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.
she/they
Climate community organizer, Eco-arts practitioner, Outdoor leader, Policy Analyst
Sayemin is a climate advocate committed to building a more climate-just future—one project at a time. She is passionate about bridging gaps in climate initiatives through a multidisciplinary approach rooted in arts, land-based stewardship, and cross-cultural intergenerational knowledge transfer.
An economist by education, she works as a policy analyst for the BC Public Service. Outside her professional role, she is an active climate community organizer in Vancouver, serving in various leadership roles. She is a board member of the BIPOC Sustainability Collective and a co-founder of Solastalgia, a youth-led grassroots initiative that uses creative content, art, and land-based events like eco-walks to amplify youth and intergenerational voices on eco-anxiety.
Sayemin embraces a holistic approach to climate justice advocacy, grounded in her deep connection to nature. As an aspiring outdoor leader, she is eager to integrate advocacy with land-based educational activities that inspire action and use nature as a healing space for eco-anxiety. She is dedicated to removing barriers to accessing nature, parks, and outdoor spaces for historically excluded groups – because “nature is for all”
Sayemin is certified as an Outdoor Council of Canada field leader and an Interpretive Guides Association interpretive guide.