This year again, local leaders gathered their neighbours, built connections, and restored nature in projects big and small. The movement continues to expand, and we're pleased to share just some of these impacts in our 2025 Impact Report.
Ready to rally your crew and make a visible difference in your local park? This guide walks you through everything you need to host a successful community clean-up in Toronto
Creative ways to connect people to nature, community, and care for ravines in Toronto.
Parc Jarry in Montreal, Toronto’s waterfront, CRAB Park in Vancouver… People are coming together to protect the places they love.
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.
Host free, community-led park activities in Toronto with the No-Fee Community Activations Booking. This hour-long virtual session will walk you through the booking: what's eligible, and how to apply step by step.
By donating to Park People, you’ll support vibrant parks for everyone.
When you think of a park, what do you see? Maybe it’s children chasing a soccer ball, picnics on sunny afternoons, or joggers winding down leafy trails. But at Park People, we know that the quietest stories can be the most powerful—and that parks hold untapped potential to change lives, especially for seniors.
It may surprise you to learn that seniors—who make up nearly 20% of Canada’s population—represent just 4% of park users. That’s a missed opportunity, because the benefits are profound. According to a study by CARP, living near a park reduces loneliness in seniors at a rate four times greater than even having children.
That’s where Park People’s Senior Park Champions program in Metro Vancouver comes in.
Every year, we support a group of inspiring older adults in Metro Vancouver to reclaim their place in nature by leading events in their local parks. With hands-on training, peer mentorship, and seed funding, each Senior Champion becomes a spark in their community—fostering belonging, joy, and wellness one gathering at a time.
Take Rita Wong, for example. When she joined the program, she wasn’t expecting just how deeply it would affect her. “It improved my physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being,” she said. “It was beyond words.” Through the program, Rita didn’t just find personal growth—she became a vibrant community leader, organizing park events.. Her efforts didn’t stop at the boundaries of a single program; they rippled outward, energizing her entire neighbourhood.
Then there’s C. Wong, whose first year as a Champion in 2023 offered a powerful window into the importance of intergenerational and cross-cultural connection. Hosting events that brought together Indigenous community members and local seniors in East Vancouver, C. Wong saw firsthand how nature could serve as a meeting ground for healing and unity—even through the rain. Inspired, they returned the following year as a mentor in 2024, championing inclusivity for differently abled individuals and those of non-normative gender identities.
“It deepened my understanding of the barriers people face, and strengthened my commitment to building truly inclusive communities.”
C. Wong, Park Senior Champions in 2023
One particularly heartwarming initiative emerged last year when a group of senior leaders asked a simple but powerful question: What about those who can’t come to the park? Their answer was beautifully creative. Using natural elements, sensory materials, calming sounds, and projected visuals, they brought nature indoors, creating immersive environments for individuals with disabilities who were unable to join outdoor activities. These gentle, multi-sensory experiences offered participants a chance to feel the forest floor, listen to birdsong, and gaze at blooming meadows—all from within the comfort of their own spaces.
These indoor sessions became some of the most popular events in the program, drawing up to 30 participants each time. Their success highlights not just a growing demand for accessible nature-based programming, but also the ingenuity of community-led solutions rooted in empathy. These Champions proved that you don’t have to be outside to feel connected to nature—you just have to be welcomed in.
To date, 30 Senior Champions have engaged 600+ seniors across Metro Vancouver in inclusive, meaningful ways. And this year, it could be your turn.
As a Senior Park Champion, you’ll receive:
You’ll have the freedom to create events that reflect your passions—be it Tai Chi under the trees, birdwatching mornings, knitting circles, Indigenous plant walks, art in the park, or cozy indoor nature retreats. Whatever your vision, we’re here to help you bring it to life.
Because the Senior Champion Program is more than events. It’s a movement of older adults reclaiming their place as leaders, connectors, and caretakers of community and nature.
Apply now to become a Senior Park Champion—and help make your neighbourhood a little more connected, inclusive, and vibrant.
“When we make space for seniors in our parks, we grow more than community—we grow care.”
Michelle Cutts, Director of Communications and Development
Every year, Park People brings together our network of changemakers—neighbours, volunteers, municipal staff, nonprofits, park leaders, and advocates—at our Park People Summits.
Held in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, these summits are more than just local networking events. They’re important moments for us to pause our work, to connect with one another, and to expand our sense of what’s possible in our cities.
At a Park People summit, anyone who cares about urban parks can join the movement to build vibrant, inclusive, and community-powered parks.
How Canadians access and care for their parks is changing dramatically. From increasing rates of social isolation to the instability of climate change, we need everyone at the table if we’re to build more resilient urban parks that meet our growing cities’ needs.
Park People was born from this same spirit. In 2011, a group of Toronto volunteers gathered around a simple but radical question: “How can we all play a role in making our parks better to serve people and neighbourhoods?” This idea struck a chord throughout our city, and a strong network of local park groups, programs, and partnerships began taking root.
But we didn’t stop there. In 2017, we hosted our first national conference in Calgary to bring together park leaders from across Canada to imagine what might be possible if we collaborated on a national scale. That gathering helped launch Park People’s National Network, which now includes over 1,400 park groups in 46 cities spanning every province. This first summit was proof that the grassroots potential we saw in Toronto existed everywhere, and that local ideas can ripple into national change.
