On April 21, the AGO organized a cleanup of Grange Park as part of the “20-Minute Toronto Makeover.” This was the third year in a row that we did this, and about 50 people turned up – our biggest turnout ever. We had AGO staff and volunteers sharing garbage bags with neighbours who live in the residential sections around the Gallery, colleagues from University Settlement Recreation Centre and OCAD, local schools, etc. A few passers-by asked what we were doing and then joined in the party.
At the end of the 20 minutes, I felt really good. The park looked great – but beyond that, I felt I had struck a personal bond with my fellow cleaner-uppers. It reminded me of some community initiatives from my childhood – neighbours working together to make their community cleaner, safer, more beautiful, more kid-friendly. We knew our neighbours by name. We knew, as kids, which homes we could go to for help if our own parents were out. We had a sense of ownership and pride for our area. No one would dare litter, because if they did, someone was bound to see and yell at them to pick it up and put it in the bin. But then again, that was the 1960s – the generation of peace, love and naivete.
Can we recapture that sense of “neighbourhood” – or create a new version for the 21st century?