Editor’s note: Once a week here at Transforming Edmonton we’ve been sharing some of our favourite places in the city. The pandemic has shortened the travel horizon for many. And that’s okay, because there are plenty of gems in different parts of our city that are worth a visit. Each week a City of Edmonton team member gives you a story about a fave spot closer to home. This is Priya Bhasin-Singh’s view of her daughters’ views of home!
We live in north Hollick-Kenyon. Our neighborhood is a great place to be and to grow up in. On that great-place-to-grow-up-in part, I know. I asked a couple of experts. Here’s what our two girls told me.
What they really like:
“I like to see people having fun in the park.”
“I like to see the birds.”
“I like to see ducks in the pond.”
“I like to go for bike rides around my block.”
“I like jumping on my trampoline in my backyard.”
“I like collecting rocks. So many cool rocks”
“The path feels safe because there are no cars, and because there is somewhere to do my activities and it’s big and wide.”
Their favourite things:
“To go on walks, bike rides and rides in the Jeep.”
“To get Slurpees.”
What Gucci the Boxer likes:
“To go outside.”
“To see other dogs.”
“To chase the rabbits (she always loses), chase the birds (she always loses), chase anything, really.”
The ponds, actually, get a category of their own with our daughters:
“There are two ponds.”
“To ride our bikes to the pond and sit and listen.”
“Listen to the geese and the ducks quack.”
“But sometimes they are quiet.”
“And sometimes they are really chatty.”
Really chatty, no kidding. 🙂
What I hear when I listen to the girls is that they are very aware, even at their young ages, of the kinds of things that neighbourhoods are made of. Like safe sidewalks. I tell the girls they’re called shared pathways. It’s where they learned to ride bikes this year—no training wheels.
We can basically walk anywhere (and we do)—to get our groceries, to get the parents’ coffee, to get something to eat and books from the library. And, yes, Slurpees, too.
The school is steps away and home to our community park with a huge field. It’s a fun place to be. In the summer we play soccer in the field, basketball in the school courts and tag in the park, and in the winter we take our sleds down the hill and make snow angels in the snow.
There’s a lot to do and see just in our backyard.
The girls and Gucci are right. It’s all outside.