We summit because urban parks aren’t just green spaces, they’re people spaces. As city dwellers, they’re our stages for connection, culture, protest, rest, and joy. And behind each well-loved local park are countless stories of community care, from the volunteers who organize clean-ups, to the artists who animate their spaces with music, movement, and meaning.
That’s why we summit: we’ve seen firsthand that when we come together and share these stories, we can create a parks movement that’s truly transformative.
This year’s Toronto Parks Summit is happening on Saturday, June 14, from 12 to 6 PM at Daniels Spectrum, and anyone who cares about parks is invited. You’ll hear stories of creative collaborations and meet the people shaping the future of our city parks. Between sessions, there will be time to connect over food, visit interactive community stations, and share your own experiences as part of this growing network.
Our keynote speaker is interdisciplinary artist Ange Loft, who’ll reflect on Indigenous presence and partnerships in parks, followed by a stellar panel on community-driven initiatives featuring Ana Cuciureanu (Splash on Earth & City of Toronto) Julia Hitchcock (Apothecary’s Garden and Teaching Gardens at Churchill Park), Shakhlo Sharipova (Thorncliffe Park Autism Support Network) and moderated by Eunice Wong (Monumental).
Whether you’re a long-time advocate or just starting your park journey, the Toronto Parks Summit is your space to learn about contemporary park issues. Because real change in our parks doesn’t start from the top down—it grows from the ground up.
And that’s why we summit.
Toronto Park Summit: Saturday, June 14, 2025, 12-6pm ET at Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas St E, Toronto, ON), Tickets start from $5.
If you require a bursary for transportation or attendance, please reach out to Cynthia Hashie.
Join us and hundreds of park changemakers across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
Each year, we support 20 or more InTO the Ravines Champions, working in pairs, with training and support to help them host their own events in Toronto’s ravines.
Meet the 2026 Champions, and hear why they love and care about the ravines, and what the program means for them.
“We get to take time to commune together and frolic to the sounds of birds and running water and rustling leaves, with our friends, family and neighbours—there’s nothing better than that!”
“We believe that our future is deeply rooted in how we honor and listen to Mother Nature today. Becoming InTO the Ravines Champions is our way of creating a sanctuary of connection where people can pause, breathe, and remember their sacred bond with the wild earth. By fostering this deep intimacy with Toronto’s ravine systems, we aim to plant the seeds of collective care, breathing life into a more conscious, connected community that treasures the land as our ultimate home.”
“Nature is healing and the ravines help us to connect with nature in the city. Ravines remind us of the stretch and reach of water. A reminder that this land is truly all connected. A ravine is like a little escape that does not require a long car ride or a huge amount of planning. Once I am in the ravine, the calm and the quiet gives me space to think and enjoy a little bit of nature within the city.
I also love to see that the ravine is used by everyone…kids, families, pets, friends and solo visitors. It feels like community. Interacting with it ties us to the land as part of nature’s story.”
“Being an InTO the Ravines champion is important to me because I get the opportunity to learn more about our beautiful Ravines and then pass on said knowledge while sharing my love for nature. Knowledge Is Power so this will positively impact my community members who are not aware how our daily habits can harm our Ravines & nature on a whole. Seeing it firsthand through our nature related activity will also enhance the effect of what is verbally said to my community members.” Rasheida
“Nature, history and meditation – I would like to have an event where we talk about how the Ravines add to the ecological stability of the City, and why it is important for us to protect the Ravines” -Shanta
“As InTO the Ravines Champions, we are able to host events in the Ravine parks introducing the public to astronomy citizen science and stargazing from within the city. This also gives a chance for astronomy hobbyist in Scarborough that may not be able to make it to other stargazing events a chance to attend one.”
“We are excited to become InTO the Ravines Champions because it gives us the opportunity to connect with nature, learn more about Toronto’s ravines, and encourage others in our community to enjoy these beautiful spaces. We believe this program will benefit our community by promoting outdoor activity, environmental awareness, social connections, and greater access to natural spaces for people of all ages.”
“We’re excited to become InTO the Ravines Champions because we want to invite people to connect with others they might not normally cross paths with, and explore local green spaces they may not have spent time in before. We see ravines as places where both of those things can happen at once, helping strengthen people’s sense of connection with their neighbours, their community, and the public green spaces around them.”
Learn more about InTO the Ravines Champions the City of Toronto’s Ravine Strategy.
Large urban parks are critical spaces for city residents to build meaningful connections to nature and each other. We already know that people who engage in hands-on, nature-focused activities in parks experience powerful social connections; a sense of belonging, meaning and purpose in their lives; greater physical health; and overall life satisfaction. We need more parks that can lead by example in extending those benefits to equity-deserving communities across Canada.
This summer, Park People welcomes new partners into the Cornerstone Parks program. Everett Crowley Park & the Champlain Height Trails join founding parks High Park, Mount Royal and Stanley Park and new members: the Darlington Ecological Corridor and Meewasin Valley Authority. Together they hold space for nature in cities and demonstrate what’s possible for communities within large urban parks.
The Cornerstone Parks Reports on Stewardship and Park Use demonstrate that volunteer park stewardship makes people healthier and happier. Among the findings:
Unfortunately, these benefits aren’t equitably enjoyed:
The Canadian City Parks Report also found that post-pandemic, surveyed BIPOC Canadians became more interested in stewardship activities (70%) than white respondents (54%).
