As Dave Harvey retires from his co-leadership position at Park People, he reflects on the incredible journey since founding the organization in 2011.
Why are events in parks important? How do grants fit into Park People’s larger goals for creating change in city parks?
TD Park People Grants support local leaders to organize environmental education, sustainability or stewardship events that bring people together across Canada.
Explore reports, articles, toolkits, and webinars on racism and inequality in public spaces, with insights to address systemic barriers in parks and urban settings.
Explore inspiring community-led events funded by our microgrants program, from land-based learning to nature walks and skill-sharing workshops.
Come together with community members, park professionals, and municipal staff at the 2025 Park People Vancouver Forum!
By donating to Park People, you’ll support vibrant parks for everyone.
Lexi Kinman
Park People
Sep 20, 2023 Montreal, Quebec
Fifth Reports highlighting significant trends, issues, and practices shaping Canada’s city parks.
For more information reach out to:jsammy@parkpeople.ca
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.
As many cities struggle to find ‘new’ parkland in dense urban areas, one Montreal initiative highlights the power of partnerships to make use of what’s already there.
Nestled within Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, the Darlington Ecological Corridor was founded by Alexandre Beaudoin, Biodiversity Advisor at the Université de Montréal. The goal of the project was to bridge the nature flowing from Mount Royal into the urban landscape, providing new passageways for both wildlife and residents.
Tying together a patchwork of open spaces along a former railroad, the project connects land fragmented along lines of ownership into a cohesive green corridor by fostering collaboration.
The Darlington Ecological Corridor uses an innovative co-management model integrating diverse stakeholders. By uniting academic institutions, community organizations, non-profits, experts, and local residents, the project weaves together several priorities into a coherent vision that serves both the community and nature.
The concept of co-management involves engaging a network of partners working collaboratively, with well-defined roles and responsibilities outlined through management agreements. In this model, Éco-pivot serves as the trustee, providing administrative support and oversight. Université de Montréal contributes academic insight, with 19 master’s students currently dedicated to the project and shaping its evolution. The borough plays a pivotal role, providing a dedicated staff person to anchor the project within the borough’s institutional framework. This tangible commitment by the local government legitimizes the project’s significance within the community and ensures its alignment with broader objectives.
A distinguishing feature of the Darlington Ecological Corridor’s governance model is its adaptability. Over time, through community and partner involvement, the project has broadened its mission, assuming a larger role in addressing social challenges. This evolution is exemplified by a partnership with Multi-Caf, a local organization focused on combating food insecurity in the neighbourhood. The site has a vegetable garden developed in partnership with the YMCA to introduce youth to urban agriculture and gardening. This collaboration highlights the corridor’s transition from a primarily ecological initiative to a multifaceted project that addresses pressing social needs.
The Darlington Ecological Corridor has influenced ecological corridor movements in other boroughs across the city, prompting a similar initiative in the Sud-Ouest. Following the borough’s first-ever participatory budget, one of the winning projects was an ecological corridor connecting the Sud-Ouest to Lasalle.
The success of the Darlington model highlights how creating more connected partners can create more connected green spaces, inviting us to think beyond land acquisition as a strategy to meet parkland needs.
More on this topic:
CCPR, Ecological corridor
How partnerships across city departments and with local community groups helped the City of Charlottetown recover from Hurricane Fiona’s devastating winds.
How Nature Canada is building a web of partners at all scales to help Canada achieve its biodiversity conservation goals.
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.