2019 nominations open for the Pinchuk Community Builder Award

The Prince Edward Island Institute of Professional Planners (formerly the PEI Association of Planners) is welcoming nominations for the 7th Pinchuk Community Builder Award until Friday, 25th October 2019.

In honour of the late Murray Pinchuk, this Award recognizes the efforts of individuals, groups, or organizations that, through exemplary volunteerism or action, have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to making Prince Edward Island a better place for today and for the future, in a way that touches on either the built or natural environment.

Members of the public are invited to review the full details of the Award and to fill out a nomination form, available here.

Charlottetown Parks & Rec Winner of 2016 Pinchuk Community Builder Award

The Charlottetown Parks and Recreation Department has been selected as the winner of the 2016 P.E.I. Association of Planners Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award for its vegetable planter program.

The Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award is a local award presented by the P.E.I. Association of Planners to recognize an individual, group or organization that has through their outstanding volunteerism or exemplary action demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to making their community a better place today and for the future. The award is presented annually on or around November 8, which is World Town Planning Day.

In 2010, the Parks and Recreation Department planted tomatoes instead of flowers in the center of the existing planters at Victoria Park. Since 2011, all of the planters have been filled with vegetables. Currently, there are 10 planters at Victoria Park, some at different heights to accommodate users. One is a lasagna bed, where the turf is covered with cardboard and then layers of green and brown compost are added to the bed and left to decompose creating a nutrient rich organic bed with little effort. All of the planters are tended by Parks and Recreation horticulture staff.

Each year, the department has planted new and interesting vegetables, such as okra and broccolini. The produce in the vegetable planters is available for public use. In 2016, three vegetable planters were placed in Orlebar Park. Local residents have been involved in the maintenance and harvesting vegetables.

 More planters will be filled with vegetables in additional locations next summer.

City of Charlottetown Parkland Conservationist Beth Hoar accepted the award from the P.E.I. Association of Planners on behalf of the Parks and Recreation Department.

Food security is one of the goals under the City’s sustainability plan. The vegetable planter initiative has evolved to include community outreach, such as the Gardening in Small Spaces Workshops and National Garden Days and it is now an inter-departmental City initiative.

Release - 2015 Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award goes to the Town of North Rustico

The Town of North Rustico has been selected as the 2015 recipient of the Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award for the Town’s work on Seawalk Park.

The Award will be presented at the Town Office located at 106 Riverside Drive on Friday, November 6th at 11:00 am to celebrate World Town Planning Day on November 8th. Planners in 30 countries mark this day by talking to community or student groups, or sponsoring activities that highlight the importance of planning in their community.

The Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award is a local award presented by the Prince Edward Island Association of Planners to recognize an individual, group or organization that has through their outstanding volunteerism or exemplary action demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to making their community a better place today and for the future.

The North Rustico submission was recognized for positively impacting the built environment by creating a people place that provides attractions for local residents and visitors alike. The new Welcome Centre for tourists is complemented by providing a venue for local artisans to display their work in an environment that is fully accessible to everyone. The area is further complemented by relocating playground equipment to one central location in the park. The planning community recognizes that this project has something for everyone in the community and brings people together in a manner that takes advantage of their natural environment through good design.

The attached photograph was taken at an event called music in the park on July 29th, 2015 which illustrates how all of the planning elements come together to make Seawalk Park a worthy recipient of this year’s award.

Media are invited to attend.

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Contact Information:

Alex Forbes, MCIP

President, PEI Association of Planners

(c)902-388-4115 (w) 902-963-3211

aforbes@charlottetown.ca

Marley Doucet

Town of North Rustico

mdoucette.northrustico@gmail.com

Dr. Fenech Named Winner of the 2014 Community Builder Award

The PEI Association of Planners today announced the winner of the second annual Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award, in conjunction with World Town Planning Day. Dr. Adam Fenech, Associate Professor and Director, Climate Research Lab at the University of Prince Edward Island, has been named the 2014 Community Builder. 

"The Prince Edward Island Association of Planners was very pleased to have received several nominations this year for deserving groups or individuals. The Association has selected Dr. Fenech as the 2014 winner based on his efforts to develop a coastal erosion visualization tool and his work to share ideas on how best to adapt to coastal erosion and sea level rise," said Vahid Ghomashchi, president of the PEI Association of Planners. "This award is a testament to all who seek to make the built and natural environment better for the community as a whole. Dr. Fenech’s work demonstrates the value of sharing information with the public in the interest in generating discussion on solutions for sustainability. The CLIVE tool also reminds us all of the need to be innovative and creative in how we consult with the public we serve.” 

Honourable mentions were also given to the provincial Task Force on Land Use Policy and Robert Hughes, CAO with the Town of Stratford. 

The award was established last year in honour of the late Murray Pinchuk, a member of the Association, friend, and motivator. “Murray was an inspiration to us all with his humble and joyful demeanor,” said the 2013 award winner, Peter Brown. “His twinkle and sarcasm blended made him unpredictable and fun.” 

ABOUT DR. ADAM FENECH: 

Dr. Fenech has worked extensively in the area of climate change since 1988 starting with the IPCC First Assessment Report. He has edited 7 books on climate change, most recently as editor of the international journal on Climate Impacts and Adaptation Science. Dr. Fenech has taught at the University of Toronto since 1998, and lectures regularly at universities across Canada and around the world. Dr. Fenech is presently the director of the Climate Lab at the University of Prince Edward Island. CLIVE, the coastal erosion visualization tool created by UPEI’s Climate Research Lab and the Spatial Interface Lab at Simon Fraser University, has taken first place in the Massachusetts Institute for Technology’s (MIT) Center for Collective Intelligence contest on Communicating Coastal Risk and Resilience. 

ABOUT THE MURRAY PINCHUK COMMUNITY BUILDER AWARD: 

The Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award is a new award being offered by the PEI Association of Planners to recognize an individual, group, or organization that has, through their outstanding volunteerism or exemplary action, demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to making their Prince Edward Island community a better place today and for the future in a way that touches on either the built or natural environment. 

This may include life-long service, innovative or accessible site design, promoting land use planning in their community, or any other exemplary achievement enhancing the interaction between people and their environment. 

The Pinchuk Community Builder Award recognizes the highest standard of Community building excellence in the public and private realms. 

For additional information, contact Patrick Carroll at pjcarroll@gov.pe.ca.

Download the press release here.

Honouring an Association member

Earlier this year, the Association was deeply saddened to learn that we had lost an active contributor to the promotion of planning in PEI. Murray Pinchuk passed away in June, and the branch has spent the past several months looking for an appropriate way to recognize his efforts.

In October, a memorial tree was planted in front of City Hall in Summerside, where Murray worked for many years.

On Friday, in honour of Murray's memory and World Town Planning Day, the first annual Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award will be announced. Stay tuned for more information.

Friday is World Town Planning Day 2013