Dear Neighbours,

Lest we forget! 

A local volunteer group has placed poppies in front of the houses from which soldiers went off to war (1914-1918) and never returned.

Local memory of global events, nice to see. As the map shows below, one poppy is on Helendale, another on Roselawn near the park, and three more are up on Castlefield.

Look for them. And, if you happen to know of other soldiers, from other houses, do write the volunteers to tell them. 

Our neighbourhood perches are on a long, rich, and varied history of many peoples in many times. It is good to keep that in our minds.

---

Original post from:

Urban Roots – Eglinton–Lawrence (Toronto)
A community group in Eglinton-Lawrence (Toronto) focused on service, outreach, and building stronger neighbourhood connections.

Poppies Now Bloom on Eglinton–Lawrence Lawns

Honouring Our Local Heroes for Remembrance Day 2025

Ashlyn O’Mara

Nov 7

This week, volunteers placed poppies on the lawns of homes across Eglinton–Lawrence in Toronto where World War I and World War II veterans once lived. These men went off to war and never came home.

Each lawn poppy includes a marker with the veteran’s name, rank, age, date and circumstances of death, and a QR code that leads to more information about their story and our project.

These poppies serve as a quiet but powerful reminder that the sacrifices that shaped our freedom were made by neighbours who once lived on our very streets.

🎥 Check out our short reel above showing our volunteers delivering poppies to each home (Music: Remembrance Day Tribute by The Lyrical Lanterns)

A Community Effort of Remembrance

This initiative, led by Urban Roots, began this year with 10 homes across Eglinton–Lawrence. Our volunteers spent the week delivering and installing the lawn poppies, a touching way to bring remembrance to life at the local level.

📍 Explore the Walking Map:
We’ve also created an interactive walking map where you can find each of the participating homes. Click on any poppy to read the veteran’s story, view photos, and learn about their service and sacrifice.

You can also check out our previous article, which highlights some of the stories of the veterans we are honouring this year and whose homes now bear a poppy of remembrance on their lawn.

Walking Map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/6/edit?mid=1_fWuIuPsLjgM2wiyfF1N1moWiGNoW1k&usp=sharing

Thank You to Our Donors

We’re deeply grateful to the donors whose generosity allowed us to purchase these poppy ornaments from the Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Store and the markers to go along with each one. Check out our fundraising campaign page with Give Send Go.

Looking Ahead

There are close to 100 homes in Eglinton–Lawrence where a WWI or WWII veteran once lived and returned home. With continued support, we hope to expand the project in 2026 so that more of these homes can be recognized and remembered.

If you’d like to get involved, sponsor a poppy, or share historical information about a veteran who once lived in our neighbourhood, please contact us at urbanrootseglaw@gmail.com.

🌺 Lest We Forget— 

Dear Neighbours,

Now that Halloween is over, it is the season for EPRA’s AGM, which is on Monday.

Date: Monday, November 10

Time: 7:15  – 9:00 PM

Place: North Toronto Memorial Community Centre, Multi-purpose Room (016A)

We have a splendid speaker in our neighbour, Charlie Hoang, architect and project manager for rebuilding Yonge-Eglinton Station. We will learn about the parts down below, which we are eager to see when the LRT finally opens. Charlie will explain why that big job was hard.

Mike Colle, our councillor and Deputy Mayor, will be there to answer all our questions and explain why running Toronto, another big job, is also hard.

Do pass this invitation on to any friends who might wish to come.

We look forward to seeing you. And signing you up as members (or renewing you) for the coming year. In numbers, as always, there is strength.

Best wishes,

Get your spooky on, Eglinton Park! Transform your porch, front yard, or house into a Halloween masterpiece and compete for amazing gift certificate prizes:

• 🥇 2 Grand Prize Winners: $200 each
• 🎁 2 Random Draw Winners: $50 each (just for entering!)

📅 Key Dates:

• Registration closes October 21, 2025
• Judging takes place October 22 – 24, 2025
• Winners will be announced at the EPRA booth at the UPtown Yonge BIA Halloween HauntUP on Saturday, October 25, 2025. All winners will also be contacted via email or telephone after the event.

Our judges will be looking for creativity, effort, overall visual impact and family-friendly Halloween spirit. Whether your style is spooky or silly, we want to see it. Every entry helps light up our neighborhood!

