Bringing Parks to Life: Stories from TD Park People Grant Recipients

TD Park People Grants is a nation-wide program that builds vital connections between people and parks. 

Each year, we support over 70 community groups across 21 urban areas to animate their local green spaces with engaging events. From Indigenous plant medicine workshops to nature walks, we’re looking for unique ideas that centre environmental education, sustainability, or stewardship, and are designed with accessibility and inclusivity in mind.

In 2025, event organizers are eligible to receive $2,000 to bring their park vision to life.

Need some inspiration for your park event? Read on to learn about three of the incredible groups that received TD Park People Grants in 2024! 

Grounding Vancouver’s Francophone community in nature

La Boussole is a Francophone nonprofit organization based in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. They support people experiencing poverty or marginalization to access health services, housing, and employment in French, while uniting their voices to raise awareness of the issues that face the community.

Through their 2024 TD Park People grant, La Boussole sought to reduce the barriers that prevent Downtown Eastside residents from enjoying nature in their city—such as transportation costs and the stigmatization that unhoused people face when in green spaces—and create restorative experiences that supported their participants’ mental health and wellbeing.

La Boussole organized two events, starting with a nature walk in Spirit Pacific Trail. Participants were led by a facilitator who shared knowledge of natural preservation, Indigenous land rights, and climate justice as they explored the lush forest together. Next, they held an eco-art-therapy session in Stanley Park, where participants were guided to create art using natural elements without damaging the environment.

“These kinds of events are crucial for our audience as the Downtown Eastside area is extremely urban,” noted La Boussole’s facilitators. “The population is suffering from extreme heat in summer and losing its connection to nature.”

Thanks to their efforts, 28 participants had the chance to deepen their connections to the environment, and to one another, through restorative experiences in their local forests. 

Sharing knowledge at a community “folkschool”

LifeSchoolHouse is a network of barter-based “folkschools” that create connections through skill-sharing across Nova Scotia. Folkschools are informal learning spaces, usually held in a person’s home, where neighbors become teachers as they share their skills in small group workshops.

LifeSchoolHouse breaks down the financial barriers many people face when trying to access education, and helps to connect neighbours in simple but meaningful ways. In this vein, organizers at the LifeSchool House in Spryfield, Nova Scotia used their 2024 TD Park People grant to organize two free outdoor events where neighbours shared knowledge of environmental education, sustainability, and stewardship with fellow community members.

These immersive experiences included guided nature walks for 43 participants of all ages to explore their surrounding environment. 16 volunteer teachers assisted them in identifying flora and fauna, while offering tips on sustainable practices for preservation. 

After their walk, the groups enjoyed a locally-sourced lunch followed by a litter clean-up session—offering a tangible way for participants to keep contributing to the wellbeing of the local green spaces.

Land-based learning on Truth and Reconciliation

The Kapabamayak Achaak Healing Forest Winnipeg is a living memorial to Indigenous children lost to or affected by the residential school system. It was the second Healing Forest developed in Canada, and is part of a growing network of sites linked by the National Healing Forest Initiative. 

A place for healing and contemplation, the Winnipeg forest is an open-air, land-based classroom for elders to share teachings and ceremony. These Keepers of the Forest have hosted dozens of teachings and ceremonies since the site was developed in 2017. 

In 2024, they used their TD Park People grant to partner with local schools to bring together children and educators to reflect upon Truth and Reconciliation and the value of environmental conservation. Their land-based learning experience incorporated Indigenous Ways of Knowing, showing children the healing power of connecting with the land and traditional plants like the sage which grows in the forest. 

Their two events in 2024 brought together over 300 attendees (students, teachers, and community members), and included a nourishing meal of bannock and jam. 

Have these events inspired you? 

Visit our TD Park People Grants page for more information, and full eligibility criteria, for this year’s program. Applications are open now and close on February 24, 2025.