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Creative ways to connect people to nature, community, and care for ravines in Toronto.
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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.
More cities across Canada are prioritizing the naturalization of existing parkland. Converting manicured parkland into natural meadows has multiple benefits including increasing climate resilience, biodiversity, and nature connection for residents.
However, these projects have also proven controversial. For example, Vancouver’s “no-mow” pilot project, which naturalized certain sections of parks, was met with opposition by some residents who viewed the spaces as unkempt–a challenge that many other cities in Canada have reported facing.
Karley Cianchino thinks a lot about park naturalization. As City of Brampton Environmental Project Specialist, Cianchino’s job is to plan parks collaboratively with communities through the lens of nature.
Brampton prioritizes naturalization projects using its unique Eco Park Strategy–a citywide strategy that contains principles for conserving and enhancing both natural and cultural heritage. The strategy includes a helpful tool in understanding how to plan spaces, situating them on a scale from highly naturalized systems to high functioning social systems, recognizing that most places are a blend.
“If a park has a low environmental score, then we’ll look for opportunities to bring some restoration work forward.”
Karley Cianchino, City of Brampton Environmental Project Specialist
No matter how good they are, strategies have a habit of sitting on a shelf gathering dust. To ensure that doesn’t happen, Cianchino said that she does a lot of internal coordination, including a bi-monthly Eco Park meeting, as well as “casual conversations” with colleagues about new projects and discussing how to incorporate the Eco Park objectives. For example, if a park is undergoing upgrades, perhaps that’s an opportunity to incorporate naturalization work. This approach not only minimizes redundant community engagement and resource allocation but also enhances synergy between projects.
Not all of these projects go off without a hitch, however. Recently the city naturalized a large section of Dearbourne Park–the first time the city had brought its naturalization program to a busy neighbourhood park. It wasn’t received well, Cianchino said, with residents pointing out they had lost park space they used for other activities.
The city held a community meeting with residents who selected a smaller 10,000 square foot space in the park to be a programmed pollinator habitat, which would be stewarded by the community group Cianchino created with ongoing support from the city. In the future Cianchino said she wants to implement a QR code system in locations identified for potential naturalization asking residents to let the city know how they currently use the space.
Supporting community stewards will be a key part of the project’s ongoing success. Working with volunteers, Cianchino led the group’s first “bio blitz,” where residents measure the number of pollinators before the planting of native species this fall. Cianchino also works with the group to discuss what people can do in their own yards to support naturalization efforts. The core of the Eco Park Strategy, she said, is a series of linked habitats and green corridors,
“and you can’t just do that through public land. It’s critical that we educate landowners and help them build capacity to naturalize their spaces in a manner that works for them.”
Further Reading:
The Vancouver Park Board is now four years into their 25-year parks and recreation master plan, VanPlay. With a focus on equity, population growth, and evolving demographics, this strategy sets the stage for investments in green spaces and ensures the city keeps up with emerging needs.
While the city now boasts more parks than it did 25 years ago, rapid densification has resulted in a one-third decrease in park space per person. To tackle this challenge, the master plan offers a toolkit for efficient decision-making, accommodating diverse needs and user groups.
What sets this strategy apart is its integration of equity principles, including examinations of intersectionality, privilege, and oppression. At the heart of VanPlay is the goal of rectifying historical inequities in park access and quality across different neighbourhoods. VanPlay positions the City of Vancouver as a leader in this area.
VanPlay employs geospatial data to identify underserved areas that require increased park investments. These areas, known as Initiative Zones, are identified through an analysis of three key factors: park access gaps, demand for low barrier recreation, and tree canopy coverage. With the option to layer additional factors over time, such as income, community engagement, capital investments, and demographic data, the Park Board can gain a deeper understanding of nuanced needs and can effectively target key policy areas.
A significant priority of VanPlay is its water strategy. Vancouver, a city renowned for its connection to the waterfront and beaches, has unfortunately buried 91% of its urban streams. VanPlay enhances biodiversity and rainfall management by revitalizing these streams and bringing them back to the surface. This initiative simultaneously creates more natural spaces in the city, provides new amenities for residents, and helps manage rainwater during storms. It is a significant win for biodiversity and climate resilience.
