Sparking Possibility: Meet the Community Leaders Transforming Parks Across Ontario

A Glimpse into Park People’s Sparking Change and 8 80 Cities’ Ontario Community Changemakers Programs – Part 2

Parks and public spaces are places where communities connect, imagine, and thrive. In this two-part blog series, we explore programs we champion with our partner, 8 80 Cities, that support local leaders in reimaging and activating parks across Ontario. From mentorship and funding to creative activations, these programs show how trust, support, and imagination spark meaningful change.

Read Part 1 to learn more about the vision behind Park People’s Sparking Change and 8 80 Cities’ Ontario Community Changemakers (OCC) programs.

Intergenerational Story Circles on the Move

In Thunder Bay, Nancy Angus, founder of Age BIG, used her time as an Ontario Community Changemaker to create Park Your Stories. This project brought older adults and high school students together to transform city benches into painted gathering spots. 

Students built portable wooden chairs and even crafted a custom metal medallion for the project. The result was a mobile, joyful story circle that has popped up in gardens, conservation areas, and senior living facilities, bringing intergenerational connection, people together, and people closer to nature.

“People of all ages talking, knitting, painting, playing. Trees. Plenty of places to sit. Clean. Safe. Free.” is how Nancy describes her vision for a welcoming park.

Whimsy Microparades in the Park

In Waterloo, another Ontario Community Changemaker, Hannah Gardiner, was inspired by the memory of zoologist Dr. Anne Innis Dagg to create a unique activation of her local park: a Giraffe Parade.  Twenty-five papier-mâché giraffe heads, built by neighbours, wound through the park in a joyful procession.

It was whimsical, intensely local, and wildly inspiring. Since then, the Giraffe Parade has sparked other “microparades,”  bursts of neighbourhood creativity that can be as playful as they are powerful. 

This year, with a TD Park People Grant, Hannah is building on her Changemaker experience to create a bubble procession, a lantern parade, and even karaoke in the park. Proof that the skills, confidence, and connections from the OCC program carry far beyond the original funding and opportunities.

“I was thrilled when one of the Changemakers, Nithya Vijayakumar, and Angry Locals Toronto put on a parade this spring to draw attention to infrastructure in their community. A friend recently sent me a video of students hosting a Trout Parade in Vermont.”

For Hannah, inspiring people is just one part of the vision. “The other part of my project is focused on making it easier for people, anyone, to host these kinds of small, community-focused events in parks here in Waterloo Region,” she says. 

Hannah is working on a mini “how-to guide” that will pull together resources the public can use to make their own events happen. She’s been meeting with the City of Waterloo, Park People, and local community groups to figure out how to break down barriers.

“I feel really lucky to live in a city with a very community-minded mayor like Mayor Dorothy McCabe, who has encouraged me during this project,” Hannah adds. 

“I think Park People’s success with the City of Toronto in waiving fees for community events in parks is a really big win for community building, and I hope that the City of Waterloo can draw inspiration from that in their new park plan.”

From Forgotten Space to Community Hub

Another project from 2024 began with a simple but powerful vision from Ontario Community Changemaker Rignam Wangkhang. 

Outside the Tibetan Canadian Cultural Centre in Etobicoke, Toronto, he saw families and seniors gathering in parking lots or spilling into busy streets during cultural events. Across the road sat an overgrown hydro corridor, unused and full of possibility. 

From the very start, Rignam involved the community in shaping that vision. Local events revealed how deeply people wanted this change: a safe, welcoming space that reflects their culture, needs, and pride. What began as one person’s idea quickly became a shared mission.

Through the 8 80 Cities’ Ontario Community Changemakers program, Rignam has found a network of people who believe in bold ideas.

That trust, in community and collective imagination, can help turn an empty hydro corridor into a safe, vibrant space the whole neighbourhood can call its own.

Capturing Place, Building Connection

Another past ravine and hydro corridor lover, Nithursan Elamuhilan, has been heavily involved in the Park People Network and the 8 80 Cities program. 

Born and raised in Scarborough, Nithursan is an emerging visual storyteller whose work blends photography, community connection, and a deep commitment to place. He first launched itsneerby with support from the Ontario Community Changemaker program, using it as a platform to document and share stories of Scarborough’s neighbourhoods.

Since then, he has become an active leader in the local arts and public space sectors, contributing to community events with NGOs, serving as a past board member of 8 80 Cities, and volunteering regularly with Park People.

Nithursan has participated in numerous Scarborough initiatives, including Scarborough Made, and has led public events such as a photowalk for a past Jane’s Walk Festival. His photography has celebrated and documented public spaces, such as The Meadoway, a major urban greenway project, and his work has been featured in exhibitions across Toronto, including group shows at the CONTACT Photography Festival.

Through his art and advocacy, Nithursan continues to highlight Scarborough’s cultural richness, resilience, and evolving landscapes, building connections between people, place, and the stories that shape them. He documents and advocates for future infrastructure reuse of a rail line into a trail for the community to readapt and reuse.

These are just a few examples of the incredible leaders behind programs that nurture grassroots initiatives, spark change, and provide vital support to community projects. Through partnerships between 8 80 Cities and Park People, these leaders have been given the tools and trust to turn creative visions into public-space reality. 

Across all of these efforts, local leaders backed by a network, community and NGOs that believe in their ideas are reshaping parks and public spaces across Ontario. Together, we are building places where communities can see themselves and both people and nature can thrive.

We are deeply grateful to the Balsam Foundation for believing in people, for championing ideas that don’t always fit neatly into a box, and for helping grow a network of leaders who are shaping the future of parks and public spaces across Ontario.

The 2025 Ontario Community Changemakers have officially been announced! Meet these inspiring leaders and follow their projects as they bring new ideas, energy, and creativity to parks and public spaces across Ontario. Start thinking about applying for microgrants, leadership training, and mentorship from Park People and 8 80 Cities to launch your own inclusive public space or park project in 2026.

Read Part 1 to learn more about the vision behind Park People’s Sparking Change and 8 80 Cities’ Ontario Community Changemakers (OCC) programs.