New York State
Inclusive Recreation Resource Center

Now Featuring.... Kathy Ambrosini

On a routine basis, the NYS IRRC features an individual or agency whose work promotes opportunities for  people of all ages and abilities to play wherever they choose.

This summer, we are recognizing Kathy Ambrosini for her great work in inclusive outdoor education.

For the past three years, the New York State Inclusive Recreation Resource Center has been training recreation professionals, students and volunteers to gather accurate and descriptive information about recreation places and spaces using the Inclusivity Assessment Tool. The information is available in a database on the NYS IRRC’s website, www.nysirrc.org. In honor of her significant contribution to the fields of both outdoor education and inclusion and for the amount of Inclusivity Assessments she has completed for the NYS IRRC’s on-line resource, Kathy Ambrosini has been chosen for recognition as an Inclusivity Hero.

Kathy is the Director of Education at the Mohonk Preserve, located near New Paltz. There, Kathy oversees all of the programming for people of all ages and abilities and serves as the agency’s Inclusion Point of Contact.

Kathy began her experience in environmental education while obtaining her undergraduate degree from Cornell in Natural Resources and her Master’s in Outdoor Teacher Education from Northern Illinois University. Throughout her twenty-two years of experience, Kathy has met and overcome challenges in serving people of all abilities. She began her career working as the School Coordinator at the Mohonk Preserve. Her main task was to develop and implement programming for local school children in the Field Studies program.

Her interest in inclusion began when she noticed that school children with disabilities only participated in a limited amount of the outdoor educational programming offered to their classmates at the preserve or, even worse, they were often left behind at school while their classmates visited the preserve. Kathy set out to develop inclusive outdoor educational programming, which focused on younger children, that allowed people of all abilities to work together to develop their strengths and abilities. This programming has become the Nature Access Program, which includes field studies, outreach programs, summer camps, public programs, environmental education training for teachers, and self guided group visits, as well as individual and family visits.

With her growing experience and expertise in outdoor education and inclusion, other parks and environmental educational professionals looking to make their facilities and programs accessible called upon Kathy. Before long, Kathy was spending more and more time on the phone answering questions, prompting her to write her book Making Outdoor Programs Accessible. The book focuses on developing inclusive programming, inclusive teaching techniques and universal design.

During a New York State Outdoor Education Association conference a few years ago in Lake Placid, Kathy met the staff of the New York State Inclusive Recreation Resource Center and participated in Inclusion U training. Since then, Kathy has completed half dozen inclusivity assessments and is working to reach her goal of assessing the 25 sites that participated in the Hudson Valley Accessible Parks and Nature Centers Workshop. Kathy has been motivated in completing inclusivity assessments because she knows that parks and nature centers are great places for learning; they just need assistance in opening their doors to people of all abilities.

The New York State Inclusive Recreation Resource Center would once again like to thank Kathy Ambrosini for her contribution to outdoor education and inclusion and for her completion of so many inclusivity assessments. Congratulations Kathy!

Written by Mark Turnbull, SUNY Cortland TR Masters Student