After the Ice Storm

Many of us in the Earlscourt area lost power during the recent ice storm. Ice, downed trees and hydro wires on the roads and TTC service disruptions made it difficult for many to seek warmth and light elsewhere.

Many thanks to all the friends, family and neighbours who helped each other during this difficult time. 

Special thanks to the crews from Hydro and Urban Forestry who worked around the clock to clean up and get power restored, to Councillor Palacio's office, and to City of Toronto staff for running warming centres with The Red Cross and making sure that Ward 17 was well looked after in the storm's aftermath. 

Most of the trees in Earlscourt Park fared reasonably well during the storm,  but several of the trees towards the south end of the Park were heavily damaged.  

South end of the track, beside the maintenance yard -

South side of the dog park - 

South-east end of the dog park -

South-west corner of the park -

In addition, the trail, track and dog park are quite icy after this week's thaw and freeze. Please be reminded that these areas are not maintained during winter, and to use caution if you are using the park over the next few days.  

Beautiful morning at the park!

Kids are sledding and making snow angels, and the park is looking really pretty. How great to have snow for the  weekend!

It's Snowing!!

We've got our sleds all ready to go. Just need the snow to get a bit deeper!

Time to Get Your Skates Sharpened!

The rink is open!

Leisure skating, shinny, skating lessons are all available. Check out rink hours and programs at http://www1.toronto.ca/parks/prd/facilities/complex/1068/index.htm 

Dog Park Maintenance

Dog park users will be delighted to learn that a truck load of mulch was delivered recently and Parks staff has started spreading it in the dog park. 

Huge thanks to our Park Manager for getting this maintenance done before winter - next spring will be much less muddy!

Community Meeting - Nov 28, 2013

Wondering about the ramp & stairs project for the Davenport Road entrance to the park? Or about other proposed updates in the park? This is a meeting you won't want to miss!

Ward 17 City Councillor Cesar Palacio will host a Community Meeting to discuss upcoming park improvements:

Thursday, November 28, 6.30pm

Joseph J. Piccininni Community Centre, main lobby

See you there!

Sunset

Today was windy and chilly - but anyone who was out around 5pm was rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

Do you have any favourite pictures of the park? We'd love to see them! Send them in to friendsofearlscourtpark@gmail.com

2013's Pumpkin Parade Was a Smashing Success!

Thanks to all who came out to this year's Pumpkin Parade! It was great to see so many neighbours, particularly families new to the area. 

This year 's Parade than tripled the number of pumpkins over last year's event - making this year a smashing success, ha ha! Let's hope this is a continuing tradition. Happily, there is plenty of room to expand!

Many thanks to all involved, particularly to: 

- Our student volunteers, for keeping the pumpkins lit and taking photos,
- Ward 17 City Councillor Cesar Palacio, for helping with pumpkin pick-up arrangements,
- Frank Ruffalo and staff at the JJP Community Centre, for letting us use the entrance to the Centre, providing help with cleanup, and helping to promote the event. 
- MP Jonah Schein, the Corso Italia BIA and local schools for helping us to get the word out. 

A few of our many favourites - 

Thanks to the early birds who set up their pumpkins before we had even arrived

This family has some serious talent - they carved an amazing Darth Vadar last year

That red pepper?
This family has a new baby and didn't have a chance to pick up a pumpkin, but didn't want to miss out!

So fun!

FoEP volunteers with Cllr Cesar Palacio, MPP Jonah Schein and JJP staff 

 More picture are available by clicking here. 

Have any to share? We'd love to see them! Send them to friendsofearlscourtpark@gmail.com. 

2nd Annual Pumpkin Parade!

Last year's pumpkin parade was so much fun that we're doing it again - spread the word and bring your friends!

Rain or shine - see you then!

THANK YOU!

Thanks so much to our adopt-a-tree volunteers for all your work this summer. You hauled a lot of buckets of water over the last few months!! Mother Nature can take care of things for the rest of the season 

New Sandbox!

After years of broken and unsafe logs surrounding the Earlscourt Park playground sand pit, drum roll please...we have a new sandbox!!!

Before - Yikes!

After - Yahoo!

Thanks to Toronto Parks for listening to us and caring enough to get this fixed lickety-split. We love it, and it's a hit with its little users.

Scenes from Adopt-A-Tree Kick-off

An enormous THANK YOU to all who came out to adopt a newly planted tree, and for working through the rain to spread a dumptruck load of mulch around them!

