Park People’s Executive Director, Erika Nikolai, has been honoured with the Distinguished Individual Award from World Urban Parks—an international recognition that celebrates her leadership and the growing national movement Park People has helped build here in Canada.
Why are events in parks important? How do grants fit into Park People’s larger goals for creating change in city parks?
The emerging stream of the Park People Nature Connect Fund provides up to $5,000 to grassroots and registered organizations across Canada that connect people with nature, foster ecological stewardship, and restore urban parks and green spaces.
The scaling stream of the Park People Nature Connect Fund offers up to $20,000 to registered organizations across Canada that connect people with nature while fostering ecological stewardship and restoring urban parks.
Learn more about green social prescribing, an evolving practice that encourages individuals to reestablish connections with nature and one another to enhance their mental, physical, and social wellbeing.
A reflection on the BEING BLACK IN PUBLIC Survey Report, exploring how Black communities experience parks and public spaces, and what fosters joy and belonging.
How do we build a healthier, greener, more joyful Toronto? We start at the park. Discover how communities across the city have transformed their green spaces over the past fifteen years. Then roll up your sleeves and help shape what comes next.
By donating to Park People, you’ll support vibrant parks for everyone.
Park People
Sep 1, 2010 Toronto, Ontario
Fertile Ground for New Thinking: Improving Toronto’s Parks
Toronto has amazing parks. There are more than 1,500 of them and 80 square kilometres of parkland and natural spaces in the city. Half of the people in the city visit a park at least once a week and almost 14% visit a park every day.
But our parks are not as good as they could be.
Executive Director Dave Harvey used his Fellowship with the Metcalf Foundation to research and write this report on improving our parks. This paper identifies a number of problems facing Toronto’s parks and explores opportunities and recommendations to overcome them.
The report was very well received and became the inspiration for launching Park People.
“We’ve taken our parks for granted, neglected the need for improvements, and they are languishing. […] Toronto’s parks are fertile ground for fresh new thinking.”
Explore opportunities and recommendations to address issues in Toronto parks
Explore key findings from five years of the Canadian City Parks Report, highlighting significant trends, issues, and practices shaping urban parks across the country.
A guidance and resources to measure the impact of your park work on community health and wellbeing, integrating a social equity lens.
Discover the impact of the Sparking Change program in Toronto on community health, equity, human-nature connection, and ecological integrity.