When it comes to public space, streets play a crucial role. In Vancouver, streets occupy 32% of the city’s land area, compared to 11% for parks. Recognizing this untapped potential, VanPlay encourages the transformation of streets into public spaces. Collaborating with Planning and Engineering, the master plan suggests the creation of parklets, street closures, laneway activations, and more to meet the growing demand for public space.
Connectivity is another key focus of VanPlay. Vancouver already boasts the world’s longest continuous waterfront trail, the iconic 28 km seawall. Building on this success, VanPlay aims to expand the city’s network of bike lanes and pedestrian pathways. The master plan also introduces “network enhancers,” such as bike repair stations, wayfinding signage, lighting, and seating. These elements not only improve connectivity but also enhance safety, utility, and overall enjoyment between destinations.
As cities struggle to find and pay for new park space to meet growth needs, some argue that a shift towards focusing on quality is part of the solution.
Having enough park space is critical, but the quality of park space can greatly determine its use. Quality can be about the amenities present (or missing), but it can also be about whether a space feels welcoming or safe to people.
“We have to realize that we are transitioning to a state in which securing parkland through development will incrementally become more challenging, effectively leading to a reduction in parkland per capita over time in the absence of alternative parkland acquisition tools,” said one park manager in an Ontario municipality, citing changes to provincial legislation in Ontario that affect the amount of parkland cities receive through development.
“Which means we need to look at quality and use of space rather than quantity much more effectively.”
Park Manager
This park manager noted their city is already seeing a reduction of parkland area in development applications—in some medium to high density new growth areas, the city is seeing up to a 60% reduction in the ability of securing future parks. The reduction is much more acute in high density neighbourhoods where more and more people are required to share fewer public spaces.
While quick to point out that this change is detrimental, this manager also sees a potential positive in pushing cities to look more closely at existing assets and how best to use them.
So, what does a focus on quality look like?
It might look like ensuring park spaces have amenities that a nearby community needs and that those amenities are in good repair. It might also lie in understanding the socio-cultural dimensions of a park and whether the facilities, programming, and overall design are relevant for surrounding communities.
These seem like basic measures, and yet just 43% of cities said they measure park quality at all. Even fewer collect socio-demographic data on park use to understand whether the park is meeting diverse community needs. At the same time, 100% of cities reported aging infrastructure and asset management as a challenge.
For one park manager, part of the answer lies in rethinking the intensity of use of parkland and ensuring that we’re maximizing the potential of land and amenities.
For example, the manager noted that one of the challenges that growing cities are facing is designing for large format sports facilities like soccer and baseball, which are land intensive while limited to a single use. If cities are going to need more of these facilities to meet demand, the question is then how to increase the intensity of use in existing assets for longer periods of time, rather than simply thinking about where to build new ones, this person said.
One idea might be looking at seasonal doming of sports fields so they can be used all-year regardless of weather conditions. Other cities, like North Vancouver, are turning disused infrastructure into amenities that meet current demands, like transforming an old swimming pool into a skatepark. Other cities have split uses between warmer and colder months, allowing for once single-use facilities, like tennis courts, to be used for other purposes, like off-leash dog areas in the winter months.
All show the potential of rethinking existing spaces to ensure they’re performing well and meeting current community needs.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, children and youth in grades 6 to 10 report playing outdoors for just 15 minutes per day on average.
This has serious consequences for their health and wellbeing: children spending less time outdoors has been linked to decreased appreciation of the environment, health problems including obesity and vitamin D deficiency, attention difficulties, and higher rates of emotional illnesses like anxiety and depression.
Moving youth programming outdoors to a park is a wonderful opportunity to connect kids with nature, foster creativity, and encourage physical activity. So, how can we encourage young people to leave the couch and reconnect with nature?
We spoke with Shakeera Solomon from Vision of Hope Resource Centre in Brampton—who received a TD Park People Grant in 2019—about what they learned when they brought their monthly Youth Council programming outdoors into the park.
