September 21-23, 2022, The Park People Conference will bring together park professionals, community park group leaders, non-profit organizations, municipal staff and urban enthusiasts to create an abundant future for city parks.
Day 1
Sep 21: Abundant Collaborations
Cross-sector collaborations that create whole new possibilities for city parks
6:00 am EDT
Bring it On! Navigate Park Challenges, Together
Networking
Connect with peers, speakers and experts across Canada to discuss your most current and pressing urban parks questions and issues.
Séance en anglais
11:00 am EDT
Conference Opening with Carolynne Crawley
Join Indigenous leader, storyteller and knowledge keeper, Carolynne Crawley in opening our national conference, as well as our hearts and minds for three days of ground-breaking conversations ahead of us.
Carolynne Crawley
Founder @Msit No’kmaq
11:30 am EDT
Keynote
Lewis Cardinal
Project Manager @kihciy askiy—Sacred Earth, Indigenous Knowledge & Wisdom Centre
Working in A Good Way: Indigenous Lessons in Collaboration
How can we build relationships that cross-cultural divides to create new possibilities for public spaces? Lewis Cardinal was instrumental in the collaboration that led to “kihciy askiy–Sacred Land,” Canada’s first urban Indigenous ceremony grounds in Edmonton. Lewis shares how using Indigenous approaches to collaboration builds relationships that are as meaningful as the public spaces themselves.
EN w/ FR interpretation
1:00 pm EDT
Decolonizing Park Relationships and Practices
Workshop
Two Reconciliation Planners from Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation unpack colonialism in park practices and share practical tools for a more responsible, respectful way of working toward Reconciliation. Learn how Indigenous ways of being can inform how we steward and share spaces and what we stand to gain when we support Indigenous sovereignty and access in parks.
Rena Soutar
Manager, Decolonization, Arts and Culture @Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Spencer Lindsay
Reconciliation Planner @Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
2:15 pm EDT
Unpacking Colonialism: Leading A Colonial Audit in Parks
Workshop
Join Rena and Spencer in a deep dive addressing and learning to rewrite the colonial narratives that underpin our park systems and work. With a focus on the Vancouver Park Board's new and evolving "Colonial Audit Toolkit," this session will explore way to address our collective responsibility to move towards Indigenous truth telling in parks.
Rena Soutar
Manager, Decolonization, Arts and Culture @Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Spencer Lindsay
Reconciliation Planner @Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Start out Right: Righting Relations with Program Design & Land Acknowledgements
Workshop
Join Wyandot Artist and Elder Catherine Tàmmaro and Jenny Davis to activate the spirit of deep connection to the land, as you create inclusive programming which puts forward Indigenous voices. In this workshop, participants will: Create their own Land Acknowledgement, and be able to articulate three techniques of creating inclusive programming that creates connections with self, culture and the Land itself.
Jenny Davis
Event and Volunteer Coordinator @High Park Nature Centre
Catherine Tàmmaro
Creating a “Yes” Culture: Deep Community Collaboration
Panel
Municipalities are embracing a culture of “yes” by centering deep and authentic community collaboration in park programs, planning and governance. Learn from cities that invite local artists, communities, and nonprofits to rewrite how they do park engagement, design and programming.
Doug BennetSenior Project Manager (A), Partnerships @City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation
Sarah EhmkeSenior Project Manager-Placemaking & Animation @City of Hamilton
Kara BunnManager of Parks and Cemeteries @City of Hamilton
Jean-Christophe GandubertManager of Infrastructure and Public Spaces @Ville de Gatineau
What if Parks were Designed by Us?
Workshop
A community's vision and goals for a park can be undermined by inequitable processes. Join the Department of Imaginary Affairs in their gamified approach to highlighting the challenges and opportunities of co-designing a participatory planning process. Participants of this workshop will get a chance to play the game and access to the virtual prototype of the game to bring back to your own communities.
Jennifer Chan
CEO and Co-Founder @Department of Imaginary Affairs
4:00 pm EDT
Many Happy Returns: Parks for Local Economic Recovery
Panel
Parks can be sites for economic development that is by and for communities. Hear from leaders who have increased park use while supporting local economies and generating employment for community members. This panel will highlight innovative park collaborations that have generated both financial and community returns.
Nicole FraserGeneral Supervisor Operations Planning & Monitoring, Infrastructure Operations, Parks and Roads Services @City of Edmonton
Dong Qi ZhengAssistant director @Centre des aînés du réseau d’entraide de Saint-Léonard
Sabina AliExecutive Director @Thorncliffe Park Women's Committee
Samson AwopejuProgram Manager-City-wide Public Washrooms Strategy, Infrastructure Operations, Parks and Roads Services @City of Edmonton
The Collaborative Model Driving Montreal’s Parks Movement
Panel
The Park People Montreal Network is made up of over 80 community park groups and local non-profits. Learn vital lessons from the four non-profits, Park People, Montreal Urban Ecology Center, le Conseil régional de l’environnement de Montréal and Les amis de la montagne, that came together to build a stronger city parks movement in Montreal.
FR with EN interpretation
Natalie Brown
Director of Programs @Park People
Maryline Charbonneau
Directrice Affaires publiques @Les amis de la montagne
Julien Voyer
Project and development officer @Centre d'écologie urbaine de Montréal
To The Power of Parks: Cross-Departmental Collaborations
Panel
Join Vancouver Park Board's Team UP (Urban Parks) and the City of Toronto's Toronto Island Master Plan team to explore how powerful cross-departmental collaborations in their municipalities helped them take on multiple urban challenges simultaneously. These two leading-edge park collaborations demonstrate how municipalities can break down silos to generate new partnerships, resources and outcomes in parks.
Darren PetersonManager, Park Operations @Vancouver Park Board
Karla KloepperRecreation Supervisor, Community Development @Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Joe SellorsProject Lead for ArtworxTO @City of Toronto
Marie LopesCoordinator, Arts, Culture and Engagement @Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Lori EllisProject Officer, Strategic Projects @City of Toronto
Leading Diversity and Equity in Parks: A Field Guide
Panel
Join four accomplished researchers who integrate their lived experience into understanding how race, health and income play out in parks and communities. Their research and knowledge will help guide you toward parks that are more inclusive, accessible and responsive to the needs of racialized communities.
Jacqueline L. ScottPhD Candidate @University of Toronto
Nadha HassenPhD Candidate @York University
Ravi PonnuduraiStudent @York University
Ambika TennetiPhD Student @University of Toronto
5:15 pm EDT
Keynote
Zahra Ebrahim
CEO @Monumental
Betty Lepps
Director of Urban Relationships @Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
Our Humanitarian Responsibility to those Sheltering in Parks
The Vancouver Park Board appointed Betty Lepps to help the city engage with the hundreds of vulnerable park users sleeping or sheltering in Vancouver’s parks. Join Betty in conversation with celebrated civic leader Zahra Ebrahim to learn how Betty is working to fulfill the City’s humanitarian responsibilities to its citizens while ensuring the safety and well being of all Vancouver park users.