👉 Click here to enter now! https://forms.gle/GzuBgiQ5Ys9iPGrC6

TERMS & CONDITIONS

1. Eligibility
   • Open to residential houses (apartments and businesses not eligible) within the Eglinton Park Residents’ Association catchment area which is Edith Drive to Yonge street and from the south side of Roselawn to Eglinton Avenue W.
   • Displays must be visible from the street for judging purposes.
2. Registration
   • Entries must be submitted by October 21, 2025 using the official registration form.
   • Each household may only submit one entry.
3. Use of Images
   • By entering, you grant EPRA the right to photograph your display and use images or video for promotional purposes, including but not limited to, social media, newsletters and future event advertising.

Dear Neighbours,

EPRA does not usually forward official city bulletins, but this one, from the recent solstice, is one we think will interest you.

Toronto wants the city to look better in all those little ways that matter a lot, for the well-being of all of us. And it wants us residents to help. As the TTC says in its urgent, anxious voice, but in a far happier way, “if we see something, say something!” 

So let’s do that! 

We bold a few key lines about how to help.

---

News Release  

June 21, 2025 

City of Toronto launches cleaning blitz to protect public spaces, streets, and parks

Today, Mayor Olivia Chow launched a new citywide initiative called Keep Toronto Beautiful aimed at keeping public spaces clean, safe and well-maintained. A clean city impacts public health, the environment, the economy and overall quality of life.

From now through fall, 300 to 400-person cleaning blitz crews will harness their energy to clean and refresh specific high cleaning-need areas. This work will include:

•       Removal of graffiti, weeds and litter from streets, sidewalks, parks and other spaces
•       Tree maintenance on streets and in parks 
•       Installing more than 600 new garbage and recycling bins in high-usage parks
•       Intensified enforcement and clean-up of illegal dumping hotspots 
•       Street sweeping and clean-up of boulevards and laneways 
•       Repairs to potholes, bike lanes and bike rings 
•       Repainting pavement markings, including crosswalks, to improve road safety

These blitzes, planned for several Saturdays over a three-month period, are in addition to proactive daily patrols by City crews to identify and maintain areas in need of attention.

The City is also putting extra care into public parks and pools this summer with daily clean-up efforts that include repairing benches, picnic tables and other equipment, graffiti removal and litter pickup, as well as hiring up to 30 students to join summer park cleaning teams and adding more custodial staff to maintain 21 outdoor pools. 

Data will drive the approach to identify neighbourhoods where cleaning blitzes are most needed. Crews will resolve 311 Service Requests as well as applying an equity lens to prioritize cleaning and repairs in historically underserved, low-income and vulnerable communities where the City typically receives fewer 311 Service Requests. 

Most Torontonians say they are satisfied or very satisfied with the city’s overall cleanliness, according to a 2024 survey (https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2024/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-251235.pdf). Residents also shared valuable ideas for improving the spaces that matter most to them and the City is using the warm summer months to accelerate progress on those suggestions. 

The Keep Toronto Beautiful campaign is rooted in the knowledge that cleaner, well-maintained neighbourhoods and natural spaces can foster a sense of calm and safety, helping to improve mental health and inspiring a sense of pride and belonging. Safe and inviting public spaces also encourage healthy behaviours like walking, cycling and spending time outdoors.

Residents and visitors can get involved to help keep Toronto beautiful by not littering, joining neighbourhood clean-up and beautification efforts, and participating in Community Environment Days which help reduce the amount of reusable or recyclable waste going to landfill (https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/recycling-organics-garbage/community-environment-days/community-environment-days-schedule/).

Residents can report areas in need of attention by calling 311, via the 311 Toronto mobile app or online (https://www.toronto.ca/home/311-toronto-at-your-service/).
   

“When our public spaces are clean, safe and welcoming, we all benefit. Keep Toronto Beautiful is more than just maintenance – it’s about cleaning up the streets and creating better neighbourhoods throughout our city. It’s a reminder that together, we can create a more caring Toronto for everyone.”

– Mayor Olivia Chow

Dear Neighbours,

It is good to celebrate local talent. Brian Morgan (Orchard View), professionally a linguistics scholar, is also an accomplished fiddler.

