Note: A plain-text version of this poem and accompanying image descriptions follows the image-based poem below.

– McMaster Disability Zine Team (Evonne, Alise, Danny, Emunah, Tanisha, and Vikita)

Growing Accessibility

The Mac Zine Team wants to grow accessibility for students with disabilities, and see this Zine project as one way of doing so. This poem was developed through collective reflections on our experiences of the project and working together, identification of an overarching metaphor, and then group poetry-writing, led by Evonne.

How might we grow accessibility? Here are 7 steps.

Step 1: Choose a safe spot in the forest

Take a stroll through the Forest of Disability Community.

Choose a safe growing spot that is welcoming with plenty of soil, direct sunlight, and neighbouring trees of a like kind – a place of care and kindness where we can celebrate our differences.

The support of the Other Trees protects this one from predators – like ableist attitudes and actions in the post-secondary environment.

Image contains the introduction to the poem and step one of Growing Accessibility. Visual elements include cartoon human and bird footprints, as well as a photograph of a forest with many trees and mossy undergrowth.

Step 2: Root into rich history

Dig a hole and understand there is rich history in this soil.

In previous generations, this Forest of Disability Community was less vibrant and strong. The soil recalls histories of toxicity and deforestation – efforts to separate and isolate disabled people from each other and to prevent and diminish our interdependent and collective growth; rigid education structures and styles of teaching that exclude disabled students.

Past tree seedlings did not receive sufficient support to thrive here.  Their concerns – dismissed. Their needs – left unmet. We remember them. Their spirit lives on, nurturing new growth through decomposition; the lives they lived and the work they did break down, feed, transform, and sustain our work now.

In spite of foresters’ neglect to create a safe space, a Forest of Disability Community survives here.

Image contains the second step of Growing Accessibility. There is also a photograph of a large tree with roots exposed.

Step 3: Plant hopefully

Plant the tree seedling in hopes of growth.

Dream of how this seedling can contribute to the Forest of Disability Community – the important accessibility initiatives it can inspire, and how these might contribute to change and freedom.

Image contains step three of Growing Accessibility. There are two photographs also displayed: The first captures a person’s hands holding a small clump of dirt with a baby plant. The second is of a forest with many young trees.

Step 4: Care and encourage

Devise an Action Plan to nurture and support the seedling’s development. Accessibility work can be hard – frustrating, exhausting, tinkering in small ways over time. It can also be thrilling – finding new connections, creating community, seeing tangible effects of our work.

Be sure to water the seedling and check up on it from time to time. See how much water and it needs and experiment with what works and what doesn’t – should you meet your Tree in The Forest to water it once a week, or twice?

Does it need more fertilizer? Offer it nourishment, company, comfort so that strong trunks can support the dreams of branches and leaves.

Encourage the seedling to develop deep expansive roots – connecting itself to the collective histories of the other trees in the forest, to its own history, and to other accessibility work.

*          *          *          *          *          *

Step 5: Patiently wait

Watch your efforts pay off as the sapling grows tall, branches out, buds, blossoms, blooms, and bears fruit.

As the space is nurtured, a habitat forms here, further supporting wildlife and becoming a home. The accessibility initiative develops, gains traction, cultivates networks, inspires change. Something is accomplished, but the work is far from final.

Celebrate your results, but not only results – also the space you have nurtured. This is part of the work.

Image contains steps four and five of Growing Accessibility. There is also a photograph of small yellow, white, and red flowers.

Step 6: Sustain attention

Do not abandon the tree as it grows and changes. Accessibility is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process. One that lives, just as the tree lives. The Tree needs checkups and nourishment to keep it living strong. It’s a group effort – each creature does its part to take care of the forest in what ways they can.

Maintenance and sustainability are important parts of an accessibility initiative. Continue the legacy; we mustn’t stagnate.

Be sure to prune  the tree from time to time to support growth and well-being. Keep it healthy and watered so it can continue to flourish.

Image contains step six of Growing Accessibility. There is a photograph of a hand holding a growing plant. There are also cartoon human and bird footprints and moose tracks, as well as cartoon bees and worms displayed around the photograph.

Step 7: Conference and spread

Conference with other trees – those in Forests of Disability Community like yours, but also trees in other forests. Let them know about one another to intertangle our roots and spread our seeds – forming alliances and broader networks of accessibility.

Watch those outside the Forest, who’ve been observing its growth. Teach them how they can support forests of disability community and accessibility. By sharing what you know of violent and neglectful histories and their damage to the Forest of Disability Community, and observing your example of nurturing accessibility, others can implement steps of the same kind.

In all of this, speak for the trees.

Image contains step seven of Growing Accessibility. There is also a landscape photograph of bright green treetops fading out into the distance, with a brown river in the centre. The sun is setting with light blue and orange colours and a few faded blue clouds. 

– McMaster Disability Zine Team (Evonne, Alise, Danny, Emunah, Tanisha, and Vikita)