So what are the ongoing barriers to park stewardship for diverse communities? And who is helping to support those communities’ well-being by overcoming them?
In equity-deserving communities such as Champlain Heights in South Vancouver, B.C., park groups play a crucial role in supporting residents’ health and well-being. Champlain Heights contains a former city landfill and now boasts the fifth largest park in Vancouver, Everett Crowley. Everett Crowley is a 40-hectare park home to Avalon Pond and Kinross Creek, which provide critical habitats for birds, amphibians, fish, and other wildlife. The park and adjoining Champlain Heights trail system are part of the only 4% of native forest remaining in the city. Champlain Heights has hundreds of low-income, co-op, strata, and seniors’ housing units alongside some of the city’s oldest trees.
The City of Vancouver dedicated Everett Crowley Park in 1987 after lobbying by local residents. Those residents then created the Everett Crowley Park Committee (ECPC), a sub-committee of the Champlain Heights Community Association. The committee’s mission is to encourage stewardship of this resilient urban forest by hosting community stewardship events, outdoor education, and an annual Earth Day festival. In 2022, 306 volunteers contributed nearly 1,000 hours towards park stewardship, removing approximately 80 cubic meters of invasive plants.
Just east of Everett Crowley, another stewardship group is hard at work in the trail system that winds through Champlain Heights. In 2021, local residents noticed invasive plants taking over the trails. Together they formed Free the Fern. Like the ECPC, Free the Fern brings their community together through environmental stewardship activities such as invasive plant pulls and native planting events. Since 2021, their 277 volunteers have removed 50.33 tons of invasive plants. They’ve also planted over 1,300 native plants.
“Parks are not simply places of respite with grass and trees. They are critical pieces of the social infrastructure of our cities. We believe they have a role to play in creating more inclusive, equitable places shaped by and for the people living there.”Sparking Change Report
“Parks are not simply places of respite with grass and trees. They are critical pieces of the social infrastructure of our cities. We believe they have a role to play in creating more inclusive, equitable places shaped by and for the people living there.”
Sparking Change Report
Our Sparking Change Report suggests five ways of catalyzing social impact through parks, particularly in underserved neighbourhoods:
We spoke with Grace Nombrado, Executive Director of Free the Fern, to understand how these five factors appear in Champlain Heights.
Becoming involved in a local park can foster a sense of possibility, creating momentum for change that can galvanize others. One strategy for creating shared ownership is pairing park improvements with conversations about ongoing community involvement.
The Champlain Heights Community Centre is jointly operated by the Vancouver Park Board and the Champlain Heights Community Association (CHCA). The CHCA is also the steward of Everett Crowley Park. The community centre is a neighbourhood “anchor” that offers residents leisure activities and an entry point for involvement in the park and trails. Through community events, notice boards, and tool storage, the centre creates a relationship between the (indoor) resources available to community members and their potential to create change through improvements within the park, along the trails, and beyond.
Building skills and confidence through volunteering in the park can ripple outwards, leading to greater civic engagement. Hiring a community organizer from within the local neighbourhood can be a crucial support pillar for volunteers. This helps build capacity and ensure groups remain community-led.
As Free the Fern’s founder-turned-Executive Director, Grace is a passionate volunteer who recruits, coordinates, and supports fellow neighbourhood stewards. “All our current 9 board members live within the neighbourhood of Champlain Heights,” Grace notes.
“Most of our volunteers who attend our monthly pulls and fall planting live a short walk from the trail. This year, as part of our Native Food Forest project, we have incorporated outreach events so that the larger community can be informed and share their ideas with the project. We distribute flyers to townhouses adjacent to the trail and post them on local community Facebook groups. In addition, we have signage on the trail that directs people to our website to learn more and get involved with Free the Fern. It is so important that those living within this neighbourhood have a hand in stewarding the Champlain Heights Trail system.” Grace Nombrado, Executive Director of Free the Fern
“Most of our volunteers who attend our monthly pulls and fall planting live a short walk from the trail. This year, as part of our Native Food Forest project, we have incorporated outreach events so that the larger community can be informed and share their ideas with the project. We distribute flyers to townhouses adjacent to the trail and post them on local community Facebook groups. In addition, we have signage on the trail that directs people to our website to learn more and get involved with Free the Fern. It is so important that those living within this neighbourhood have a hand in stewarding the Champlain Heights Trail system.”
Grace Nombrado, Executive Director of Free the Fern
While improving a park’s physical infrastructure can invite more people to use it, what really brings a park to life are activities and events that engage people in meaningful ways. Park programming needs to be inclusive and representative of the local community.
“Inclusivity is a journey, one that will continue as long as you seek to understand and better serve your community,” Grace says. “I have learned so much about how to be more inclusive by listening to volunteers.” She cites stories of community members directly shaping Free the Fern’s inclusion practices: from purchasing extendable garden tools for wheelchair users and ergonomic tools for people with arthritis to offering free food and beverage for volunteers and ensuring all events remain free. Future plans include budgeting for babysitting at events and offering prepaid transit vouchers.
“Everyone deserves access to environmental education, no matter their financial situation.” Grace Nombrado
“Everyone deserves access to environmental education, no matter their financial situation.”
Grace Nombrado
Parks have a long history as democratic spaces, catalyzing interactions between people of different backgrounds. It’s important to recognize and remove barriers to those people working together. One strategy is for municipalities to review park oversight through an equity lens to ensure they are not creating obstacles–like a lack of clarity around park management and what’s permitted.
