Awards and Recognition

The Park Board's Strategic Plan frames the work of the organization to meet the changing needs of our city and its residents and to maintain Vancouver's exceptional parks and recreation facilities. We continually strive for innovation--in managing our resources wisely, engaging the public in our decision making processes and advocating for wellness and healthy living, while meeting the ongoing challenges of constructing, maintaining and renovating our large and diverse parks and recreation system.

One important means of measuring our successes is through peer and industry recognition. The following is a brief description of awards received.

2009

British Columbia Wood First Champion

Trout Lake Rink and the aquatic facility at the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre were recognized through British Columbia's Wood First initiative. The initiative promotes the use of British Columbia wood for construction and architectural purposes. A number of 2010 Winter Games venues were honoured through this program.

Excellence For Green Building: Globe Foundation and World Green Building Counci

Architects of the Park Board's four new 2010 Winter Games legacy facilities received the Excellence in Green Building Practices award. The awards were presented by The GLOBE Foundation and World Green Building Council . The facilities include Trout Lake Rink, Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre, Southeast False Creek Community Centre and Killarney Rink.

The awards recognize the architects who, as a group, developed the largest set of simultaneously constructed, single project, low environmental impact facilities in history. The GLOBE Foundation is an international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding practical business-oriented solutions to the world's environmental challenges. The World Green Building Council is a union of national councils whose mission is to accelerate the transformation of the global built environment towards sustainability.

2008

Stanley Park Restoration Garners National Recognition through CPRA's Award of Excellence and Innovation

The Vancouver Park Board was the recipient of the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association's (CPRA) prestigious Award for Excellence and Innovation at their annual conference in October. The award was presented in recognition of the Park Board's demonstrated leadership in turning the crisis caused by the devastating windstorm that struck Stanley Park in 2006 into an opportunity for the long term restoration and renewal of the park. The award recognizes projects that set a new standard of innovation in the provision of parks and recreation services and have practical applications for use by other municipalities and organizations. An organization's ability to garner significant public involvement and forge creative partnerships is also considered in the evaluation process.

Sunset Community Centre Wins Two CONNIE Awards

The City of Vancouver and Park Board have won two CONNIE awards for excellence in concrete construction for the Sunset Community Centre at the 2008 BC Ready-Mixed Concrete Association (BCRMCA) awards ceremony held on May 15, 2008. Nicknamed the CONNIEs for “CONcrete CONstruction”, the awards are the industry’s highest recognition of works that exemplify vision and innovation in the use of concrete in a variety of applications throughout British Columbia. The community centre was awarded the CONNIE for both Tilt-up Structures and also the Grand CONNIE Award.

Stanley Park restoration receives
UBCM Community Stewardship Award

October 1, 2008 - The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) presented the Park Board with their Community Stewardship Award recognizing the multi-faceted and comprehensive restoration of Stanley Park in the aftermath of the devastating December 2006 windstorm. The award acknowledges the Board's approach to the park restoration which involved staff, partners, volunteers, donors and countless others that worked with the clean-up, planning and continuing recovery of Stanley Park.

Stanley Park Restoration Project Wins PERC Award
for Innovation and Ingenuity
· BC Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA)

The Stanley Park Restoration Project won the BC Recreation and Parks Association PERC Award for Innovation and Ingenuity which acknowledges the vision Park Board Commissioners and staff brought to the daunting task of responding to the impacts of the devastating December 2006 windstorm. The award recognizes the Park Board's success in forging innovative partnerships with academia, industry, non-profits, the media, the public and all levels of government; engaging the community; adapting new and existing technologies to the restoration project and creating a model of effective crisis management that can be adopted by other agencies and organizations.

Vancouver Named Best Walking City in Canada
· The Canadian Federation of Podiatric Medicine (CFPM)

Awarded to the City of Vancouver as an outstanding model in providing safe, accessible and practical urban walking networks that encourage residents to walk as part of their daily life. The award recognizes the City's natural beauty and extensive parks as well as the City's Transportation Plan which makes walking a top transportation priority. The Plan supports widening of sidewalks; neighbourhood traffic calming; increasing greenways, and the provision of easy access to shopping and working. Vancouver was also recognized for the number of kilometres of trails in the city, its ideal year-round temperatures, good air quality and many points of interest.

