Nova Scotia cyclist to attempt Confederation Trail, from tip to tip, in under 12 hours for P.E.I. Humane Society

The proponents of a science and discovery centre in the works for Summerside have decided to continue working towards their goal, despite a group in Charlottetown announcing a similar project for the capital.

The board of directors for the Prince Edward Island Discovery and Research Centre, which is the name of the Summerside project, issued its first statement on the subject this week.

“We have done due diligence and completed our homework. We have a high degree of confidence in our project and believe it is different from the one proposed in Charlottetown and that it will benefit students, adults and tourists for years to come,” read the statement.

The Homburg Institute recently pledged a $9-million gift towards a project it called P.E.I. Science + Discovery, slated for 15,000 square feet of Charlottetown’s Confederation Court Mall.

It said the project would help foster interest in science, technology, engineering, arts and math-related subjects for all ages and provide opportunities for professionals working in those areas to interact and collaborate with the public.

It also said it does not intend to rely on government funding to proceed with its project.

The Summerside project was proposed by the Summerside Y Service Club and the Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association. The City of Summerside joined the project’s board of directors recently and has pledged its support in the form of a long-term land lease, four acres at the end of MacKenzie Drive, for $1 per year and tax breaks.

Most of the money for Summerside’s project is slated to come from a capital campaign and industry donations, but the proponents have said they will be seeking financial support from government as well.

The project is expected to be mostly staffed by volunteers. It would include a planetarium, research rooms, displays and science-based entertainment options for children, among other things.

Ron Perry, president of the Summerside Y Service Club, said the Prince Edward Island Discovery and Research Centre has been in the works for a long time, and the proponents feel it is the better of the two options.

“Our project has been in development for almost four years and we have confidence that our project is the right fit for the province,” said Perry.

A cycling enthusiast from Nova Scotia is going to attempt to complete the Confederation Trail in P.E.I. in under 12 hours.

Lloyd McLean, a financial analyst with Sobeys in Stellarton, N.S., is doing it to raise awareness and money for the P.E.I. Humane Society.

McLean, 54, will undertake his 273-km journey on Friday, Aug. 3, from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

“I’m excited to return back to P.E.I. My wife and I actually fell in love with biking thanks to P.E.I., and that must have been 20 years ago when we started doing bike trips on the Confederation Trail,’’ McLean told The Guardian.

This is actually McLean’s third time doing the entire trail. His first time was in 2015 when he finished in under 14 hours. Then in 2016 he did it in under 13 hours.

He normally asks people to sign up as monthly donors for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), but in this case McLean will be asking people to give to the P.E.I. Humane Society since his ride is in P.E.I.

“It helps these charities have a monthly income, then they’re not living from fundraiser to fundraiser and spending all their time and effort instead (on that rather than) looking after cats and dogs.’’

As with his past requests for people to sign up as monthly donors for the SPCA, he’s asking people to do the same for the P.E.I. Humane Society. Neither McLean nor his wife, Andrea Haughan, who will be accompanying

The Voluntary Resource Council (VRC) is hoping to engage Island seniors when it comes to electoral reform.

It is sponsoring a project called Seniors Engaging in Electoral Democracy in September and October.

The aim of the project is to prepare senior volunteers to encourage other seniors and soonto-be seniors to delve into the proposed new options in P.E.I. for electing politicians. This project addressed seniors’ concerns about the two models of electoral reform to be presented in a referendum in the next provincial election.

The project will respond to seniors’ concerns expressed in the Lloyd McLean of Lyons Brook, N.S., aims to do the entire 273-km Confederation Trail in under 12 hours on Friday, Aug. 3, to raise awareness and money for the P.E.I. Humane Society. He’s pictured here with his wife, Andrea Haughan, and the newest addition to their family, Ariel, who they adopted from the Pictou County SPCA in March.

him on his P.E.I. expedition, will not be accepting any donations.

“We’re not touching any money or donations ourselves. My job is to get from one end of the Island to the other in under 12 hours. It’s going to be a challenge, (but) I think I’m at the best fitness level I’ve ever been in my 54 years.’’

Jennifer Harkness, development manager with the P.E.I. Humane Society, said they wish him the best of luck.

“Organizations like the Nova Scotia SPCA and the P.E.I. Humane Society need community support to continue the important work we do,’’ Harkness said. “Thank you, Lloyd.’’

Haughan will meet her husband at checkpoints with food and water that she will pass to him while he is on the move.

McLean said the Confederation Trail is one of his favourite places to cycle, describing it as a stunning array of rolling hills and 2016 electoral reform plebiscite. Many said they didn’t vote.

Often the reason given was they didn’t understand the five electoral reform choices then proposed.

The project organizers hope to provide seniors with more knowledge about the upcoming referendum.

The program, led by a senior with experience in interactive learning processes, will involve 10 to 12 seniors taking seniordirected training. On completion of the training, and depending on the date of the provincial election and referendum, the involved seniors will then meet for two or three sessions to plan a symposium for seniors from the a patchwork of gold and green crops.

“When I bike across Canada I tell people this is the nicest trail in Canada. The fact you can bike from one end of the province to the other is terrific.’’

McLean is no stranger to fundraising bike trips. He’s done a ride for the SPCA for three of the past four years.

He also did a ride in 2013 from St. John’s, N.L., to Victoria, B.C., for the CNIB, Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind and the YMCA. That ride raised more than $50,000.

In 2017, Haughan and McLean wider community on the above topics.

The program will take place at the VRC at 81 Prince St. in Charlottetown.

It begins on Thursday, Sept. 13, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the first of five training sessions for seniors completed a ride from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to the IWK Hospital in Halifax.

That was for his wife’s goddaughter who was diagnosed with leukemia when she was only a year old. Following a stem cell transplant, the girl, now seven, is cancer-free.

Now, he’s trying to raise awareness for the work that charities like the SPCA and humane society do. And, while he’s at it, help motivate people to get healthy. which will be held each Thursday morning and ending on Oct. 11. There is no charge and lunch is provided.

To register, contact Sylvie Arsenault at 902-368-7337 or email vrc@eastlink.ca. The deadline for registration is Sept. 5.