Accessibility

Genesee Land Trust preserves and protects natural lands and waterways that enhance the quality of life in the Greater Rochester region— providing wildlife habitat, locally grown food, and connections to nature— for everyone.

Everyone has the right to access the outdoors. At Genesee Land Trust we strive to serve every person in our community, including people with disabilities, by becoming increasingly more accessible and by providing an inclusive environment at the nature preserves we manage and the programs and events we offer. We encourage you to join with us in this ongoing process towards greater inclusion. Your feedback, ideas, and suggestions are welcomed!

Several of our nature preserves have been assessed to enable you to make a more informed decision regarding your exploration of these areas. Learn about individual nature preserves and plan your next visit by visiting www.geneseelandtrust.org/explore. After reviewing these descriptions, we encourage you to reach out to us with any questions or to discuss accommodations that we might make to help your experience with us and in the outdoors, enjoyable.

Please contact us at any time. We appreciate learning how our properties and programs can better serve you. We are happy to assist you and invite you to reach out to our Inclusion Point of Contact, Elliotte Bowerman.

Inclusion Point of Contact:
Elliotte Bowerman
Director of Communications
(585) 450-3938
ebowerman@geneseelandtrust.org

POLICIES

Nature Preserve Visits: Genesee Land Trust invites you to bring your dog, service animal, and/or emotional support, comfort and companion animals when you visit our nature preserves as long as they’re leashed, under your control, and picked up after. Since we don’t have trash bins at our nature preserves, we ask that you carry in and carry out all pet waste. 

Program Events: Dogs, other pets, emotional support, comfort, and companion animals are not allowed at Genesee Land Trust events including walks and talks, special events, and volunteer events unless it’s noted in the event description. Although your pet may be friendly, everyone has different familiarity and experiences with animals. Thank you for being respectful to other attendees. 

Service Animals: Service animals, which are dogs or miniature horses that are specifically trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities, are welcome at Genesee Land Trust events and nature preserves unless noted in the event description. Service animals must always be under the control of the handler, housebroken, cleaned up after, and vaccinated in accordance with state laws.  

For any questions around pets, emotional support animals, and/or service animals, please reach out to Elliotte Bowerman, Inclusion Point of Contact, at ebowerman@geneseelandtrust.org or (585) 450-3938. 

Visitors who use motorized mobility equipment including power wheelchairs and scooters are welcomed at all Genesee Land Trust nature preserves and events including walks and talks, special events, and volunteer events. Please refer to the nature preserve description and/or event description for parking lot and trail descriptions to ensure they are suited for your motorized mobility equipment. 

Recreational motorized vehicles are not permitted at Genesee Land Trust nature preserves and events. 

Support Resource: If there is specific mobility equipment you need to explore our trails and nature preserves, we invite you to reach out to Endless Highway, a Rochester-based non-profit dedicated to ensuring children and adults who use mobility devices have opportunities to participate in adaptive and inclusive sports, recreation, and arts. You can contact them directly by calling (585) 739-2659 or completing this online form.   

For any questions around motorized mobility equipment, please reach out to Elliotte Bowerman, Inclusion Point of Contact, at ebowerman@geneseelandtrust.org or (585) 450-3938. 

Personal Care Assistants, friends, or family members that assist you are always welcome at all Genesee Land Trust nature preserves and events including walks and talks, special events, and volunteer events. Because events can fill up quickly, we ask that you register that person in addition to yourself when signing up. If you need support scheduling an assistant or need to confirm with your assistant, please register for two people and leave a note and we will follow up with you directly. 

Support Resource: Rochester Accessible Adventures has a “community pal” trail buddy program that connects trained volunteers with individuals who request support or companionship during their visit to a nature preserve or to attend an event. You can contact them directly at RAA@RochesterAccessibleAdventures.org at least one day ahead of time. They will do their best to match you with a volunteer. 

For questions around personal care assistants, please reach out to Elliotte Bowerman, Inclusion Point of Contact, at ebowerman@geneseelandtrust.org or (585) 450-3938. 