“When people ask me, ‘Is this city land?’, I say, ‘Yes, and WE are the city.’ We, as citizens, should see park spaces as spaces for all of us. Spaces for us to gather and spaces for us to care and connect with the land.” Grace Nombrado
“When people ask me, ‘Is this city land?’, I say, ‘Yes, and WE are the city.’ We, as citizens, should see park spaces as spaces for all of us. Spaces for us to gather and spaces for us to care and connect with the land.”
Grace talks about balancing the initial fear of breaking city rules with a determination to be transparent. Free the Fern formed when diverse citizens decided to steward the land together. The city was not sure what to do to support the group. Should they set safety guidelines? Who in the city should oversee the group? Just as the process seemed to be getting tangled in red tape, Free the Fern decided to invite the city workers on a tour of the trail. Walking past hundreds of ferns, Oregon grapes, huckleberries and Douglas firs, the city workers were impressed that local citizens had accomplished so much on their own. The city pledged full support for Free the Fern’s stewardship effort.
The economic effect of parks is often spoken about in terms of increasing property values. This sometimes sparks concerns about gentrification. However, parks can offer many benefits to people living in the community–including leverage.
“Champlain Heights [is] an experimental mixed-income neighbourhood built in the late ‘70s,” Grace explains. “Rather than single-family homes, the city chose to build townhouse complexes here–a mix of strata, co-op, low-income, and senior townhouses… Many of these co-op townhouse leases are coming to the end of their term. There is a concern if the city will renew leases or if they will choose to redevelop our neighbourhood, perhaps to include towers for higher density levels.”
“The Champlain Heights trail system, a strip of the original Douglas fir forest, is also on leasehold land and not protected from development. One of the best ways citizens can protect the trail from development is to steward it. By removing the invasive plants and replanting native plants, we show that the trail system is a thriving, biodiverse ecosystem rather than a hazardous area. By connecting as a community and volunteering, we also increase the connections with each other and future chances for advocating in the neighbourhood as leases run out. With our thriving, diverse community, we have proved that this ‘experimental’ neighbourhood of Champlain Heights works.”
Volunteer park stewardship has the potential to make all people healthier and happier. However, our ability to extend these benefits to equity-deserving communities like Champlain Heights relies on reducing barriers to engagement. Free the Fern and the Everett Crowley Park Committee are critical additions to Cornerstone Parks, as they demonstrate what’s possible in their neighbourhood.
Cornerstone Parks lead by example. They offer opportunities for people of all identities, ages, languages, and abilities to pursue health and happiness through park stewardship. Read the Cornerstone Parks Reports to understand how park stewardship makes us happier and healthier. And follow our new partners, Free the Fern and the ECPC, as they demonstrate how you can better support your equity-deserving communities.
Instagram and TikTok are fantastic platforms for park groups to build community, spread the word about events, and show off the beauty and energy of your local green space. Here are some tips to get you started.
Don’t worry about trying to be the next viral superstar. The most effective social media content feels authentic to the person making it. Share what feels fun, interesting, or beautiful to you and chances are others will feel it too.Think about what sorts of posts would best represent you and your work. If your park group is all about social connection (community picnics, outdoor movie nights, or volunteer meet-ups) your content might be light-hearted, casual, humorous, and focus on the people behind your group to encourage more volunteers and attendees. If your group leans more toward stewardship (protecting wildlife, native planting, or park cleanups) then your content might feel more educational to inspire viewers’ curiosity and care for the environment.Whatever your vibe, try to keep your tone and style consistent. A good way to do this is to entrust your social accounts to one person or a small team who understands the group’s personality and goals. It can also help to create a simple document with a few guidelines: things like what hashtags you use, how you describe your group, what kind of language or emojis feel right, and how you want to engage with comments or messages. This makes it easier for new volunteers to pitch in and helps your group feel welcoming and recognizable online.
Spend time on Instagram and Tiktok to understand what content is popular in your area, and what kinds of photos or videos your own group could recreate with your own unique spin.
If your group is more interested in videos, then spend time on Instagram Reels and TikTok. If photos are more your speed, stick to the Instragram feed. Search for hashtags like #parklife, #yourcityname (ex. #Toronto or #YYZ), or hashtags related to your neighbourhood or local parks to get the most relevant content.You’ll quickly see that you don’t need fancy equipment, just a smartphone and perhaps some free online editing software. Here are some more ideas to kick off your thinking:
Social media is, well, social! TikTok and Instagram work best when you build a community, rather than just posting into the void. After you’ve completed your profile and posted a couple of times, consider adding the following accounts:
Make a habit of recognizing others’ efforts and cheer them on. Comments like “great photo,” or “looks like a super event!” are always welcomed (and are likely to get you more followers).
TikTok and Instagram tend to spotlight active accounts, so it’s helpful to post regularly. Content creation doesn’t have to be anyone’s full-time job—a post once a week is great.To make it even easier to stay consistent, consider creating a content calendar. Add your group’s upcoming activities, and make a plan for what content you can share before and afterwards. You can also look to special days like Earth Day or International Women’s Day where you could post relevant content. Finally, consider regular features like “Volunteer Spotlight” or “Throwback Thursday” to highlight past events, share park history, or celebrate your community when you’re not holding events.
