listeners a scope of, of the park. So how big will the park be and what, how many pieces of accessible equipment, where will there be, or have you figured all of that out yet? Or can, are you going to just keep adding more or how does that work?
Speaker 2 00:24:23 Well, we actually started, we're more on the path to figuring that out today. Um, then we were yesterday, we just had a meeting, a really exciting meeting where we got the first, um, the first real design. This is our like pie in the sky. If we can raise all the funds we can with, this is what it's going to look like. Um, so I don't have the exact number, but I can tell you there's some really awesome big ticket items that, um, you know, Lauren and the design team. And I had decided like, these were the priorities, not only from, uh, Lauren and miles, his point of view, um, just from others in the community that, um, and Lauren can speak more about this. Um, but just from talking to others that have, um, kids or even other parents that are disabled themselves, um, what the needs were. So we went down the list of all the equipment that we wanted and prioritized, um, you know, what we thought was most, most exciting and most necessary. Um, and yeah, we, we just, the, the design or the kind of the rough draft of the design was unveiled today. Um, and yeah, it's going to be really incredible. Um, Lauren, you can probably speak more about some of the, why some of those pieces of equipment are more exciting just because you know exactly what miles miles wants.
Speaker 3 00:25:46 Yeah. And I love that you called that out, Alyssa. Um, one of the things that was really important to us in this endeavor and when we started was not just thinking about my son and my family, right? So I am one of the beautiful things that social media brings to us is that I have been lucky enough to be a part of several different online communities across the world for, um, parents and people with cerebral palsy, parents of children with disabilities, people with disabilities, and it's opened my eyes to, um, many different things. And I was able to source this idea and to source different equipment needs. And, um, say if, if you could have anything you wanted at a park, what would your ideal park look like? And I was able to send out all across the world to different parents, um, children, grownups, um, with disabilities, I talked to our therapist or physical therapists, our occupational therapist.
Speaker 3 00:26:56 I talked to our doctors at children's and we really were able to reach out to a really broad community to make sure that we are including all people with, with needs, with mobility needs, with special needs, to make sure that this is all inclusive and that our goal is inclusive play for all, whether that's a grandparent bringing their grandchildren to this park and they have some mobility needs and they get to actually get on the equipment and play with their grandchildren, or, um, somebody with autism, with some sensory needs, they will have something to play and it's inclusive all together. Um, not, uh, a separate piece of equipment away from, um, the equipment where the abled body children are playing, which has been our experience historically at other parks.
Speaker 0 00:27:57 So do you, how have your kids who, um, and have, you know, they have full functioning mobility? How have they reacted to this?
Speaker 3 00:28:08 Oh, they're so excited. They've been involved every step of the way. Um, the lemonade stand was, is a standout to everybody because, oh my gosh. So we did that in our front, in our driveway. Um, and our kids loved, loved, loved having everybody come and support them. We talked to them all the time about, um, building a place where everybody can come to play, um, and they want to be involved.
Speaker 2 00:28:39 And as someone who has met Lauren's kids, uh, it is really, really incredible. Um, we hosted a small fundraiser at an amazing local brewery in Burnside. Um, and it was really amazing to see, um, Braxton and Mac, um, her able-bodied kids, uh, really advocate for miles. Like how can miles get upstairs here? Um, and is there a way that we can get miles through this store? Um, so it's, it's incredible. They're all equally excited. It seems just to make this, uh, make this park a reality.
Speaker 0 00:29:13 I want to talk about, more about what does go into making a park accessible. I don't think, you know, we really have an idea of how that works.
Speaker 2 00:29:30 Yeah, I did not either. I have always kind of had an interest in a passion for playgrounds. Um, it was kind of a, uh, a pipe dream long ago, but I hadn't really, um, explored what actually went into it. And so, uh, obviously one of the biggest things is buy-in, uh, from your partners. So we've been working with some really amazing partners, um, Edwards development is the developer, uh, currently and star playgrounds. Um, and they have been totally on board. I know our, our playground designer, um, has some certifications, um, that allow her to she's got the extra knowledge that she needs in order to, um, to move, you know, make sure the surfaces are rollable and that, um, the angles are correct. Um, but yeah, I, I didn't know, just all that went into it and just every, every aspect has to be considered, um, in order to make things really, truly accessible.