Accessibility Improvements to Preserves

January 2025

1st Day Hike - Cocoa + Critter Stroll

To start the new year outside, Genesee Land Trust hosted an event celebrating the return of the fisher to our Brookdale Preserve woods and installed a temporary “Fisher Fun Facts” trail along the Genesee Valley Greenway State Park. Our team partnered with NY State Parks to offer a sensory table with a wildlife expert, had an ASL interpreter, and provided a fact-finding sheet to encourage people to engage with the trail. More than 150 people joined the annual event.

October 2024

New Observation Deck Improves Outdoor Access - Just in time for the fall bird migration, an elevated observation deck with an accessible ramp, benches, and shade has opened at Salmon Creek Nature Preserve (492 Bennett Rd. in Hilton). The trail to the deck is wide, grassy, and has some bumps and ruts we are still working to smooth. There is also a slight incline to the 0.5-mile trail from the parking lot to the deck. Rochester Birding Association provided funding to help create the deck, and volunteers from Rochester Davis-Fetch and the Carpenters Union Local 276 built it from rot-resistant native black locust as part of their workforce development program.

A ribbon cutting was held Oct. 28th.

May 2024

Genesee Land Trust receives one of ten national grants from Disabled Hikers and the Land Trust Alliance. This, when combined with local support, will help continue making improvements such as these:

• Instead of single-width footpaths, wherever possible trails will be wide enough for two people.

• Parking lots, which increase safety and accessibility for all visitors, will be built sooner at several new nature preserves.

• Adding shade, seating, and inclusive signage are priorities for new and existing preserves.

• Sign language interpreters can be requested in advance at all Land Trust events.

Progress 2022-2024

Over the past two years, thanks to the compassion and generosity of Genesee Land Trust members, we’ve made great improvements. In addition to the observation deck, highlights include:

6 Parking lots- created or expanded at our nature preserves

6 Benches built for scenic resting- 3 at Salmon Creek Nature Preserve and 3 at Cornwall Preserve

4 Ramps installed- to replaces steps up to bridges and boardwalks at Irene Gossin Nature Preserve and Cornwall Preserve

2 New designs for trail signs- created to improve readability

1 Shade structure- built over a bench at Salmon Creek Nature Preserve

1 Boardwalk updated- with toe-kicks to keep wheels from rolling off at Cornwall Preserve

We plan to share more details with you about how we’re becoming a more accessible and inclusive organization on this webpage in the months and years ahead. We welcome your input.

Photo Descriptions

Photo 1: A smiling mother and daughter in a wheelchair hold up a sign that says "I care about" with a picture of planet Earth underneath it, on a sunny fall day at Conkey Corner Park in Rochester.

Photo 2: Two people in blue vests and white hats smile and talk next to a tent during the opening of Salmon Creek Nature Preserve (Hilton).

Photo 3: A young boy stands next to a ramp he and his father built together on a trail at Brookdale Preserve (Chili).

Photo 4: An event attendee in a black hat and sunglasses uses a power chair on a trail at Salmon Creek Nature Preserve (Hilton).

Photo 5: A staff member shares information with an individual with a hat and hiking pole at Irene Gossin Nature Preserve (Penfield).

Photo 6: A group of volunteers install the foundation of an observation deck at Macyville Woods Nature Preserve (Sodus Point).

Photo 7: An ASL interpreter in a white hat during the 2023 Winter Solstice event at Wild Hill Farm (land in Ionia protected by Genesee Land Trust).

Photo 8: Four people traversing the stone dust Genesee Greenway State Park trail (Chili) at our 2024 First Day event.

Photo 9: A new Genesee Land Trust signpost with white, orange, and purple signs help direct visitors on a meadow trail.

Photo 10: Genesee Land Trust staff (and Tilley the dog) use a tape measure to get the width of a parking spot in the parking lot of Salmon Creek Nature Preserve (Hilton).