Advocacy, education and outreach in support of Vancouver's public spaces

Our Work: 2026 Park Board Candidate Survey: Question 8

Question 8. What, if anything, do you think the Park Board should do to support/facilitate community activation and stewardship of park spaces and facilities?

Leonard VANDERSTAR (202) – Being receptive and responsive to City citizens is key here, hence why VIPP will convene monthly town halls as just one example. Engagement in turns results in more participation and thus more hands on deck to ensure park stewardship. It is a collective effort and the Park Board can not do this alone and requires the social/political capital to achieve its mandate and goals.

Sacia BURTON (215) – Groups across Vancouver are already leading the way on community activation and stewardship – it is Park Board’s responsibility to support, not impede, community work. Stewardship groups, such as Free the Fern and the Everett Crowley Park Committee, have limited access to municipal funding for their work, despite their demonstrated positive ecological and social impacts. Given their efforts begin where Park Board capacity ends, stewardship groups should have access to a dedicated granting stream through local government that strengthens and supports their work.

Community activation, such as the installation of public art and events in plazas and parks, breathe life into the city. It is worth exploring the ways that Park Board can limit red tape for groups hosting events in public or intervening in the built environment for improved use of public space.

Tom DIGBY (222) – Park activation is an essential service. These events weave our city together – all cultures, economic groups and tourists. Park Board has a wonderful team in our Arts, Reconciliation and Culture department. We need to continue funding and find ways to enhance and support this department.

Michael Robert CADITZ (226) – We will institute bottom-up governance. We will convene monthly town halls to meaningfully engage with citizens and their concerns.

Niknaz ALEMI (231) – Absolutely. I think people are much more connected to public spaces when they have opportunities to actually participate in shaping and caring for them. The Park Board should make community activation and stewardship easier, not more complicated. That could mean supporting neighbourhood groups with small grants, equipment and staff expertise, making permits and processes easier to navigate, and creating more opportunities for community led programming, arts, environmental education, gardening and ecological restoration. I am especially interested in stewardship as a way to connect people with nature. Community members can be valuable partners in things like native planting, pollinator gardens, habitat restoration, invasive species management and citizen science. These programs can support biodiversity while also building environmental knowledge and stronger connections between people and their neighbourhoods.

Again, we already have a foundation to build on. VanPlay specifically calls for stronger community stewardship, and the 2023–2026 Capital Plan recognizes stewardship as an opportunity for community building and participation. Programs like the Neighbourhood Matching Fund also show that relatively small investments can help communities bring their own ideas into public spaces. I would like to see the Park Board expand these opportunities and make them more accessible across neighbourhoods, while still making sure that stewardship complements, rather than replaces, the Park Board’s responsibility to properly fund and maintain our public spaces.

 

Complete List of Questions

1. It’s day one on the job… and to start your work with the Park Board, you are invited to make one change in one park – which park do you pick, and what do you do?

2. In your opinion, how well is the delivery of parks and public spaces aligned with the type of growth and change taking place in Vancouver’s neighbourhoods?

3. Heavier rains, more intense heat, and wildfire smoke are all being described as part of a “new normal” tied to climate change. Should Vancouver’s parks and recreation facilities play a part in supporting climate resilience or climate adaptation? If yes, how?

4. The Park Board (and City) is under increasing pressure to find new ways to finance park upgrades, deliver new parks, and cover other capital and operational costs. How do you propose financing your priorities in the context of the broader City budgeting process?

5. Vancouver is a city with a very diverse population with lots of different cultures calling this place home. Should the Park Board be doing more to respond to the needs of different cultural user groups? If yes, what sorts of changes to Park Board processes or practices would you envision?

6. We have to ask: are you planning – secretly, overtly, or otherwise – to abolish or reform the Park Board? If yes, what are you intending to do? In general, what’s your vision for Park Board governance?

7. In recent years, the Park Board has taken steps towards reconciliation, decolonization, and co-management with MST First Nations. Would you continue this work? If yes, how?

8. What, if anything, do you think the Park Board should do to support/facilitate community activation and stewardship of park spaces and facilities?

9. We are living in a period of both increasing polarization and increasing social isolation. Should the Parks Board be doing more to respond to these issues? If yes, what do you propose?

10. Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your platform?

 

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