Inside the Summit Streams: Fostering Healthy Communities

Trails do more than connect places. They bring people together by supporting movement, belonging and community. That’s why “Fostering Healthy Communities,” is one of the three streams shaping the program at the Canadian Trail Summit.  

Trails through a community lens 

Sessions under this stream will explore how trails can contribute to physical activity, mental well-being, reconciliation and social connection; and what it takes to make those benefits more accessible to more people.  

Exploring accessibility, inclusion and participation 

The Summit program is designed to spark conversation and generate bold ideas and practical solutions. Sessions that touch on accessibility, inclusive planning, youth engagement, belonging, participation and partnership do just that. Together, these conversations will focus on how trails build stronger communities.  

Voices that widen the conversation 

The Summit’s keynotes add even more depth on these topics. Dr. Melissa Lem will explore the health benefits of trails. Paralympian Lisa Franks will bring an accessibility perspective rooted in lived experience. Know History CEO Ryan Shackleton will speak to the deeper histories of the land trails inhabit. These perspectives help illustrate the importance of trails to communities. Not just as infrastructure but as meaningul places shaped by people, stories and relationships.  

Turning ideas into action 

Hands-on programming carries that same spirit forward. Workshops on access assessments and community-based approaches to movement and belonging are designed to help attendees think practically about inclusion and experience on the ground.  

The “Fostering Healthy Communities” stream offers a chance to think more deeply about what it means to create trail systems that truly serve communities. These sessions are a wonderful resource for recreation leaders, public health professionals, accessibility advocates, educators and trail managers alike.