Fanshawe takes top spot in environmental design competition

Students from the four-year Honours Bachelor of Environmental Design and Planning (BEDP) program won the Melville Park Design Competition on May 14, 2025.

The winning team of Bryar Pace, Hannah Glinz, Jessi Mclellan, Josh Barber and Stuart MacGregor took home the $75,000 grand prize.

“My immediate thoughts were shock and relief,” said Hannah Glinz. “The competition was held ‘blindly,’ meaning teams were asked to leave the room for the other presentations, so we didn’t get to see each team’s final proposal. It was nerve-wracking because we couldn’t gauge where we stood until the end.”

Longridge Partners, a real estate investment firm, owns Melville Park in Caledon, Ontario. The Town of Caledon’s Official Plan governs Melville Park and the competition focused on future land use of the 624-acre site with an emphasis on economic feasibility, innovation and public access.

The park is in Ontario’s Greenbelt planning area, resulting in significant restrictions on land use, which Glinz and MacGregor said was a challenge when creating their proposal.

“Six BEDP teams responded with a combination of appropriate land uses informed by sustainability principles upheld through ecological, socio-cultural and economic goals,” said Professor Andrew Wilson. “More specifically, students addressed climate change, habitat loss and cultural landscapes of Indigenous peoples and early settlers in their designs.”

Their proposal, Echo Valley, included six ecosystems with associated trails and camping. Visitors could also rent cabins located sensitively to lessen the environmental impact. They also included in their plan a spa, farm-to-table restaurant, wedding venue and corporate retreat. 

“Critical to their win was a thorough economic analysis to clarify Echo Valley’s potential capital and operating costs, and revenue for Longridge,” Wilson said. 

What’s more, MacGregor added Fanshawe’s program provided the team with strong technical skills, such as AutoCAD and Photoshop, and theory that focused on policy, and urban planning and design, giving them an important advantage over their competitors.  

At the same time, a second BEDP team – Catherine Holmes and Marisa Esterbrooks – was one of the finalists. They took home $2,500 along with the University of Waterloo team. Other finalists included the University of Manitoba and the University of Guelph, taking home $10,000.

Fanshawe’s participation in the Melville Park Design Competition was part of the first year and fourth-year design studios classes with Professor Wilson. The fourth-year students are now completing their capstone projects, and they will graduate in August.