It's a Fact Marlene coordinated the improvement of the Joseph A. Ghiz Memorial Park - once considered the most derelict in Charlottetown, it is now one of the nicest parks in the city.

Marlene was twice awarded the Communities in Bloom Award and also the Mayor’s award for her work with the Joseph A. Ghiz Memorial Park and her contributions to Charlottetown. In 2006, Marlene coordinated the building of a large picnic shelter in the park to celebrate Charlottetown’s 150th birthday and has recently established a fund to generate enough money to purchase annuals for the park in perpetuity.

As part of her commitment to the park and her community, Marlene provides ongoing maintenance to the park and teaches skills such as weeding, edging, mulching, composting, litter control and planting to groups of at-risk youth. In addition, Marlene has annually coordinated a birdhouse contest each year since 2002 to engage youth, adults, businesses and local school carpentry classes in the community. She also helps to develop and distribute an Earth Day Activities page which has been printed every year since 1996.

Marlene believes that care for the environment starts with children and youth. Through her membership with a charitable women’s organization called the Lake of Shining Waters IODE, Marlene has made great contributions to the local environmental and community well-being of Charlottetown. The gifts she has given to her city exemplify her capacity for giving and living.