Speaker 3 00:30:34 Yeah. Um, you know, I only knew just from our frustrations and visiting other places, um, but there's so much that can be done to, just to make it being for, um, anybody with needs, um, and special needs. And I think that those little touches really need to be incorporated moving forward in all cities and states. Um, the hindrance, I believe is that if you put ADA or accessible on anything, um, but any piece of equipment or any piece of, um, anything that you're buying it, the cost doubles or triples. And so, um, I mean, truly that's something that we have experienced and learned. Um, and so, you know, ADA accessible playground equipment is not an exception to that rule. It's it costs more money. And so I think that what we have seen here in Colorado at least is that many playgrounds and parks and cities and, um, municipalities are putting in an element or two in their parks that are accessible, which was wonderful. And I'm so grateful for that, but it's not enough. Um, it's just not enough. It's not, it's, it's not okay. It's frustrating when we go to a park and there's a swing that's accessible, um, or there's, you know, a teeter-totter that's accessible. Um, and that's the only piece of equipment that's, that's actually usable, um, for my son and the rest of the playground is, is accessible and usable to his brothers. That's not a fun time for him.
Speaker 2 00:32:35 Yeah. Especially when they're due. So some really, oh, go ahead.
Speaker 0 00:32:41 No, it's okay. Finish.
Speaker 2 00:32:43 Oh, I, I just mean, uh, there are some changes that I think that, um, designers just may not consider that are, you know, really pretty simple and won't have an effect on, um, it'll be fun for able-bodied kids and they won't know the difference. So I think some of that is just an awareness. Um, you know, particularly Lauren has talked a lot about rollable surfaces. Um, and yeah, I think even in this process it was, uh, kind of eye-opening to be like, oh, well, that's a simple change. Um, you know, had I known that that made such a difference, then that would have been in the plan from the beginning. Um, so I think a lot of it is just, Hey, you know, spreading awareness. Um, and yeah, like Lauren said that the cost is exorbitant, unfortunately for the actual equipment. Um, but just because it's, um, accessible equipment doesn't necessarily mean that it's only for, um, kids with different disabilities, it's, it's going to be fun for, for kids of all types.
Speaker 3 00:33:41 And that's a good call-out Alyssa, I'm sorry, Sam. Um, that's a good call out to, um, I have talked to a couple I've, I've had a reach out from a couple of, um, different government officials in different cities here, and they've said, um, we're following ADA requirements. And, and I understand that, and I'm appreciative of that. And I, I get that the last ADA legislation that was passed was in 1990.
Speaker 0 00:34:10 Um, yes, yes, no one seems to wants to touch that. And I think that there are things that can be fixed in that. I think there's just, you know, people kind of revisit it a little bit, but nobody really wants to dive in. And I think it's no, it's not really openly spoken up, but my guess is what if we got less?
Speaker 3 00:34:36 And that's so frustrating to me. So ADA standards through, through ADA, the standards there say that woodchips as a surface at a playground are ADA acceptable, but I welcome anybody to come to a playground with a four year old who is, you know, utilizes a wheelchair for their mobility and see just how accessible that is.
Speaker 0 00:35:01 So I want to dive into a couple things because I too am curious of, I'm sure there's a lot of people who may be, think what's the big deal. So can you go into an idea, like a description of how, what an accessible swing set would be for miles and or somebody in a wheelchair, which miles does use a wheelchair? So what would that look like?
