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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Park People is excited to launch the 2024 Canadian City Parks Report, our sixth annual edition highlighting the most significant trends, issues, and practices shaping Canada’s city parks.
Watch our special launch webinar to explore our findings:
The webinar features an engaging discussion on the future of city parks, with guest speakers from the City of Victoria and Greenspace Alliance. They share opportunities and challenges in their work around collaborations and partnerships, across city departments, communities, non-profits, and more.
Adri Stark is specialized in research and policy at Park People, and co-author of the annual Canadian City Parks Report.…
Joy is the Manager of Research and Partnerships at Park People and facilitates national research and network engagement that supports…
Julia is the Food Systems Coordinator for the City of Victoria. She comes to the role after over 15 years…
Nicole DesRoches, born in Ottawa and living in Chelsea Québec, part of the National Capital Region, therefore living within the…
Today Park People launches the sixth Canadian City Parks Report–and the final iteration of this report in its current form: Bridging the Gap: How the park sector can meet today’s complex challenges through partnerships and collaboration.
Last year, we dove deep into the minds of park managers across the country, interviewing over 44 senior parks staff across 30 municipalities about the trends and challenges in the industry. One of the key insights from that process was a need to find collaboration sweet spots to achieve our many collective parks goals.
This year’s report expands on that insight by showcasing collaborative examples from across the country and through collecting data from 35 Canadian municipalities, over 2,500 residents of Canadian cities, as well as interviews with park staff and professionals.
Through that process we found six key insights related to collaborations and partnerships:
In this report you’ll find:
For those eager to dive deeper into the report’s contents, join us for the report launch webinar featuring a lively discussion on the report’s key findings and future directions for city parks. This hour-long webinar will take place on Wednesday, November 27th, at 3:00 PM ET.
In questioning the future of our health and well-being, the health of our planet and how connected we feel to the rest of nature–and the equity issues inherent to all this–it’s easy to feel powerless. Multiple unique challenges suggest the need for multiple unique solutions, which may be difficult when there’s so much to pay attention to.
The new Cornerstone Parks Reports on Stewardship and Park Use allow us to change how we think. What if the same approaches that improve the planet’s health also strengthen its people’s health and happiness? And what if those activities are as within-reach as our local urban park? A growing body of evidence suggests that shared solutions to multiple challenges are at our fingertips.
The new Cornerstone Parks Reports on Stewardship and Park Use (High Park Report – Stanley Park Report – Mount Royal Report) combine findings from 796 individual survey responses throughout 2021 and 2022 to demonstrate large urban parks’ impact on communities’ connectedness to nature and–by extension–their health and happiness.
Surveys show that most park users (67%) who visit the large urban parks being studied spend their time participating in social and recreational activities rather than nature-focused ones (33%). And yet, the higher park users rate their nature-connectedness, the higher they report their physical health, mental health, and overall well-being.
People who engage in hands-on, nature-focused activities and park stewardship (over other park activities) report powerful social connections; a sense of belonging, meaning and purpose in their lives; greater physical health; and overall life satisfaction. To summarize, a healthier, happier life may begin with getting our hands dirty.
Large urban parks like High Park in Toronto, Stanley Park in Vancouver, and Mount Royal in Montreal are essential spaces for city-dwellers to access and connect with nature, including through park stewardship.
“Park stewardship” refers to park-based programs or events that invite volunteers to care for the land we’re a part of and depend on. Park stewardship can include removing invasive species, planting native species, inventorying or monitoring plants and wildlife, or removing litter, among other activities.
Among Cornerstone Park stewardship participants, 98% of those surveyed said that volunteering as stewards contributes to feeling connected to living things and the environment. Surveyed volunteers also said that participating in stewardship enables stronger feelings of nature-connectedness than engaging in recreational activities (75% vs 51%, respectively).
Knowing that there’s an association between nature connection and health suggests that participating in park stewardship could significantly impact health more than general park use.
Our survey findings show that:
0%
of volunteer stewards said stewardship makes them feel happy and satisfied
said stewardship contributes to their mental well-being
said stewardship contributes to their physical health
In greater detail:
of stewards agreed that stewardship contributes to them developing and maintaining social connections (only 73% said the same about recreational activities)
of stewards agreed that stewardship contributes to their sense of belonging to a community (only 69% said the same about recreational activities)
of stewards agreed that stewardship contributes to a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives (only 74% said the same about recreational activities)
Those participating in park stewardship more often rate their physical health and life satisfaction higher. People who participate in stewardship activities 20 or more times per year rate their life satisfaction the highest–even higher than those who engage in park recreation daily!
