Friday, July 12, 2024

Protecting critical habitat for species at risk while providing natural spaces where people can benefit most.

When you think back, what’s your earliest memory of nature?  

I grew up in the town of Mont St. Hilaire, outside Montreal, with a nature reserve behind my house that was protected by McGill University. I was so lucky to be able to walk out my back door into a magnificent maple forest, and I spent many of my happiest childhood moments exploring the mountain. Those were the hours when I developed my connection to nature – to the birds, wildflowers, and trees – which set me on a lifelong path of working in the conservation field.  

For many of us, our very first memories of nature, and the roots of our love for nature – are from playing in a park or other natural area near our childhood home. I’m talking about those patches, whether forests, meadows or streams, that seemed enormous to us as children. And which remain enormously important today.  

This Parks Day, we want to explore National Urban Parks and how these spaces can create a profound impact for nature and people! 

There are several National Urban Parks in development now! 

Often, these parks are an accessible doorway into the world of nature and enjoyment of wild spaces. When more people experience nature – and come to love and respect and value nature – they make our voice stronger as we demand its protection. 

Each of these special places is beloved by the people who live nearby and is essential for wildlife and a livable climate.  

Urban parks are a vital part of our work for conservation. Here’s why:  

• Most Canadians live in urban areas along the southern border. Our urban areas are the most heavily settled parts of the country and have the least natural habitat left. So, conservation in these areas is really about saving the fragments that are left, and restoring what we can.  
• These lands are critical for wildlife. By protecting and restoring them, we can rebuild the habitat and connections through the landscape that wildlife need. There are more endangered species in the southern Canadian landscape than anywhere else.  
• As our planet heats up – and we feel the devastating effects of climate change – urban parks can play a key role in cooling cities and mitigating flooding and erosion. As always, the planet’s health determines our own health. So, these ribbons of green in and around our towns and cities are incredibly important. 

In 2021, the federal government committed to establish 15 new national urban parks across Canada by 2030.  

Thanks to your support, CPAWS is working on a two-prong strategy to make sure this commitment becomes a reality:  

Park by park, province by province – keeping Canada wild for us and nature.

I’m so grateful that when I was a child, I could easily connect with nature by skipping behind my house to the Mont St. Hilaire nature reserve.   

I hope that through CPAWS’ work with our partners to establish National Urban Parks, species at risk can be protected and restored, and the health of our communities can thrive.  

Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media so that you can keep up to date on the developments of National Urban Parks around the country! 

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