Ideas & inspiration blog

With its longest stretch backing onto the Stanley Park Conservation Area, the Stanley Park Triangle is a quiet neighbourhood bordered by River Rd and Ottawa St. When residents, Darlene and Jay, think about their neighbourhood it has everything they want, access to transit, shopping and nature.  

The Carlyle Place cul-de-sac green space, referred to by residents as the circle, has long been a central gathering spot, first envisioned as a neighbourhood space over ten years ago. It’s where friends meet to chat, celebrate life achievements, host events, and enjoy the beauty of their shared green space. The addition of a new bench represents more than just a place to sit; it symbolizes a commitment to community and a shared vision for enhancing their neighbourhood. 

When we gather together to eat, we grow from being strangers to becoming friends. Neighbours in the Chandler Mowat neighbourhood experience this when they sit together at the Gathering at the Table Community Suppers. 

In the Chandler Mowat Neighbourhood, the Community Kitchen Outreach program brought together a group of dedicated residents who wanted to make a difference. 

Inspired by the overwhelming community support she witnessed on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation in 2021, Sheena Merling, Bin-no-g Man-na-doe Quay – Spirit of the Children, formed a committee of Indigenous community members and allies with the goal of bringing a decorative Every Child Matters crosswalk to Victoria Park as part of a tribute to honour the children who were lost and those who still live with the generational trauma caused by residential schools.  

St Francis of Assisi Church's Laudo Si Environmental Team met in Forest Hill earlier this spring to discuss how they can use their horticultural skills and environmental passion to better the lives of their neighbours. 

If you’ve been walking through Victoria Park this spring, you might have noticed orange ribbons tied to some of the lamp posts, and more recently orange footprints painted on the trails throughout the park. These ribbons were to signal that an important resident-led tribute is coming to Victoria Park – an Honorary Crosswalk for Every Child Matters. And the orange footprints are the first step towards bringing this tribute to the park.

With up to $30,000 in grant funding available, there's so many ways to lead projects that help connect neighbours, improve neighbourhoods and revitalize public spaces. Here's what other Kitchener residents have done in their own neighbourhoods:

Let’s give three cheers for a resident-led outdoor gym that quietly popped up in Victoria Park in August 2020. Are you one of the many youth and adults who have already discovered that this new amenity is perfect for a much needed pandemic workout?

While 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year that has required our community to practice physical distancing, Kitchener residents have found new ways to connect with their neighbours to create meaningful, lasting change in their neighbourhoods.