Outdoor Adventure Park Now Accessible For Deaf Community

They experienced white water rafting, kayaking, paddle boarding and river crossing at Trillian Wero White Water Park – which thanks to the advocacy from Rachael Batters of Tuia Waitākere and Ko Taku Reo kaimahi Theresa McCreight, is now equipped with safety videos for the deaf and hard of hearing community.

Creating the three safety videos is a part of the mahi that Tuia Waitākere does to support equitable access to inclusive movement, especially for our priority communities. With the incredible support of Wero Water Park staff new safety videos were filmed and original videos were passed along to Ko Taku Reo Teacher Theresa McCreight the original spoken video was transcribed and then translated into New Zealand Sign Language by Translator, James Anderson-Pole. Three rangatahi (Tiana Petre, Trisha Llorca & Sumeya Ali) from Ko Taku Reo then volunteered to be a part of the videos and learned the signs for their respective videos.

The safety videos are now available through both Wero and Ko Taku Reo, providing important safety information in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL).  This is a significant step towards making Wero a more inclusive and accessible space, removing communication barriers and giving Deaf and hard of hearing tamariki, rangatahi and whānau greater confidence to safely participate in new experiences and adventures.

“We want full access to all activities – not just here in Auckland, but right through New Zealand. We need access because it’s not fair. All the hearing people can understand but we have barriers. Sometimes we can’t read or write, so we need access to things like this in our own language to know the full information.” Says Sumeya.

At Tuia Waitākere, we believe everyone deserves the opportunity to lead healthy, active lives. Working alongside the deaf community to remove communication barriers is an important part of making that commitment a reality.

“This project is more than just an opportunity for students to have a day out. Many people within the deaf community are currently limited in the opportunities which they can access, due the language barrier they live with, opportunities which we take for granted. By working with the amazing staff at Trillion Wero Water Park and Ko Taku Reo to make these videos, we are opening the doors for people nationally to safely access new spaces and activities.” Tuia Waitākere Healthy Active Learning Advisor, Rachael Batters says.

These new resources are evidence of how collaboration, inclusion and accessibility can create new opportunities for communities that may otherwise get overlooked. It was also important for Tuia Waitākere to not just do this mahi in isolation, but rather collaborate with the Deaf community to get these videos created.

“Having Ko Taku Reo learners present these videos show that Deaf can do anything!  What great role models for our younger learners, as it provides evidence that they too can do anything now and in the future. 

However, I believe what is more valuable is that this project has created a resource which can be used to allow access for the wider Deaf Community in Aotearoa New Zealand.” Therese McCreight told us.

When Tiana filmed her video, she knew that she won’t be joining her fellow Ko Taku Reo students at Wero, as she’ll be in Japan representing New Zealand at the World Deaf Rugby Sevens championships. Being a part of the Deaf Ferns squad, advocating for more inclusivity in all spaces is an important part of her drive, so that more adventure sports and fun, high-risk activities can be enjoyed by the deaf and hard of hearing community.

 “Including deaf and hard of hearing people is important so we can all join in and enjoy ourselves.” Tiana says.

For those in the deaf and hard of hearing community, who may now be able to access Wero Whitewater Park, Trisha has one message for you:

“Come and have a look at the activity, try it out and have fun!”