Environmental Education and Stewardship

Park stewardship is about caring for parks and natural areas through sustainability action, environmental knowledge, and building communities of care.

In Vancouver, we are fortunate to experience nature in our parks, beaches, and backyards.

Our Environmental Education and Stewardship Action Plan (9 MB) aims to increase and enhance nature experiences for all Vancouverites and to improve understanding and awareness of nature in the city.

Parks offer a gateway to nature in the city. As a community, we can care for parks together and use these spaces to get closer to nature and each other.

Park stewardship

Here's how you can get involved.
Volunteer with a park partner

Get involved with one of the many dedicated environmental nonprofits in the city working to restore habitat and support biodiversity in Vancouver parks.

Our park partners host many regular events, during which you can remove invasive plants, plant native vegetation, care for pollinator colonies, learn about urban ecology, and more. Some of our partners share their events on the Vancouver City Parks Restoration Meetup page

Our partners
Forms and checklists
- Stewardship supply form (385 KB) - Submit this form to parkstewards@vancouver.ca to request equipment to use for environmental stewardship field work.
- Stewardship event checklist (36 KB) - Use this event checklist to support your planning of stewardship events.
Environmental education and art

Where to find environmental education, arts, and culture projects

Many of the Park Board’s community partners and gardens actively offer programming related to environmental art and local food.

Fieldhouses

Vancouver Park Board's Fieldhouse Activation Program transformed former care-takers’ suites in parks or underused facilities across Vancouver into active spaces for community engaged creative practices.

Artists in Communities

Vancouver’s Artists in Communities program hosts artist residencies each year in community centres throughout the city. Artists collaborate with community members (who may not see themselves as artists) as creators, producers, performers, and active audiences. Many residencies are focused on themes like land care, food, Indigenous traditional knowledge, and other environmental topics.
Funding

Have ideas for a great stewardship project involving art, food, environment, or all three? We have funds!
- The Neighbourhood Matching Fund offers financial support to community members who want to improve their street, local park, or other nearby public land
- Green Grants support projects that help achieve Greenest City Action Plan goals

Students and classrooms in parks

Vancouver's parks are exceptional classrooms for students of all ages.

Teaching in parks

What you need to know before taking students to a park.
Teachers and outdoor preschools

Teachers:
- Download an Outdoor in Parks Education information form (207 KB)
- Send the completed form to parkstewards@vancouver.ca so Park Board staff can support your work
Outdoor preschools:
- Download an Environmental Education Park Use application form (118 KB)
- Send the completed form annually to parkstewards@vancouver.ca to keep us up to date on what is happening in the parks and so we can support your work
Have a low impact

If you leave the trail, be sure to stay clear of ecologically sensitive areas – watch for signage, plants being trampled or clear signs of wildlife that you might disturb.

Take your garbage with you when you leave.

Respect wildlife, habitat, and other park users

Do not chase animals

Leave any natural materials you may pick up in the park. Do not remove any living vegetation.

Respect other park users by not blocking trails or being excessively noisy

Get a permit for groups of over 50 people

If you are bringing a group over 50 people, a permit is required.

Contact parkevents@vancouver.ca with your request.

Ideas for your trip

Create an outdoor lesson:
- Take a look at Get Outdoors , a comprehensive resource with activities for grades K-12
- Get resources from the Invasive Species Council of BC
Get prepared:

Local organizations offer outdoor education teacher training, including:
Research in parks

Are you interested in doing a research project in a park? Here's how to get started.
1. Prepare a concise, plain language description of your research.
2. Review our Conducting Research in Vancouver City Parks guide (637 KB).
3. Complete a Research Request Form (262 KB) and submit it to parkstewards@vancouver.ca. Allow a few weeks for us to review your request and inform other departments as needed. Before starting your field-work, please wait until you've received approval.
4. Take a look at some of the key strategies describing priorities and guiding management of parks and natural areas, including the:
5. Contact us at parkstewards@vancouver.ca if you’d like to share findings or information from your research to help inform planning, policy, and maintenance of Vancouver’s parks and green spaces

Connect with us

#parksteward

Environmental Education and Stewardship

Park stewardship

Environmental education and art

Funding

Students and classrooms in parks

Teaching in parks

Research in parks

Connect with us

Contact information, partner agencies, and website policies