Accolades

"We first worked with Tracy on the Grandview Elementary Outdoor Classroom over ten years ago, where her enthusiasm and commitment resulted in a successful award winning project and has led to many subsequent collaborations, including the 808 Nelson Square Plaza Renovations and the Nelson BC Aquatic Recreation Centre Expansion. Her extensive landscape knowledge and her dedication to creating beautiful spaces is always an asset to our team, and we look forward to continued partnerships and successes with Tracy."
-- Bruce Carscadden, Architect Inc.

"I have so much enjoyed working with you. You possess the right balance of creativity, knowledge, and ability to listen to your client. It was a total pleasure."
-- M. Sigal, residential client

"When working with the public on landscape change projects, you need a designer that can ask the right questions, find the common threads and pull them together into brilliant, creative designs that everyone gets behind. Tracy's blend of design expertise, plant knowledge and facilitation skills combined with her professionalism and playful personality make her a standout in her field"
-- S. Schwartz, Western Regional Director, Evergreen

"Tracy's work reflects a thorough understanding of school ground design and how, at its best, it can support both play and learning while standing up to intense usage. Her positive outlook and professionalism makes her a pleasure to work with."
-- C. Collyer, Director, Evergreen Learning Grounds

"Tracy was a pleasure to work with as she took a very personal approach to our needs, really listening to our requirements, sourcing lovely plants, being sensitive to our budget and assisting in the perfect plant placement so we could enjoy our new garden with Tracy over a glass of Chardonnay."
--N. Clement, residential client


"Working with Tracy Penner as we developed the Grandview U'uquinaquh grounds over two years with all the teachers and students quite literally transformed my life into a researcher of the people/plant relationship. Tracy's comprehension of complex social issues helped that entire project to reach many people with creative solutions for the crime that had been prolific in the area. Tracy taught me so much about native plants and design as we taught the children and planted with them. She is an incredible team worker with a sustainability ethic that extends from site design and plant choice to human relationships."
--Illène Pevec, MA. PhD (abd)

Awards

LACF Research Grant: Post Occupancy Evaluation of School Greening Projects in Canada, 2006-2007
Toyota/ Evergreen National Learning Grounds Award of Excellence, Toronto, February 2002
Society for Children and Youth National Awards, Grandview Uuqinak'uuh Elementary 2002
Vancouver School Board Recognition Award, Grandview Uuqinak'uuh Elementary 2001
BCLNA Environmental Stewardship Design Award, Grandview Uuqinak'uuh Elementary 2001
YWCA Woman of Distinction Social Action Award nominee, Grandview Uuqinak'uuh Elementary 2001
Canadian House and Home Design Award, March, 1987

Publicity

Jailhouse Plot", Scientific American March 2010 (view here)
"Physical Activity & the Built Environment in British Columbia" Report, Vancouver: Lees and Assoc, 2007
Bell, Anne, et al Grounds for Learning Toronto: Evergreen, 2001
Building Bulletin 95 Schools for the Future. Norwich: Crown Press, 2002
Dudek, Mark Children's Spaces, Oxford: Architectural Press, 2005
Healthy Homes Episode – HGTV 2001
Katz, Susan, "Yaffa House 2 Opens" November, 2010 (view here)
Makhoul, Anne "Seeds of Promise: Grandview/?Uuqinak'uuh School in Vancouver," in Jean Barman and Mona Gleason, eds., Children, Teachers, and Schools in the History of British Columbia, 2nd Edition. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises Ltd., 2003 pp. 431-438 and at view pdf
Pranis, Eve, et al "Creating a Cultural Connection" in Schoolyard Mosaics Vermont: National Gardening Association, 2003 (view here)
Reynolds, Cynthia "Safe and Sorry" in Maclean's September, 2006 (view pdf)