Many wheelchair users haven’t felt a sandy beach in years, but one organization is changing that reality one track at a time.
NatureTrack is making the Central Coast beachfront more accessible for wheelchair users throughout Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties by providing technology that turns manual wheelchairs into vehicles that easily traverse sandy and rocky surfaces.
A tank-like structure, the Freedom Trax is placed as an attachment under a manual wheelchair and provides tracks that glide over sand, as opposed to wheels that sink into it. It also includes a joystick so the user can either freely control where they go or a friend can help out.
Program Coordinator Abby Pickens said the organization purchased its first Freedom Trax in 2020 so a volunteer who used a wheelchair could join outings. After seeing how it worked, and the accessibility it created, the organization decided to expand its outdoor services and created the Freedom Trax program that’s available free of charge to students, seniors, and any public user.
“Then we thought, what a great opportunity for more people that are [mobile-challenged] or use a wheelchair permanently,” she said. “The sand is hard to get onto, or even trails. Outdoor spaces are hard to get to, so we wanted to break that barrier.”
Since 2013, NatureTrack has provided Santa Barbara County students with outdoor experiences that relate to school curriculum and enabled them to visit beaches and trails throughout Santa Barbara and SLO counties. The Freedom Trax program now allows wheelchair-using students and teachers to participate in these activities when they couldn’t before.
“We can use the Freedom Trax for any students or teachers that come on our field trips that we do with the Santa Barbara County Schools. And we got in three students last year to go on field trips and use [them to] participate with their peers. It was really awesome,” Pickens said.
NatureTrack also organizes outings for group homes that include senior living and support groups. Currently, it’s working with five homes in Santa Barbara, taking residents out once or twice a month on the Freedom Trax. The organization is also looking for more homes to collaborate with.
“We see the residents. We take them out to the beach and we have lunch, and it’s always a great time,” Pickens said.
A recent notable trip, she said, was to Oso Flaco Lake and its boardwalk near Guadalupe where the organization assisted five people. They’ve also ventured to Avila and Pismo beaches.
“We’ve had really good responses from people,” Pickens said, describing moments when people approached them at the beach and asked about the Freedom Trax for someone they know.
“It’s been really awesome to be there and to help the community there whenever we can. And sometimes it’s just people visiting, or sometimes it is locals that are just learning about NatureTrack the Freedom Trax,” she said.
Some of the users they have helped haven’t experienced the beach in 10 years, and Pickens said this is both emotional and exciting.
“There’s people that have had a spinal cord injury and haven’t touched the sand in 10-plus years and are touching the sand for the first time,” she said. “And for the kids, it’s exciting to get to go out with your peers and walk along with them and not have to miss out. I think that it’s just making everybody feel like it’s more inclusive.”
Users don’t need to be a student or in a group home to gain beach access—NatureTrack also offers a free lending program for anyone in need, whether for a day trip to the beach or a week-long vacation in Mexico.
“A lot of people have been able to go to a lot of different places and experience going places that they didn’t expect to go without the Freedom Trax,” Pickens said.
NatureTrack is hosting an event for the public to learn more about its Freedom Trax program on Nov. 3 at Avila Beach Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Visit naturetrack.org to register and learn more.
Highlight
• NatureTrack is hosting its sixth annual film festival on Oct. 11 to 13 at Camino Real Cinemas and the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta. Started in Los Olivos in 2018, the festival will feature 50-plus nature and outdoor adventure films from around the world. To purchase tickets, visit naturetrackfilmfestival.org.
Reach New Times Staff Writer Libbey Hanson, from the Sun’s sister paper, at lhanson@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Oct 10-20, 2024.
