Twenty years ago, Friends of Sam Smith Park came in to being.
Friends of Sam Smith Park (FOSS) is a volunteer-led community organization dedicated to protecting, enhancing, and promoting the natural habitats and biodiversity of Colonel Samuel Smith Park in South Etobicoke. Over the past two decades, it has become one of the most respected park stewardship groups on Toronto's waterfront.
The organization emerged from community concerns during the mid-2000s. At the time, a proposal to construct a large, regional skateboard facility within Colonel Samuel Smith Park immediately south of the Power House generated significant public discussion and, at times, angry protest.
Councillor Glen De Baermaker was instructed by Mayor Miller in August 2006 to look in to this matter and to receive deputations from interested parties. He subsequently wrote a report called “A Place for Nature, a Place for Youth” which recommended that this location was not a good fit for a large, noisy skateboard facility and did not fit the Lakeshore Ground’s master plan objectives which focus on passive recreational usage, nature as well as honoring the location as an historical healing space.
Ultimately, the local Councillor rescinded the decision, appointed a community work group and built the skateboard facility nearby in a location that actually suited the skateboarders more.
It is important to note that protesters were not opposed to a skateboard facility in the neighbourhood but to its location in this “nature” park. The slogan the protesters used was “Skateboarding good, location bad”. There were a number of local skateboarders who also agreed with their position.
All of this highlighted the need for a dedicated group focused on protecting the park's natural environment. In response, local residents formed Friends of Sam Smith Park in late 2006.
Friends of Sam Smith Park was the first “Friends of” organization established among the major Etobicoke waterfront parks. Its success helped inspire the creation of similar stewardship groups elsewhere along Toronto's western waterfront.
The mission of Friends of Sam Smith Park is simple yet unambiguous: to protect, enhance, and foster appreciation for the unique habitats and biodiversity of Colonel Samuel Smith Park.
Members recognize the park as an important, easily accessible, urban ecological refuge containing wetlands, meadows, shoreline habitat, woodlands, and migratory bird stopover areas. The organization has consistently worked to balance public enjoyment of the park with the preservation of its ecological integrity.
TV News Video - skateboard park protest
Ad hoc “friends” group deputation to Councillor De Baermaker (delivered by Terry Smith, spokesperson)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hhQwH5Q38GouEJMYxexgOy_hqQZNUBJ5/view?usp=sharing
De Baermaker’s report “A Place for Nature, a Place for Youth”