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.
Why are events in parks important? How do grants fit into Park People’s larger goals for creating change in city 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.
Host free, community-led park activities in Toronto this summer with the No-Fee Community Activations Booking. This hour-long virtual session will walk you through the booking — what's eligible, and how to apply step by step.
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It takes deliberate thinking and action to enjoy park and ravine spaces while ensuring they’re protected. How can you use ravine and park events to foster reciprocity and ensure the natural world benefits as much as the community does?
We want to help more people connect to and engage with Toronto’s ravines through our InTO the Ravines program. However, given the environmental sensitivity of the ravines, this goal must be carefully balanced against the importance of protecting these fragile spaces. After all, Toronto is a city of almost 3 million people and population growth, new development and climate change are all putting increased pressure on the ravines which do a whole lot of “heavy lifting” for our city.
We are eager for more people to experience the ravines and see an opportunity for these kinds of events to contribute rather than just extract from the natural world. However, this takes deliberate thinking and action. We encourage people to start by asking:
How can your event be in alignment with nature? How can you use a ravine event to foster reciprocity to ensure the natural world benefits as much as the community does? How can you strive to use events as opportunities to give back to the natural world which offers us these meaningful and enriching experiences?
We explore these questions through conversations with Monica Radovski, Natural Environment Specialist from the City of Toronto in the Natural Environment and Community Programs unit of Urban Forestry and Carolynne Crawley, a Mi’kmaw woman with mixed ancestry from the East Coast known today as Nova Scotia. Carolynne operates her own business, Msit Nokmaq, which focuses upon decolonizing current interactions with the land, self, and others to build healthy and reciprocal relationships.
Given that we are writing this on the land we now call Toronto, which is on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, Carolynne focuses our conversation on sharing teachings that may resonate across many nations. She also reminds us that Indigenous people have been in relationship to these lands since time immemorial.
“I see the earth as my teacher, my healer, my confidant, my companion”
Carolynne Crawley, Founder Msit No’kmaq
Carolynne emphasises that many Indigenous nations across Turtle Island believe that in order to be in “right relations” with the land, water, and other beings, we must treat our relationships with the natural world as we would our family relations or friendships. For example, if you have a friendship in which a friend is always giving and the other is always taking, the relationship will be out of balance and will likely suffer. Similarly, as Carolynne emphasises, when we take from the land without giving back to it or nurturing it, we not only harm the land, but we harm ourselves. We damage ourselves by damaging our relationship to nature as we are all interconnected.As a reflection exercise before planning an event on the land, ask yourself: What can I offer back to the land in return for its gifts? What does living with reciprocity with the land, water, and species mean to me?
There are no simple answers to these questions, but Carolynne offered some helpful suggestions to consider when hosting ravine and park events:
When you slow down enough to develop a personal and meaningful connection to a park or ravine space, you provide others with a model to begin building their own connections to nature. Start your event by looking around and encouraging others to do the same. Consider what resonates with you: Is it a bird sound? The smell of leaves under foot? Is it seeing water flowing in the distance? Carolynne recommends visiting a spot regularly to build a relationship with it, just as you would with a new friend. One practical approach is to conduct a regular sit spot exercise in which you simply return to a spot at different times to observe what’s around you, how it changes and how you experience it. Doing this before, during and after your event can help you build a connection and consider what you can give back. Encourage event participants to do the same.
When you enter a park or ravine space, consider what you have to offer in return for the enjoyment the park brings to you. Think about the life in the park as being equal in meaning to your own life and think about how this belief might influence how you act. For example:
Monica Radovski, Natural Environment Specialist from the City of Toronto in the Natural Environment and Community Programs unit of Urban Forestry also shared how to host events that demonstrate respect for nature.
When Monica visits a natural space, she imagines that at least 1000 other people are taking the same steps she takes. This helps her remember that even if she is walking by herself, every step counts and that collectively, our steps add up fast. Even if we can’t see others walking with us, our actions never exist in isolation. Encourage your groups to imagine all of the other individuals and groups that will tread on this same path today, tomorrow and in future generations. Imagine your own ancestors walking this same path. How does that influence your actions on the path?
“When we are thinking about how we move on the land it is important to know what the impacts are, but also it’s important we don’t want to treat the land like a museum that we can’t touch, interact with, and have a relationship with the land. There is this fine balance.”