When sharing your posts, be sure to use relevant hashtags so more people can find you. Some basics: #parklife #yourcityname #yourparkname #communitygarden #volunteers #naturelovers. Tag your city, neighbourhood accounts, or partner organizations to help boost your reach.
With these tips in mind, you’re ready to be a content creator! Don’t forget to tag us at @parkppl so we can see your beautiful creations .
A picture is truly worth a thousand words. Snapping shots of your park group’s activities can help you attract volunteers, build your social media profile, garner media attention, and make your posters really pop.
Not a pro photographer? Not to worry! Here are some easy tips to take great pictures with your smartphone.
Before you bring out the camera, ask yourself: what story are you trying to tell with your photo? Is it about the natural beauty of your park, the sense of community, or the fun atmosphere at an event?Thinking about your story will help you come up with a list of images you want to capture. For example, if your goal is to attract new volunteers for your park group, your photos should tell the story of the volunteer experience. Your shot list might include pictures showing current volunteers engaged in hands-on activities in the park, chatting with their neighbours, etc.While it’s important to stick to your shot list, you’ll also want to leave space for surprises. If your City Councillor shows up, it would be great to grab a snap for the local papers!
Before snapping photos that include people, especially if you plan to share them publicly, it’s important to get consent. A simple verbal ask is often enough: “Hey, is it okay if I take your photo for our park group’s social media?” For children, always ask a parent or guardian first, and avoid taking identifiable photos of kids without their clear permission.If you’re hosting an event, consider having a sign at the entrance letting people know photos will be taken, and offer a way for folks to opt out (like a sticker or wristband).
It’s just human nature: we’re naturally drawn towards pictures of people’s faces. Unless your only story goal is to highlight local wildlife, you’ll want to show how your park activities bring people together whenever possible.Photos where you can clearly see people’s eyes are most likely to attract attention, so seek to use them throughout your promotions (social media posts, posters, etc).
When people aren’t used to having their picture taken, being asked to pose for the camera can make them uncomfortable. Instead of just saying “Smile!”, try giving out unique prompts like “Smile like that dog we saw on the trail!” or “Think about your favourite fellow volunteer!” Unexpected directions can help bring out genuine expressions.Another great way to help people feel comfortable is to let them see a few shots as you go. If they like what they see, it builds confidence. If not, you can adjust together.
Posed shots can be a good way to ensure you get everyone in the photo doing exactly what you want, but they also run the risk of looking, well, staged. To really tell the story of your park group or event, you’ll want to add several candid shots to the mix so viewers feel like they’re part of the action.Aim to take photos of people while they’re focused on something else: like talking to one another, cleaning up the park, whatever!
Beginner photographers commonly place the subject smack in the middle of the photo. While this can be an interesting stylistic choice, we recommend you experiment with using the rule of thirds.To do so, place your subject (whether it’s a person, a bunch of wildflowers, an animal, whatever) in the right or left third of the frame. Likewise, instead of composing your photo with the land-sky horizon cutting straight through the middle, try giving the sky one-third of the picture.
Remember, your camera is your point of view. If you take a photo while standing normally with the camera near your face, the viewer of the resulting photos will have the same perspective—and it’s one they likely have all the time.To make things more interesting, try switching up your perspective. Crouch down low, get up on a rock or bench or take a few steps up a hill to get above your subject. These techniques can help create a sense of scale and reveal more of the background of your image.
The best photos use light strategically to brighten peoples’ faces and highlight their features. Use natural light when you can and always shoot with light behind you, not facing into the light.Sunshine is a great natural light source, but direct sunlights can also throw harsh light and shadows, particularly in the middle of the afternoon. If it’s a very sunny day, try taking photos in the shade to soften the shadows.One hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset is known as the “magic hour.” During these times the sun is low in the sky, which produces a beautiful soft light. One thing to keep in mind while shooting during “magic hour” is how fast the light changes. You definitely want to factor in any set-up time to ensure you take advantage of magic hour.
Took some great photos, but maybe the lighting was a little off? Not to worry, you don’t need fancy software to make your photos pop. Free tools like Canva make it easy to crop, brighten, and add text or filters right from your phone or computer.
After the event, choose a handful of your best shots and spend a few minutes adjusting the lighting, straightening the horizon, or adding your park group’s name and event title. It’s best to keep it simple: your goal is to enhance the photo, not overdo it.
Finding volunteers doesn’t have to feel like an uphill battle. With a little intention and care, your group can create a welcoming volunteer experience that keeps people coming back.
Doug Bennet from Friends of Sorauren Park has spent years supporting and growing the park group’s base of active volunteers. Here are some of his top tips to create an engaged, connected, and joyful volunteer team.
Early on in their work together, Doug and the Friends of Sorauren Park realized that volunteer outreach kept falling to the bottom of their agenda. To change that, they began dedicating entire meetings to honing their recruitment and volunteer engagement strategies.This intentional focus helped them to build and maintain a strong and diverse core team that’s now large enough to pull off big park events without tiring out their members.Here are some prompting questions to help kick off your volunteer recruitment strategy meeting:
Who are we looking to reach? Who are our ideal volunteers? What skills, interests, or lived experiences would be valuable? Are there people in our neighbourhood or network who might love to help but haven’t been asked? Are there barriers that might be preventing people from getting involved (childcare, accessibility, communication style)? If so, how could we reduce these barriers? What’s the time commitment we require, and how can we also include people with busier schedules?