2007

Facilities of Merit Award - Killarney Leisure Pool
· Athletic Business Magazine's 2007 Awards

Awarded to the Park Board and Hughes Condon Marler: Architects for the new Killarney Lesiure Pool. The Killarney Leisure Pool was one of 10 buildings chosen as an outstanding sport and recreation facility from a field of 95 applicants. Only one other Canadian facility was recognized.

Award of Merit - Killarney Leisure Pool
· Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia Awards 2007

Awarded to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation's Killarney Pool for design. A north wall comprised of windows overlooking the nearby park and distant mountains was a prominent feature highlighted in the award literature. The 2,140 square metre aquatic complex was designed by Hughes Condon Marler Architects.

Award of Merit - Coal Harbour Seawall Balustrade Restoration
· City of Vancouver Heritage Awards 2007

Awarded to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Spratt Emanuel Engineering, and Van den Kerkhof & Son Masonry, for the continued maintenance and restoration of the Seawall Balustrade by employing exemplary conservation theory and practice.

2007 Project EverGreen Canada Stewardship Award - VanDusen Botanical Garden
· The BC Landscape & Nursery Association (BCLNA)

This award was presented to VanDusen Botanical Garden on February 15th. This first-time presentation from Project EverGreen Canada to raise awareness of the environment, recognizes exemplary work at VanDusen Botanical Garden noting a "passion for green spaces with concerns about the environment, economic and lifestyle benefits of green spaces and the effect on the community around the garden".

2006

2006 Environmental Stewardship Award - English Bay Shoreline Protection Project
· The BC Landscape & Nursery Association (BCLNA)

Using natural materials such as boulders, logs and native vegetation, the Park Board's long-term commitment to sustainability by mitigating erosion along the shoreline of English Bay has been recognized with this special award. The erosion control was undertaken to protect parks at Kitsilano, Jericho and Spanish Bank Beaches.

Award of National Merit - Stanley Park Salmon Stream
· Canadian Society of Landscape Architects

Designed by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc., the Stanley Park Salmon Stream is a joint venture between the Vancouver Park Board and the Vancouver Aquarium. The $2-million demonstration stream, aimed at reintroducing salmon to Stanley Park, winds its way by descriptive interpretive plaques from the Aquarium through Stanley Park and into Coal Harbour.

Award of National Citation for Outstanding Achievement - George Wainborn Park
· Canadian Society of Landscape Architects

Designed by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc., George Wainborn Park is a beautiful 2.5 hectare park comprising formal and informal spaces, expansive lawns, a dramatic water feature and spectacular views of False Creek and the city. Highlights of the park include the large circular water feature, specially designed bright yellow, steel Adirondack chairs, a large rambling lawn with informal tree plantings, children's play area and a serpentine walkway leading to the False Creek seawall. George Wainborn Park

Award of Regional Merit - Harbour Green Park
· Canadian Society of Landscape Architects

Designed by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc., Phase II of Harbour Green Park's largest component (6.26 acres) brought up the total park space to 10.43 acres, the longest continuous waterfront park area in the downtown area. Landscape features include the continuation of the seawall, lighting, flower beds, grass berms, promontory look-outs, an allee trees plus a magnificent water feature which serves as both an ornamental fountain and children's spray pool in summer. Harbour Green Park

Everett Crowley Park Management Plan Wins Award

The Vancouver Park Board along with LEES + Associates Consulting Ltd. and the Management Plan's Steering Committee, comprised of numerous community partners, have been selected to receive BCRPA's (British Columbia Recreation and Parks Association) Environmental Leadership Award. The award will be presented at a Park Board meeting scheduled for May 29, 2006.

This 38 hectare area was formerly a closed landfill for 25 years before its official opening as a park in 1987. The site is named for Everett Crowley, long-time resident and owner of Vancouver's last working dairy called "Avalon". Everett Crowley was also a Park Board Commissioner serving from 1962-1964.

Nature, with the help of strong community input and partnerships, in its amazing way has overcome the earlier landfill insults. The result two decades later is a lovely wooded and hilly habitat frequented by birds and other urban wildlife which have found refuge in this botanically diverse landscape. Everett Crowley Park

Stanley Park's Rose Cottage Restoration Wins Heritage Recognition Award

The Vancouver Park Board and its contractors were recently recognized at the City of Vancouver Heritage Awards for their restoration of the Rose Cottage, a Class "B" 1932 Rustic Arts and Crafts-style cottage. An "Award of Recognition" honoured the project participants for the use of log siding and the employment of traditional construction methods.

