Joe Erpenbeck

A member of the Harbour Air crew was perched on the wing of the plane clearing the snow off with a broom. As I watched him prepare the plane for flight I thought of the people I have met in North Carolina over recent months. We have all just completed a series...

Awe Walks I read a study completed with older adults where two groups were instructed to go on a weekly 15 minute walk and record their experiences. One of the groups, the “control group” received no further instruction. The other group was asked t...

I am enjoying some of the ways to stay connected as the pandemic goes on. Early on, my friend Dave in Cincinnati, hosted a “Music Draft.” About 30 music lovers met online and each selected our top 10 songs of all time. After it was complete we all ...

This colourful pop up plaza has become such a welcoming place in the neighbourhood. These plazas have been set up around the city. At all hours of the day people are there eating, talking, reading, stopping with their pets, playing music, painting and simply r...

Building a Web of Connections I have been hosting a Staying Connected During a Global Pandemic Zoom conversation with old and new friends in North Carolina with support from the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities. At a recent gathering we dis...

A Place for Stories I have been working with several groups including the Free Library of Philadelphia looking at the impact of community catalysts initiatives. The power of residents having a platform to tell their story has been significant. Tiffany, a libra...

This was that last large gathering I was part of before social distancing became the expectation. This was 3 days spent with old friends and meeting new ones, all sharing how people build connections in their neighbourhoods and the significance of this. Now we...

The Power of An Invitation This post comes from Ksenia Stepkina, a very talented community builder who I met at a monthly community conversation that I host. Thanks Ksenia for sharing this story. Back home, we knew all of our neighbours in our apartment buildi...

Last week I found a community place I had not seen before. This skate park, Leeside Skate Park, is next to Hastings Park in an old railroad tunnel. The ramps, quarterpipes, obstacles and graffiti are all amazing.I learned that this skating wonderland was creat...

I was pretty excited to return to my library this week. For now only a few sections would be open, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. After going through these main doors, I saw a line waiting for access to computers but I walked right in to the main floor...