Toronto Green Community is giving us neighbours an opportunity to learn more about the deep traditions behind the Medicine Wheel Garden tucked next to the walkway just north of Eglinton Park’s swimming pool.
Only some of us have seen it or even known why it was there. Six hundred years ago, just below the hilltop, there was a big Wendat village.
On Saturday at 2:30, Toronto Green Community, the sponsors of the park’s whole garden zone, will share the significance of the Medicine Wheel. You will learn what it meant to the indigenous peoples who lived here centuries ago, and indeed, how it can be relevant for us today.
Here is a nice, inexpensive way to join the fun, far cheaper than a ticket to the field.
Come to the future Green P Park at Castlefield. Bring the kids if any, a folding chair or two, and settle in to sing the anthem, watch, marvel, cheer, and mingle. The BIA is bringing music and activities for youngsters. Note the schedule of activities, listed below the poster here.
May the best team win (and here’s hoping ours come out on top)!
Here is a set of wonderful maps by the School of Cities.
It shows the urban fabric line that the Line 5 Crosstown, Line traverses, featuring the zoning, incomes, green space, room for cars, cycling infrastructure, population density, and age of population.
It is easy to spot the tall rectangle of Eglinton Park, a little to the left of centre.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
🎁 2Random 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!
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.
Registration
Entries must be submitted by October 21, 2025 using the official registration form.
Each household may only submit one entry.
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.
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.
“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.”
Eglinton Park Residents' Association 