Unfortunately, our findings also show that some communities are less engaged in park stewardship. The majority of those who participate in stewardship identify as cis-gendered women (68%), able-bodied (86%) and white (76%).
With many communities under-represented in these parks and their programs, not everyone can access the health and social benefits experienced by park stewards.
Park user surveys also revealed that nature connections are weaker amongst specific demographics:
of park users who identify as a visible minority felt strongly connected to nature (73% of white park users said the same)
of park users born outside of Canada felt strongly connected to nature (73% of those born in Canada said the same)
People with a disability also felt significantly less connected to nature than their able-bodied counterparts. In both 2021 and 2022, 0% of park stewards surveyed indicated that they had a visible disability.
If certain communities are left out of stewardship programs and feel generally disconnected from nature, it’s reasonable to assume that this may impact their health.
Large urban parks have a meaningful opportunity to diversify their visitors and stewards. With current gaps in mind, founding Cornerstone Parks High Park, Stanley Park, and Mount Royal prioritize innovative programs that engage equity-deserving communities in park stewardship. The proof is in the numbers. From 2021 to 2022:
increase in the number of newcomers participating in stewardship at Cornerstone Parks
increase in the number of stewards who are BIPOC
This increase in inclusivity is thanks to innovative programs like:
The Cornerstone Parks program is currently announcing new partnerships that maximize the impact and influence of Canada’s large urban parks. They include the Darlington Ecological Corridor* in Montreal, Quebec; the Everett Crowley Park Committee and Free the Fern in Vancouver, BC; and the Meewasin Valley Authority in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The Cornerstone Parks network is excited to grow with them and measure how their stewardship work improves the lives of their diverse communities, all while helping their cities adapt to current and future crises such as climate change.
Environmental health, human health, and equity are complex. But we can work smarter, not harder, with solutions that nurture ourselves, the planet, and each other simultaneously. If we follow the evidence that participating in environmental stewardship leads to better health and greater happiness–and if we commit to extending those well-being benefits to more equity-deserving communities–the solution-seeking potential of our actions is multiplied.
To get our hands dirty is to reclaim power, especially in times of change. Canada’s large urban parks are the sites that show us how. Through innovative programs, they connect communities to nature and each other. The closer every Canadian is to a Cornerstone Park, the closer they are to tangible solutions: for now and for the future.
Dive deeper into the findings of our Cornerstone Parks Reports on Stewardship and Park Use, and follow us as we expand our network of Cornerstone Parks.
Park People launches the fifth annual Canadian City Parks Report: Surfacing Solutions: How Addressing Conflict and Reframing Challenges as Opportunities Can Create More Equitable and Sustainable Parks.
Over the past five years of the Canadian City Parks Report, our goal has always been to tell a story—the story of where city parks are going and where they need to go.
This year, we took an even deeper approach to gathering these stories. We sat down for interviews with 44 senior parks staff across 30 municipalities, who generously shared with us the challenges they are facing, the projects and people inspiring them, and their vision for the future of city parks.
In the report, we weave together the themes we heard from those conversations with the data we gathered from our surveys of 35 municipalities and over 2000 residents of Canadian cities.
Dive into the pdf to read about our key insights on trends and challenges in city parks:
Happy reading!
While large natural areas are critical, research shows that small-scale urban biodiversity projects—like pollinator gardens—are critical to healthy city ecosystems. In urban environments, every nook and cranny counts.
In this webinar, hear from experts and advocates on the ecological benefits of these small urban habitats, explore the policies and practices that support (or don’t) this shift and learn how you can start your own tiny habitat – right in your backyard or local park!
The webinar is held in English; French subtitles are available.
Landscape architect and member of the AAPQ, Caroline brought a deep knowledge of Montreal’s professional, municipal and community networks as…
Mahnaz Ghalib is passionate about the environment and works on innovative and sustainable solutions through community participation. Her journey to…
Carmen is an interdisciplinary visual artist and performer. She has a long history of initiating art projects and creative community-integrated…
Vibrant parks depend on engaged volunteers -the people-power behind park events as well as park fundraising and marketing efforts. In this webinar, we want to help you develop the creative skills you need to attract and retain park volunteers.
Watch the session to learn best practices for attracting and retaining volunteers, employing good governance practices, and managing burnout and attrition.
Brianna oversaw Park People’s Toronto Community Park Network, supporting new and existing local park groups across the city. In this…
Minaz worked at Park People as the Outreach Manager, overseeing the Sparking Change program. This program supports communities in Toronto’s…
Urban green spaces help mitigate the impacts of climate change by reducing temperatures and lowering flood risk. However, unequal access to these spaces leaves many lower-income, racialized communities more vulnerable to these impacts. Addressing these inequities involves more equitable distribution of green space and changes in how we engage and involve communities in the design and planning of city parks.