Here are Shakeera’s tips for moving your indoor programming outside.
First up, observe your local park to see which aspects could be appealing for youth and suitable for your programs. Check for amenities like restrooms, shaded areas, picnic tables, and open spaces. Identify any potential safety hazards (such as bodies of water or uneven ground) that might require extra supervision for youth participants.
Next, take note of the surrounding area: are you near a school, convenience store, or other location that youth are already drawn to? If so, this could make your park a great spot for outreach!
When Vision of Hope chose to move their monthly Youth Council meetings from the east Brampton Resource Centre, they picked Anne Nash Park—a small, local park with just a modest play area because of its prime location beside an elementary school. This way, the Youth Council caught the attention of kids from the elementary school and those passing by on their way home from school. Their new visibility helped the Youth Council attract many more members who now regularly attend meetings and events.
Tips:
Hosting a gathering in a park is a great way to deepen relationships in your community. By involving parents, park staff, and other partner organizations in your outdoor programming, you can help create stronger community bounds.
As Shakeera explains, when youth-focused programs happened indoors, parents would wait on the sidelines and kill time on their own. But when programming moved into the park, parents interacted in a whole new way. In the small park, it became awkward for parents not to talk, and so they started chatting and getting to know one another. When parents connect, there are many benefits, particularly in an underserved community. Parents who know one another are much more likely to support each other and build resilience in times of need.
Adapting indoor activities to the outdoor environment offers incredible opportunities to get creative. For example, storytelling can become a nature scavenger hunt, and art projects can use natural materials. Think about how you’ll use the unique character of your park to inspire your youth participants, and how you might encourage them to feel a sense of ownership and responsibility towards the space.
Shakeera told us bringing programming to the park helped the youth feel that the space was truly theirs. She was even surprised when her group eagerly suggested organizing a park clean-up. That’s when she realized the park had really become “their place.”
“They were so proud of what they accomplished for their park.”
Shakeera Solomon, Vision of Hope Resource Centre
She observed their pride when they posed for a team photo with gloves and garbage bags.
Tips
At Park People, we believe that parks can play a vital role in reconciliation and decolonization.
We’re inspired by park projects across the country that are focused on rebuilding trust, sharing knowledge and developing true partnerships between First Nations and settlers, such as The City of Quesnel, BC, which restored ownership of Tingley Park to the Lhtako Dene First Nation, or the agreement between the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Metro Vancouver Regional Parks.
As a national city parks organization, Park People recognizes that when we speak of municipal parks and public land, we are obscuring the fact that, in most cases, the land that we are speaking of is traditional Indigenous territory. That’s why we share our land acknowledgement on our website and at all Park People events.
As part of our own journey, we want to share some insights from our process developing our land acknowledgement.
It’s essential that your park group undertake thoughtful research to learn about Indigenous issues globally, nationally, and in your city or region.Find out which territories your park is situated on and the treaties or covenants that were meant to peaceably govern that land. Use nativeland.ca as a starting point.You may find conflicting accounts of territorial land rights. Reach out to a local band office, municipal Indigenous Affairs Office, an Indigenous Friendship Centre, or an Indigenous university group to understand the history and rights associated with the land in question.
Set aside time for your group to discuss your land acknowledgement plan and your broader reconciliation goals.Create space for members to share meaningful land acknowledgements they’ve heard at other events, literature they’ve read, and news and ideas. This will help create a dialogue to shape your groups’ perspective and commitment. These conversations will also help you to identify champions within your group who can help guide future reconciliation efforts.
Reading a generic land acknowledgement that you don’t understand or feel connected won’t further the goals of truth and reconciliation. Work with your group to write an acknowledgement that reflects the unique history and contemporary character of your park.
Consider how your land acknowledgement can leave listeners with something informative and provocative to ruminate on, long after your event has finished.
Writing a land acknowledgement is an opportunity for your group to publicly declare its commitment to working towards allyship and working to dismantle the colonial systems that continue to oppress Indigenous peoples, denying their land-rights and way of life.Add a commitment to the land acknowledgement that articulates how your group is going to put words into action. Find tangible ways your group can impact this complex and ongoing work.