Special thanks to Urban Forestry to Urban Forestry for planting 80 new trees around the park (yes - 80!!), to City staff for providing mulch and tools, to Councillor Palacio for the park tour, to Park People and LEAF for hours of help with mulching, and to Tre Mari Bakery and Frank's Pizza for feeding us!

Treats for later

Volunteers from LEAF and Park People

LEAF taught us how to properly mulch a tree - see the donut?

Finishing planting of the ceremonial tree

LEAF, Park People, Councillor Palacio, FoEP

Here comes lunch - THANKS GIORGIO!

Looking Spiffy

We are very pleased to see the building adjacent to the wading pool (where the washrooms are located) is getting a fantastic paint job!

The City is also very aware that conditions inside this building leave a lot to be desired. We are delighted to hear that this building is slated for additional improvements in the future. 

Stroller Fitness is Coming to the Park!

Summer stroller fitness is coming to the park starting in July! Register online or with the staff in the JJP CC office. 

Summer Camps at JJP!

Only 2+ weeks left of school! Made any plans for your kids yet? Not to worry - spaces are still available in many of the day camps at Joseph J. Piccininni Community Centre, for ages 3 to 16 years!

Check out the wide range of specialities: soccer, sports, dance, gymnastics, biking, music, cooking and more! All camps include daily swimming, or trips to the wading pool for the younger campers.

Click below for program listings and online registration, or drop by the JJP CC and register in person with the staff in the office.

http://www.toronto.ca/parks/torontofun-etobicokeyork-district.htm

Thank you!

We recently put out a call for donations of gently used sand toys. A big thank you to whomever dropped off the first donation this weekend!

Welcoming a New Notice Board

There’s a wonderful new addition to our park: a lovely notice board! We’re happy to have a great new way for park users to connect with one another. 

A big thanks goes to Karinthia Battig, Parks Supervisor Ward 13 & 17, and Frank Ruffolo, JJ Piccininni Community Recreation Programmer, who made our humble wish a reality. 

Adopt-A-Tree Kick-off - June 22, 2013

Community Sand Toys

 

 

Recently, Friends of Earlscourt Park donated community sand toys to the playground sand pit. Although they were well labelled, sadly, all of the toys are now gone.

 

We still believe that community sand toys are a great idea – much better than the used coffee cups and water bottles that kids were playing with before! So, we’d love to try again.

 

We’re looking for gently used sand toy donations. We’ve gotten approval from Parks to leave toys in the sand pit, so if you’d like to donate, please label them “Earlscourt Park” and drop them off at the sand pit. If we keep trying, it's sure to catch on!

Kite Fest...and Trees!

With winter finally - FINALLY - over, what better way to celebrate spring than to head outside and fly a kite?

Many thanks to all who joined us at the park. We saw a lot of fantastic kites and had a fabulous time meeting more families from the neighbourhood-at-large.

Special thanks to Arleen Hurdon for running a pocket kite workshop, and to our volunteers Ellen & Krista for making pinwheels with the kids and organizing a great afternoon!

Pocket kite workshop in full swing

Getting the pocket kites up in the sky

Click here to view more photos!

In other park news:

We are delighted to announce that as part of the City of Toronto's Strategic Urban Forest Management Plan, Urban Forestry will be planting trees in Earlscourt Park later this season! This initiative, run in consultation with local city and community groups, is designed to increase the canopy cover as well as beautify our green spaces and increase biodiversity.

But summertime can place significant stress on young trees, whose root systems are not yet developed enough to withstand summer's high temperatures and periods of drought.

Friends of Earlscourt Park has been asked by Park People and LEAF to run an Adopt-a-Tree program to ensure these trees' survival. We are looking for neighbourhood volunteers who will give "their" tree regular watering, mulching and light weeding from early summer until mid-autumn.

Interested in becoming an adopter? Drop us a note at friendsofearlscourtpark@gmail.com. Stay tuned for news!

Join us for Kite Fest 2013!

Community Cleanup Day at the Park!

We spoke too soon when we said that winter was over!  However, an army of volunteers braved the windy, chilly weather and SNOW FLURRIES this morning to clean up the park in record time!

(See more photos here!) 

The kids in our 'hood helped get the word out

With MPP Jonah Schein & Ward 17 Councillor Cesar Palacio - getting ready to start!

Thanks to Tre Mari Bakery for supplying the treats!

Thanks to all - what a fantastic crew!