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* South of Danforth avenue 

The Danforth East Community Association (DECA) invites you to join us on Tuesday May 18th at 7:30 pm online for “Re-Imagine the Danforth: The SoDa Barns”. This grassroots visioning exercise for our community will generate a list of program suggestions for the buildings and spaces on the SoDa Barns site. This local knowledge will contribute to the creative discussion on this development and articulate a vision for our community!  

Following on from the successful DECA event “Imagine the Danforth” in 2014, we seek to again bring to the table a discussion of the significant economic, cultural and community deficits in our neighbourhood. 

As this development project enters the second phase under the continued leadership of CreateTO and DTAH Architects, we are inspired to re-visit the heritage of the Barns buildings on the site. 

The original building was constructed as a streetcar maintenance building in 1915. The skylights from this original structure remain today and it is the second oldest building in this part of Toronto. The building was expanded to become the main carhouse in 1921. (Wychwood Barns was built at this time) These vast, industrial structures have proved resilient since that time as they have adapted to the changes in their use. Today we again re-imagine their role in our community. 

The Masterplan approved by City Council in 2019 provides the structure for future development plans. The locations of interior and exterior public spaces and buildings for the three main site tenants, the Toronto Public Library expanded Coxwell Branch, The TPS Divisions 54 & 55 and Housing Now, as well as locations for additional new buildings, are mapped out in the Masterplan. The massing of these structures was also illustrated as part of the planning, as shown in the diagram below. 

DECA Visioning began the exercise of compiling suggestions for program uses on the site. Some suggestions on the list are as follows: 

– office space 

– a space/ stage for community meetings and live theatre performances & rehearsals 

– programmable public-event space both inside and outside, for the community and  revenue-generating events 

– arts & culture incubator 

–  light industry (jewelry, art production, food, fashion…) 

– community centre 

– skating rink 

– startup incubator and innovation hub 

– community gardens 

This event’s contributions will be distributed to those involved in this development. If you cannot attend, please email your suggestions to visioning@deca.to until May 25th 2021. Further information for participation in this event will be posted closer to the date. 

We look forward to Re-Imagining with you!  

DECA Green partnered with the Danforth Mosaic BIA to bring you four workshops in the month of April. Each session featured a presentation from our local experts, followed by a Q&A. Below are the summaries and recordings. Thank you to everyone who participated! It was wonderful to see such a great community turnout for each event.

Mend your Clothes to Reduce Textile Waste with FABRIC SPARK

Don’t replace…repair. Shirley shows us how to make repairs to well loved clothes, with a focus on items such as leggings and pant knees. You can also check out her presentation slides with all the techniques she covered.

Bicycle Readiness with THE CYCLEPATH

April 8 was our first workshop, where we learned essentials like rules of the road, how to safely lock up a bike, and how to fix a flat from Spencer at The Cyclepath. You can watch the workshop recording here:

Stocks and soups with  DICKIE’S COOKING SCHOOL

April 15 was our stocks workshop, where Lisa Dickie taught us everything we needed to know about how to make delicious food from veggie scraps. Check out Lisa’s blog for lots of great recipes! (Sorry that we don’t have a recording for this one.)

Sustainable Living and Gardening with THE RE PLACE

This Earth Day workshop showed us how to make an herb garden out of an old trunk and gave us a great tour of The Re.Place!

You can catch the recording here (minus a couple of minutes at the beginning–sorry for the tech difficulties!)

Don’t forget the mending workshop Thursday night at 8! (that’s tonight if you’re getting this in your Thursday morning email).  REGISTER HERE We asked our homeschool questions of our workshop leader, Shirley, and Fabric Spark’s owner, Daryl. 1. History: How long have you worked at your business/in this field? How long has your business been in the community? Fabric Spark is about 8 years old, but we’ve only been in the east end for 4 years. Before that, it was online only.  Shirley is a lifelong sewist and teacher of many things including most things fabric related. She is a teacher and sewing coach for Fabric Spark. 2. Geography: What’s your favourite place in Toronto? Daryl -I love walking in Wilket Creek, I’ve been doing it since I was a little kid. Shirley – I grew up on the Humber River but now I call the Don River valley my local hiking space.   What other east-end businesses do you recommend? Other East End Shops?  For Daryl,  it’s all about the food: Cumin  Cafe Coroco Mon K (Shirley too)  Knuckle Sandwich Samosarie Sharman’s Proper Pies – (Shirley too) 3. English: What are your go-to websites/channels/books for additional info on your skill? Daryl – Visible Mending and Mending Matters Shirley –  the two books above and for embellishment with Embroidery: Creative Stitching by Sue Spargo