Speaker 3 00:35:25 Yeah, so there's actually a few different types of accessible swings. Um, there's wheelchair swings, which we plan to have at our park, um, where wheelchair actually rolls onto the swing and, uh, uh, the ramp folds up behind, and then there's ropes that the wheelchair user can reach up and pull and it, it, um, lovies them back and forth so that they can swim inside their chair on, they can be
Speaker 3 00:35:58 Totally independent, fully independent and, and they never leave their chair. So for people who are in power wheelchairs, people who are larger and can't transition, this is a fully independent, um, swing set for them. There's also the swings that I'm sure you've seen it parks that are a high back fully, um, supportive with a five point harness. Um, and that is something that, you know, we w we utilize regularly because miles is small enough that we can park his wheelchair and take him out, unclip him and, and physically transfer him into that swing and buckle him in. Um, but, you know, eventually he will be large enough that that will be difficult for me to do regularly. Um, and then there's, um, uh, the swings, I don't know if you've ever seen them that are, they're called, um, mommy and me swings. So they similarly have an independent seat on one side with a five point harness and a full support. And on the other side, it has, it's connected with a, um, it's all one piece. So it's all connected, but on the other side facing that swing is a regular swing with a seat so that an abled body person can sit facing that person and swing both of them together in tandem. Um, and those are really great for people who, um, you know, maybe have some anxiety or need some, um, need that extra emotional support while they're swinging. Um, and can't sit independently by themselves also.
Speaker 0 00:37:48 And what about, so how about like a slide, have you, what, what would constitute as an accessible slide?
Speaker 3 00:37:57 Yeah, so, you know, there's not really a slide that you can get that a wheelchair can go down that just doesn't exist. Um, some wheelchair users can independently transfer out of their wheelchair and onto a slide and then slide down. So, um, we will have a slide that has, that starts a little higher and has a platform so that people can transfer from their wheelchair over onto that slide. Um, the other things that we've considered for an accessible from an accessible standpoint is, um, plastic slides create a lot of static. So anybody with a hearing aid or a cochlear implants and not go down a plastic slide. Um, so having a roller slide or a metal slide is really important.
Speaker 0 00:38:49 Yeah. Well, some people think, well, that's freezing in the winter or
Speaker 3 00:38:54 Right. Or too hot in the summer. Um, so we actually have a roller flied, um, uh, option and then we've built in some hill play. Um, so a hill with, um, a turf surface so that, um, you can actually slide down that turf, which gives you some sensory input. Um, we plan to have a sight board. So this is a big board, um, you know, like think of it, like when you go through the drive-through the ordering menu board, um, about that size, um, children who are, non-verbal learn to use pictures to point and use that to communicate. Um, and so this board will have a picture of a slide or a picture of a bathroom or a picture of a picnic table or a picture of a swing, and they can use that to communicate with their caretakers, um, and be interactive at the park
Speaker 0 00:39:55 piece of equipment. Right. Talk about another accessible piece of equipment that you're hoping to have in the park.
Speaker 3 00:40:05 Um,
Speaker 2 00:40:06 Did we already talk about the, we go round?
Speaker 3 00:40:09 No, we haven't. No.
Speaker 2 00:40:12 Um, so it's basically a merry-go-round that has, um, again, you can, uh, uh, it's flush with the ground and so a wheelchair can roll right onto it. Um, and then it has seats for able-bodied, um, folks as well. Um, but it's exactly, exactly how it sounds another a merry-go-round that, um, can, uh, adapt to, uh, folks in wheelchairs and, um, those without wheelchairs. Um, so it's another way for everybody to play together. Yup.
Speaker 0 00:40:49 And I'm guessing you lock in the wheelchair there, so,
Speaker 3 00:40:52 Correct. Correct. Yeah. Yeah. Um, we were also hoping for, um, a big piece of equipment. That's very exciting. Um, it's called, uh, uh,
Speaker 2 00:41:04 Oh, it's spelled the Yelp. Sona, I think is probably what you're talking about. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:41:08 Yes. Um, and it is a, um, really cool thing it's interactive. Um, it's not necessarily, um, accessible, but if it's for inclusive play and it's one of the first of its kind that would be usable by, um, children with mobility needs. So, and the reason that it's different. So it's a giant arch, um, a very large arch, um, and it has it projects down onto the ground, um, games and music, musical games, and it, um, can be used for children K through, I think eight is what she said. Um, and the way that this is different is that when you've seen these interactive games before they use pressure plates in the ground. And so somebody in a wheelchair, they can't play those games because their wheelchair can't, um, activate those pressure plates. This will be a new technology that uses a camera up at the top. And since his body movement, so children with mobility devices, it will be able to track their movement and they will be able to interactively play alongside their peers.
Speaker 0 00:42:27 Cool.
Speaker 2 00:42:28 Yeah. And then another really exciting, oh, go ahead.
