The great outdoors beckoned to cabin-fever weary Canadians during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Cancelled travel plans and closures of gyms, restaurants, movie theatres and schools left them longing to at least be able to enjoy activities such as nature hikes, bike rides, canoeing and camping.
Although national and provincial parks closed down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public demand for access was strong as soon as they started to re-open in June last year, says Dawn Carr (BA ’00, MA ’02, Recreation and Leisure Studies), executive director of the Canadian Parks Council, a collaboration of federal, provincial, and territorial park agencies across Canada.
COVID-19 presented a whole new set of challenges for parks officials, and the Canadian Parks Council became an important conduit for sharing information about how to manage the crisis and re-open parks safely, says Carr.
“All the other project work we had been doing took a pause as we met virtually to talk about how to honour the public health guidelines in parks settings,” she says. “We were dealing with questions we had never dealt with before, such as: What should the signs about COVID-19 say? What are the rules and regulations around access? How many staff do you need to manage social distancing? What is the policy on mask wearing? What are the protocols for cleaning picnic tables or accessing washrooms?”
Because international travel was curtailed and so many other recreational opportunities were shut down, people desperately wanted to get into the parks. “The demand was high, but we had to figure out how to open these places safely,” Carr says.
The Canadian Parks Council consists of a board of only 14 people, but they are the federal, provincial and territorial representatives for agencies that manage more than 2,700 parks and protected areas that comprise about 7.5 per cent of Canada’s land base. “That’s a tremendous amount of land that is managed by these organizations,” she says.
Through the Canadian Parks Council, they are able to share information and learn from each other’s experiences as they work to improve operations and public access to nature.
Preserving natural areas
Carr grew up in the urban environment of Mississauga, but as a teenager, she had an opportunity to become a Junior Ranger for a summer. “After that, I really wanted to spend every summer working outside in the parks,” she says. She also loved playing field hockey, particularly with the University of Waterloo’s varsity team.
She initially worked for Alberta Parks, and then moved back to Ontario for her family. “Now, my role involves bringing together a number of different sectors and disciplines. It’s very interdisciplinary, and I think that is something that was nurtured in me when I was at the University of Waterloo.”
COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of preserving natural areas, Carr says.
She explains that the physical fitness and mental health benefits of being outside and connecting with nature are well established in the research. “Getting out and moving your body has health benefits, but also, even just the quietness and opportunity to meditate in nature is important.” Being able to camp together and engage in outdoor activities also strengthens family bonds, she adds.
But the larger environmental benefits are important to ensuring a healthy planet for the future, she says. “I am hoping that this pandemic has shed light on the importance of nature.”
That’s why she hopes Canadians will do their part in supporting the goal of protecting and expanding parks and natural areas. “It is a very difficult task to create a park or a protected area because there are so many competing interests in using those spaces for other purposes – but people need to understand that these spaces also have intrinsic value and appreciate them,” Carr says.
“These natural areas provide us with clean air and fresh water. If we thought about the land more holistically, we would all be healthier in the long run.”
