The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development has received an Excellence in Planning Award from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute for its publication Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide for the Ontario Landscape. The award was received at Queens Park on Nov. 7.
The SEDRD project to develop the stewardship guide was led by Profs. Wayne Caldwell and Karen Landman, with contributions from a number of graduate students, including PhD student Paul Kraehling. Dozens of community members and groups also contributed to the project, which received funding from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the University of Guelph.
The guide is designed as a workbook that serves as a self-assessment tool for environmental issues. It can be used by Ontario landowners individually or in a workshop setting, and by planners, municipalities and others who work on conservation initiatives that affect landowners. The guide is patterned after the successful Ontario Environmental Farm Plan.
The Rural Landowner Stewardship Guide for the Ontario Landscape covers issues from water and natural heritage protection to energy conservation. It is currently being used in numerous watersheds and by provincial organizations such as Carolinian Canada and Equine Guelph.
