Harbord Village Pilot Project Gets Ahead of Emerald Ash Bore Killer

Cost to HVRA homeowners could be as little as $250 every 2 years

Finally, some real hope in staving off the green beetle that is threatening one in ten trees in the City of Toronto and is further advanced on the University of Toronto campus than was thought. Some have been found in Harbord Village, but we need to act in the next four months to save half our trees.

“We need to be in a position to act by June,” said Prof. Sandy Smith, University of Toronto Forestry Department Entymologist. “Injections must be within June-August timeframe, or the trees will die.”

“This is way better than we thought,” said Tim Grant, Chair of HVRA, when we were given a quick preview of the plan. “We still have a chance to act.”

What is promising is that the cost of injecting affected trees is considerably less over time than cutting them down, because a major infestation is invariably fatal.
Read more here.

More of a good thing...
The CTS Community Swim continues to the Victoria Day weekend

What Public swim time in the Central Tech pool
When Every Saturday afternoon as of January 5, 2013, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where Central Tech Pool at Lennox and Lippincott Streets — southeast of Bathurst, door 16
• Recreational swim space as well as lane swimming available
• Certified lifeguards on duty at all times
• In order to continue funding the program, a $2 per adult donation, and a loonie ($1) donation per child is appreciated at the door

For more information regarding the community swim at Central Tech, please contact centraltechpool@gmail.com

Harbord Village History Project wins $18,000 Trillium Grant

For the past year, the HVRA's History Group has been interviewing longtime residents, and former residents, of our neighborhood.  We're collecting their memories of our neighborhood, what it used to be like and how it has changed over the decades.  

Now we've received an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant that will allow us to both gather more tales and to share those memories with the wider world.  

Our Trillium grant will help fund the creation of an interactive website and to curate a series of exhibitions which will bring these memories to life.  

In addition, we'll be installing special plaques in places that have been important to residents of Harbord Village over the years (like some of the laneways, Lord Lansdowne school, Harbord Bakery...) These will allow anyone with a smartphone to hear the tales that we've recorded about that place, in the words of our neighborhood's residents.  

We hope to not only preserve a record of the past, but to really bring the past alive.  

Anyone who wants to join us in bringing these projects to fruition is encouraged to contact the head of the History Project, Nicole Schulman (n.m.schulman@gmail.com).  And if you, or someone you know, lived in Harbord Village before 1975 and would like to contribute to this project, please let us know — we would appreciate the opportunity to interview you!

New laneway signs starting to appear in Harbord Village
Lovin’ our laneways

Wonderful news! All the lane names we chose, in spite of hiccups at the city, are proceeding unchanged. There have been three batches:

First batch:
approved early this year. The signs are either already up or will be shortly.
1: Loretto Lane
2: Galvao Lane
3: Sappers Lane
4: Greenberg Lane
5: Immergluck Lane

Second batch:
given final approval in September by Toronto and East York Community Council.

1. David French Lane
2. Alan Powell Lane
3. Albert Jackson Lane
4. Douglas Campbell Lane
5. Barker Fairley Lane
6. Boys of Major Lane
7. Barbara Godard Lane
8. William James Lane
9. Leah Cohen Lane
10. Barbara Barrett Lane
11: Bagpipe Lane

Third batch:
he names for these lanes had to be modified slightly from our original choices and will be given final approval in a few months’ time.
1. James Hales Lane
2. Lewis Family Lane
3. Antonio Fernandes Lane
4. Cyril Lane
5. Chapel Hospice Lane
6. Grimsby Dairy Lane
7. Katharine Hockin Lane

With Councillor Vaughan’s assistance and our persistence, we have prevailed! This project has captured the imaginations of not just you, the residents of Harbord Village, but also the media, relatives of those being honoured well beyond the borders of HV, and many politicians in the city, who see this project as an ideal consultation and a fine example of community building. Well done all!
Rory "Gus" Sinclair,
Coordinator - Laneway Naming Project

NEW!
With new section on heritage home insurance

Our 14th edition of the Harbord Village Directory for Conservators and Restorers of Heritage Properties was released on September 9, 2012.

The Harbord Village Directory for Conservators and Restorers of Heritage Properties is a 72-page booklet that answers this question with respect to every one of a building's street visible elements, from the chimney top to the garden fence(with roofs, windows, doors, porches, railings and paint colours in between).

Download your copy here.

Margaret Fairley Park revitalization

Councillor Adam Vaughan has secured developers’ funds to improve Margaret Fairley Park and invited community participation in the process. The Friends of Margaret Fairley Park Steering Committee is leading our community’s involvement in the revitalization project.

The group held a Brainstorming Fair on February 13 to gather ideas, and invited further input through a web-based survey. A small grant from HVRA supported the hiring of writer and park Friend Jessica Humphreys to weave the various ideas together and author a design brief that clearly captures the community’s vision for the park.

The design brief was submitted to project manager Bob Duguid, City of Toronto Parks Department, on March 29. It forms a major component of the Request for Quotations document that is currently being sent to select landscape architecture firms to bid on the project.

According to the terms of the RFQ, the Friends of Margaret Fairley Park will be represented on the project working group along with Rebecca Hewitt from Councillor Vaughan’s office. Three community consultation events will be held over the summer of 2011 and the final design for the park should be ready in the fall. Construction is expected to take place either in mid-to-late fall (definitely after the HVRA Fall Fair!) or early in the spring of 2012.

Everyone is welcome to contribute to the process. To read the design brief or get in touch, please see the Friends of Margaret Fairley Park blog at: http://margaretfairleypark.blogspot.com
or email fmfpark@gmail.com.

Get to know our Community Builder Award Winners.

Each year we recognize those who have made outstanding contributions in three categories: Community Builder, Front Yard Garden and Heritage Restoration. Visit our Award Winners web page to see the amazing collection of individuals and homeowners who have made wonderful contributions to our neighbourhood. Harbord Village is a much better place for their efforts.