Economic Impact of Canadian Parks and Protected Areas (2009)
Nature Playbook
Aboriginal Peoples and Canada’s Parks and Protected Areas (2007)
The Importance of Being Permanent
Putting Adaptation Solutions in the Hands of Northern Parks and Protected Areas Practitioners (Workshop Proceedings)
Putting Adaptation Solutions in the Hands of Northern Parks and Protected Area Practitioners workshop was hosted in partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories on June 6th and 7th, 2018. It focused on building relationships and initiating an exchange of knowledge between parks and protected area practitioners, Indigenous knowledge holders, and climate change researchers in a northern Canadian context.
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Promoting Parks and Protected Areas as Natural Solutions to Climate Change
Promoting Parks and Protected Areas as Natural Solutions to Climate Change report provides a foundational communications guide for parks and protected area practitioners, and illustrates how parks and protected areas are natural solutions for climate change through nine key messages. The report includes topics such as potential communication barriers, best practices for climate change communication, and prospective audiences, as well as a selection of sample taglines and posters.
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Review of Sign Guidelines and Manuals within the Canadian Parks Council
The document was completed with support from park staff in Ontario, Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and Parks Canada. Other agencies may have additional guidelines but were unable to participate in the scan.
The document includes information on the presence or absence of sign guidance, details of guidelines, and contact information. It would be useful for park infrastructure and maintenance, planning, visitor experience, way finding, and management.
From the introduction:
In the interest of creating formal guidance on park signage, Ontario Parks put forward a request for information to Canadian Parks Council members in the summer of 2018. Park agencies were asked whether they had a manual or similar guidance for symbols and sign specifications. Several responses were received and are outlined in the following document.
Responses vary from agency to agency based on their environment, policy and legislation. Please be advised that not all details are provided in this document. One should contact the respective agency to obtain further information.
Ontario Parks Jurisdictional Scan on Sign Guidelines
Ontario Parks would like to thank the park agencies that provided responses to our inquiry. We hope that this information will prove valuable.
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Youth as Indicator Species
The social fabric of Canada is changing: urban migration, a rapidly aging population, more people with disabilities, increased immigration and ethnic diversity, and a growing awareness of aboriginal issues and values are just some of the emerging threads in our cultural cloth. This new weave is an exciting opportunity to enrich the tapestry of federal, territorial, and provincial parks with bold and diverse new perspectives and approaches to conservation and stewardship, recreation and connection, diversity and inclusion.
In imagining an inclusive parks system 30 years from now, members of the Canadian Parks Council Youth Engagement Working Group (YEWG) pictured those people engaged in parks reflecting the diversity of Canadian society. We envisioned a culture of engagement able to adapt and evolve to the changing ways that people interact with the natural world. We predicted an increased role for parks in establishing lifelong relationships with the natural world and a social value shift towards environmental literacy. This bright future for parks begins with youth today.
There is much to gain and nothing to lose by equipping Canadian youth to discover (or re-discover) our parks. Dissociation from the outdoors or just simple barriers prohibit many youth from learning about natural or cultural values, but their participation will help create new understandings and reveal new stories. Older employees are aging and retiring, but today’s youth will be called to continue the legacy and manage our treasured natural areas with passion and integrity. Canadians are seeking more balanced, healthy, and active lifestyles, and youth are leading many outdoor recreation and adventure experiences that foster physical and mental health. Finally, many Canadians are overwhelmed with environmental threats, but youth are ready to become active stewards in protecting nature and the landscapes that are so important for sustaining life.
More fundamentally, youth are an indicator species. They reflect the state of the relationship between park agencies and the communities that make up Canadian society. Canadian youth move quickly through stages and transitions as they become more independent, and they cross all backgrounds, cultures, abilities, economics, belief systems, ethnicities, and interests.
The work of the Canadian Parks Council working group, the research team, and the youth advisory panel is about empowering and involving youth as collaborators, and about listening to their voices as we create a more relevant and sustainable park system across Canada. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this report, especially the youth who shared their voices
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Report of the Canadian Parks Council Climate Change Working Group
This report highlights the roles of parks and protected areas in climate change adaptation and mitigation, and some of the actions taken to date by provincial, territorial and federal parks and protected areas agencies as they respond to the challenge of rapid climate change.
The report builds on the work of the Canadian Council on EcologicalAreas and others who have identified the need for greater collaboration across jurisdictions on this issue. Recognizing this need, the Canadian Parks Council (CPC) Climate Change Working Group is coordinating these efforts to build understanding and capacity among jurisdictions to respond to climate change and identify opportunities to work together.
Canada’s parks and protected areas hold great promise as part of a natural solution to climate change. At the same time, there is much more to do to expand our protected areas networks, connect natural spaces, restore ecosystems and habitats, bring back native species, and inspire and engage Canadians. By reaching across boundaries, sharing best practices and learning from one another, parks and protected areas agencies can strengthen their contributions to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The goal of the members of the CPC Climate Change Working Group is to encourage the creation of ecologically resilient networks of parks and protected areas, connected through sustainably managed landscapes and seascapes, as a key part of the solution to Canada’s climate change challenges.