Monica encourages people to use their senses to note what lies under their feet. Fallen logs and crunching leaves under foot may look messy, but they are home to animals and insects and serve as a natural fertilizer for the earth beneath. How does recognizing this inform how you interact with the space?
Look around. If the space around you looks bare it might mean that the area you’re in is being overused. Knowing that might inspire you to consider taking a less popular route. On the other hand, if the space is rich with undercover, walk on it to create the smallest possible impact. Stay on the trail wherever possible, and if you have to go off trail (which is not recommended) consider walking in a zigzag fashion to avoid eroding the earth outside the trail or creating a new informal trail to be tread upon by others. Also, consider walking back along a different route.
Watch for animals, particularly during dawn and dusk when they’re most active. If you spot an animal during the day, observe their behaviour and tweet, call, or email 311 if you see anything unusual. If you observe anything unusual with plants and trails conditions, contact 311 to ensure this information reaches the City’s Parks, Forestry and Recreation staff.
Living in sync with nature means scheduling events with consideration of seasonality. Spring is one of the most sensitive times of the year when animals are having their young and plants are starting to grow. During dawn or dusk you might spot more wildlife. If your event is scheduled during these times, encourage participants to tread as carefully and quietly as possible to minimize disruption to plants and animals.
Nawal is a busy person. She has a full-time job helping newcomers settle in Canada. When she isn’t working or spending time with her family, she volunteers in her local Flemingdon, Toronto community. Flemingdon is a community rich with new immigrants that now call Toronto home. However, many need help navigating a new city and making ends meet. Understanding these challenges herself and driven by a passion to help, Nawal co-founded Flemingdon Community Support Services.
This volunteer-led organization helps the community access food, housing and employment. After months of serving the community, something became clear to Nawal. She began to recognize one crucial gap, a persistent need that wasn’t being met: loneliness. So many of her neighbours felt incredibly isolated and alone.
Nawal approached Park People with an idea.
Flemingdon has vast and beautiful parks. Despite it being a dense area of high and low-rise apartment buildings where most residents don’t have a backyard, this neighborhood off the Don Valley offers sprawling, public greenspaces for everyone to share. But they are underused. Some people don’t feel safe in the parks, while others struggle to find the time or a reason to use them.
Fueled by a passion for community and connection, Nawal worked with Park People to start a weekly Health and Wellness meet-up in her local park. Every week, members of her community gather to explore topics of conversation, ranging from sharing nutritious recipes to engaging in storytelling, learning a dance, or simply taking a walk together. The group is inclusive, consistent and caring. Over time, the gathering evolved into a community hub, where new friendships are forged, and people discover a deep sense of belonging.
Recently, a community member told Nawal she was initially nervous about attending, but now she can’t imagine her life without the weekly meet-up at the park, a mental health refuge for her and a bright light in her week.
Read other community leaders’ stories with Marie-Pierre from Vancouver and Geneviève from Montreal. Their stories feature the incredible work being done to foster social connection and community resilience in parks and green spaces across Canada.
Toronto is lucky to have one of the largest ravine networks in the world. Covering 17% of the city’s total area, these lush green spaces provide habitat for countless plant, animal, and insect species, but are also fragile ecosystems.
Park People partners with the City of Toronto to create opportunities for Torontonians to come together to explore the ravines, learn about their social and ecological benefits, and support their care and protection.
Each year, we provide 10 microgrants to community groups and small organizations to help them host an environmentally-focused event that invites people to connect, celebrate, and champion Toronto’s ravines.
Think guided walks, native plant identification workshops, birdwatching tours, art projects, or any creative way to bring people together in nature!
What recipients receive:
0%
of participants report feeling greater connection to nature and living things
of InTO the Ravines event attendees are more likely to return to the ravines with friends and family
0
ravine events led
May 28, 2026
Applications open – accepted on a rolling basis until July 6. We encourage early applications.
July 6, 2026
Applications close
June – July, 2026
Notification to successful applicants
Aug 10 to Nov 1, 2026
Ravine event period
Nov 1, 2026
Evaluation report due
Sept 26 to Oct 18, 2026
Ravine Days
InTO the Ravines Microgrants are open to groups based in Toronto who are interested in, or already working in, their local ravines. Eligible groups include park friends groups, community and resident associations, neighbourhood groups, BIPOC-led groups, and small not-for-profit organizations. Private businesses and government are NOT eligible to apply.
Applicants are not required to have a trustee or have charitable status.
