Our primary goals were twofold: 1. Empowering adults with disabilities (mental and/or physical) to engage more fully in outdoor activities, utilizing all senses, while simultaneously promoting a sustainable mindset. 2. Acquiring new competencies for staff working with individuals with disabilities, enabling them to further empower people with disabilities. To achieve this, we aimed to: - Facilitate the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in outdoor activities, particularly cycling and therapeutic horseback riding, by removing barriers preventing their participation. - Foster a heightened sense of environmental care among individuals with disabilities. - Develop sustainable activities to enhance sensory integration in nature, utilizing natural materials. - Combat the stigma that "people with disabilities don't engage in physical activity." - Expand inclusive sports activities and promote equality for all. - Improve the physical and mental health of individuals with disabilities and staff. - Enhance the capacity of smaller partners for international cooperation and development. - Incorporate new sustainable activities into the regular operations of project organizations: inclusive cycling and outdoor sensory integration.
We applied to empower people with disabilities (especially users of UVID, learners in COOKT and LURS, and individuals with disabilities in the broader community) + to create sustainable activities for them (which we would integrate into our regular operations), bringing added and lasting value. Simultaneously, we aimed to educate and develop new competencies among staff caring for disabled. We focused on the following needs, aligned with the priority areas of Erasmus+ (inclusion and diversity, environment and combating climate change), which we identified among people with disabilities during our operations: Lack of physical activity (according to WHO data, the disabled population is the least physically active but disproportionately prone to chronic illnesses that physical activity prevents) Insufficient time spent actively in nature (physical activity in nature is particularly beneficial; besides the advantages of physical activity, being in nature provides fresh air and close contact with nature, which is fundamental for fostering an appropriate relationship with the environment and a more sustainable way of life) Inadequate provision of techniques for maintaining/enhancing mental health Need for greater sensory integration