We're keen to understand the issues that most animate this community, to help broaden our reporting ideas — but we cannot do it without you.

If you are interested in attending, reply to this email. Once we have an estimated head count, we’ll book a spot and let you know details ASAP!

What a difference, a day or even a week can make – forget a month. Yet, some things remain the same.

Within days of writing my first newsletter to you, I started to notice buds and leaves on trees. Within a week, daffodils and tulips had started to burst in bunches around the neighbourhood. And within a month, the city was waiting with bated breath for cherry blossoms to hit peak bloom.

The world at large still seems in limbo. And it has its ramifications for our own neighbourhood. We heard from some of you at our inaugural meeting held at the North York Central Library to discuss matters that are close to your heart and wallet. 

One resident talked about his interest in cycling and road infrastructure, as well as pedestrian activation and safety. Another resident spoke about her concerns for safety and security in her community, especially as a newcomer to Canada who has chosen to make Willowdale her home. Former Toronto Star reporter and Willowdale resident Vicky Sanderson spoke about her interest in contributing to the Willowdale Wire by looking into services (or lack thereof) for the unhoused in our community, as well as challenges faced by refugees and newcomers. 

What are some questions that you would be interested for us to dig into? Before we launched Willowdale Wire, my colleague Rachel Chen and I sent out a survey of the top issues that Willowdalers thought were important for us to look into. These were the results:

In our next meeting planned for Jun 18, we would love to hear from more of you about specific topics that are of interest to you. Rachel, Vicky and I have some ideas that we would love to present to you, such as looking into when exactly the HMart advertised as coming soon at 5801 Yonge Street might open. Or what exactly is happening with the North York Secondary Plan? How are schools dealing with changing density in our neighbourhood when it comes to resource allocation?

In the meanwhile, I had an opportunity to cover a few community stories in our neighbourhood. On April 24th, I followed a group of students as they were Hanging Out and Helping Out for the community cleanup organized by the Willowdale Youth Council. And a few days later, I met up with a member of the Parkview Neighbourhood Garden collective as they are getting ready to gear up for – hopefully – warmer weather in coming weeks. I am now working on another story about the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms that we can find within Willowdale, as well as a feature on a cycling advocate.

What do you think of the stories so far? We hope to see you at our next meeting in June. Let us know if you are able to attend, so we can book a space accordingly.

Willowdale Youth Council hosts community cleanup

Parkview Neighbourhood Garden collective gears up for planting season

Stay in touch as we develop this newsletter and stay tuned for future stories! Know someone looking for local news in Willowdale? We would love it if you would forward this their way.

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The Willowdale Wire