Park People’s Executive Director, Erika Nikolai, has been honoured with the Distinguished Individual Award from World Urban Parks—an international recognition that celebrates her leadership and the growing national movement Park People has helped build here in Canada.
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The InTO the Ravines Champions program offers people living near ravines training and support to learn, explore, and celebrate Toronto's one-of-a-kind ravines system.
The scaling stream of the Park People Nature Connect Fund offers up to $20,000 to registered organizations across Canada that connect people with nature while fostering ecological stewardship and restoring urban parks.
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By donating to Park People, you’ll support vibrant parks for everyone.
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Apr 30, 2026
Location
Toronto, Ontario
Read about the Ravine Strategy.
Learn more about the broader InTO The Ravines program.
For more information reach out to: torontonetworks@parkpeople.ca
The InTO the Ravines Champions program offers people living near ravines training and support to learn, explore, and celebrate Toronto’s one-of-a-kind ravines system.
Twenty champions, paired in teams of two, learn about Toronto’s ravines, providing them with the knowledge and skills to host their own event in one of these unique natural spaces. Events can include guided nature walks, art projects, native plant workshops, birdwatching tours, or any creative way to bring people together in nature.
Each team receive:
March 31, 2026
Applications Open
April 30, 2026
Applications Close
Mid-May, 2026
Notification to successful applicants
June, 2026
Distribution of the $600 fund
June 3, 2026, 6 – 8:30 pm
1st training session | Introduction to our Ravines (online)
June 10, 2026, 6 – 8 pm
2nd training session | Engagement & Event Planning in the Ravines (online)
June 17, 2026, 6 – 8 pm
3rd training session | Infrastructure: Equity and Climate Resilience (online)
June 24, 2026, 6 – 8:30 pm
4th training session | Ravines: Indigenous History & Perspective (online)
End of June, 2026
In-person event planning lunch
July 16 to Nov 1, 2026
Park events period
Nov 1, 2026
Evaluation report due
Fall, 2026
Ravine Days
We’re looking for applicants who live near Toronto’s ravines, are unfamiliar with their history and significance, and may need help accessing them.
Priority will be given to equity-deserving communities, but all are welcome to apply.
Each applicant should team up with a partner. Both team members must:
Both champions in each team must complete the application.
The application form should take 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete. Here is a sample of the form to help you prepare the application.
Need help with your InTO the Ravines Champions application?
Our team is here to support you! You can reach out in the following ways:
By emailing Kayos Jones at torontonetworks@parkpeople.ca, if you have questions or would like to book a video call for support.
By joining one of our drop-in sessions using this link at the following times:
Park People is committed to supporting people with disabilities during the application process. If you encounter any barriers while completing your application form or would like to request any access needs, please contact us.
No, you don’t need to have any prior experience in organizing events or within ravines to apply.
Each applicant is highly recommended to apply with a partner. This creates teams of two, and each team is called “Champions Pairs”. Each pair will be able to work together and rely on each other to host an event. This is why we recommend applying with a partner, so you can choose who you wish to work with. If you don’t have a partner to apply for the program, please contact us, and we will assist you with this process.
You and your ravine event partner will need to complete the application form. If successful, both of you will go through the training process individually. Once you both have completed the training, you will come together as a team to host one event together.
By having each of you apply, we get a better understanding of each of you as individuals and your reasons for choosing this program, which strengthens your application
Successful applicants must participate in all four online training sessions and an in-person lunch with the other program participants. You can find the dates and times in the Key Dates section.
These sessions will provide essential information regarding event planning and the important role of ravines. During these training sessions, you will have the opportunity to engage with other champions and guest speakers.
According to the City of Toronto’s Ravine Strategy, a ravine is “a type of landform created over time by running water. They are larger than gullies and smaller than valleys. They may or may not contain streams.” (p. 6 – 7 of Ravine Strategy).
To determine if your ravine is publicly accessible, please look at Toronto’s Interactive Map and search for your ravine.
Select the filter “City Park” and “Ravine and Nature Feature Protection By-Law” from the drop down list on the right side. Public ravines will be indicated in the map by having a green base (vs grey) and the Ravine and Nature Feature Protection By-Law layer (stripes).
Ravines that are on private property and not open to the public are not eligible for the grant. If you have questions about your local ravine, please get in touch with us to confirm eligibility. If required, we can provide you with suggestions regarding a location for your event.
We prioritize equity-deserving groups in our programs to address the inequitable distribution of resources within the parks sector.
We define equity-deserving communities as those that, due to systemic discrimination, face barriers that prevent them from having the same access to resources and opportunities as other members of society. These may include, but are not limited to, Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities, disabled persons or people with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+, newcomers, women and non-binary people, and low-income people.
These communities may be present in specific geographic areas, including Toronto’s Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, but they are not limited to those areas.
As part of the application, we ask a question to understand whether you or your future event is located in a Neighbourhood Improvement Area (NIA).
In March 2014, the City of Toronto identified 31 neighbourhoods as Neighbourhood Improvement Areas under the Toronto Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy 2020. A Neighbourhood Improvement Area (NIA) is a neighbourhood identified by the City as having lower scores on a range of social, economic, and health indicators, and is therefore prioritized for investment and community development.
Please note: being located in an NIA may strengthen your application, but it is not an eligibility requirement.
To determine if your ravine is within a Neighbourhood Improvement Area or NIA for short, please look at Toronto’s Interactive Map.
Select the filter “Neighbourhood Improvement Area” from the drop down list on the right side. All Neighbourhood Improvement Areas will be highlighted fully in blue with a darker blue outline. The name of the Neighbourhood Improvement Area will also be displayed in blue text
Search for your park or ravine using the search bar in the top left corner and see if it is inside the highlighted space.
Hear why they love and care about the ravines.
Champions, InTO the Ravines
How Maggie is helping her community dip into and see the green spaces and ravines.
Creative ways to connect people to nature, community, and care for ravines in Toronto.
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.
TD Park People Grants support local leaders to organize environmental education, sustainability or stewardship events that bring people together across Canada.