CSLA News
Landscapes | Paysages Winter 2025: Play & Pixie Dust
"Landscape architecture has this incredible power to design for all stages of our lives. Play, like memories, must get more sticky, forming a glue that binds us to place and each other. In a time where unity feels beyond reach, this issue a call to action – to give ourselves permission to design somewhere between reality and dreams, and to practice play seriously."
– Michelle Tustin & Kyla Tulloch-Kowula, Guest Editors
Webinar: Planting for Resilience: Native Species, Food Webs, and Ecosystem-Based Design
Lorraine Johnson and Isabelle Dupras
Thursday, February 26, 2:00-3:30 ET
Two expert perspectives—one rooted in ecological relationships, the other in professional practice—come together to examine how native plants can support biodiversity, pollinators, and resilient landscapes. From co-evolved plant–pollinator relationships to the realities of sourcing, design, and public acceptance, the session will examine how plant choices shape ecosystem function and long-term landscape performance, and connect theory, design intent, and implementation challenges.
Did you miss a webinar? Don’t worry! The recordings are available on our website, and you can watch (or rewatch) them anytime. Closed captions are available in both English and French. Visit the webinar archive here.
landADAPT Case Study Series
The landADAPT case studies series was launched with two completed case studies, and to date total of four case studies have been published.
- Dale Hodges Park (Calgary, Alberta)
- Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant & Iona Beach Regional Park (Richmond, BC)
- Port Lands Flood Protection Program (Toronto, Ontario) [new]
- Lieux publics Bonaventure (Montreal, Quebec) [new]
Additional case studies will be added over the next few months, featuring projects from across the country and highlighting diverse scales, settings, and climate challenges.
Video Feature: Kichi Sibi Winter Trail Community Service Award
In 2025 CSLA recognized the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail with a Community Service Award. Watch this short video to hear more about how Kichi Sibi's mission aligns with the values the Community Service Award celebrates.
"Ktrail is all about making more livable in winter by providing a safe, accessible, sustainable and local recreational facility that welcomes everyone, whether your on skis, bikes, snow shoes or walking boots. To have a national organization of professionals acknowledge the contribution that urban winter pathways bring to a city is an affirmation that we are on to a good thing. It is an honour to accept this award on behalf of all the volunteers, other winter trails, and you, the user."
Promenade Samuel-De Champlain Featured by Landscape Architecture Magazine
"Where the passage of decades between commission and completion could well have diluted the design vision, the promenade achieves a unified aesthetic across its many phases and disciplines. And where waterfront redevelopments commonly treat the water as a backdrop to the new amenity, the design of the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain addresses the river as the central subject."
Public Review for CSA W234
The Public Review for CSA W234 From strategy to implementation: A planning framework for watershed-based flood and erosion management using nature-based solutions is now live. It will be open from now until February 17th. This provides 60 days for members of the public to review and provide comments on the standard draft, and this committee will be responsible for addressing these comments once the Public Review closes. The links to the Public Review are:
Public Consultation: Draft 2026-2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy
Deadline: May 12, 2026
Environment and Climate Change Canada has launched the draft 2026-2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) for a 120-day public consultation available for review at this webpage. The draft Strategy lays out the government’s plans to protect our environment, grow our economy, and make sure everyone in Canada lives in an inclusive and resilient society.
Please share your views by:
- providing your feedback and answering questions online
- sending your written comments by email to sdo-bdd@ec.gc.ca
- sharing your expertise in webinars
Reminder: Submit your nomination for the 2026 Recognition Awards Program
Nominations are still open for the following CSLA awards: the Schwabenbauer President's Award for Service to the CSLA, the Community Service Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Teaching Award and the Emerging Professional Award.
All nominations can be made through the Good Grants system. For more information follow the link below.
Deadline: February 16, 2026 at 4pm ET.
KEEP Program: Meet the Mentors
Looking for a mentor? Are you a Fellow interested in mentoring? KEEP is an informal mentorship program that aims to pair students, associates (interns), emerging practitioners, and mid-career professionals with Fellows.
