Advanced Planning Practice Explores Bruce County
Graduate students in the Rural Planning and Development's Advanced Planning Practice course (RPD*6280) took a road trip to Bruce County from March 24-25, 2026. Getting out of the classroom is always a fun experience and a chance to see how policy affects projects on the ground, especially as we explored the local community and its interactions with tourism and environmental policies during our visit to Bruce County.
We started our first day of the trip at the Bruce County Administration Centre to meet with staff and learn about some of the current applications and projects the planners there are working on. This included updates to the draft Official Plan and the county's efforts to improve public consultation through interactive GIS mapping. During this visit, we also had the chance to talk to RDP alumni and hear some helpful tips as we move into our planning careers. The next location stop was to Belmoral Farms to meet with RPD alum Dana Kieffer and learn about her family’s dairy operation and the exciting work she is doing in private planning practice. It was interesting to hear about the farming operations and logistics that occur behind the scenes of something as simple as buying a carton of milk. At the end of day one, we had the chance to tour a beachfront cottage currently under construction by Seaman and Sons Builders. Derek Seaman, president of both Seaman and Sons Builders and the Grey Bruce Home Builders Association, provided us with an excellent tour and an insightful discussion about the challenges builders are currently facing, including policy updates and environmental issues.
On the second day, we started at the Municipality of Kincardine to meet with staff and learn about the day-to-day administration across different roles. We gained insight into the diverse roles supporting the municipality's growth, particularly through community engagement and tourism promotion. After learning about Bruce Power’s impacts on the municipality, we headed for a tour of the plant. At Bruce Power, we had the opportunity to speak with Chad Richards, John Peevers, and the team at the Visitor’s Centre. Chad and John shared an overview of Bruce Power's history and operations, covering energy generation and the production of medical isotopes, before we set out on a bus tour. This was followed by a valuable conversation about their impacts on the province and local communities. During the bus tour, we saw the impressive scale of the plants and the on-site features that help Bruce Power run efficiently.
The Advanced Planning Practice class, along with Mollie Kuchma, Assistant Professor in Rural Planning and Development, would like to thank the Ontario Agricultural College Learning Trust Fund for funding the field trip.