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Campfire support letters, Dec. 2022
posted by Jutta
Dec.11, 2022: Request from Jutta (sent to 51 people):
I'm hoping you will send an email to these two management people at Parks and Rec:
Peter.White@toronto.ca (manager of Toronto and East York Parks)
Howie.Dayton@toronto.ca (director of City of Toronto Recreation)
...asking them --
Please support the relocation of the Dufferin Grove Park northwest campfire site, to about 15 feet south of its former site, near the rink but outside of the construction fence, and near the bigger bake oven. This will make it possible to have some community campfires there this winter, and to use the bake oven at the same time.
The back story: it seems like Recreation management has opened up to supporting some oven events, but Parks management is unwilling to let us make some campfires beside the oven (which we need for for light and warmth, and maybe cooking some hot dogs and bannock on a stick). This seems to be not a safety issue but a "go away, we're busy" issue.......For park friends, winter is here and there's fun and friendship to be had, around food and a warm fire. We need to show Parks management that about 25 people are willing to bother them about this. You're on my list. Can you help by sending these two people an email?
Robert Kennedy: We've had wonderful annual parties at the rink fire pit every year on our daughter's birthday in early February. Love to be able to continue that tradition.
It would be fantastic if you could relocate the fire pit outside of the construction fence so that that can happen.
Jacqueline Peeters: I'm writing to request your support of the relocation of the Dufferin Grove Park northwest campfire site, to about 15 feet south of its former site, near the rink but outside of the construction fence, and near the bigger bake oven. This will make it possible to have some community campfires there this winter, and to use the bake oven at the same time.
Dufferin Park is a wonderful community hub – year-round. The ongoing construction is challenging, and this very small step can have a large impact on supporting community in the area. The ripple effects of “small things”, while difficult (impossible?) to “measure” can be profound.
Vivienne Smetana: I would like to add my name to those wanting the campfire to be moved temporarily closer to the bigger bake oven. We have lost a lot of the use of the park over the last few years for one reason or another so I think this is not a big ask at this point. It would be a very positive move on your part.
Abigail Pugh: I worked with you on improvements to Masaryk Cowan Park a few years ago with Susan Armstrong.
Now I live in Dufferin Grove. I’d really love to mingle outdoors with other locals this long, cold winter but I believe you are reluctant to move the park fire pit to about 15 feet south - away from the rink construction fence.
Doing that would mean our community can combine a fire with using the bake oven! It will be uncomfortable to gather without the warmth and focal point of a fire.
I want to earnestly entreat you to make this simple move.
Angela Moore: For the past twenty years I have spent hours and hours in Dufferin Grove Park in all seasons of the year. It has been a much loved source of community and great food for me and for my family. Now, with the rink closed for renovations, and following two years of isolation, being able to access the park ovens and gather around a fire is a godsend for those of us longing to spend time with our community. I urge you to relocate the northwest campfire site to about 5 metres south, near the larger bake oven so that it can be used by the community. I understand this would be outside of the construction fence and would not pose a hazard for the public or for the city workers, and it would make the winter so much more enjoyable.
Peter Thillaye: Gentlemen, Hope you are well.
We have a small request to make to bring some life fun and a few laughs to the Dufferin Grove park thru the hard part of this winter.
So please support the relocation of the Dufferin Grove Park northwest campfire site, to about 15 feet south of its former site, near the rink but outside of the construction fence, and near the bigger bake oven. This will make it possible to have some community campfires there this winter, and to use the bake oven at the same time. We have lost a lot of facilities and chances to be with friends and neighbours thru the pandemic and the reconstruction and this would help the rebalance.
Larry Lewis:
I urge you to facilitate the relocation of camp fires in Dufferin Grove Park.
These fires pose no risk and will make use of the bake ovens possible.
That in turn will enrich the use of this public space by local residents and people from the greater community.
There doesn't appear to be any reason for foot dragging here.
Respectfully
Sarah Climenhaga: I am part of the community of Torontonians that actively uses and appreciates the Dufferin Grove park.
I would like to request that you move the current northwest campfire site to one about 15 feet south of its former site, so that is near the rink but outside the construction fence. This will allow us to have community campfires while using the bake oven - which will mean the park can be used throughout the winter. Parks and Recreation is supposed to, according to your mission "strive to ensure all Toronto residents have positive recreational experiences that enhance quality of life and contribute to lifelong active living." Moving the campfire will make a more positive recreational experience for Dufferin Grove area residents.
Having the park used year round, especially during winter months when it is easy for people to suffer from isolation, is important for Toronto as a whole and for the local community.
I look forward to hearing from you that you will be relocating the site so that the community can enjoy the fun and friendship that comes with community cooking and eating around a warm campfire.
Wallie Seto: I am a frequent visitor of Dufferin Grove Park and I’m wondering if the campfire location can be moved closer to the larger bake oven.
The proximity of the two will keep us warmer and allow us to better enjoy the park and keep residents happy.
Michele Landsberg: Two decades ago, I began taking my infant grandchildren to Dufferin Grove Park and was astounded at what I discovered there. It was no longer a scruffy and somewhat dismal unoccupied space. It was alive with impromptu concerts, children inventing worlds in the remarkable sand pit, adults getting to know each other at the Friday Night community suppers. I was born in Toronto in 1939 and had never seen anything like the vibrant life of Dufferin Grove anywhere else.
This thriving community was created by the park volunteers and activists with the co-operation of Parks and Recreation staff, who, in those early days, seemed to appreciate the excitement and dynamism being sparked there.