How will we find them? Where do potential volunteers spend their time (either online or in-person)? How can we show up there? What stories, images, or messages might catch someone’s attention and inspire them to get involved?
How will we make volunteering feel welcoming and worthwhile? How will we make it clear what volunteers can expect and how they can help? What would help people feel confident and connected right away? How will we ask volunteers for feedback and ideas to improve their experience?
Now that you know who you’re looking for, and what they’ll be doing, you’re ready to plan your outreach activities.
Think about the places your neighbours already spend time (such as community bulletin boards, local social media groups, farmers’ markets, libraries, or park events) and share a friendly, specific invitation to join your group. Use photos and stories that show what volunteering looks like, so people can picture themselves getting involved. Includes clear next steps like signing up for a newsletter or attending an upcoming event. The goal is to create lots of easy entry points for people to connect with your group.
You may want to test out a couple of approaches depending on your community, your capacity, and the technology you have available. For example, Friends of Sorauren Park first created a message board for volunteers, but found that they weren’t getting much traction. They swapped the message board for a simple sign-up form and noticed an increase in volunteer interest.
First impressions go a long way. A warm in-person introduction, a simple orientation email, or an invite to a casual planning meeting can all help set the tone for why someone would want to volunteer with you. Giving people a sense of what to expect also makes it easier for them to step in and feel like part of the team.To make sure everyone feels properly welcomed, consider starting a Volunteer Ambassadors Program. Doug’s group has seen the value of experienced volunteers stepping up to welcome and mentor new folks. Ambassadors can help answer questions, share their knowledge, and create a positive first experience for newcomers.
Over time, Doug noticed that volunteers who felt socially connected to the group were more likely to stay involved. Creating opportunities for people to get to know each other helps turn volunteering into something more meaningful than just a task. This could look like hosting a potluck, organizing a group photo at an event, or setting up a casual chat thread where people can share ideas and stay in touch.
As your group grows, some volunteers will naturally want to take on bigger roles. It helps to plan for this and encourage their development by creating opportunities to build their skills and confidence over time. Workshops, training sessions, or even informal mentoring can help volunteers feel valued and supported.
Doug saw this in action at Friends of Sorauren Park. When he stepped down as Chair, long-time volunteer Joël Campbell was ready to step into the role. Joël had already led the group’s Adopt-A-Park-Tree program for several years, which gave him experience and built trust with the group. Because of this, the transition into leadership felt smooth and natural for Joël and for the whole team.It’s great practice to continually consider who might take over when current leaders step away from the group, and then make sure they have the tools to do so with confidence.
You really can’t thank volunteers enough. Doug and the Friends of Sorauren Park make a point of highlighting volunteers in their communications, and they’ve also partnered with a local sponsor to host volunteer appreciation events.Depending on the size of your group recognition might look different. If you’re not able to coordinate an event, consider posting photos on social media, sharing quotes from volunteers in a newsletter, or creating a simple infographic to show the impact of their work.Recognition helps volunteers feel seen and reminds everyone that their time and efforts matter.
Thanks to Doug at Friends of Sorauren Park for the great insights that come from years of successful work with volunteers!
Les Amis de la Montagne, Stanley Park Ecology Society and High Park Nature Centre, three of Canada’s most successful and longest-standing park-based non-profit organizations, were among the 100 Delegates in attendance when Park People launched its national network at the Heart of the City Conference in Calgary in 2017.
As Park People expanded its national programs and launched the first Canadian City Parks Report, we learned of the immense impact of these groups. For example, while four million people visit Banff National Park every year, over 8 million visit Mont-Royal – 30,000 times more visitors per acre of parkland. In fact, taken together, these three large urban parks see more than 17 million visitors every year.
Over the course of the pandemic, Park People began hosting a series of virtual “cinq a sept” sessions with large urban park organizations to delve deeper into how we could best serve these groups so they could, in turn, maximize solutions to make our cities greener and more resilient in the face of a changing climate. We learned that these large urban parks need recognition and funding to support their immense contribution to climate change and community resilience.
During the pandemic, Canadians flocked to Mount Royal, Stanley Park and High Park in never-before-seen numbers. In Park People’s own survey, we found that almost three-quarters (70%) of Canadians said their appreciation for parks and green spaces has increased during COVID-19. It’s clear that even as vaccines bring the end of the pandemic into view, there will continue to be unprecedented pressures on the unique ecosystems found in these parks.
Today, Park People is excited to be launching Cornerstone Parks, the first-of-its-kind national collaboration to revitalize the green infrastructure of the country’s largest urban parks and celebrate their incomparable value to overall wellbeing. We call them ‘Cornerstone Parks’ to express how central they are to our cities.
A Cornerstone Park is defined as a large urban green space that contributes biodiversity, ecosystem services, and multiple parks uses to the community at large. In these parks, City staff, local and park-based NGOs, and community leaders facilitate activities focused on environmental education and stewardship, to engage people from diverse backgrounds in connecting to nature and to each other. These Cornerstone Parks provide invaluable environmental and social benefits to our urban environments that make our communities healthier and more resilient to the effects of climate change.
