“The thing about these public spaces that we forget about is: it’s not just about building them and then getting upset when nobody comes to use it, or if it’s not taken care of and becomes and eye-sore, or maybe if unsavoury types start abusing a public space…

It’s an invitation to be part of something. We shouldn’t be pointing our fingers saying, ‘look what they built, I wish they would take care of it better’, no, that’s not what we should learn from it.

We should be saying, ‘Look what we have here, look at how we can all be part of the buzz, look at how we can invite others to be part of our community, look at how we can share ideas and grow together–even if it’s something as generic as a foosball table in an empty lot next to the C-Train, or a park bench somewhere, or a green space, or a public plaza in front of some businesses.

This is how we build interesting, engaged, and enviable neighbourhoods: by giving a shit about what’s good and building on it, even if nobody shows up on the first day.”

Sunnyside and Hillhurst are home to one of Calgary’s most popular districts–Kensington. This area is synonymous with walking, shopping, and of course, dining.

Kensington is host to a number of restaurants that serve up a wonderful breakfast experience. The only challenge is deciding on where to go!

One of the most recognizable sights in Sunnyside is the birdhouse tree on 1st Ave. An always evolving piece, this tree long standing tree stump is one of many beloved oddities of the community.

“You can sum up all the anxiety about all the new development from just looking at the trees in Sunnyside. They were planted a hundred years ago, and may have been tended and looked after well, but there was never a plan for what to do when they started dying and needing to get replaced. The people who planted them are long gone, and there’s all these new people who thought the trees would last forever.

Now we’re tearing them down because they’re rotting, but all the while new growth is trying to sprout all over the place without rhyme or reason.

All those gorgeous tall poplars that lined the streets are in need of care, but most importantly, they’re in need of a succession plan. Not a succession plan that we’ll see come to light in our lifetime, no. A plan that the next generation can carry on.

The same goes for how we all look after each other in the community, how we look after our elderly, our neighbours, our local businesses, the visitors… we need, we must plan to care after one another while we look to the future.

Is that too preachy for your project? If it is, just say something about how pretty the leaves are in Autumn, haha!”

“After you’re done Sunnyside365, you should do one on all the dogs in the neighbourhood. Call it, ‘#DogsOf#Sunnyside365’ or something.”