Smaller or newly formed groups without event planning experience are strongly encouraged to collaborate with an established local organization.
Priority will be given to:
Event requirements:
We also encourage recipients to take part in Ravine Days (September 26 to October 18). Hosting your event during this period can help increase visibility and participation—but it’s optional.
Please submit your application using this form.
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.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until July 6, 2026. We encourage early applications.
Need help with your InTO the Ravines Microgrants application?
Our team is here to support you! You can reach out by emailing Asha Legendre-Simpson at torontonetworks@parkpeople.ca, if you have questions or would like to book a video call for support.
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.
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 park or publicly accessible space is eligible, please look at Toronto’s Interactive Map and search for your park or ravine. Select the filter for Administrative Boundary -> Ravine and Nature Feature Protection By-Law. Public ravines will be indicated on the map with 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 microgrant. If you have questions about your local ravine, please get in touch with us to confirm eligibility. If needed, we can provide suggestions for a location for your event.
An important objective of the InTO the Ravines program is to help more people connect to and engage with their ravines. However, given the ravines’ environmental sensitivity, this goal must be carefully balanced with the need to protect these spaces.
Take a look at these Tips for Ravine Engagement to learn more about balancing engagement with respect and care for nature.
We also invite you to check the following resources:
In-person events:
Examples of simple yet creative events and activities include, but are not limited to:
If you want some more inspiration, check out our webinar recording ‘Animating Toronto’s Ravines with Care and Respect’.
Remember, events should NOT include any form of direct stewardship, such as tree planting or invasive plant removal. These must be led by the Natural Environment and Community Programs unit of the City of Toronto’s Urban Forestry. You can learn more about their volunteer opportunities here: toronto.ca/greentoronto.
Virtual events:
Online events can take many forms, including fully virtual sessions (e.g., on Zoom) or hybrid formats where participants gather online and are encouraged to explore their local ravines independently, sharing reflections through digital platforms or conversation apps.
Here are some examples of online events:
These are real opportunities to put your creative muscles to work, and deepen the connection to ravines from wherever participants are.
For more ideas, check out our webinar recording Making Online Environmental Programming Meaningful.
If you have 25 participants or fewer, you do not need a City permit to host your events. For more than 25 participants, and you would like to gather at a specific location in a park, you will need to get a one-time booking permit. We also recommend you let your city councillor and park supervisor know about your plans to host a ravine event in your community.
Decisions will be made by a team of reviewers composed of Park People staff in consultation with the City of Toronto and will be based on the following criteria:
While meeting any or all of these criteria will not guarantee that your group will be awarded a microgrant, we are looking for these qualities in each application.
If successful, your organization will receive $1,500 for your event. You are free to use these funds as needed to support your activities. Eligible expenses may include communications and marketing (e.g., printing posters and flyers), honoraria for volunteers or facilitators, TTC tokens, personal protective equipment, event equipment, permit costs and insurance (if applicable). Up to 75% of the budget can be allocated to human resources costs.
InTO the Ravines aims to reach people from equity-deserving communities, and/or who have not visited ravines before, to help address barriers such as lack of awareness or feeling uncomfortable in ravine spaces.
We define equity-deserving communities as groups that, because of systemic discrimination, face barriers that limit equal access to resources and opportunities. This may include, but is not limited to, Black, Indigenous and people of colour communities, disabled people, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, newcomers, women and non-binary people, and people with low incomes.
When applying, think about who currently uses ravines—and who does not—compared to the communities you work with or are part of. We also encourage you to learn from community members about the barriers they face and how to overcome them.
Urban parks offer countless benefits to our physical and mental health, to our sense of community, and to our environment. But these benefits aren’t shared equally — Racialized and low-income people face barriers to accessing urban parks, such as inadequate park infrastructure and discrimination in public spaces.
The Sparking Change program in Toronto supports equity-deserving community groups to transform their parks into powerful engines of community development.
We connect grassroots groups to opportunities for training, professional networks, seed funding, and one-on-one coaching to help them activate their parks and offer programming that addresses barriers and meets their communities’ needs.
community leaders trained to date
people connected to their local park
of participants report being better connected to their community
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:
0+
volunteers engaged in stewardship restoration
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.
Parks Canada is building a new kind of park system, one that brings nature into the heart of cities. Launched in 2021, the National Urban Parks program aims to create 6 parks with the goals to:
Park People is proud to have collaborated with Parks Canada by contributing to the interim policy that guides the designation and management of new national urban parks, and by engaging and supporting organizations working in large urban parks across the country.