In the first year, Park People is bringing these three groups together to support their ecosystem revitalization efforts. In Toronto’s High Park, funding will improve wetland health and restore the globally rare Black Oak Savanna habitat by removing invasive species. Efforts in Montreal’s Mont-Royal will likewise mutually benefit the park’s forests and wetlands. Through planting and stewardship work, the restored marsh will be better able to absorb stormwater thus improving groundwater quality and the habitat for species. This will reduce erosion and surface water runoff that damages the forest. In Stanley Park, by planting 500 native trees and shrubs and removing 10,000 square metres of invasive species, efforts will enhance the health of this coastal temperate rainforest that serves as a powerful carbon store and wildlife habitat in downtown Vancouver.
“Today, we understand nature’s role in restoring our sense of well-being. We need to go further and take a bigger view on how restoring nature actually makes our cities more resilient to the impacts of climate change.”
Sara Street, Executive Director of High Park Nature Centre
In addition to supporting critical restoration work, Cornerstone Parks will act as a backbone to connect these large urban park NGOs together to establish a forum for the exchange of knowledge and sharing of best practices. The Cornerstone Parks program will be underpinned by a rigorous impact evaluation to measure and amplify learnings about the value of large urban parks for community well-being and ecosystems.
“By working as a group, we can make a greater difference, scale up our work and tell our collective story in a way that none of us can do alone.”
Dylan Rawlyk, Executive Director at Stanley Park Ecology Society
“Cornerstone Parks recognizes we have so much to share with, and so much to learn from, our fellow non-governmental parks organizations across the country. Park People is bringing much-needed awareness to how important these green spaces are, and providing us with the necessary framework to revitalize the ecosystems.”
Hélène Panaioti, Executive director of Les amis de la montagne
The long-term vision of the program is to ensure that there is an ecologically and socially vibrant Cornerstone park within reach of every urban Canadian. Park People’s Program Director Natalie Brown says.
“Large urban parks offer so much value for cities. Park People’s providing a backbone to strengthen their work and galvanize support for more large urban parks. There’s no question that there are large-scale precious landscapes that could serve climate change and community goals. We couldn’t be more excited to help make it happen.”
Natalie Brown, Program Director at Park People
Through its National Network, Park People will identify other large parks across Canada where investments and a connection to the network will provide maximum ecological and community benefits.
With the Park People Conference quickly approaching in June, we caught up with keynote speaker Dave Meslin. Dave is a community organizer and activist and author of Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up. He is the Creative Director of Unlock Democracy Canada and founder of many impactful initiatives including Toronto Public Space Committee and Cycle Toronto.
Dave Meslin: Parks and public spaces, to me, are sacred because everyone has equal access. What I love about all of our parks and our sidewalks and our alleyways is that no one gets across the street first based on which credit card they have in their wallet. So, I think there’s something beautiful and sacred about them that we need to speak up for and protect.
DM: So many aspects of my work and my belief system feel sacred to me because it’s not just about work and it’s not just about politics and votes and lobbying and legislation. It’s where I find spiritual grounding.
We’re at a time when people are increasingly turning away from organized religion. That raises the question: what replaces the rituals of gathering in synagogues, churches, mosques or temples? Where do people find spirituality, grounding and meaning with organized religion playing less of a role?
To me, public spaces are one of those places.
Something sacred is something that you feel you would be willing to defend even at personal cost. Something you would make sacrifices for. I feel that way about our public spaces. I feel that without that type of protection, they’re at risk from various forces.
DM: I think the biggest risk to public spaces and parks is actually advertising. The only reason advertisers aren’t there right now is because we have considered parks to be sacred. Let’s face it, advertisers will put their logo on anything. That is unless we declare a space as sacred, and the list of what we consider sacred is rapidly shrinking.
I could see a municipal council saying: “Well, here’s a new revenue source we can tap into. We can put digital billboards in all our parks. People go to parks. Advertisers want to reach people. They would love to reach people who enjoy nature. We could sell to advertisers to reach that target market in our parks.” The only way you fight against that is by saying: No, this is sacred space. That would be like putting a billboard in a church or in a mosque and no, we’re not doing that.”
DM: I think that the biggest hurdle a lot of people experience is believing that their ideas have value and are important enough to be worth fighting for. That their voice that is worthy of being heard. That’s the equivalent of the closed doors.
Another huge obstacle is that people just have no idea where to start. Most people don’t really grasp the difference between municipal, provincial and federal government, in terms of jurisdiction. And that’s not their fault. We don’t teach it well. It is complicated. Like, who does health care? Well, there’s a Provincial Minister of Health. There’s a Federal Minister of Health. And then municipal governments do things like long term care and daycare and harm reduction.
Also, City Hall can be an intimidating place. I talked about this in the book: there’s no one at the doors of City Hall saying, “Hi, how can I help you?” There is at Walmart. There is at the Apple Store.
That’s why getting people to join together in groups is so important. That’s why what Park People does is so important. People are more likely to make stuff happen in a group because it creates the sense that “I’m not alone.” It helps build people’s confidence. There’s strength in numbers because it’s scary to do things alone.
If you’re intimidated about something in the first place, the chance of you doing it on your own is almost zero. But the chance of a group saying, “Hey, this is something we can work towards. This is something we can organize together.” That’s like a much more appealing invitation. It’s actually revolutionary.
I really like the educational component of it. They take a small piece of the capital budget, and then divide that up among a bunch of neighbourhoods, and let the local residents decide how to spend it.
It’s a great way to build democratic experiences, but it’s also a great way to learn about municipal budgeting, and what government actually does.
