Good Grief! Walking with Grief and Loss: Finding a place for grief in parks and nature

So many moments along life’s journey are connected to parks and natural places – special, familiar, comforting places where we experience the seasons of our lives: the wedding ceremonies, the babies’ first steps on the grass, children’s birthday parties, picnics and camping with friends, family reunions, and also formal and informal memorials.

Image 1: Informal memorials gathered by Alberta Parks staff at Crimson Lake Provincial Park, Alberta, June 2023 (Photo credit: Sonya Jakubec)

What might it be like for parks to be inclusive – not just to people of all ages and abilities, but welcoming of all of life’s journey? The big moments, and also the unglamorous, daily ‘walk of life,’ including disability, dying and death, the goodbyes, mourning and realities of grief? What might this look like in a society that seeks ways to navigate ecological loss and grief, as well as human grief, with compassion, understanding and support? What could intentional grief support activities in parks bring to our communities?

These questions, along with the core value of providing Albertans a lifetime of nature-based experiences, provided the context for a 2015 research study on the place of parks and nature at end of life. Led by myself, with colleagues at Mount Royal University (MRU), Alberta Health Services, and Alberta Parks, this research provided a foundation for further study, audits and interventions to advance palliative and grief/memorializing experiences in parks, with recommendations such as:

• Increasing park access for people in palliative care and their caregivers

• Creating cross-sector communication tools

• Encouraging grief experiences in parks and nature (e.g. walking programs)

It is from this study that Good Grief: Walking with Grief and Loss began in 2017. A partnership with MRU, the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society (affectionately called ‘The Friends’) and an engaged community of volunteers, Good Grief! offers a series of gentle walks to small groups of people who are experiencing grief, loss, or any significant life transition. Specifically not a counselling or therapy program, our intention is that participants find support in their journey by moving and connecting with the environment around them, alongside others walking a similar path (literally and metaphorically). Many participants continue walking after completing the program, return to volunteer for Good Grief!, and participate in a spin-off evening walking group that has sustained almost since the program began!

Image 2: Good Grief! companions and participants at Fish Creek Provincial Park in the south of Calgary, May 2025 (Photo credit: Rose Ratliffe)

Good Grief! runs year-round through all 4 seasons, with one walk each week over an 8-week series. Noticing the changes in the seasons and landscape as well as in themselves, small groups of 12-15 people take part in short, gentle walks of up to 2km, with minimal slope to ensure these outings are accessible to everyone.  Each walk is approximately 1.5 hours, with time for rest and reflection throughout. Volunteer Grief and Park ‘Companions’ accompany the group to lead the walk on the designated route. These Companions ensure participant safety and support the experience through making park and nature connections. They may initiate a theme or quote related to the walk, use active listening with those who wish to share, and encourage people to connect with one another. The programming specifically takes a light touch, with a focus on simply connecting with nature and connecting with others walking a similar path. Most importantly, the supported walks provide a container, in the aliveness of the outdoors, for grief to have a place and to move by simply putting one foot in front of the other.

Image 3: Volunteer Good Grief/Park Companions with the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society at a volunteer “walkshop” (a walking workshop) training day, October 2022 (Photo credit: Sonya Jakubec)

Evaluation and discoveries from the first series found that participants were grateful for the “push” to get outside and be with others, felt refreshed and more connected (to nature and to others), and appreciated the dedicated time for grief as a place they could “take their grief out in the world”, to both connect and disconnect from their grief. Recommendations were for more scheduled times and longer walks, additional reflection time along the walks (with journaling or nature sketching opportunities), and expanding the opportunity to other city parks and communities.

Image 4: A closing fire, complete with warm drinks, home baking, occasional musical interlude by a park employee/flautist, and a chance to say goodbyes after an 8-week series are among the special experiences that are built into the walks, December 2022 (Photo credit: Rose Ratliffe)

With many inquiries about Good Grief! from parks and health organizations, The Friends are working to refine their toolkit to share, and new programs are being launched within the city of Calgary and Bow Valley, in Rocky Mountain House/Crimson Lake Provincial Park, Airdrie, St. Albert and Brooks/Dinosaur Provincial Park, Camrose/Miquelon Lake Provincial Park. Further, through organizations in Ontario and British Columbia, the approach is now being extended, adapted, and built upon in new ways. Sonya and The Friends team are supporting these communities to build their unique programs and to collaborate with arts groups, poets, and others reflecting on grief and nature. Nothing is more natural than grief and loss, and for The Friends and communities beyond Fish Creek Provincial Park, Good Grief’s approach is part of creating more compassionate communities – facing the walk of life, together!

Image 5: Good Grief! walkers and companions at Crimson Lake Provincial Park in central Alberta, June 2025 (Photo credit: Amy Leitch)

Image 6: Good Grief! walkers and companions at a moody sunset, summer walk amongst the sage and bones of Dinosaur Provincial Park near Brooks, Alberta, August 2024 (Photo credit: Sonya Jakubec)

Image 7: Alberta Parks’ Maxine Bennett, MRU’s Sonya Jakubec, and Alberta Parks’ Amy Leitch on a windy walkshop/reconnaissance mission to trial potential Good Grief! walks in Bow Valley Provincial Park in Kananaskis, Alberta, July 2025 (Selfie credit: Amy Leitch)