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?
Park clean-ups bring neighbours together, foster connection, and leave a lasting impact—explore our 5-step guide to get started.
Explore inspiring community-led events funded by our microgrants program, from land-based learning to nature walks and skill-sharing workshops.
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.
Come together with community members, park professionals, and municipal staff at the 2025 Toronto Park Summit!
By donating to Park People, you’ll support vibrant parks for everyone.
Location
Canada-wide
For more information reach out to: jsammy@parkpeople.ca
For people living in cities, public parks are vital sites of connection. They’re spaces for meeting our neighbours, engaging with nature, and mitigating the harmful impacts of climate change. But large urban parks also face unique challenges, often requiring more resources for maintenance, operations, and programming.
Park People created the Cornerstone Parks program to support and connect the organizations working in large urban parks across Canada. We’re the only national network dedicated to ensuring that these park leaders can access resources, learn from one another, and maximize the impact and influence of their important work.
Here’s what we’re up to:
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volunteers engaged in stewardship restoration
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of participants say their mental health is improved from stewardship activities
m2 of invasive species removed
Stanley Park in Vancouver
High Park in Toronto
Mount Royal Park in Montreal
Champlain Heights Trail system in Vancouver
Everett Crowley Park in Vancouver
Blue Mountain – Birch Cove Lakes, Sandy Lake, Backlands / Williams Lake in Halifax
Darlington Ecological Corridor in Montreal
South Saskatchewan River Valley in Saskatoon
North Saskatchewan River Valley in Edmonton
Edwards Gardens and Botanical Garden in Toronto
Park People and our Cornerstone partners are seeking to better understand the link between parks and health. Our groundbreaking research shows that park stewardship has tremendous benefits for our mental and physical health, for our sense of social connection, and for our overall well-being.
Cornerstone Parks, Stewardship
Explore how different sectors are currently working to meet shared urban biodiversity goals and how we can all work differently –or more collaboratively– in the future.
Discover our new partners within our growing national network of Cornerstone Parks: the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition, Toronto Botanical Garden and Ecology Action Centre.
Montreal's Urban Park Champions mentoring program offers dedicated community members from equity-deserving neighbourhoods training and coaching opportunities to help them organize a series of two activities in their local parks.
InTO the Ravines creates opportunities for Torontonians to come together to explore the ravines, learn about their social and ecological benefits, and champion their preservation.
The Sparking Change program supports equity-deserving community groups to transform their parks into powerful engines of community development.