Hello Neighbour! Nextdoor has arrived in your Neighbourhood!

Nextdoor has officially launched in Canada and with it, the San Fransisco based company is hoping we put down our smartphones, change our social media habits and go get out to meet our neighbours.

The trend toward smaller groups, and fewer mass public posts, is something Nextdoor is hoping to tap into by limiting the visibility of any given post solely to neighbours.

I first became aware of Nextdoor on visits down to the U.S. where the platform has been around for some time. I've seen it used to sell furniture, find a plumber, suggest pizza places and find dog sitters.

You can send private messages to neighbours, quickly get the word out about a break-in, or create a local interest group such as "Amberlea Mountain Bikers" for example.

Prior to the official launch on September 24, Nextdoor quietly rolled into a few neighbourhoods in Canada and Pickering was one of them.

I was all over it and joined right away!  

All the Pickering Neighbourhoods: Amberlea, Bay Ridges, Brock Ridge, Dunbarton, Highbush, Liverpool, Rosebank, Rougemount, Town Centre, West Shore and Woodlands were active on the platform in Nextdoors "Beta Launch".

As others began to discover the Nextdoor platform was now live and working in the Pickering area, it didn't take long to put the platform to use.

We discovered a lost dog wandering the streets.

We took a picture of the dog and we posted it using the Nextdoor App. 

I ran into some Neighbours days later who told us the dog found its way back to its owners - so happy ending!

Nextdoor is available as and App on iOS and Android and can also be accessed via a desktop computer.

For all the ins and outs on how to best put Nextdoor to use click here for this great introduction video from the folks at Nextdoor

349 Strouds Lane - The Highbush Neighbourhood

Just listed on lucky Friday the 13th!!! This charming semi-detached 2 storey home in Pickering’s Highbush neighbourhood. This home has been lovingly cared for inside and out. You will find 4 Bedrooms, 4 Bathrooms, finished basement, Hardwood Floors, and many other recent updates.

Walk out your front door and step into the Altona Forest! Close to two great schools; St. Elizabeth Seton and Altona Forest Public School. Blocks away is Amberlea Park - a great place for sumertime splash fun and the only place in Pickering where you can toboggan in the winter!

Altona Forest Clean-Up - Success!

This past Saturday we cleaned up one of the Amberlea communities precious jewels: The Altona Forest! With the help of local organization PickWaste, we were able to clean up some decades old garbage lying on the forest floor. Some of the unusual items we came across were a full size barbeque, house blinds, costume jewellery and of course bottles, cans - some of them identified as old as 20 years!

We also documented the day - actually it was all done in 90 minutes! PickWaste does these cleanups weekly and have them down to a science. Check their website at pickwaste.com for updates on future neighbourhood cleanups.

If you haven't heard of PickWaste, I urge you to watch their inspirational video here: