CSLA News
MESSAGE FROM CSLA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MICHELLE LEGAULT
Dear Colleagues, Any doubts I had about the value of bringing a few hundred landscape architects together for three days have now been erased! Two weeks after our 2023 CSLA-SALA Congress and I still find myself on a high. Re-connecting with members and friends, hearing inspirational stories, seeing smiles, sharing food and drink, finding inspiration, engagement and motivation - these were all highlights for me and for so many of our congress delegates.
Thank you to the CSLA and SALA leadership, the planning committee, the staff, the speakers, the volunteers, the tour guides, the exhibitors and the sponsors.
I wish to also congratulate the delegates of the congress, who pledged $74,000 in donations to the LACF. It was truly a proud and touching moment for me to announce those pledges at the congress awards gala. In my role as LACF Executive Director, I have the distinct pleasure of seeing the difference the grants and scholarships can make to the profession, and to the future of the profession.
Colleagues, this is the time for landscape architecture. I believe that not since the age of industrialization has there been a need for landscape architecture to improve our lives on this little planet, and team CSLA is committed to advancing the profession, to highlighting the relevance of the profession, and making it indispensable to our society.
Last chance to comment on the Growing Medium Section of the CLS
Deadline for comments: July 4th, 2023
The CSLA and CNLA are pleased to release Section 5 - Growing Medium (draft) of the Canadian Landscape Standard for comment by CNLA and CSLA members, and industry partners.
The Canadian Landscape Standard (CLS) Steering Committee contracted Vineland Laboratories to propose a new draft of Section 5 - Growing Medium for eventual inclusion in the CLS.
Vineland Laboratories' draft was then further revised by the National CLS Steering Committee, which is composed of both CNLA and CSLA members.
The objective of the revision was to develop a standard for soils which would be applicable nationally.
We are asking for comments on the draft, provided below. Comments should be sent by email to Michelle Legault, CSLA Executive Director, at executive-director@csla-aapc.ca, by July 4th, 2023. You may provide comment by referencing a page number of the draft section in the body of an email, or by downloading the .pdf document and providing feedback in a comment box.
Download the draft CLS Section 5 - Growing Medium
CSLA and SALA bestow honorary membership on Candace Wasacase Lafferty 
at CSLA-SALA Congress in Saskatoon (June 16, 2023)
Candace is Senior Director of the Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre at the University of Saskatchewan and was instrumental in bringing the Douglas Cardinal-designed Centre to fruition in 2016. Candace received her honorary membership in SALA and CSLA at the CSLA-SALA convention held in Saskatoon on June 16, 2023.
(Photo, left to right: SALA President Brad Wilson, Candace Wasacase Lafferty and CSLA Past President Chris Grosset. Credit: Jesse Lee)
CSLA Marks National Indigenous Peoples' Day and adopts UNDRIP as Framework for Action and Decision-Making
(June 21, 2023) The CSLA Board of Directors adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as a framework for action and decision-making.
By adopting the UNDRIP, we ensure that the profession operates to the same standards as the other organizations with which we collaborate, and demonstrate our commitment to indigenous partners.
The CSLA’s Reconciliation Advisory Committee Call for Volunteers
Do you want to contribute to creating tools and resources to strengthen the understanding of the role of the profession in Reconciliation? In taking action to broaden awareness of Indigenous rights, landscapes and topics? In implementing actions to move the profession towards Reconciliation? To support the schools of landscape architecture in this journey? To engage and partner with Indigenous organizations to advance these objectives?
Deadline Extended to: July 20, 2023
Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy: Building Resilient Communities and a Strong Economy
Earlier this week the Government of Canada launched the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) in partnership with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners across Canada. The CSLA acknowledges that Landscape Architects in Canada will play a significant role in contributing to climate adaptation across all five systems identified in the NAS, including: disaster resilience, health and well-being, nature and biodiversity, infrastructure, and economy and workers. As one of the relevant professional associations identified, the CSLA will continue to support our members in the implementation of climate adaptation, in the development of tools necessary to communicate the importance of these actions with their clients, and in advocating for the inclusion of landscape architects in adaptation projects at all scales.
“By 2027, 70% of the members of relevant professional associations (e.g., civil engineers, planners, landscape architects, accountants, and others) have the capacity to apply climate change adaptation tools and information and communicate the business case for adaptation measures to their clients or target audiences” (Government of Canada, National Adaptation Strategy, p. 29
“Landscape architects are uniquely qualified to address the challenges associated with climate change in Canada. Our profession specializes in bridging the gap between the built and natural environments, and the design and implementation of nature based solutions.” Jane Welsh, City of Toronto (Chair of the CSLA Committee on Climate Adaptation)
The CSLA would like to thank our volunteer members, Dr. Colleen Mercer Clarke and Grant Fahlgren, for their contributions to the National Adaptation Strategy through participation on the Thriving Natural Environment advisory table and Advisory Table on Resilient Natural and Built Infrastructure.