Speaker 0 00:42:35 No, go
Speaker 2 00:42:36 Ahead. I was just going to say, it's not a, a piece of equipment, um, per se, but the entire place structure. One thing that's really cool about, um, the one at the birth of the adaptive park project, um, is going to be that, um, someone in a wheelchair can access every level of it. Um, so it's large, it's not as tall as maybe some playground structures you might have seen. Um, but the wheelchair is going to be able to access every single platform. And there's even a really tele platform that's going to be accessible from, um, kind of the back way, uh, on that hill, um, that Lauren was talking about. Um, so that's something that that's really cool. I feel like that, uh, everybody wants to get to the top of the play structure and in this case, everybody can,
Speaker 3 00:43:22 Yeah. That was something really important to us.
Speaker 0 00:43:27 Is there a such a thing as an accessible teeter-totter?
Speaker 3 00:43:31 Yeah, so we actually have one of those. Um, it is a teeter-totter, it's a four-seater teeter-totter and the seats themselves are, are, have more support, right. So they have a back and they have a full seat with a little pommel in the middle, and then we will have, um, a harness on at least one of the seats. So, um, they will require a transfer, but, um, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 00:44:00 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:44:01 Tell me about, um, you know, you've talked about some people that have been really nice supporters of the park, both financially and, and giving back. And I'm wondering, like, if people are interested in, like, what recommendations do you make for other communities who want to do something like this and how do they decide what, you know, equipment is available for them, or, um, you know, are the pieces of equipment you didn't put in that are accessible because you had to choose. So kind of touched on a little bit of that.
Speaker 2 00:44:41 Um, well, as like we said, candids, this is candidates first adaptive park. So what makes it pretty special for us is that we are able to, um, evolve to a community's needs. Um, and we saw a need here and, um, it fit within our treads and trails program. And so I hope that there's other organizations that are able to do the same thing. And of course, Gannett is nationally active. So, uh, we can respond to needs all over the country, um, just like this, but like you said, it has been, it wouldn't have been possible without, um, some major players in the game. Obviously I am not a developer candidate has not in the business of development or, um, uh, playground design. Uh, however, it just has shown us that once you put an idea out there and it really started with just this spark from Lauren, um, wanting to get just one small piece of equipment for a pocket park in her neighborhood.
Speaker 2 00:45:42 Um, and it has gone, I'm gone gangbusters from there. So yeah, I would recommend it if you have the, the attitude, um, to give back where you live, um, and you have hopefully support of someone like Candide and obviously, uh, we can, we'd love to hear about all of your amazing projects, uh, across the country. Um, the community buy-in particularly in this project has really just come naturally. Um, and that's something that is really important to candy. Just seeing how, um, organically projects like this can grow. People have a desire to give back. Um, they really do, you know, regardless that, especially right now, things are just, um, so divisive, uh, in the U S and everywhere. And there really is just a desire to give back and do good and make your community a better place. Um, so if you can find a project that people can really rally around that, um, it just brings people together and makes people want to be a part of it.
Speaker 0 00:46:48 So how can people get involved?
Speaker 2 00:46:51 Um, I would recommend that people get involved with age in general, by going to candy.org, um, and signing up for our volunteer list. You can learn more about the birth and adoptive park project on the events page on our website. Um, and of course you can just Google birth, that adaptive park project and the homepage we'll come right up. Um, but Candide has volunteer events all over the country, not just with this adoptive park, um, but within our program areas as well.
Speaker 0 00:47:23 So Lauren were there, when you were wondering what pieces of equipment you could get for miles, were there, were there pieces that you got to choose from, or what did you find that there wasn't that many and you are shooting for trying to get as many as you could of the few selections?
Speaker 3 00:47:41 Yeah, so, like Alyssa said, we were really lucky to have, um, a partner in Sarah or, um, Aaron, uh, with star playgrounds. And she came on board pretty quickly through our developer volunteering her time. And she was very knowledgeable about equipment. Um, and I, I sourced just by reaching out, across my networks and people sent me pictures and made comments about pieces of equipment that they had seen before or played on before. And I sent those lists of things to Erin and she was able to kind of pull together examples and pictures and tell us, um, she didn't say no to anything. She said, yes, I can get that. Um, we're very lucky and absolutely get involved with candy. Um, and in particularly when it comes to parks, all I did was ask a question. All I did was pick up the phone and ask a question. And from there, everybody just said, yes,
Speaker 0 00:48:57 That's fantastic. I'm curious, is there room for this park to grow in the future? If you know, there's some, another spectacular piece of equipment that comes out or will it be too surrounded by things, you, what you get is what you get at the end.
