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Over the past few years, the Montreal Park People Network has created a real impulse within Montreal’s French-speaking community, promoting community engagement in urban parks. The program Connecter les ami·es francophones des parcs canadiens [Connecting Francophone Community Park Groups] aims to spread this dynamic among francophone groups and organizations working in parks across Canada.

Coordinated by the Urban Ecology Center*, in partnership with Park People, the program aims to build strong links between community park groups, empower them, promote knowledge sharing and spread these initiatives nationally.

Benefits:

  • Online workshops to explore best practices in community engagement in parks
  • Participation in the Montreal Park People Foruml, for French-speakers located outside Quebec (travel expenses covered)
  • Access to resources and tools for managing events in parks, as part of the Montreal Park People Network

Toronto is lucky to have one of the largest ravine networks in the world. Representing 17% of the city’s total area, these lush green spaces connect a diverse group of cultures and communities. They’re also a fragile resource, home to countless species of animals, plants, and insects.

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.

Park People partners with the City of Toronto to ensure that communities experience, celebrate and protect our one-of-a-kind ravine system. Together, we provide:

  • Innovative public programming that shines a light on the ravines
  • Microgrants to spur events and activities about our ravines
  • Training for InTO the Ravines Champions, supporting them to engage their communities in the ravines

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of participants report feeling greater connection to nature and living things

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of event attendees report they would be more likely to visit the ravines after the event

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ravine sites animated to date

InTO the Ravines prioritizes people from equity-deserving communities, especially those that face barriers to accessing the ravines. By equipping local leaders with the tools they need to create accessible event, we’re helping them to introduce their communities to the many benefits of the ravines.

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.

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community leaders trained to date

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people connected to their local park

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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: 

  • Supporting our partners to accurately evaluate and communicate the health, well-being and social benefits of their work 
  • Building the capacity of park-based NGOs operating in large urban parks by providing them with direct funding, networking and mentorship
  • Offering informative workshops, research, and resources on the latest issues and best practices from cities across the country

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volunteers engaged in stewardship restoration

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of participants say their mental health is improved from stewardship activities

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m2 of invasive species removed

Cornerstone Parks Network

Park Use and Stewardship Reports

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.

National Urban Parks

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:

  • Support nature conservation
  • Increase connection to people and nature
  • Advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

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. 

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urban parks animated with dynamic activities in Toronto

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artist-produced events in parks

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participants in neighbourhoods across the city

Find all of Arts in the Parks events here: www.artsintheparksto.org