[Sust-mar] Planning students envision McNabs Island’s potential as HRM’s ‘central’ park

Mon Apr 8 09:20:02 EDT 2013

Media Release for Friends of McNabs Island Society
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** MEDIA RELEASE
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** For Immediate Release
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** Planning students envision McNabs Island’s potential as HRM’s ‘central’ park
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April 8, 2013

HALIFAX—Senior undergraduate planning students from Dalhousie University spent last fall immersing themselves in a study of McNabs and Lawlor Islands Provincial Park. They will present concepts highlighting the island’s potential to become a major urban park at the Society’s Annual General Meeting on April 15.

The students, most of them first-timers to McNabs Island before starting their research, will offer key findings about the island’s promise during a free presentation at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic at 7 p.m. Seventeen students from Dalhousie’s Bachelor of Community Design program made several research trips to the provincial park, exploring how the Halifax Harbour landmark could be transformed into a multi-use recreation area, and identifying the effects of climate and coastal change.

“The students will show the island’s potential from fresh eyes,” says Professor Patricia Manuel, who jointly supervised the on-site learning experience with Professor John Zuck. “There’s really something special here. The students were blown away by the place.”

The presentation will draw on the students’ findings that materialized from the research question: “How do we make McNabs and Lawlor Islands Provincial Park relevant to the Halifax urban context?”

“HRM residents will come away with the notion that we have a very valuable space, a gem in the middle of our harbour, and there’s plenty that could be done to encourage people to come here,” says society president Cathy McCarthy.
The collected findings of all of the students’ research projects, Manuel explains, are working elements of a comprehensive “concept plan” for McNabs Island.  The concept plan takes into account sea level rise, the demographics of the HRM region and the interest of the local urban population in outdoor recreation.

In addition to applying theories of environmental and urban planning, students also brainstormed concrete ideas, Manuel says. For example, some investigated the land suitability of the existing trial system. And some put their focus on designing interpretative hikes, re-purposing existing infrastructure, transportation options and dock siting, and re-establishing the island’s historic Victorian Gardens, a project that was started by the Friends of McNabs last year.

The presentation illustrates the use of the park for educational purposes, but with a practical outcome, she says. The students’ findings will help contribute to recommendations for a revitalized management plan for the island
The Friends of McNabs Island Society is a volunteer, non-profit, registered charity, based in Halifax, dedicated to the preservation of McNabs and Lawlor Islands Provincial Park. The Society was incorporated in March of 1990 with the objective of promoting the islands as a Nature Park and Outdoor Classroom. The Society hosts events on McNabs Island such as picnics, nature and historical tours, and annual beach clean-ups. It also rebuilds and maintains the trails with co-operation from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources.

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MEDIA INQUIRIES CONTACT:

Cathy McCarthy
President
Friends of McNabs Island Society
mcnabs at chebucto.ns.ca (mailto:mcnabs at chebucto.ns.ca)
902-434-2254  home
902-456-9167  cell
www.mcnabsisland.ca

Our mailing address is:
Friends of McNabs Island Society
P.O. Box 31240
Gladstone RPO
Halifax, NS, B3K 5Y1
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