PLANNING, SIGNAGE, Beautification

PLANNING

The concepts of planning and design were central to Keith’s lifelong commitment to the orderly landscape and beauty of Prince Edward Island. He believed everything had a place – houses, businesses, public buildings, industry - and that each one could be designed to blend into its surroundings. He had a unique perspective on the landscape. In May 1945, he was a RCAF pilot posted to Summerside for the General Reconnaissance Course (ocean patrol). While flying an Avro Anson at low altitudes, he had a bird’s eye view of the province and its beautiful fields, wooded areas and waterways. He dedicated his next 55 years to working with others to bring about orderly development, to design buildings that suited the environment and to beautify the entire landscape.

Keith’s architectural studies and McGill graduation in 1953 coincided with a huge growth in population and the related surge in residential and commercial development of post-war Canada.

Throughout his career Keith was actively involved in leading, promoting and implementing planning through the PEI Branch of the Community Planning Association where he was a member of the executive in 1956 and moved on to be President in 1957. Through various meetings and conferences, he met with fellow planners, engineers and designers in the Atlantic Provinces and across Canada. Also attending these conferences were representatives of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the federal lending agency which required that buildings be built to the standards of The National Housing Act.

On the local level, Keith and fellow architect, James Toombs, were named two of the five member Charlottetown Planning Advisory Board on June 12, 1956. Two years later, in July 1958, Keith was asked to prepare a zoning plan for Charlottetown. Throughout the years, the need for proper planning was strongly promoted. The issues of zoning, re-zoning, and development vs heritage were frequent and usually controversial. There was backlash over the need to get a building permit for your own property and the infringement of regulations on how and what you could build. Keith continued his involvement with the Charlottetown Planning Advisory Board into the 1980s.

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HIGHWAY SIGNAGE

The improvement of highways and increase in tourism led to conflicts over signage. Businesses wanted to advertise their establishments while others, fearing the proliferation of too many signs of various sizes and shapes, feared PEI would become another Coney Island.

Keith was a huge promoter of uniformity and limited signage and contributed his knowledge and expertise as a member of the Highway Information Signage System Committee, Provincial Signage Committee of the Tourist Industry Association PEI and the Rustic Roads/Scenic Roads Advisory Committee.

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THE PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND RURAL BEAUTIFICATION SOCIETY (PEIRBS) http://www.peirbs.ca/

In March of 1965 Keith joined like-minded colleagues Col. E.W. Johnstone and Claude Smith and became a member of the Prince Edward Island Rural Beautification Society. Johnstone established this awards program in 1945 to encourage rural Islanders to improve and beautify their properties. Through competitions and prizes, Island families showed pride in their properties by fixing and painting their buildings, planting trees and flowers; communities joined together to improve buildings and keep roadsides clean; church groups tidied their graveyards; and small towns made their streets and green spaces more attractive.

As the Society identified issues they would like to address, they developed competitions to promote the removal of unsightly buildings and car bodies, proper home identification and attractive mail boxes. Always the objective was improvement, whether it was your farmhouse, garden, mailbox or the community at large. With this emphasis, people found that the worse the original condition, the more likely they were to be successful. The Society also petitioned the provincial government to enact legislation to prevent dumping of litter and have owners remove or repair tumbledown buildings.

Keith served in the capacities of advisory board member (1965, 1989-1995), director (1966-1974), vice-president (1975-1982), president (1983-84) or judge (1985-2000). For a number of years he compiled and printed the annual competition book which was distributed across the Island. Keith worked relentlessly to promote and support this program. When he became a judge in 1996, Keith was already familiar with most of the Island’s roads through his architectural work. Many properties were challenging to locate because mailboxes did not include the owners’ names or civic number.

The annual Awards Banquet in October is a true celebration of hard work and accomplishment of not only the winners but everyone who participated in the various competitions and showed pride in their properties. Keith and Jean especially enjoyed meeting the people who worked for months to clean-up, paint, plant and care for their properties. They celebrated wholeheartedly with the youth, couples, families and seniors as they were acknowledged and presented with their prizes.

Shaw Award

The first Shaw Award was presented in 1973 to G. Keith Pickard. The award was established by the late Wendell MacKay and his wife, Dr. Jean MacKay, to recognize and honour the late Hon. Walter and Margaret Shaw on their 50th wedding anniversary.  The Shaws were strong supporters of the Society and Mr. MacKay had been principal assistant to Premier Shaw.

 Regarded by the Society as its most prestigious annual award, it is presented each year to the person, group of persons, or community who deserves most to be recognized for the promotion and preservation of the natural beauty of Prince Edward Island.  Unlike the other awards, no one may seek the Shaw Award, but rather the Shaw Award seeks the recipient.  Choosing the recipient is the responsibility of the Society Directors. The award is a large wooden plaque with individual brass plates indicating the recipient’s name and the year. In 1998 the Shaw Award was presented to G. Keith and Jean Pickard in recognition of their shared contribution.   

