From Passion To Action: Local Youth Fights to Preserve Centennial Park's Batting Cages
Aug 17 2023
In a heartwarming tale of community spirit and determination, Nathan, a local 11 year old Etobicoke resident, has taken the initiative to try and save his local batting cages at Centennial Park.
A few weeks ago I brought you the story of how the city is planning to redevelop Centennial Park and has plans to revoke the permission of local businesses to operate in an area of the park being redeveloped into more baseball diamonds. The businesses affected are Diamond Beach which operates the Batting Cages and Centennial Mini-Indy. Today I am back with an inspiring update on the grassroots movement that's capturing the hearts of our community.
Passion Ignites Action
Nathan, a true local community builder, cherishes the moments spent at the Diamond Beach Batting Cages. Not willing to let go of this cherished spot, he took matters into his own hands. Armed with his passion and a desire to preserve a slice of local history, Nathan reached out to his local City Councillor Amber Morley. Councillor Morley and her team listened attentively to Nathan's concerns and recognized the vital role these businesses play in our community's recreational fabric.
A Heartfelt Request
I was so happy to hear from Nathan and his family when they contacted me to let me know about the work he was doing to bring his concerns to the city and working to do his part to try and save a piece of the community that is important to him. Through words, Nathan invites readers to step into his world and witness the magic this establishment creates.
I want to thank Nathan and his family for allowing me to share his letter with all of the readers of The Etobicoke Voice. Not only did he speak about why he wanted to save the batting cages but he also presented a slide presentation with well thought out community issues to illustrate the need to maintain these businesses beyond his own personal reasons. The work that was done was amazing and I hope that many adults in our area are inspired to follow his footsteps in advocating for our neighbourhoods. I am excited to see what Nathan does in the future because I truly believe we will all benefit from his love for this city!
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you so much for your interest in my efforts and attempts to help save the centennial park batting cages. As someone who enjoys the sport of baseball I was devastated to hear that they were closing them down. I then decided to attempt to make a change and help save them. I was able to then connect with my city councillor Amber Morley through her office and we then arranged a meeting. I thought it would be important that the city councillor in my ward hear about the situation in my words in addition to the petition with over 12,000 signatures.
I learned a lot from this experience, Councillor Morley and her Chief of Staff, Mr. Chezlie were very kind and they even offered that maybe one day I could work for the city, which I thought was very thoughtful. They asked some questions and I was happy I had most of the answers. The owner of the batting cages, Ethan Mitchell, also attended and they seemed happy and thankful for me doing this. Councilor Morley said she will look into the matter to get updated and see if she can help. She also suggested we connect with Mr. Holyday as he is the councillor of the Centennial Park area. The owners will also be sending Ms. Morley and Mr. Chezlie the number of people that use the cages and how many people work for them. I don’t know if I made a difference, but it felt good trying to get attention on this situation.
In closing I would like to thank you for your attention and time, any support given would mean a lot and it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Nathan
A Beacon of Hope
The story of Nathan and the Batting Cages embodies the spirit of community and the power of collective action. In a world where individual voices sometimes feel lost, this local movement showcases the extraordinary impact each voice can have. By preserving these spaces, we ensure that future generations can create their own memories and experiences, fostering a legacy that goes beyond the present.
As September approaches, our community needs to continue emailing and calling our local councillors as well as those who now sit on councils Executive Committee hoping that our collective call for action will resonate in the halls of city hall. In a petition update sent out earlier this week it was announced by organizers that they have delivered copies to Mayor Chow’s office, the city planning office, and various other councillors. The work now is to get this issue on the city council meeting agenda for early September. This is a one day meeting dealing with urgent planning matters and I think we all can agree this is urgent as the city wants both businesses to leave the property by the end of November.
Together we can make a difference!
Who to send emails to ask that this matter be added to the council agenda for September 6:
Local Ward 2 City Councillor Stephen Holyday
Mayor Olivia Chow
Ward 3 City Councillor / Deputy Mayor (Etobicoke) Amber Morley
Other Executive Council Members:
Paul Ainslie councillor_ainslie@toronto.ca
Alejandra Bravo councillor_bravo@toronto.ca
Shelley Carroll councillor_carroll@toronto.ca
Mike Colle councillor_colle@toronto.ca
Paula Fletcher councillor_fletcher@toronto.ca
Ausma Malik councillor_malik@toronto.ca
Josh Matlow councillor_matlow@toronto.ca
Jennifer McKelvie councillor_mckelvie@toronto.ca
Gord Perks councillor_perks@toronto.ca
Find the petition at the link below:
https://www.change.org/p/save-centennial-park-s-go-karts-and-batting-cages
For some tips in writing letters check out the series from July:
