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.

Nominations open for 2018 community builder award

The PEI Association of Planners is looking to recognise a local community builder again this year. Nominations for the 2018 Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award will be accepted until October 23, 2018.

Full details and nomination form can be found here.

Bonshaw Hills Public Lands Subcommittee Recognized

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.

Nominations Open - 2017 Community Builder

Nominations are now open for the 2017 Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award. Nomination forms can be found here. The deadline for submissions is October 13, 2017.

Conference Fast Approaching

The 2017 Atlantic Planners Institute conference is now less than a week away and the PEI planning committee is looking forward to welcoming everyone to Charlottetown.

For full conference details, visit www.atlanticplanners.org.

Call for conference presentations now open

Conference planning is well underway. For full details on the 2017 API-PEIAP conference, taking place in Charlottetown September 27-29, visit atlanticplanners.org.

The conference committee is accepting proposals for conference presentations until April 28, 2017.

Save the date

The PEI Association of Planners, in association with the Atlantic Planners Institute, is pleased to announce that the 2017 API conference will take place in Charlottetown from September 27-29, 2017.

Stay tuned for more information on the conference theme and the call for presentation submissions.

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.

Nominations now open - 2016 Community Builder

Nominations are now open for the 2016 Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award. Nominations can be submitted online or by email. For email submissions, please contact the PEIAP for an electronic nomination form. See our Awards page for full details.

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

Seeking nominations - 2015 Award

The PEI Association of Planners is now seeking nominations for the 2015 Pinchuk Community Builder Award.

The Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award is an award 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, excellence in site design, innovative or accessible planning method or technique, 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. The award will be presented on November 8th, World Town Planning Day.

Nomination

Individuals, groups or organizations may be nominated by members of the PEI Association of Planners or the public.

To nominate a candidate, the nominator should complete a nomination form describing the efforts and achievements of the nominee. Self-nominations are permitted.

Selection

Recipients will be selected by the Association. Nominations shall be valid for one year after submission, during which time the nominee may be selected to be recognized. The award recipient will be presented with a certificate from PEI Association of Planners.

Eligibility

Eligible nominees may include:

1. Individuals, or nonprofit or charitable organizations, implementing projects and programs within PEI that contribute towards the building of more complete communities.
2. Municipalities that have taken extra steps to promote planning excellence in their community.
3. Developers or private sector organizations that have promoted design or community integration through their projects.

Individuals must have demonstrated community involvement for a minimum of 2 years.

Completed nomination forms (link) must be received by October 1. Questions can be sent to the PEI Association of Planners.

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.