Connect with Nature

Today, we face a paradox: Canadians rank environmental issues near the top of the national agenda, yet fewer Canadians than ever have a personal connection to the land.

Nature Canada addresses this paradox by tapping into Canadians’ basic empathy for our planet’s plant and animal species and giving people an outlet to act positively on nature’s behalf.

Explore the natural world, and gain a greater understanding of beauty, its gifts, and its fragility, by participating in one of Nature Canada’s outreach programs.

My Parks Pass

Want to Know the Past, Enjoy the Present and Protect the Future? One great way is through My Parks Pass, a new initiative that launched on Earth Day, 2010 promoting opportunities for youth to explore Canadian nature and history. My Parks Pass, distributed to all 400,000 Grade 8 students across Canada, provides these youth with free access to national parks and national historic sites administered by Parks Canada over the course of the year. In addition, beginning in September 2010 all new Grade 8 classes across Canada will be able to visit national parks and national historic sites for free when visiting as part of an organized school trip. My Parks Pass is a joint partnership between Nature Canada, Parks Canada and the Historica-Dominion Institute. For more information on this new initiative read the press release.

NatureWatch

Want to do something good for your community and the environment? Try NatureWatch -- our suite of “citizen science” monitoring programs – and start collecting data on water quality, air quality, biodiversity, climate change and much more. Thousands of Canadians submit data that decision-makers use to make effective and sustainable choices in planning for our environment. Tell us about plant bloom times, frog and worm populations, and freeze and thaw dates in your area, and help us learn more about ecological change in this country.

NatureWatch is administered through a partnership between Nature Canada and Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network. Participants include schools, community groups, individuals, and Scouts and Guide groups.

Parks and People

The Parks and People program is fostering the next generation of environmental stewards by providing opportunities to urban youth to experience nature with seasoned and passionate local naturalists.

Established jointly by Parks Canada Agency and Nature Canada, the Parks and People program has helped more than tens of thousands of young Canadians discover the wonder of Canada’s natural parks – from seeing Haida mortuary poles in British Columbia, to cross country skiing in Ontario, to critter dipping in New Brunswick.

The program helps local naturalist groups, schools and conservation associations to bring Canadians into intimate contact with nature, guided by passionate and experienced volunteer nature experts.