Experts from across the country explore what environmental justice means for city parks and how the concept is being applied in Canada.
Larissa is a restorative circle keeper, published Indigenous and anti-racism researcher, award-winning ribbon skirt artist, and proudly passes on Métis…
Lorien Nesbitt seeks to create more liveable and equitable urban environments. During her career, she has had the privilege to…
CEED Canada (aka CEED) is a not-for-profit environmental education organization that provides tools and resources to MURB residents and property…
How did Friends of Hancock Woodlands become the “little sister” to The Riverwood Conservancy (TRC), and how did TRC’s experience help shape volunteerism and community engagement at Hancock Woodlands?
We spoke to Robin Haley-Gillin, Manager of Organizational Development & Volunteers at TRC and Sytske van der Veen, Chair of the Friends of Hancock Woodlands, to learn more about their impressive collaboration.
For 35 years, The Riverwood Conservancy has been dedicated to stewarding Riverwood, a 150-acre urban oasis featuring woodlands, meadows, and nature trails. Each year, over 10,000 people participate in TRC’s nature-focused events, and their volunteers contribute more than 24,000 hours of service. TRC has received the Park People Greenbelt River Valley Connector grant twice, which supports programs that connect people to their local Greenbelt-protected watersheds.
As an organization with a strong understanding and foothold in the community, TRC was in an ideal position to help a new Mississauga park group start their volunteer program.
Friends of Hancock Woodlands was established when the City of Mississauga purchased a family-owned plant nursery with plans to open it as a new garden park. From the start of the project, the City was committed to ensuring the park had a robust volunteer program, including a strong community park group. Hancock Woodlands was finally opened as a public park in 2018. In 2019, they received their first TD Park People grant to organize fun events connecting the community to their newest park.
Despite The Riverwood Conservancy being over 20 times the size of Hancock Woodlands and having a long-established presence in their city, their collaboration has had a significant impact.
The Riverwood Conservancy relished working with the newly established park group because it was an opportunity to see a new garden park project come to life. Riverwood has “expanding the garden park movement” right in its vision statement.
“Working together with like-minded groups and individuals, our mission is to enable people of all cultures, ages, and abilities to respectfully connect with nature and learn about the importance of protecting, conserving and restoring natural spaces for the well-being of future generations.””
“It is really our dream to have a series of garden parks throughout Mississauga to spread the movement.”
Robin Haley-Gillin
Rather than seeing their groups as competitors battling it out for volunteers and event attendance, the two groups saw themselves as engaged in the same ultimate goal of successfully growing the garden park movement.
Does your park group’s vision and mission include collaboration? What local groups could your group turn to for support and mentorship? Consider these questions as you examine how the two groups worked together.
The Riverwood Conservancy gave Friends of Hancock Woodlands access to its events, networks, knowledge and experience in order to get the group prepared to become officially registered with the City of Mississauga.
In the early days, TRC gave the new group access to the core policy and governance documents they’d need to establish their Friends group. This included sharing key documents like terms of reference, volunteer job descriptions, and group bylaws.
A few years elapsed between forming Friends of Hancock Woodlands and the official park opening. During this time, Friends of Hancock Woodlands planned and hosted educational events. At this stage, TRC provided Hancock Woodlands with marketing and outreach support by printing brochures, featuring the group on their website and sharing space at tabling events. They also provided a meeting space so the group could meet and begin planning its future.
Finally, as the park opened, TRC helped the Friends group get its core members working well together. TRC also offered practical support, like discounts on garden materials that were being purchased in bulk, helping the garden flourish with a lower price tag than Hancock Gardens would experience as a single vendor.
Sure, Riverwood is 20 times the size of Hancock Woodlands, but that’s just the start of their differences. Hancock Woodlands has its unique natural features including a heritage woodlot and gardens flush with Rhododendron, Azalea and Mountain Laurel.The two organizations also have very different histories and locations in the city of Mississauga.
TRC has always valued a strong partnership approach and shared the significance of local collaborations with Friends of Hancock Woodlands. However, when Hancock Woodlands sought out partners, they were able to forge their own unique collaborations, which was exciting for Robin to witness. For example, Hancock Woodlands established a partnership with the local food bank, dedicating plots in their community garden to grow food for those in need. Additionally, they introduced a system where canned food donations serve as ‘payment’ for attending Hancock Woodlands events.