Park People partners with the Toronto Arts Foundation to help deliver its signature Arts in the Parks program.Arts in the Parks brings free, family-friendly arts events and activities to parks outside Toronto’s downtown core. Offerings include theatre performance, music concerts, film screenings and workshops for children, families, and neighbours.
Park People helps to facilitate strong relationships between artists and community park groups in green spaces across the city, and we support outreach efforts to our network of over 3,500 park enthusiasts.
urban parks animated with dynamic activities in Toronto
artist-produced events in parks
participants in neighbourhoods across the city
Find all of Arts in the Parks events here: www.artsintheparksto.org
TD Park People Grants are available for almost any community event in a publicly accessible green space — whether in a city park, social housing property, or schoolyard — that fosters ongoing care and protection of these spaces.
From Indigenous plant medicine workshops to nature walks, we help local leaders organize events focused on environmental education, sustainability, or stewardship that bring people together.
Each year, we support over 70 community groups across 21 urban areas in Canada to host two in-person and virtual events.
You could receive $2,000 to support your vision to connect people to their local parks and green spaces!
Each year, thanks to the TD Park People Grants program:
grants awarded
community events organized
people connected in local parks
Applications for the 2026 TD Park People Grants are now closed.
Jan 14 2026
Applications open
Feb 23 2026
April 2026
Notification to grant recipients
May 2026
Distribution of funds
April 22 to Dec 31, 2026
Park events period
Oct 2026
Project report due
Equity-deserving groups will be prioritized in the application process. A minimum of 50% of all microgrants will be awarded to those who identify as such.
Please check your group’s eligibility below before submitting your application. If you are not eligible for the TD Park People Grant, your application will not be reviewed.
Please create an account and submit your application on Blackbaud.
The application form should take about 2 hours to complete once you know what your events will look like. Here is a sample of the form to help you prepare the application.
For an overview of the application questions and more information on creating an account and submitting your application, please refer to the FAQ section below.
Need help with your TD Park People Grant application?
Our team is here to support you! You can reach out in the following ways:
We made a few changes to the program this year, summarized below.
Eligible urban areas: St John’s, NL joins the list of eligible urban areas in 2026, while Brandon, MB is no longer an eligible urban area.
Multi-year recipients: Groups that have received the grants before can apply again, but to prioritize first-time applicants, those funded two years in a row must take a one-year break before reapplying. For example, a group funded in 2024 and 2025 would next be eligible for the 2027 TD Park People grant.
Application Management Tool: We are moving from Survey Monkey Apply to Blackbaud Grantmaking. Learning to use a new tool can take some adjustment, but the questions below provide guidelines for navigating it. If additional support is required, you can always contact us at boursestdppgrants@parkpeople.ca for help.
Decisions will be made by a team of reviewers composed of Park People staff in consultation with TD. Application selection will be based on the following criteria:
While meeting any or all of these criteria will not guarantee that your group will be awarded a grant, we are looking for these qualities in each application.
The application form should take about 2 hours to complete once you’ve planned your events. Here is a preview of the questions:
Your group can demonstrate an environmental focus in many ways, whether through environmental education, a commitment to sustainability practices, or stewardship activities:
We encourage you to get creative and think outside the box!
Here are some useful links:
Hosting a free, open-to-the-public event is not enough to ensure it is inclusive and accessible.
Here are some measures past grant recipients have adopted to make their park events inclusive:
We also suggest including an accessibility section on your event page that provides information on location, transportation, food, sensory experiences, and interactions one might expect. It will help people determine if they can/want to participate and plan accordingly.For further reading, see our resource on events accessibility.
If successful, your group will receive a total of $2,000 to be spread across both events. Once you have received the funds for your grant, you are free to use them however you’d like for your events. This could include providing transportation to the event with bus tickets. You may also combine the money received from this grant with other sources of funding.
For the purposes of the program, a group is considered equity-deserving if the people helping run it are part of an equity-deserving community and/or if the group serves or engages with equity-deserving communities. We prioritize equity-deserving groups in our granting 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 in some cities, including Toronto’s Neighbourhood Improvement Areas or Montreal’s Integrated Urban Revitalization zones*, but they are not limited to those areas.
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Discover the 72 community groups and organizations across Canada receiving TD Park People Grants.