Once you feel like you have done your research and written a meaningful land acknowledgement, consider sharing it with a respected member of your local Indigenous community to get their feedback.Be respectful of their time, and don’t expect accolades for this preliminary effort. Use the opportunity to express your willingness to engage with the local Indigenous community on the subject of decolonization.
Consider inviting Indigenous-led organizations to attend and participate in your group’s events and gatherings whenever appropriate.
Plan in advance how to compensate those who participate by sharing their time, expertise and knowledge.
Parks are vibrant spaces where we can connect to nature, ecology, and sustainability—right within Canada’s urban centres.
Parks are also delicate ecosystems. As visitors, we all have a role to play in protecting plants and wildlife and ensuring that we leave no waste behind.
We’ve prepared this planning guide to help you plan a fabulous zero-waste event that leaves your park just as healthy as you found it.
Each community has different opportunities and challenges when it comes to reducing its waste at park events. For example, some parks may have fewer garbage cans and recycling facilities for people to use, while others may have residents who feel more comfortable using single-serve packaging when at public events.
Before you start planning your event, ask yourself:
Once you’ve determined what information or resources your community might need to support your zero-waste goal, it’s time to make a plan!
The exact details of your zero-waste plan will be different depending on your community’s needs, but the following checklist provides a handy template for you to start with.
To go the extra mile, combine your zero-waste event with engaging and informative waste education activities. For example, at Park People’s end-of-season potluck celebration, we invited participants to decide whether common household waste items should be put into the garbage, recycling, or food waste bins.You might choose to host eco-friendly workshops on topics like upcycling, gardening, or composting demonstrations, or incorporate nature-focused activities like guided walks or clean-ups.Your goal is to show how fun, easy, and accessible zero-waste activities can be!
It takes a village to make a park look beautiful! While picking up garbage might not seem like an appealing activity at first, people enjoy cleanups because they get to see the tangible results of their efforts and feel more connected to their local park.As our Earth Day webinar made clear, cleanup events are a great way to inspire a collective love and commitment to your park among your neighbours—one that can have lasting effects on your community and on the environment.Here’s a 5-step plan to make your park clean-up a great community event.
Your municipality is an incredible resource for your park group to engage in your cleanup activities, and on an ongoing basis. They can help you plan and promote your event and access resources that you may need to get started.Begin by contacting your park supervisor about your plans to organize a cleanup, especially if this is your first park event. Your park supervisor can tell you what permits you might need, explain waste disposal protocols, and possibly connect you with other park enthusiasts who can join in the cleanup effort.Many municipalities also host city-wide cleanup days that new community park groups can join. Taking part in coordinated cleanup day will allow your group to access many resources that may not otherwise be available to you, like garbage bags and gloves. Plus, the city’s promotional reach will help you reach new people. Ask your park supervisor about any upcoming city-wide cleanup days.
It’s not just cities who help coordinate cleanups. For example, The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is a conservation partnership by Ocean Wise and WWF-Canada. They offer support to anyone who’d like to coordinate a shoreline cleanup (if your park connects to water in any way—a creek, stream, marsh, or even storm drains—this includes you!).Do some research to see what other organizations, networks, or events might be relevant to your park, and who might want to partner up with you on your event. Your neighbourhood is likely full of non-profit groups, community organizations and individuals, all of whom could lend a hand to your clean up and bring new communities of interest to your park events. For example, you could approach a local bike co-op to offer tune-ups for cyclists at your event, or invite an environmental organization to help educate people on the steps they can take to reduce their waste footprint.Finally, consider approaching a local business to sponsor your event by offering small rewards like reusable water bottles, gift cards, or other prizes for participants.