“They have different partners and networks. That difference is what makes the mentorship work. It’s a chance for us to learn from one another.”
Robin
Today, Friends of Hancock Woodlands has a core group and a network of close to 200 people who attend events like invasive species pulls, education about the gardens’ history, and gardening workshops.
Now that the group is officially registered with the city, it will invariably face new challenges, such as working together as a committee and increasing its reach within the community.
“When we started, our goal was to get the group ready to be officially registered with the City.”
Robin says that while the formal aspect of the mentorship is coming to a close, there is a strong push to ensure the project realizes its full potential. Today, Friends of Hancock continues to be “the little sister” organization to TRC, and like sisters, they are growing together and becoming their own.
Thank you to the McLean Foundation for their support in funding this resource.
Tackling climate change within your community can be challenging. Park People partnered with Shawsti, a grassroots organization for Bengali seniors who frequent Dentonia Park in Toronto, to lead workshops on this crucial issue. Here’s what Nadira Tabassum, president of Shawsti, learned from the experience.
“Shawsti” is a Bengali word meaning peace and comfort. It’s also the name of a walking group for Bengali seniors that grew into a community group, helping to maintain connections within the Bengali community during the pandemic. Based in Toronto’s Taylor Massey and Oakridge Neighborhood Improvement Area, Shawsti has received ongoing support from Park People through our Sparking Change program and the TD Park People Grant.
Many of those involved in Shawsti’s programs are from Bangladesh, a country heavily impacted by climate change. As anxiety and fear about this global challenge grew within the community, the group’s leaders turned to Park People to help develop new initiatives. True to their name, they were determined to bring a sense of ‘peace and comfort’ back to their community.
Carbon Conversations TO, a volunteer-led group focused on helping individuals navigate their feelings about climate change, played a crucial role. Brianna, who is involved with both Park People and Carbon Conversations TO, facilitated two climate change workshops for Shawsti’s members.
Carbon Conversations TO prioritizes acknowledging and addressing the difficult emotions surrounding climate change. Nadira Tabassum, President of Shawsti, observed that natural disasters are increasingly frequent, leaving her community feeling “concerned, fearful, anxious, confused, and helpless.”
These intense emotions often lead people to avoid discussing climate change. That’s why starting conversations by acknowledging these feelings is essential.
Also, being in a group setting helps people feel less afraid about addressing climate change, and the isolating emotions that come with it.
“Groups should be no larger than 10. The intimate group size helps people feel connected to the facilitator and one another so difficult feelings can surface.”
Brianna
One of the first exercises Shwasti participants engaged in was writing down their feelings about climate change. This helps people feel empowered and motivated rather than paralyzed by fear and uncertainty.
“In our conversations, we need to look at our irrationality in dealing with climate change with compassion and respect instead of judgment and filled with messages of fear and doom.”
, Carbon Conversations TO
Dealing with difficult emotions in a supportive group sets the stage for what actions are needed to move toward a better future.In the Carbon Conversations TO model, individual and collective action are bound together. Individual action inspires collective action, and collective action inspires individual action. It’s a virtuous cycle that is set in motion once negative feelings are shared and managed.
“The whole is made up of individuals. Individuals make up a society. Together, as a society, we are responsible for creating a safe world for the next generation.”
Nadira, Shwasti
The workshop covered the basics of carbon dioxide and its role in climate change, revealing how individual choices—like air travel and meat consumption—affect the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. With this knowledge, participants were encouraged to consider what changes they could make to align with their hopeful vision for the future.
Again, emotions play a big role as we think about climate actions. So, the workshop not only asks “what changes could you make?” but also “what would be hard about this change?” and “what would you enjoy?”
Nadira underscored that the workshop was successful because no one felt judged or blamed. A space free from blame allows participants to engage openly and have meaningful conversations about climate change.
Research supports this approach, showing that when people are comfortable discussing climate change within their community, they are more likely to align with scientific views over time.
On the second day of the workshop, the group chose to focus on consumption and waste. In an area where guilt and shame often arise, participants were encouraged to avoid labeling their habits as simply good or bad. Instead, the emphasis was on understanding the feelings behind their purchasing decisions.
For a community group like Shwasti, it’s perhaps easier to shift from a focus on personal sacrifice to a new idea of happiness based on the collective.
“We have ideas of what the world might look like where it’s better for everyone, more socially just and better for the environment, so we need to build that by showing people what that looks like. Doing the right thing does not always mean that you’re sacrificing your happiness. There’s also happiness in these different types of actions.”