Property values near the park went up: everyone wanted to be close to this magnetic hub of sports, art, culture and friendship. In fact, as a columnist with the Toronto Star, I was aware that Dufferin Grove had become a model and an inspiration for community wellbeing in the U.S. and various European cities.
Dufferin Grove created what every city strives for: a strong sense of community cohesiveness, optimism and belonging.
Recently, the community has lost — temporarily or permanently —many of its most cherished facilities.
The campfire, which drew people to the park even in the cold and dark of winter, was a splendid centre of warmth and congeniality, and kept community members connected socially through the months when such neighbourhood spirit often dissipates.
I understand that it’s a question of simply moving the campfire a mere 15 feet from its current site, to move it outside the construction zone while keeping it close to the bake oven and picnic tables, where it would make community suppers possible.
Dale Howey: Hi, I would like to add my voice in support of moving the campfire pit from its current location behind construction fencing to a location about 15 feet south of its former site, near the rink but outside of the construction fence, and near the bigger bake oven. This will make it possible to have some community campfires there this winter, and to use the bake oven at the same time. Surveys have shown that social engagement has deteriorated during Covid and any opportunity to bring community members together should be encouraged.
Erin: We met this past spring at an on-site meeting regarding the return of the Dufferin Grove Organic Farmers’ Market to the park. The Market really appreciated the support from both Recreation and Parks, and it was so healing for the community to have positive activities in the park again (and the return of pizza making at the end of the season was the cherry on top)! Thank you for your help and PFR’s help to make that happen. It was magical.
I’m emailing today to respectfully ask Parks to help facilitate the return of a modified Friday Night Supper. I understand that a request has been submitted to Parks to relocate the small north-west campfire site about 15 metres south of the existing location and closer to the large bake oven and the rink, but outside of the construction fencing.
During the community consultation process for the north-west corner renovations, both the community and the CRG (of which I was a volunteer member), shared how foundational the food programs at Dufferin Grove park are to the community (life-giving, soul nourishing, frazzled-parent soothing, marriage-saving, childhood magical, are all terms that I can personally apply and have heard from other community members). We asked PFR to be flexible, creative and innovative; to work with the community to modify programs and continue them throughout the renovation - then the pandemic hit.
The food programs, and Friday Night Supper in particular, are a great way for neighbours to “stack” what all humans need to thrive: nourishing and affordable healthy food, community, time in nature, physical activity.
After the trauma of the pandemic (and I do not use that description lightly), we need to reanimate our community spaces and help begin the process of healing. We need to work together to find creative ways to bring back the food programs, even as the renovation drags on. People need the opportunity to heal with fresh air, community, warmth and food.
You’ve heard this from us before: food brings people together - it’s a unifier. The isolated senior, the disabled mom (that’s me), the bored kids, the listless teenagers, the new community member, the homeowner across the street, the recreation worker…..we can all meet at the campfire, eat some yummy food, sooth our souls, and make the park a little bit safer and welcoming in the process.
In the scheme of things - moving a fire pit 15 metres seems like a very small request that can contribute to so much. I hope that you can work with the community to find a solution to make this possible.
Gene Threndyle: I was involved as a community volunteer at Dufferin Grove Park going back to the mid 90’s when the first wood fired oven had just been built.
The concept of food in the park seemed like an explosion of neighbourhood-led revitalization of public space. I remember the NYC organization Project For Public Spaces coming to Toronto to see what was happening and holding little Dufferin Grove Park up as an example of what a city park could be.
I am a gardener by profession and I was mostly involved with the first native plant beds in the park and some of the trees that got planted during those experiments are now reaching maturity, young oaks, walnuts and other native trees.
Please let this experiment in what a city park can be continue. Please don’t be the stereotypical bureaucrat who sits behind a desk looking at reports and bottom lines and forgets that cities depend on lively neighbourhoods. Vibrant neighbourhoods produce vibrant cities. Toronto does not need any more shiny, new, boring, lifelessness. Please let them relocate the campfire.
Jessica Moore: I live right near Dufferin Grove Park and as a mother of 5 year old twins I am a frequent park user, and have been for 20 years.
I'm writing to ask you to please support the relocation of the Dufferin Grove Park northwest campfire site, to about 15 feet south of its former site, near the rink but outside of the construction fence, and near the bigger bake oven. This will make it possible to have some community campfires there this winter, and to use the bake oven at the same time.
Belinda Cole: I'm writing to ask you to support the relocation of the Dufferin Grove Park northwest campfire site, to about 15 feet south of its former site. This would put the site near the rink, but still outside of the construction fence. Its new location near the bigger bake oven will make it possible to both have community campfires there this winter, and to use the bake oven at the same time.
Please let me know what kind of support you need from us to pave the way to approving this.
The fires are one of the best things about the park - let's make them as available - and convenient for the community as possible.
Can you please reply to let me know if you're willing to make sure that this approval goes through?
Thanks so much for your help. And, happy holidays.
John Ota: This note is to inform you that I support the relocation of the Dufferin Grove Park northwest campfire site, to about 15 feet south of its former site, near the rink but outside of the construction fence, and near the bigger bake oven. This will make it possible to have some community campfires there this winter, and to use the bake oven at the same time.
As a person who grew up on Gladstone Avenue and spent my childhood in the park, I support projects and initiatives, like this relocation of the campfire site, that bring members of the neighbourhood together.
Plus 14 more letters, of which I wasn't sent a copy. That makes a total of 27
Response from Peter White:
Thank you for your email.
Parks is working on placing a temporary fire pit south of the construction site near the large bake oven. We appreciate that this is an important community amenity.