Start your event plan with a walk through of the park space: how accessible is the environment? Are there paved paths for people to walk on, or mostly uneven terrain? Are there washrooms or water fountains open for participants to use? Approximately how much garbage is there currently, and how many volunteers might it take to clean it thoroughly? Take notes during your walkthrough and talk through your findings with your team. What information is important to pass along to your participants?Next, you may wish to use an online tool, such as Evenbrite or Google Forms, to promote your event, manage volunteers, collect RSVPs, and provide pre-event instructions such as weather updates, accessibility information, and guidance on suitable event attire (long pants and closed-toes shoes are best!). When you’re ready to launch, use social media, local bulletin boards, email newsletters, and word-of-mouth to promote your event. Ask your neighbors about their recommendations for good places to promote the event, such as any local Facebook groups. You may also want to invite journalists from a community newspaper or local bloggers/social media influencers to cover the event.
Finally, it’s time to prepare your supplies. You’ll want to consider offering:
Set up a check-in station before your event begins to welcome volunteers, distribute supplies, and provide safety briefings on what to do if they come across hazardous materials. Make sure you also use this welcome opportunity to collect information from the people who arrive: have them sign up for your park groups newsletter and chat with them about how they use the park and their vision for their shared space.Depending on how many participants you have and how large your park is, it’s best to divide volunteers into small groups assigned to specific areas during the cleanup. If possible, ensure that each group has a representative from your park group to offer support and answer questions as you clean. When you’re finished with your cleanup, separate recyclables, compostables, and landfill waste at the end of the cleanup.Finally, remember to make it fun throughout! Play music, organize a scavenger hunt, or create challenges like “Who can collect the most candy wrappers/pop cans/red-coloured items/whatever!”
When the cleanup is finished, it’s time to celebrate all that you’ve achieved! Take a group photo of your volunteers, and count the weight of the trash collected or the size of the areas cleaned to motivate your participants and promote future events.In the days following your event, be sure to email your volunteers, partners, sponsors, and the City to thank them for their participation, ask for their input to improve future events, and remind them to stay in touch with your park group—especially if they want to help you organize the next cleanup!
Park People is excited to launch the 2024 Canadian City Parks Report, our sixth annual edition highlighting the most significant trends, issues, and practices shaping Canada’s city parks.
Watch our special launch webinar to explore our findings:
The webinar features an engaging discussion on the future of city parks, with guest speakers from the City of Victoria and Greenspace Alliance. They share opportunities and challenges in their work around collaborations and partnerships, across city departments, communities, non-profits, and more.
Adri Stark is specialized in research and policy at Park People, and co-author of the annual Canadian City Parks Report.…
Joy is the Manager of Research and Partnerships at Park People and facilitates national research and network engagement that supports…
Julia is the Food Systems Coordinator for the City of Victoria. She comes to the role after over 15 years…
Nicole DesRoches, born in Ottawa and living in Chelsea Québec, part of the National Capital Region, therefore living within the…
Today Park People launches the sixth Canadian City Parks Report–and the final iteration of this report in its current form: Bridging the Gap: How the park sector can meet today’s complex challenges through partnerships and collaboration.
Last year, we dove deep into the minds of park managers across the country, interviewing over 44 senior parks staff across 30 municipalities about the trends and challenges in the industry. One of the key insights from that process was a need to find collaboration sweet spots to achieve our many collective parks goals.
This year’s report expands on that insight by showcasing collaborative examples from across the country and through collecting data from 35 Canadian municipalities, over 2,500 residents of Canadian cities, as well as interviews with park staff and professionals.
Through that process we found six key insights related to collaborations and partnerships:
In this report you’ll find:
How does the City of Victoria’s Get Growing Victoria program take a food justice approach to provide gardening supplies to communities at risk of food insecurity, including those experiencing houselessness, Indigenous and racialized communities, seniors, and youth.
How Toronto is transforming future park spaces into temporary public areas through partnerships, letting residents enjoy them now while planning for long-term park development.
How partnerships across city departments and with local community groups helped the City of Charlottetown recover from Hurricane Fiona’s devastating winds.
How Mississauga is expanding parkland in a growing neighborhood to meet future demand through a cooperative, long-term property purchase plan.
How a temporary plaza in Montreal’s Parc Marcelin-Wilson was created to offer a gathering space for youth, with design improvements informed by Metalude’s insights through direct observations and youth engagement.
How an agreement between the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Metro Vancouver Regional Parks provides a path for shared cultural planning.
