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?
We know we benefit when we get outside and connect with others when winter makes us feel isolated. Here are some ideas for how your group can animate parks in winter.
Here are some valuable tips to create a welcoming, safe, and respectful environment for participants of all abilities, backgrounds, ages, and gender identities!
Watch our special launch webinar with the Report's authors to get the inside scoop on our findings.
How the City of Charlottetown’s experience with Hurricane Fiona demonstrates the importance of cross-departmental partnerships and resilient infrastructure to mitigate the impact of extreme winds.
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Location
Vancouver, British Columbia
For more information reach out to: jralamboarisoa@parkpeople.ca
The social benefits of parks are especially important for seniors. A study from CARP found that living near a park helps seniors avoid loneliness at a rate that’s four times greater than that of having children. Yet seniors represent just 4% of park users, despite being 20% of the population.
Park People’s Senior Champions in Vancouver address this gap by supporting seniors in leading free activities in their urban parks, providing eight seniors annually with hands-on training and access to mentorship from previous leaders. Past events have included park-based art classes, knitting groups, bird watching, Indigenous plant identification walks, Tai Chi, and gardening — to name just a few!
Each Champion receive:
0+
seniors engaged in greenspaces
0
senior champions running community programming
0%
of participants feel better connected to their community
The Application for the 2024 Vancouver Senior Champions is closed.
May 13, 2024
Applications open
May 13 – June 26, 2024
Phone or Online Interviews
June 17, 2024
Applications Close
June 30, 2024
Notification to successful champions
July and August 2024
Mandatory Training sessions
July 22, 2024 – Jan 31, 2025
Park activites
Feb 14, 2025
Post-event evaluations
People aged 60 and above living in Metro Vancouver are eligible. We prioritize seniors from historically marginalized communities, especially racialized, newcomers, living with disabilities, and/or LGBTQ2S+ seniors. Through community outreach with our local partners, we’re seeking to ensure that 100% of senior activity leaders and 75% of participants identify as belonging to one of these equity-deserving groups.
No, you don’t need to have any prior experience in organizing events to apply. Our program is designed specifically to train and equip seniors with the necessary knowledge and tips to lead their events in parks successfully.
You can apply individually or as a group of two. Both would lead the activities (co-champions) if applied as a pair.
Successful applicants must participate in all three training sessions.
These sessions will provide essential information regarding event planning, community outreach, effective communication and accessibility. During these training sessions, you will also have the opportunity to engage with mentors who are former champions.
Champions, Seniors, Training
Fundraising is a great way to build the capacity of your community park group. Here’s a list of the grants and funding options for park groups located in BC.
TD Park People Grants support local leaders to organize environmental education, sustainability or stewardship events that bring people together across Canada.
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.
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.