Out at Camp has been approved to adopt Strathcona Park in Sandy Hill. The park sits on the west bank of the Rideau River, and it is one of the first outdoor rooms Ottawa’s 2SLGBTQ+ community claimed in public.
Where Ottawa Pride began
On 28 June 1986, about 50 people gathered here for Ottawa’s first Pride event. It was not a parade. It was a picnic organized by members of Gays of Ottawa: burgers, shade, music, dancing, and balloons drawn on with markers. Former GO Info reporter Gabriella Goliger later remembered it as “friendly and upbeat; it was intimate.” One balloon read “Better gay than grumpy.”
The picnic returned to Strathcona Park in 1987. After that, Pride moved to other parks and, in 1989, became a week of events that ended with Ottawa’s first Pride parade. The festival that grew from that afternoon now fills the city each summer. The lawn beside the Rideau is still where it started.
The park itself is older than that gathering. These lands sit within the unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, who have lived with Pasapkedjinawong, the Rideau, “the river that passes between the rocks,” and the wider Ottawa River watershed since long before the city laid down a park. Later, the swampy floodplain was used as a rifle range, and then a public park in the early 1900s: a fountain on the hill, a wading pool, stone play structures, and a winter toboggan slope. Since 1987 it has been managed by the City of Ottawa. It is a neighbourhood park you can reach without a car, and a green edge of Sandy Hill that has held queer gathering for over forty years.
Why we adopted it
Out at Camp’s work is getting 2SLGBTQ+ people outside: trips, borrowed gear, and skills that make the trail feel like it belongs to you. Adopting Strathcona Park brings that same care to a public place in the city, not only to campsites farther out.
The park is close, free to enter, and already part of Ottawa’s queer story. Looking after it is a way to keep a shared outdoor room in good shape for picnics, Pride memory, after-work walks, and whoever shows up next.
What adoption means
Adopt-a-Park / Adopt-a-Road is a City of Ottawa program. Groups, neighbours, and organizations agree to help keep a park or a stretch of roadway clean and green. It does not transfer ownership. The City still manages the park. We take on a volunteer stewardship role.
The City’s current program asks adopters to:
- Commit for two or five years, so the care has continuity.
- Clean up at least twice a year, once in spring and once in fall, and join the Cleaning the Capital campaigns where we can.
- Pick up litter and debris, sweep sidewalks and pathways, and pull minor weeds.
- Report hazards or vandalism through Service Ottawa or 3-1-1.
- Submit an online cleanup report after each session.
The City coordinates approvals, collects bagged litter during the spring and fall campaigns, and can install a recognition sign for five-year adopters after a year of cleanup reports.
For us, that looks like scheduled park days, a few extra walks with a bag when we are already in Sandy Hill, and a standing invitation for members who want to help. Watch our adventures list and newsletter for dates. If you want to join a cleanup, get in touch.
Read the City’s program details on ottawa.ca.