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2005

Stanley Park Cob House Acclaimed

Stanley Park's Cob House was presented with an Award of Excellence for Innovation by the Vancouver Regional Construction Association on November 2, 2005. Park Board Facility Development Project Manager John Maxey and the Stanley Park Ecology Society's Executive Director Patricia Thomson were on hand for the ceremony.

The Cob House is an example of earthen architecture, constructed by hand of reclaimed and recycled natural materials. Over 200 community volunteers invested 2,500 hours mixing wet clay, sand and straw to shape the whimsical structure.

The foundation was constructed from three tonnes of granite reclaimed from a church that burned down at 10th Avenue and Quebec Street. The house also features sculpted windows, floor and wood materials, and a living green roof. It opened in September 2004 and is located near the the Miniature Train Plaza.

Bill Stephen Receives Prestigious Arboriculture Award

Congratulations are in order for Park Board Urban Forestry Technician Bill Stephen who was just awarded the "2005 Educator of the Year Award" by the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the international Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Bill received this recognition for training scores of young scientists eager to be ISA certified arborists.

Award of Merit
· Canadian Public Relations Society

The Vancouver Park Board's public web site at www.vancouverparks.ca has won a national Award of Merit from the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). At the organization's annual conference in Calgary in late June 2005, the Park Board's Corporate Services Web Design Team was honoured in the 'electronic and interactive' category for strategic development and relevance to our overall communications objectives. Our submission "Come Home to Parks and Recreation" was a finalist against the Toronto District School Board's web site.

Regional Honour Award
· Canadian Society of Landscape Architects

The Vancouver Park Board was recognized along with van der Zalm + Associates Inc. and contractor New Line Skateparks, for a Regional Honour Award by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. This award recognizes the effort to creatively enhance downtown Vancouver through the reclamation of an under-utilized site with the creation of the Vancouver Skate Plaza (at Quebec and Union Streets, under the Georgia/Dunsmuir viaducts).

Regional Merit Award
· Canadian Society of Landscape Architects

The Park Board also received an award with PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc. for Phase II of the Harbour Green Park (at Cordova and Bute Streets).

Landscaping Award
· Pacific Northwest Palm and Exotic Plant Society

For its landscaping efforts at the English Bay parks. The award recognizes outstanding horticultural achievement in cultivation of hardy palms and other exotic plants.

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2004

Project Honor Award
· Waterfront Centre in Washington, DC

The City of Vancouver and Vancouver Park Board received this award for "Excellence on the Waterfront" for the planning, design, and shoreline treatment of False Creek North/Concord Pacific Place. This award was received in conjunction with Concord Pacific Group. The completed Quayside, Roundhouse and Beach neighbourhoods of False Creek North were featured in the award. It was notable that 100% of the waterfront along the project is publicly-accessible via a waterfront promenade and parkland. Special design treatments were also mentioned, including view promontories, public docks and shoreline steps that invite the user to interact with the water's edge. Vancouver was also recognized in 2003 with an Honour Award for its waterfront promenade.

Award of Excellence
· Canadian Parks and Recreation Association

The MoreSports program has been recognized for its innovation in community-based recreation programming at CPRA's annual conference in Halifax in October 2004. The Vancouver Park Board is a key partner in MoreSports, which helps make community sports programs available to all children and youth in neighbourhoods where social and economic issues could prevent regular participation.

Audubon Certification
· Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary System of Canada

Vancouver Park Board's three major golf courses, Fraserview, Langara and McCleery, have been awarded Audubon Certification. The certification recognizes the courses' high environmental standards which include developing an environmental plan, caring for the wildlife habitat, using non-chemical pesticides whenever possible, practicing water conservation and water quality protection, and developing outreach and education programs.

Rick Hansen Accessibility Awards

The City of Vancouver's Community Services Group, Vancouver Park Board and the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Disability Issues were among seven projects honoured with 2004 Rick Hansen Accessibility Awards. The awards recognize groups and individuals that show leadership, progress and excellence in creating accessibility in the community.

Award of Recognition
· City of Vancouver

The City of Vancouver has bestowed an Award of Recognition to the Vancouver Park Board for a recent refurbishment at the English Bay Bathhouse. In 2002, the Park Board renovated and restored the washrooms of this venerable Art Deco building. The biggest challenge for this project was to retain the heritage character of the interior while adding the needed upgrades to the washroom facilities. The project required replacing an out-of-date water supply system, repairing and replacing cracked glazed and glass tiles, restoring and refinishing the original terrazzo floor and replacing all plumbing fixtures.

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