E-mail response to Carrie Butcher, OTF. July 11, 2010, annotated with work list, November 2010

1. The list of locations for the ten projects are in blue. There are 14 parks involved, because some of the projects have multiple locations. All are ready to go (good contact has been established) but waiting on resources. The bio-toilet project was restarted two weeks ago, with a feasibility study contract from the City.

- Playgrounds in three parks (Crombie Park, Dufferin Grove, Wallace Emerson) will be more accessible for all abilities, and more attractive to families because of better staffing and some new activities. Set up meeting at Bloorview Children's playground; talk to respite care staff at Bloor and Brock/ get in touch with Jan MacKie re Spiral Garden

- Good staffing and small performance events will be supported in part by funds raised through new community cafés and skate lending in two rink clubhouses (Giovanni Caboto Rink, Christie Pits Rink) and one new café in a playground with a wading pool (Vermont Park). These cafés will be a collaboration between park users and part-time rink or playground staff. In these three parks there will be more neighbourhood pickup sports, more inclusive because people involved in those activities will not have to pay to play. Mayssan, Jutta, Sarah, to put together the cash handling proposal, set up so it can be used by other city groups if they wish.

- Two of the city's many unused or under-used park field houses (MacGregor Park, Valleyfield Park) will be scrubbed and repaired, accessibility barriers removed in cheap but ingenious ways, and the buildings made available as part-time neighbourhood clubhouses and staging areas for diverse park activities. These changes will be publicized through the database and the workbook and possibly the media, attracting the attention of other park users and park staff, including management. Mayssan, Aseel, Jutta to clean up field house/rink house list. Mayssan to revise Rink Reports using Ostrom. Mayssan and Jutta look at revising rink booklet to bring it up to date.

- One new bake oven (Bell Manor Park) will be built with active collaboration between: park users, a nearby community health centre, local park staff, and Parks management. The building of this oven will test the potential of replacing centrally-generated policy with collaboration among the groups mentioned (using Elinor Ostrom's principles). Bake oven visits by Yo, Jutta, Mayssan. Jutta Review Diane Stevenson bake oven material. Mayssan and Jutta nad Yo go to Riverdale. Jutta meet with Elizabeth Harris and her baking volunteer.

- Three parks (Thorncliffe Park, MacGregor Park, Greenwood Park) will have local events involving the use of home-cooked food, with support and monitoring from park users, a public health inspector, and park staff. Contact community kitchens e.g. at Weston, try to get to Smitherman through Dave Harvey, get Anna B. on the case, meet with Thorncliffe people.

- One rink (Greenwood Rink) will have unusually well-informed collaboration between the city's Capital Projects staff, front-line rink staff, and rink users. In this way they can shape their rink renovation so that winter social space is enhanced for that neighbourhood, without increasing the cost. This will include joint follow-up during the building stage. Set up meeting between Sally, Amy, Mayssan, Jutta. Jutta and Aseel update Greenwood web pages and set up a Greenwood site (maybe). Contact Catherine Porter about her rinkhouse article, and contact Mary Margaret MacMahon for help. Meet with Rohan. Jutta to find the revised capital projects guidelines (may already be up on the database) and study them.

- One park (Dufferin Grove Park) will have a playground bio-toilet built for one-quarter of the cost of a conventional public toilet, and park users will have a sophisticated understanding of the steps to building and maintaining it, and about how to the building code and new environmental regulations match up. Ongoing. Remind Georgie that we have $5000 for her to be an "environmental teacher" and brainstorm how that will go. Put up an ace biotoilet display at the rink and make a shorter one to post at the other rinks (two-for-one) to get everybody thinking ("would your playground/park benefit from having a clean, green toilet?") Belinda to go over the bio-toilet building reg stuff etc (just what we already have)

- The "helmets-for-pond-hockey" policy will be opened for negotiation at five outdoor artificial ice rinks (Glen Long, Regent Park, Harry Gairey, Dufferin Grove, and Ramsden) drawing both youth and adults, skaters and rink staff, into an active consideration of the principles of good risk management. Belinda to revise her ombud letter, with the helmet stuff included, and send it first to Brenda Patterson as a courtesy. Aseel, Mayssan to assemble and post all e-mails about helmets. Jutta to send reminder about helmet injury data to Sandra and Matt, giving link of postings so far.

- Eight unorganized neighbourhood groups (park users at Greenwood Park, Monarch Park, Earlscourt Park, MacGregor Park, St.Lawrence Park, Susan Tibaldi Park, and two more not yet identified, intentionally leaving available slots) will have permission and support to carry out free, publicized, open-to-all activities in parks. Their experiences will be documented on the database, with a "how do I..." focus.