Speaker 3 00:49:17 There will be room for this park to grow. Um, and there's also going to be room in our community for future endeavors, which we hope. Um, I mean, I hope that this isn't my end with Candide. I hope that this is my beginning and our first project and that we get to bring this type of incredible project forward for many communities.
Speaker 0 00:49:43 We'll learn. I want to congratulate you for taking the big step. I'm sure you were maybe thinking like obvious. They're probably going to say no, but I'm going to ask anyway, which is, you know, I, I wish people would, would learn, you know, I, I have to tell these people, many people actually that sometimes like, they're not going to, they're going to tell, you know, and I said, well, then they have to tell me no, because you don't know until you ask. Right. If you ask you definitely won't get it. If you don't ask you definitely won't get it. But if you ask there's a possibility and you know, why not just, if they want to say no to you make them say no, but they won't.
Speaker 3 00:50:25 Um,
Speaker 0 00:50:28 Lauren, is there any other advice you want to give to others and other parents that would like to see something come up in their communities?
Speaker 3 00:50:38 Um, if you, uh, yeah, I know that you are exhausted. I know that you are fighting every day for a million different things. Um, and this was the last thing that I thought that I was going to be adding to my plate because my plate is already overflowing, but I cannot tell you how much joy and how much pride and just how incredibly proud I am of what this has accomplished. And I have, it's brought so many incredible people into my life and it is pure joy. And I'm so grateful that I made that phone call. And if you are thinking about anything that you feel might be a project like this, just try because it's wonderful.
Speaker 0 00:51:36 I hope in the future that, um, you know, that your goal might be to teach miles, how to reach out and do you know the same good for people. Um, since he, it seems like he will greatly benefit from them. And anybody liked that he, you know, miles will greatly benefit from, you know, having an accessible playground. Um, hopefully he'll learn as he gets older to, you know, give back as well.
Speaker 3 00:52:03 He's, he's going to do some amazing things. All three of my boys are.
Speaker 2 00:52:10 Absolutely. And that's one of the kind of defining features of candida is that, um, you know, not only do we, are we fueled by people power, but doing good feels good and fuels more good. So just get out there, roll up your sleeves, um, and give back however you can,
Speaker 0 00:52:29 Alyssa, can you give that website once more?
Speaker 2 00:52:33 Yeah. So our website is candida.org. That's C a N D a I d.org. And you can look at the birth and adaptive park project specifically on our events page. Um, yeah.
Speaker 0 00:52:50 Well, I want to get
Speaker 2 00:52:51 More volunteers and more, uh, more supporters here.
Speaker 0 00:52:55 Thank you both for coming on. I really appreciate it and your time. And, um, I wish you, your family, the best of luck, Lauren, and hope they, they really, um, enjoy this, this playground together as a family.
Speaker 3 00:53:10 Awesome. Thank you so much for having us.
Speaker 2 00:53:12 Thank you guys so much. It was a pleasure.
Speaker 0 00:53:14 Thank you. This has been disability in progress. The views expressed on the show are not necessarily those of cafe or its board of directors. My name is Sam and I'm the of the show. Charlene doll dollars. My research team, Miguel Vargas engineers. We have been speaking with Lauren Bolling, who is a mom of three, and talking about the accessible playground. Um, that's being built in birth had Colorado. Also, we've been speaking with Alyssa Lyle who's Candide's director of programs. Um, and this is Kathy I 90.3, FM Minneapolis and cafe dot O R G. If you want to be part of our, our email list, you can email
[email protected], that's disability and
[email protected]. And we'll be happy to put you on our email list. Also feel free to email to that same place, to give suggestions of what you'd like to hear on feature disability and progresses. Fresh fruit is up next. Thanks for listening. Good night.
