President's Message
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Greetings, fellow Scarborough residents.
There’s a spring in Scarborough’s step these days, as we rapidly emerge from our COVID-induced hibernation. Many community events are returning, including the Scarborough Rotary Ribfest from Friday, July 29 to Monday, August 1. I encourage everyone to enjoy all that Scarborough has to offer this summer.
“Our Scarborough” Speaker Series – July 21
“Our Scarborough” is SCRO’s monthly forum where we invite Scarborough leaders, Scarborough organizations, and people doing interesting work in Scarborough to share their stories with other Scarborough leaders and engaged residents.
Join us online on Thursday, July 21 at 6:30 pm for Samantha Corway, Manager of Sustainability at Centennial College and Claire Perttula, Food Justice Projects Coordinator at Malvern Family Resource Centre.
Samantha will be presenting an overview of sustainability initiatives at Centennial’s three Scarborough campuses with ideas for how to integrate sustainability in our own workplaces, communities, and homes.
Claire will be talking about Malvern’s urban farm and eco-education series taking place this summer and fall.
Join us for casual conversation at 6:30, followed by Claire and Samantha, starting at 6:45.
Please register on the “Our Scarborough” page of the SCRO website to get the Zoom link.
Our Scarborough will continue on the third Thursday of every month.
“Focus on Scarborough” YouTube Channel
We are thrilled to announce the launch of SCRO’s YouTube channel: “Focus on Scarborough”.
Every recording of the “Our Scarborough” speakers series for the past two years is now available on our YouTube channel. So is the Provincial Parties Discussion of Scarborough Issues, held during the recent provincial election.
Take a look. There are so many inspiring people, organizations and initiatives taking place right here in Scarborough that we can all be proud of.
Scarborough Walk of Fame – September 15 at Scarborough Town Centre
The Scarborough Walk of Fame is back! Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 15, in person or online, for the Scarborough Walk of Fame Celebration Day at Scarborough Town Centre.
Take a look at this year’s inductees on the SWOF website.
Scarborough Walk of Fame has been “celebrating community, recognizing achievement and inspiring tomorrow’s leadership in Scarborough” since 2006.
SCRO assumed leadership of SWOF in 2021 and we are thrilled to be relaunching this signature Scarborough event.
Institute for New Suburbanism – a new way of thinking about suburban planning
Conventional planning models in Canada and beyond are usually focused on urban planning, even though most people now live in suburbs. This is often problematic, as planning models and principles that are well-suited to inner city neighbourhoods may be quite ill-suited to the needs of suburban communities.
In 2016, the Institute for New Suburbanism was formed to promote a suburban-oriented planning conversation. SCRO has been a leading participant in INS since its inception.
In 2021, INS launched a speaker series, featuring leading suburban planning thinkers and academics from around the world. These talks were well attended. You can watch them on the INS website.
SCRO is pleased to work closely with INS, to raise the profile of suburban-oriented planning in the planning profession, so that public policy decisions support suburban evolution without impairing the features that have made suburban living the environment of choice for most Toronto residents.
This summer, Plan Canada, the publication of the Canadian Institute of Planners, is doing a profile on “Suburban Transformation”, featuring an article by Scarborough’s own Dave Hardy, the founder of INS and a board member of SCRO. A summary of the report is on the New Geography website, where you can also download the full article. SCRO wishes to congratulate Dave Hardy, who has just been recognized as a fellow of the Canadian Institute of Planners.
A couple of reminders…
The Scarborough Business Association’s annual luncheon with Mayor Tory is back after a two year absence, on Friday, July 15 at the Grand Cinnamon Banquet Hall & Convention Centre. This is always a well-attended event and will be a great opportunity to get reacquainted in person with Scarborough’s many passionate civic leaders. Please register now on the SBA website.
Finally, let’s remember to support SHN’s “Love, Scarborough” campaign. The provincial government has pledged to bring badly needed investments to support our aging hospital campuses. Let’s do our part by publicly supporting the campaign and by reminding our provincial leaders that we expect them to follow through on these commitments.
Larry Whatmore
President
Scarborough Community Renewal Organization
416-562-2101
Larry Whatmore, President of SCRO