Pathways to Nature: Equity, Access, and Inclusion around Windsor's National Urban Park
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The University of Windsor National Urban Park Hub (UW-NUPH) invites you to the second of three events in our Park Talks series, an exciting and thought-provoking set of discussions exploring the future of Windsor's proposed National Urban Park.
This event will explore how the National Urban Park Program can help to improve access to nature through sustainable city building and equitable placemaking. The panel will be moderated by UW-NUPH co-lead Dr. Anneke Smit (Centre for Cities, Windsor Law) and features three experts who are working to increase equitable access to Nature in different capacities:
Dr. Ali Mokdad is a postdoctoral research fellow with the UW-NUPH and holds a PhD in environmental science. He is focused on advancing access to and relationships with Nature and fostering a shared responsibility for the environment.
Rachel Felder works as a Naturalist for the City of Detroit Parks & Recreation Department, promoting inclusive access to Nature and encouraging others to experience the power of the outdoors.
Grace Kim is a secondary teacher with nearly 20 years of experience in traditional and alternative education. Recently, she developed The GEE (Ground, Engage, Express) Project, a community-based program that uses experiential learning activities centred around gardening and visual arts for urban renewal and revitalization.
About the speakers
Dr. Ali Mokdad
Centre for Cities
Ali Mokdad is a graduate of the University of Windsor's Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research - where he earned his PhD in environmental science. Ali was born and raised in Windsor, spending his formative years on the West side; in parks and urban green spaces connecting with and building his relationship with Nature. Ali is currently a postdoctoral research fellow working with the University of Windsor National Urban Park Hub. He hopes to advance access to nature with all across our communities while emphasizing our shared responsibility to our relationship with Nature.
Rachel Felder
City of Detroit
Rachel is a graduate of Wayne State University with her Bachelor's in English and minor in African American Studies, with a background in science. She was born and raised in Michigan about 15 minutes away from Detroit. The outdoors is somewhere that she has always found herself being drawn to, stemming from a love of animals. It was this love for animals that sparked her fascination about the environment, which has now evolved into a deep passion for all things nature. Currently working as a Naturalist for the Detroit Parks & Recreation Department and a member of the Detroit Outdoors collaborative, she hopes to continue to promote access to natural spaces while ensuring that everyone feels comfortable and safe while exploring them. She believes that there are so many ways to exist in the outdoors and will continue to share this with others; hopeful that they too experience the magnitude of just how powerful nature can be.
Grace Kim
GECDSB
Grace Kim is a secondary teacher at the GECDSB with nearly 20 years of experience teaching in the traditional classroom and alternative system. Her work is fueled by a passion for working with youth to achieve their full potential through civic engagement. Recently, she developed The GEE (Ground, Engage, Express) Project, a community-based program that uses experiential learning activities centred around gardening and visual arts for urban renewal and revitalization. In addition to this meaningful work, she is currently a PhD candidate from the University of Toronto's OISE in the Educational Leadership and Policy Program. Her research interests are in critical education in response to navigating neoliberal school governance, particularly in the micro-spaces of eLearning. Grace resides in West Windsor and enjoys being active outdoors with her husband, Dan and 2 young children, Frankie and Wells.
About the Park Talks Series
This series is designed to foster community engagement and promote discussions that align with the National Urban Park Program's core objectives. Each session will dive into the intersection of nature conservation, equitable access, and Indigenous-led stewardship, and how these principles inform the vision for Windsor's National Urban Park. It's an opportunity to deepen our collective understanding of the environmental, social, and cultural dimensions that are key to creating an inclusive and sustainable urban park for future generations.
Read more about the series here.
We acknowledge with gratitude the land, air, water, fire and all the beings of creation that sustain us. We honour the longstanding relations of many First Peoples to this place since time immemorial (including the Anishnaabe, Haudenosaunee, Lunaapee, and Huron/Wendat Peoples). We acknowledge colonial harms. We commit to renewed and respectful relations to people, nature and this place.
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