One of the main roles of a council is to decide how much money to bring in and how to spend it. The best way to teach that is by giving a little bit of money to people in the community, and asking “well, what do you want to do with it?” It’s just an incredible civics class.
DM: There’s this thing called Arnstein’s Ladder. It’s one way of looking at the different levels of engagement. Essentially, the bottom rung of the ladder is token engagement. That’s where the government decides what they want to do, and then it’s a fake survey or a fake townhall. I don’t think there’s evil intent, but do I think it is a kind of arrogance. It’s municipal staff and politicians thinking they know what’s best and treating the consultation like a nice gesture. It’s not a good approach. Not only is it not democratic, but it always creates really angry people.
On the opposite end of the spectrum there’s direct democracy. That’s where ordinary people get to vote and make all of the decisions. I’m not in favour of that either. Not only do I think that people don’t want to read 200 page staff reports, but more importantly, if you created a system where everyone gets to vote, who would actually have the extra time to do that reading? It’s going to be wealthier people who have babysitters and have house cleaners. Not the folks who are doing three jobs to pay the rent and feed their kids. So what some people think is the highest level of engagement is actually incredibly inaccessible to ordinary people.
DM: I think it’s context-specific. Let’s say, there’s gonna be a redesign of a park that asks: what do we want to happen in this park? That’s the kind of thing where people who use the park and live in the park and near the park should vote on it. That’s actually an ideal opportunity for direct democracy. I feel the same about the naming of parks. I don’t think politicians should get to name parks after other politicians. It should really be up to the people who use the park.
Parks are a perfect example where direct democracy makes sense. It’s a small bite-sized level, and the decisions aren’t super complex compared to you know, a multi billion dollar operating budget of a city.
Municipalities have a moral obligation to invest real money in actively advertising opportunities for engagement beyond the usual suspects. How about actually paying people to participate? Everyone’s got a different perspective based on their age and their gender and their confidence and how they’re using the space. And I just think the city should make more of an effort to actually invest in getting those voices heard.
I think about people like my mom and my sister. Super caring, super smart people who would never be caught dead at a “town hall meeting”. They wouldn’t even know there was a town hall, let alone take the time to go to it.
But, they know so much about their parks. My mom is nervous to walk on the track in her park because there’s a place where it kind of dips down and people could hide and you wouldn’t see them. I never thought of that. It’s not something I worry about or think about. She didn’t know who to talk to, so she asked me what she could do.
If you’re trying to find the people to consult about a park, why just not go to the park? That’s what credit card companies do to get people to get their cards. They stand at the store or at the airport and solicit people. They don’t invite you to come to a meeting to talk about credit cards at a community centre. They go straight to their target audience. We should be doing the same thing. It’s not hard to find your target audience if you’re talking about parks. They’re at the park.
Really, there should never be indoor consultations about parks. The best place to talk about parks is in parks.
This case study is part of the 2023 Canadian City Parks Report, showcasing Inspiring projects, people, and policies from across Canada that offer tangible solutions to the most pressing challenges facing city parks.
It’s provincial legislation that amends the Planning Act, which governs how parkland is conveyed to municipalities, and the Development Charges Act, which governs how growth-related parkland and park facilities are funded. The bill has reduced the amount of parkland that municipalities will see conveyed, as well as the amount of funding to develop park amenities. It will also impact what types of parkland are acceptable in the future, subject to future regulations, including encumbered land and POPS (privately owned public space).
I think the province was hearing a lot of consternation from the development industry on different fees that are charged to build housing. There was a lot of advocacy from the housing industry showing how much these fees added to the cost of new housing. And also how certain municipalities were not spending their parkland reserves. I think that those two things together, combined with the provincial government’s desire to provide more housing quickly, is what led to those changes.
On the short term side, a lot of municipalities are looking at their capital plan and trying to figure out whether they can still afford those things. In the long-term, I would say that communities built post-Bill 23 will have less parkland than pre-Bill 23 communities, so there is likely to be a bit of an inequity over time.
It was mostly about knowledge-sharing and helping each other understand how we were anticipating advocating. Whether different municipalities were looking to advocate themselves or whether they were looking to advocate by way of other groups, like professional parks associations. There are now 12 participating municipalities represented by managers or senior park planners. People read things differently, so it was good to see how other people were understanding it and what they had heard from their sources.
We were focusing on council briefing notes and advocating messages through the Association of Municipalities in Ontario, Ontario Landscape Association, and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute who seemed to have a bit more of the ear of the government. There wasn’t much of a push to do a public campaign because the deadlines were just so quick.
They didn’t make changes to the reduced amount of parkland that municipalities will see conveyed or provided as cash-in-lieu, but they did claw back on developers providing encumbered land or POPS. That is now subject to future regulation, which hopefully will come with criteria such as land within walking distance of the site. And the proposal that developers would be able to suggest lands that are off site to be conveyed–that’s subject to future regulation as well. Those were some pretty good changes.
We also continue to hold monthly virtual forums when participants have questions or issues. Additionally, we email each other with issues that arise where we can learn from each other.
I think what makes progress is when a number of different groups with credibility on a specific matter are on the same message. So figure out the groups that are aligned with your position and then emphasize the same key messages and concerns. If you can get a sense of which groups are being listened to by the provincial government, then you have a chance of your message being heard a little bit louder than if you go it alone. Sometimes you’ll be successful and sometimes you won’t. But every small gain on the things we’re dealing with–the places where people play–is a gain that is useful.