In conjunction with World Town Planning Day, the
Prince Edward Island Association of Planners announced
today the recipient of the 2017 Murray Pinchuk Community
Builder Award. The annual Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award
is offered in memory of the late Murray Pinchuk. The award recognizes 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 year’s winner is the Bonshaw Hills
Public Lands Subcommittee for efforts to establish the popular provincial park
and for developing a management plan for the park properties. Brian
Thompson and Megan Harris, co-chairs of the subcommittee, were recognized on
behalf of the Subcommittee members.
“The Prince Edward Island Association of
Planners would like to recognize the deserving groups who were
nominated this year for their work to make our province’s built and natural
environments better for their communities as a whole,”
said Alex Forbes, president of the PEI Association of Planners. “This
year, we want to recognize the Bonshaw Hills Public Lands Subcommittee for
their work to create a park that will be enjoyed by Island families for generations
to come.”
The Murray Pinchuk
Community Builder Award recognizes the highest standard of community building
excellence in the public and private realms. This may include excellence
in lifelong 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.
ABOUT THE BONSHAW
HILLS PUBLIC LANDS SUBCOMMITTEE:
Since December 2012, the 16 members of the
Bonshaw Hills Public Lands Committee (BHPLC), representing various government
and non-government organizations, have provided guidance on the development and
protection of valuable public lands in the Bonshaw area.
In October, 2013 the BHPLC presented a report to
Government, "Recommendations for the Conservation of Public Lands,
Bonshaw - New Haven". This report outlined 20
recommendations to government on the long-term protection and management of
environmentally sensitive lands in the Bonshaw Hills.
A subcommittee has been working together since
January 2014 to implement many of the recommendations contained within the
report, including the creation of a 600-acre, four-season park that provides
linkages between Strathgartney and Bonshaw.
- Through a partnership with
CyclingPEI, more than 26 kilometres of multi-use trail has been
constructed within the park, and a natural playground has also been
constructed.
- As recommended by the
committee, the parkland has been protected through the Natural Areas
Protection Act (NAPA).
The project was
selected for the award in recognition of the breadth and scope of the
management plan, which outlined a range of broad values and goals, as well as
the quality of the implementation process. The management plan provides an
effective example of how a multi-objective exercise can be undertaken and
implemented, and the popularity of the park speaks to the balance achieved in
providing active recreation opportunities for the community at large while
allowing for the protection of a large natural area.