Visit the page below to find out how to participate.
Current Volunteer Opportunities
Are you interested in volunteering and supporting the work of the CSLA? Our volunteers contribute to professional advocacy, government relations, and the advancement of issues of national relevance to our members. There are many ways to get involved:
- CLS Steering Committee - Representatives from from Atlantic Canada and British Columbia [new]
Deadline to apply: February 1 - Co-Chair for the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Deadline to apply: February 2 - CSLA Equity Lens Policy Review [new]
Deadline to apply: February 19 - Landscape Architecture Continuing Education Standards Committee (LA CES) Monitoring Committee - CSLA Representative [new deadline]
Deadline to apply: March 31 - Roster of Climate and Biodiversity Champions
- Municipal Roundtable
LACF News
LACF Awards 2026 Research Grants
Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of funding in the 2026 Research Grants Program in support of research, communication and scholarship.
This year, nine professional awards were approved by the jury.
2025 National and Regional Scholarship Recipients Announced
LACF is proud to announce this year's scholarship recipients, including:
- Lea Papillon, recipient of the Frederick Gage Todd National Scholarship
- Sari Halldorson Haines, recipient of the Walter H. Kehm National Scholarship
- Charlie-Kaida King, recipient of the Peter Jacobs Indigenous Scholarship and the BC2 Indigenous Scholarship
- Regional Scholars, Maglin, and Lemay scholars.
Join us on February 25, 2026 at 1pm ET via Zoom to meet LACF's 2025 scholars. This year, the Scholar Recognition Event will follow a new format that will allow you to get to know the scholars even better through a roundtable discussion on the future of the profession and breakout rooms.
LACF Awards Special Research Grant to Heather Braiden and Vincent LaRivière for their project that studies the impact of LACF-funded research on the profession
Heather Braiden, assistant professor of landscape architecture and Vincent LaRivière, full professor in information sciences, have been awarded the Special Grants prize from the LACF for their project, "Tracking the impact of research: Quantifying the results of the LACF-funded research in landscape architecture in Canada." The pair offers combined data mining and landscape architecture expertise to extract trends and quantify the range of knowledge produced through the grants to better understand the impact of LACF-funded projects and inform design practice. This project benefited from a $20,000 LACF Special Grant.
Applications Open: Robert N. Allsopp Urban Design Fellowship
Deadline: June 11, 2026 at 4pm ET
The Robert N. Allsopp Urban Design Fellowship is intended to provide a practicing landscape architect, whose work and exploratory interests are in urban design, with funds for research leave, for example, for pursuing a specific area of inquiry over a five-to-six-month ‘sabbatical’ or with funds to direct a research project. The Fellowship will provide support for urban design research and related expenses which elevates the art, science, and practice of landscape architecture, contributes to the knowledge base of the profession and is beyond the scope of the projects in their office or practice.
New Research Report
Tyler Bradt submitted a final report for the project Soil Tests in Urban Parks: Assessing the Impacts of Dog Use.
"As cities become denser, park usage naturally increases, and it becomes more important for landscapearchitects to understand the carrying capacity of urban soils to support trees in parks and streetscapes. This project develops a standard test to quantify dogs’ impact on these elements through a combination of lab-based soil testing and field observations."
Partner News
DesignTO Festival
January 23-February 1, Toronto
The 16th annual DesignTO Festival returns January 23 to February 1, 2026, bringing more than 100 events, exhibitions, and installations to venues across Toronto. DesignTO’s 2026 program spans industrial design, technology, craft, and visual culture, with a strong focus on architecture, the built environment, and identity.
Online Forum for Landscape Architecture Educators
February 2-5
Join the University of Waterloo's Climate Institute for “Designing Climate-Ready Education for the Next Generation of Professionals” from February 2nd-5th. This national forum will explore what knowledge and skills students need most, and how we can teach in ways that cultivate hope, agency, and purposeful learning.