Parks Canada is collaborating with partners, including Indigenous peoples, to create a network of national urban parks in Canada’s large urban centers.

Each national urban park will be unique and created through partnerships. Together, these parks will create a network with a shared vision of conserving nature, connecting people with nature and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

These three elements are the foundation of the emerging national urban parks policy, and they help guide the work at each of the program’s candidate sites.

Rouge National Urban Park is the first national urban park in Canada.

Excerpts from this episode of “CBC’s Ideas”:

“Are we studying enough, what these forests can do for human health?”

“Is there a possibility, would it be a stretch to say, that walking in the woods could help prevent cancer or treat cancer?”

“What the Japanese have done, instead of waiting until all the evidence is in, that these forests are healthy and could possibly reduce cancer, they have instead said let’s create a network of these healing forests across the country . So they have created 100 healing forests across the country. Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could do that and near every hospital there could be a forest that people can walk in.”

In London, 21 natural areas are currently designated Environmentally Significant Areas or ESAs. These areas exist within both agricultural and urban settings, on public and private property, and include wetlands, forests and meadows as well as valleylands and significant wildlife habitat. The City funds a contract with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) to manage over 750 hectares of public owed ESA land in London.

To help protect and enhance environmentally significant areas, conservation master plans are prepared to provide direction on the management of these high quality natural areas.