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?
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.
A reflection on the BEING BLACK IN PUBLIC Survey Report, exploring how Black communities experience parks and public spaces, and what fosters joy and belonging.
For years, Geri and Gary James drove an hour outside Toronto to find nature — not realizing one of the…
How do we build a healthier, greener, more joyful Toronto? We start at the park. Discover how communities across the city have transformed their green spaces over the past fifteen years. Then roll up your sleeves and help shape what comes next.
By donating to Park People, you’ll support vibrant parks for everyone.
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Organic Farmer, Herbalist, and Director, Apothecary’s Garden and Teaching Gardens at Churchill Park
Julia Hitchcock’s ancestors are from Latvia and England and she was born in Hamilton. Julia has been an organic vegetable farmer since 2001 – beginning at Plan B organic farm and, since 2012, urban farming with Backyard Harvest. Early on a curiosity about the field weeds led to the study of herbalism.
In 2015 herbalist Dan Riegler passed leadership of the Apothecary’s Garden to Julia. Located at the edge of forest, over the hill from the marshy tip of Lake Ontario, participants learn about medicinal plants, gather seeds, share herbal medicine recipes, enjoy wild foods and more. Julia is a mother of two teenagers and helps run a nature connection program at Planting Seeds of Hope, a Children’s Lands project close to Six Nations.