Don’t replace…repair. We have creative ways to upcycle your clothes! Join Shirley from Fabric Spark to learn how to make repairs to well loved clothes. She will go through a number of techniques for different kinds of repairs, and then hear your questions at the end.

If you want to try things during the demonstration, you will need thread, needles, scissors, embroidery thread, fabric for patches, pins. There will be a discussion on many ways to embellish repairs. REGISTER HERE

This is our final workshop in the DECA Zero series! Recordings or notes for the three previous sessions can be found at deca.to on the homepage. Thank you to the many members of our community who have been coming out to join the conversation on Thursday nights this Earth month!

Our third workshop in the DECA Zero series is Thursday night. We are excited to learn more about zero waste living with Mira from The RePlace, and then get our garden planning questions answered by Erin from Dirty Girl Gardening. You can REGISTER HERE

We asked Mira our “home school” questions. Read on to find out her local faves and recommendations!

1. History:

How long have you worked at your business/in this field? How long has your business been in the community?  I’ve never owned my own business before opening up Poured and The RE Place.  I knew nothing about green living or eco friendly choices until just a year and a half ago.  When my eyes were opened to what is happening to the planet, I just had to do something about it and became passionate about sustainability.  I’m still learning and truly believe that it’s all about the journey.  

2. Geography:

What’s your favourite place in Toronto? Glen Stewart Ravine at 7 am.  

What other east-end businesses do you recommend?  Moberley Fine foods compliments our ethos so well and they’re so great there!  We also love Cumin for some great eats

3. English:

What are your go-to websites/channels/books for additional info on your skill? Truthfully, I’m a full-time working mom of a 3, 5 and 7 year old.  Whatever spare time I have is dedicated to being with my family because hey, the days are long but the years go by way too fast. 

If you’re looking for bite size info that packs a punch, visit Instagram and check out @https://www.instagram.com/solidarify/ and https://www.instagram.com/yourecofriend/

Also: Stock School Q & A from last week

This Thursday’s workshop has two special hosts: Mira, the owner of The Re.Place and Erin from Dirty Girl Gardening. They will be showing you how to reduce your household waste and how to plan for your urban garden. Register here!

Stock School

Who knew compost could be so delicious? Lisa Dickie did, and she showed us how in last Thursday night’s vegetable stock workshop! We don’t have a recording of the workshop, but we will have Lisa’s recipe up on our site soon, and in the meantime, here are the highlights of the Q&A portion of the workshop

Q. Can you even use potato peels? And ginger peels?
A. Yes! Just give things a scrub before you peel them. You can keep your food scraps in a ziplock bag in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Q. If you’re working with frozen scraps, do you have to separate the different veg?
A. No

Q. What are some examples of neutral oils you like for stock?
A. Olive oil, coconut oil – could really use anything

Q. Do you just boil the scraps? or sauté?
A. Saute the onions, carrots

Q. Should we peel the carrots before cutting them?
A. No (just scrub)

Q. What are the health benefits of adding egg shells?
Added calcium

Q. Can you use dried egg shells? Like keeping in a container until making stock?
A. Yes

Q.Are there any vegetables that you wouldn’t put in?
A. Corn – it’s too starchy

Q. Do dried mushrooms need to be pre-soaked?
A. No

Q. How long would stock last in the fridge?
A. One week – otherwise freeze it.

Q. Can you cook the stock straight from frozen?
A. Yes

Q. After you strain the liquid stock can you put the leftovers in the compost or do you use it in some other way?
A. Into the compost!