In June 1999 Keith and Jean were interviewed on the subject of beautification by Jude Carson of Saint John, New Brunswick. Her article "Promoting community pride" was published in the July 2, 1999 edition of the Telegraph-Journal. Excerpt:

Rural beautification has interested the retired architect for a long time. His wife says he has contended that PEI should be a park from the day she first met him. "PEI is a small province and I think it should be a park," he agrees. "Rural beautification just ties into that idea." ...We have always worked on improvement; it does more good for the community"....Mr. Pickard thinks it's the communities that win, because of the improvements and increased pride of the residents. He says it has taken about 30 years of the program's operation for its potential effect on tourism to be felt.  

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COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM (CIB)  https://www.communitiesinbloom.ca/

Communities in Bloom is a valued national organization committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community participation and the challenge of national competition.

In 1994 an idea for a national competition was investigated by Raymonde Carrière who became the Founding Chairman. His research of existing beautification competitions in Canada led him to contacts in PEI and NS, the only two provinces with such programs at the time.

Carrière recalls that upon contacting Keith, he was onboard right at the beginning and provided information on the PEI Rural Beautification program, which was close to celebrating its 50th anniversary. Keith gave guidance for the new organization as it started from scratch in 1994 and he helped design CIB’s first evaluation form and guide to communities. Keith was also recognized as the official representative for Prince Edward Island. Keith’s first advice to the judges was to always begin, when visiting a community, by taking a picture of the welcome or entrance sign. When reviewing the hundreds of photos taken within a week, this practice helped in identifying and giving credit to the correct community during the evaluation process.

Keith was a judge during 1995, the first year of competition, and then continued to be the PEI representative. Keith and Jean attended the annual Symposium and Awards Ceremonies in Saint John’s, Winnipeg, and Halifax.

From involving 29 municipalities in 1995, CIB has grown into a program that now involves hundreds of municipalities throughout Canada.

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Extracts from Take Part, Take Pride, Communities in Bloom publication, Woodstock, ON, 2004:

Michael Harding, Mayor of Woodstock, ON:

Communities In Bloom is about much more than gardens and flowers. Communities In Bloom is a symbol for what it takes to make a city a great place to live and work. Of course cities, like gardens, can grow on their own. But the lack of the gardener’s direction, love, and hands-on involvement comes at a price. As every gardener knows, an untended garden eventually winds up being a riot of weeds that will choke out more desirable plants. And so an untended, uncared for city soon ends up being a place where few will want to live…

Ailie Dobie, Woodstock Horticultural Society:

When we first started judging the City Beautiful Awards four years ago, it was fairly easy to select winners. Thanks to the encouragement of Communities in Bloom, more and more people are improving their gardens and lawns. Our job is now more difficult. Isn’t that wonderful!!

Keith - Always the Gardener

Growing up on a family farm in West Royalty, PEI that produced fruit, vegetables and flowers for the Charlottetown Farmer's Market, Keith knew a lot about gardening. At an early age he also worked for a neighbour who grew boxes of flower seedlings to sell. Like his parents, Cyrus and Vina, Keith was always interested in trying new varieties and new types of seeds - seeing whether celery or cantaloupes would grow in our climate. In early January they searched the catalogues from Vesey's Seeds and placed their order. In February the business of starting seeds began, followed by the tedious process of transplanting, rotating boxes to the sun and ensuring strong growth. By April the house and cottage were full of starter boxes of tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, and a wide variety of other plants. Keith also had a one-quarter acre garden at Barry and Ellen's home in Brackley Beach where he grew massive amounts of vegetables and some flowers. These were shared with family members and friends. 

Preserving the Landscape of Prince Edward Island

Keith is recognized for his donation of 60 acres of land to Ducks Unlimited in this photo and undated article from The Guardian newspaper

Excerpt from www.ducks.ca . This text is from Ducks Unlimited Canada (Provincial Office): "PEI’s wetlands and coastal areas support waterfowl from as far south as the Caribbean to as far north as the sub-Arctic. They filter water, protect our coastlines, and give people a place to connect with nature. But, our changing environment is putting wetlands in PEI at risk. Sixty-five per cent of wetlands in Canada’s coastal areas have been altered or destroyed. Ducks Unlimited Canada is a passionate community of people who believe that nature is the foundation of strong communities, a prosperous economy and a sustainable future that supports the hopes and dreams of the next generation. Together, we conserve and restore some of the most valuable and threatened landscapes on the planet."