How can municipalities move from awareness to action? A conversation with Jay Pitter about Black people’s experiences in parks and public spaces.
How Waterfront Toronto is raising the bar on inclusivity through their Waterfront Accessibility Design Guidelines.
How Nature Canada is building a web of partners at all scales to help Canada achieve its biodiversity conservation goals.
This case study is part of the 2024 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.
Over the past few years, our collective understanding has recognized that systemic racism is prevalent in parks and public spaces. Historically, these areas have been sites where Black, Indigenous, and racialized people face suspicion, surveillance, harassment, violence, and even death.
Year after year, our public survey has shown that about 1 in 10 city residents avoid parks and greenspaces due to fear of discrimination or policing.
This year, when asked whether city parks should do more to address equity and racial justice, over two-thirds (67%) agreed. Similarly, in 2023, 66% of cities recognized the role of parks in combating racism.
While awareness of these issues is growing, action remains limited. Only 17% of cities feel equipped to address racism, allowing the needs of racialized populations to fall through the cracks.
How can municipalities move from awareness to action? We spoke with Jay Pitter about the BEING BLACK IN PUBLIC SURVEY a bi-national survey, developed by Jay Pitter Placemaking (Lead Investigator: Jay Pitter, Co-Investigator: Professor L. Anders Sandberg) and administered by the Institute for Social Research. Overall, the survey asked “What are the public space policies, design approaches and unspoken social attitudes that both diminish and enhance Black peoples’ experiences when navigating cities?”
This research fills gaps in understanding the Black experience in parks and other public spaces in Canada and the United States. Pitter identified a lack of data, particularly in Canada, on how Black communities perceive and experience these spaces. Many institutions measure narrowly defined ideas of inclusion by tracking safety or the absence of anti-Black violence, but Pitter argues that this is insufficient – mitigating violence should be the bare minimum.
Her research also explores how the historical and ongoing trauma from racism, police brutality, and violence in public spaces as well as, mobility inequity and lack of pathways to economic prosperity affect Black people’s well-being, social belonging, and sense of spatial entitlement.
“At the heart of this survey is filling a gap in what the other stats do not—which is to center Black people as wholly, human, spiritual beings. Previous research and stories often omit the impact of incidents related to lack of safety and restriction. What do those numbers mean? To Black people’s mental health, to Black people’s sense of self, to Black people’s belonging, to Black people’s imagination and aspirations? So, one of my main focuses was to re-humanize Black individuals and communities by creating space for their deep reflection, healing and dreaming aloud.”
Jay Pitter, Award-winning placemaker, adjunct urban planning professor and author
The BEING BLACK IN PUBLIC SURVEY uses a trauma-informed, asset-based approach that emphasizes Black joy and knowledge. Respondents were asked about positive experiences and memories in public spaces, with Pitter emphasizing the importance of learning from successes, not just tragedies.
Pitter also highlighted how Black communities contribute to public spaces.
“I didn’t want to reduce our experience in public to strictly a victim experience, because despite the auction block, centuries of anti-Black public space policy, and disproportionate experiences of violence and homelessness, Black peoples’ labour, placemaking expertise and culture have contributed so much to the form and vibrance of public spaces. We make public spaces lit.“
Jay Pitter
This approach of centering joy and honouring Black peoples’ placemaking contributions is a crucial example of how cities can engage with equity-deserving groups without compelling them to relive histories of oppression. Pitter noted that many respondents expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share their positive experiences and knowledge.
The findings from this study will be shared in an action-oriented report in February 2025, offering insights for cities and institutions on fostering real inclusion for Black communities in parks and other public spaces. Pitter shared some early findings: parks are among the most frequented public spaces by Black individuals and generally score well on physical safety. However, her early findings indicated that parks fall short in fostering Black cultural identity, deep belonging, and inclusive programming.
Pitter sees significant opportunities for growth, including co-creation of spaces, representation in park leadership, power-sharing, and park events that elevate Black communities.
To learn more about how your city can enhance inclusion for Black communities in public spaces, stay tuned at jaypitter.com for the full report available in February 2025.