GREENER GREENSPACES
Recognizing Ecological Land Care of Urban Greenspaces
There is a growing public recognition of the importance of urban greenspaces to support healthy, climate resilient and biodiverse communities.
Whether it’s a city park, a campus or hospital grounds, the manner in which a greenspace is cared for has impacts on its overall ecological health. When greenspaces are cared for with the intent to support biodiversity and to enhance soil and plant health naturally, there are enormous benefits to wildlife, humans and the broader ecosystem.
SOUL is excited to announce ‘Greener Greenspaces’, a recognition program for urban land care. This new program awards sites from across Canada that exemplify greener greenspace stewardship. The purpose of this award is to showcase the best examples of ecologically-focused land care as a means to inspire others and to further the movement across Canada.
Who can apply?
The award is open to municipalities - large and small - across Canada, as well as schools, campuses, institutions and other land managers who look after greenspaces that are publicly accessible. The award is site-specific, so it's not a whole municipality that would be awarded, but a particular park, public greenspace or portion of a public space, such as a pollinator garden or wildlife corridor.
SOUL will be accepting online applications starting on July 1st and closing on October 15th, 2021.
What are the criteria?
To be recognized as a Greener Greenspace, the site must be intentional in their practice. Therefore, the site must be cared for in ways that:
-
increase biodiversity and support plant health
-
improve soil health and protect air and water quality
-
take steps to minimize waste and energy consumption
-
actively avoid the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers
Why apply?
SOUL is launching this recognition program to showcase ecologically stewarded parks and other public greenspaces in urban communities across Canada as a way to inspire others. We expect the program to grow and expand over the years with special recognition for exemplary projects. At this time, all greenspace sites that meet the criteria will be formally recognized. Going forward, we plan to develop a process for formally evaluating spaces and certifying those that meet specific standards of ecological land care.
How is the Greenspace recognized?
SOUL will publicize all sites that meet the criteria to a wide audience. We'll also share the Greener Greenspaces logo for you to add to your material about the site. Once the award is well established, we expect the Greener Greenspaces logo to become recognizable as a mark of excellence in ecological care supporting urban health, resilience and biodiversity.
Questions?
For more information about the recognition program and how to proceed, contact greenspace@organiclandcare.ca
Download this PDF form, fill in the information about your greenspace and email it to us, along with three photographs of the space.
Once we have it, we'll send you a confirmation email to let you know we've received your application.