R4 Connections: Disabled in the Wild: A Beginner’s Guide to Chronic Illness and Disabilities in the Outdoors

Posted by liaison on October 6th, 2025 Posted in: Webinars and Courses

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Join us for an exciting webinar led by passionate disability advocate, Amy Denton-Luke, who is on a mission to make nature more accessible and enjoyable for all. Whether you are new to outdoor adventures or looking for fresh ways to connect with nature, this session will introduce practical tips, inclusive strategies, and encouragement to help you embrace the outdoors with confidence and joy.

Registration is required to attend. Please note: You must be a NNLM member to register (it’s free!). Can’t join us live? Register anyway to receive the recording after the event. Please reach out to region4@nnlm.gov with any questions you may have.

• Date and Time: Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. MT
• Session Length: 60 minutes
• Guest Speaker: Amy Denton-Luke
• Description: In this program, disability advocate Amy Denton-Luke introduces the basics of learning how to enjoy the outdoors with chronic illness and disabilities, including choosing the right activities and outdoor spaces that are the best fit for our abilities, exploring the adaptations and equipment that may increase our enjoyment and decrease our recovery time, and finding the right approach and mindset to outdoor recreation that takes into account the reality of our bodies and limitations while also keeping our focus on the big picture goal: simply enjoying our time in the outdoors. This program also invites non-disabled folks to learn what challenges and specific considerations disabled and chronically ill folks may have to navigate as they adventure into the outdoors, as well as what accessibility in outdoor spaces means to people with different disabilities. Embracing a more neutral and balanced view of life with disability, Amy encourages all folks to leave behind notions of Supercrips and Inspiration, and reminds us that it is not about “overcoming” our disabilities, it is simply about working with our unique bodies and finding what works best for us.

NNLM has additional resources related to disabilities, including reading suggestions and related guides.