Inspired by the workshops, Shwasti hosted a festival in the park and a local climate march to educate their community about climate change.
“We want to change habits in our local community.”
Nadira
They were also planning a door-to-door campaign to spark further conversations with their neighbours.
The workshop helped the group move from fear and anxiety to action by enabling them to gain a sense of power and control in their lives. This is what Carbon Conversations calls “active hope,” and it’s a powerful term.
Active hope begins by acknowledging the context we’re in around climate change, even if it’s difficult and painful. From there, it’s about thinking about the future you want – a stable climate, thriving communities built on justice and equity, and all that good stuff. Then, it’s about taking action toward that future.
Indeed, there is nothing simple about having active hope in a warming world. By leveraging the power of community to inspire collective action helps us address our fears. As the workshop demonstrates, this is key to taking control over our own “peace and comfort” in the face of climate change.
This case study is part of the 2024 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.
Over the past few years, our collective understanding has recognized that systemic racism is prevalent in parks and public spaces. Historically, these areas have been sites where Black, Indigenous, and racialized people face suspicion, surveillance, harassment, violence, and even death.
Year after year, our public survey has shown that about 1 in 10 city residents avoid parks and greenspaces due to fear of discrimination or policing.
This year, when asked whether city parks should do more to address equity and racial justice, over two-thirds (67%) agreed. Similarly, in 2023, 66% of cities recognized the role of parks in combating racism.
While awareness of these issues is growing, action remains limited. Only 17% of cities feel equipped to address racism, allowing the needs of racialized populations to fall through the cracks.
How can municipalities move from awareness to action? We spoke with Jay Pitter about the BEING BLACK IN PUBLIC SURVEY a bi-national survey, developed by Jay Pitter Placemaking (Lead Investigator: Jay Pitter, Co-Investigator: Professor L. Anders Sandberg) and administered by the Institute for Social Research. Overall, the survey asked “What are the public space policies, design approaches and unspoken social attitudes that both diminish and enhance Black peoples’ experiences when navigating cities?”
This research fills gaps in understanding the Black experience in parks and other public spaces in Canada and the United States. Pitter identified a lack of data, particularly in Canada, on how Black communities perceive and experience these spaces. Many institutions measure narrowly defined ideas of inclusion by tracking safety or the absence of anti-Black violence, but Pitter argues that this is insufficient – mitigating violence should be the bare minimum.
Her research also explores how the historical and ongoing trauma from racism, police brutality, and violence in public spaces as well as, mobility inequity and lack of pathways to economic prosperity affect Black people’s well-being, social belonging, and sense of spatial entitlement.
“At the heart of this survey is filling a gap in what the other stats do not—which is to center Black people as wholly, human, spiritual beings. Previous research and stories often omit the impact of incidents related to lack of safety and restriction. What do those numbers mean? To Black people’s mental health, to Black people’s sense of self, to Black people’s belonging, to Black people’s imagination and aspirations? So, one of my main focuses was to re-humanize Black individuals and communities by creating space for their deep reflection, healing and dreaming aloud.”
Jay Pitter, Award-winning placemaker, adjunct urban planning professor and author
The BEING BLACK IN PUBLIC SURVEY uses a trauma-informed, asset-based approach that emphasizes Black joy and knowledge. Respondents were asked about positive experiences and memories in public spaces, with Pitter emphasizing the importance of learning from successes, not just tragedies.
Pitter also highlighted how Black communities contribute to public spaces.
“I didn’t want to reduce our experience in public to strictly a victim experience, because despite the auction block, centuries of anti-Black public space policy, and disproportionate experiences of violence and homelessness, Black peoples’ labour, placemaking expertise and culture have contributed so much to the form and vibrance of public spaces. We make public spaces lit.“
Jay Pitter
This approach of centering joy and honouring Black peoples’ placemaking contributions is a crucial example of how cities can engage with equity-deserving groups without compelling them to relive histories of oppression. Pitter noted that many respondents expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share their positive experiences and knowledge.
The findings from this study will be shared in an action-oriented report in February 2025, offering insights for cities and institutions on fostering real inclusion for Black communities in parks and other public spaces. Pitter shared some early findings: parks are among the most frequented public spaces by Black individuals and generally score well on physical safety. However, her early findings indicated that parks fall short in fostering Black cultural identity, deep belonging, and inclusive programming.
Pitter sees significant opportunities for growth, including co-creation of spaces, representation in park leadership, power-sharing, and park events that elevate Black communities.
To learn more about how your city can enhance inclusion for Black communities in public spaces, stay tuned at jaypitter.com for the full report available in February 2025.