The Vancouver Park Board recently launched a trans-inclusive campaign to make community facilities more open and friendly to transgender and gender variant people.

"This is really the start of a campaign in terms of education and the changes that are taking place," says Park Board Chair John Coupar.

The campaign includes educational posters, brochures and postcards that feature personal quotes from trans and gender-variant people.

It's all part of an ongoing effort to improve park board services from washrooms to programming.

Other changes so far have included an ongoing trans-friendly swim at Templeton Pool and new gender-neutral signage at the Hillcrest Community Centre.

Coupar says the ongoing changes are targeting five key areas:

signage and literature

public spaces (including washrooms and change rooms )

) staff training

policy

working with the community

The changes have been led by the board's Trans* and Gender-Variant Inclusion Working Group. The working group started in 2013 and was spearheaded by former Park Board member Trevor Locke.

To listen to the full interview, click on the audio labelled: Vancouver Park Board launches new trans and gender variant awareness campaign.