CSLA's Human Health and Well-Being Committee is proud to release The Power of Nature for Mental Health and Well-Being
The CSLA's Human Health and Well-Being Committee has prepared a document to help advocate for the power of nature for mental health and well-being. We invite you to consult this document, and to share it as a briefing note, a political note, or whenever you require information to help advocate for the profession's impact on public health through the stewardship of nature and the design of the built environment. As we face rapid environmental changes and an epidemic of non-communicable diseases with risk factors including physical inactivity, air pollution, mental health issues and unhealthy diets, landscape architects possess the skills to positively impact the natural and built environments to address public health issues. We hold an exciting, yet challenging, opportunity to make a real difference in the health and well-being of the people in the communities in which we practice.
Call for Submissions: Winter 2023 Edition of Landscapes | Paysages
Landscape Architects have long incorporated ways to “wink” at us in their work – for example, to convey humour, to delight, or to invite participants into a deeper story. Sometimes the message is clear and intended to be embraced by all (Claude Cormier’s Berczy Park may come to mind). Other times it can be much more subtle, perhaps understood only by others well-versed in the field, or those with an intimate familiarity with the place.
This issue's call for submissions explores the creative process of designers who find ways to wink at the world through the modification of the outdoor environment. We are looking for essays, articles, project summaries, and/or commentaries on the use of humour in the design process as well as designs which “wink” at us.
Thank you for joining us at CSLA Congress 2023!
Don't miss the CSLA 2023 Congress photos, which will be distributed shortly.
Did you participate in the "Find a Fellow" challenge at Congress? If so, please send a photo of your signed badge to Michelle Legault by July 4 at executive-director@csla-aapc.ca.
Member News
In memoriam: Stephen Rupert
Steve passed away suddenly in Toronto on May 16, 2023.
In memoriam: Reinhart L. Petersmann
Reinhart Ludwig Petersmann, 87, died peacefully with his family by his side in Halifax on June 12, 2023.
CSLA Member Brad Smith Awarded the Alumni Volunteer Award from Guelph University
Partner News
Year of the Garden: Garden Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame members are Canadians who have shaped the Canadian garden landscape. The Honorary Committee of the Garden Council of Canada meticulously selects Garden Hall of Fame members, who include gardeners, horticulturists, designers, educators and advocates, who have significantly influenced Canadian garden culture and championed the importance of gardens in our society.
The Garden Hall of Fame allows the public to discover the extraordinary contributions they have made to the horticultural and garden experience sectors, and to garden culture in Canada. Each of the achievements of Garden Hall of Fame members has set new benchmarks and is a source of inspiration for future generations.
LACF News
With the Help of a LACF Research Grant, Kaari Kitawi Unveils a New Series of Videos Highlighting Black Design Professionals in Canada
The recent events in the US and the agitation for justice and equality by the Black Lives Matter movement has forced every profession and organization to re-examine how their practices may have contributed to the discrimination and the exclusion of Blacks, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). One such issue is the low university enrolment of BlPOC students, particularly Black and Indigenous, in architecture, landscape architecture, and planning programs. With the help of a LACF grant, Kaari Kitawi used storytelling through digital media to reach out to high schoolers by featuring the career journeys of Black professionals in Canada in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, and planning.
Other News
National Capital Commission: Urban Design Challenge 2023
Urban planning and design have the potential to radically transform our collective environment, influencing and facilitating the way we use public spaces. The Urban Design Challenge is a competition that invites students from across the country to propose design concepts for sites in the National Capital Region (the Region).
The competition is open to students enrolled in an accredited educational institution in Canada. The NCC encourages students to form interdisciplinary teams to examine all aspects of urban planning, site design, architecture, aboriginal planning and landscape design.
Public City: Call for volunteers until July 7
In 2022, Public City Architecture's Thunderhead proposal won an international design competition to create Canada's national 2SLGBTQI+ monument. Construction of the monument in Ottawa is scheduled for completion in mid-2025.
One of Thunderhead's key design elements is a healing circle surrounded by stones chosen by Two-Spirit representatives from all 13 provinces and territories. The two-spirit representatives were selected by Albert McLeod, a member of our design team and two-spirit advisor.
The Public City is asking one or more CSLA members from each province and territory to volunteer as a local liaison. The volunteer will meet with the Two-Spirit representative, assist the design team in determining appropriate stone gathering methods in their area, review the suitability of stone as a building material, and record/document key moments in the process. We estimate that the time required will be around 10 to 15 hours, depending on location and process, and could contribute to ongoing training hours.
The collection of stones will take place in the summer of 2024, but we'd like to start the discussion with volunteers now. This is an opportunity to strengthen ties within your communities and continue to advocate for diversity, equity and decolonization across Canada. Your participation will be recognized. We hope to have volunteers from coast to coast who will play an important role in this historic project.
If you are interested, please contact Liz Wreford OALA, MALA, SALA, AALA at liz@publiccityarchitecture.com for more information.
Project update: Alexandra Bridge Replacement Project
The Honourable Helena Jaczek, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, announced today that the Government of Canada has awarded a $14.95 million contract to Arup Canada Inc. for the professional services of a technical consultant in support of the Alexandra Bridge Replacement Project.