Recreate & Celebrate Together

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How to take action

• Assess your community's need. The needs and priorities of every area will be different. Once you have some ideas in mind, you can work with your municipality or regional district to bring off-leash dog parks, playgrounds, recreation facilities, parks and green space to your area.
• Read the official community plan. Most communities have an official plan you can access through your city hall or regional district office. Ensure that there are areas set aside for parks, and that they are the places where people like to recreate. Sometimes members of a community have frequented a particular area for years and then find out later, often too late, that it wasn't designated as parkland. Your municipality or regional district will have the maps and information you need to ensure your community plan reflects the growing needs of your community.
• Create a celebration. Work with local businesses, organizations, and individuals to establish and coordinate community celebrations or events. Car-free days on designated streets are becoming a popular option, with vendors and musicians filling the roadways instead of cars. Or tie an event to an existing celebration, such as winter holidays, Earth Day, or a milestone for your community.
• Come together. Form an organizing committee to take care of tasks such as getting necessary permits, designing and coordinating the event, advertising, and set up and cleanup on the day. Having many people involved adds diversity to the project, keeps any one person from getting overwhelmed by their tasks, and builds community in the process.
• Have fun. This is the most important part of celebrating. Build in time for organizers and other volunteers to enjoy the festivities.

Why it makes a difference

• Public green space is a critical part of community building, as it provides a place to gather and play.
• Having local green space and recreation facilities keeps people from driving to other areas, and so reduces their carbon impact.
• A tired dog is a good dog. Giving dogs a place to meet each other and meet other people is the best way to socialize them and teach them good behaviour.
• Socializing among age groups (and species) is an important building block of community.
• Special events and celebrations boost people's pride in their neighbourhood and bring people out into their community.
• Events can provide an opportunity for local businesses to promote themselves and make money.
• You can use special events as a time to let community members know about local projects and activities and how to get involved.
• Community gatherings are how people learn about where they live, and how others learn about that community. This is a valuable way to create a local identity and bring energy to where you live.

For more information

• The World Car Free network offers ideas and information about hosting a car free day, and creating a more car-free community.
• The City of Vancouver now has multiple car free days in different communities, each with a unique character.
• Earth Day is now often celebrated as Earth week in mid April. The Earth Day Network website provides ideas and information to help you develop a great celebration.
• This TED talks video is an inspiring example of a great community project linking school kids with tutors – and everyone having a lot of fun along the way.