He has brought out a collection, compositions inspired by the dramatic years he spent in China, and he invites us to the launch party for the music: 

---

May 30^th 8 PM at Free Times Café

320 College Street (at Major Street streetcar stop, first west of Spadina)

---

You can hear Brian’s music on Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, and other music services — https://brianmorgan.hearnow.com

Dear Neighbours,

Toronto Public Health (TPH) is reaching out to the public for ideas for a new strategic plan. EPRA is very interested, both in health delivery, and in disease prevention, and we have written the city with our ideas for ways to make Toronto a healthier place to live. 

Here are two documents. One is the city’s invitation to you, to offer your ideas. The other is our own letter, now sent in, with our suggestions, only some of many we and you might make.

Few things are more important to Toronto than the health of those who live here. All ideas are important, so do feel free to speak up.

EPRA  

Dear Neighbours,

A growing city needs room to breathe, relax, and play.

As the towers rise and fill up near Yonge, we require local parks, both to keep us green and cool, and to build good public realm for everyone.

Luckily, along the Duplex axis, four new parks are coming. The map here shows where they will be.

1. We all know the famous line from Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” For once, things are going the other way. Three quarters of the Castlefield Green P lot will be a new park. Deputy Mayor Colle has worked hard to make this happen.

2. The big development at 2400 Yonge, north of Anne Johnston Health and the fire hall, ceded land in its northwest corner to Toronto, for a park on Roselawn.

These two parks are in the works already. In perhaps three years they will be ready.

3. The developer of two new towers at 500 Duplex ceded the land under the present outdoor parking lot there to the city, for a public park on Montgomery. This awaits the completion of a construction not yet started.

4. Very gradually, the city is buying houses on the lands between Montgomery and Helendale. When developers cannot put parks on site, they feed a general fund, available to buy houses willing to sell. In the long run, a park will fill the whole block, west of the Station K-Montgomery Square tower.

EPRA and its local allies seek your ideas on what these parks should do both for us, and for nature. Please email us with your thoughts.

 

Here is a reminder from the Uptown Yonge BIA: the Halloween gathering on 28 October. It comes with links for contests and activities.

— EPRA

TRICK or TREAT, SHOP and EAT!

Come join us for a fun-filled, family friendly, free community event. The UPtown Yonge BIA is hosting its Halloween Haunt UP event scheduled on Saturday Oct 28, from 11 am to 6 pm.  

Sidewalk Sale • Face Painting • Pumpkin Carving • Live Music & Street Buskers  • Treats and Giveaways • Kids Costume Contest • Pet Costume Contest • Scavenger Hunt • Bouncy Castles & more

Trick or Treat at participating businesses in the Uptown Yonge BIA, along Yonge street between Roehampton Ave and Glengrove Ave.

SCAVENGER HUNT: This year we have launched our Ghoulish Halloween Scavenger Hunt powered by Driftscape. Join us in this spooktacular experience withy our family and friends to win prizes .

KIDS Costume Contest – Sign up HERE

PET Costume Contest – Sign up HERE

Looking for Volunteer Opportunities? : Sign up HERE

SIDEWALK SALE: Enjoy special seasonal discounts and promotions and help support our small businesses.
When: Saturday, October 28th & Sunday, October 29th, 2023 (anytime between 10 am to 9 pm))
Where: UPtown Yonge BIA – Businesses along Yonge street between Roehampton Ave and Glengrove Ave

Bring your family and friends and help us spread the word by sharing our FACEBOOK EVENT with your network.

For more info: https://www.uptownyonge.com/explore/

 

Download Event Poster

Download Event Map

Share our Facebook Event

Download Scavenger Hunt Poster

Show your support for UPtown Yonge and our small businesses:

Here’s how you can help make a difference…

1. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
2. Like our posts and show support for your neighbours!

 

HAVE A QUESTION?

BIA Related | Tasneem Bandukwala, Interim Executive Director | tasneem@uptownyonge.com

On Tuesday, Sept. 12, there is a to be a Community Consultation for Madison’s proposed third tower at Henning and Eglinton.

Madison are asking for 34 storeys, for a building up Henning from the two on Eglinton. That is the same height as the agreed height for the building to be built to the south of it, as Eglinton.

All your thoughts on the proposed design are welcome.

For further information on 17 – 41 Henning Avenue, you can visit the application information centre to review the materials before the meeting at: www.toronto.ca/21HenningAve. 

To sign up to attend, you can use the Registration Link: https://toronto.webex.com/weblink/register/r275cfb863c755116710e2224b8cd5342