CSLA News
MESSAGE FROM CSLA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MICHELLE LEGAULT
Dear Colleagues,
Along with you, I've been following the horrifying crisis in the Middle East, and wish to acknowledge the suffering currently being experienced there. IFLA calls for an end to the war: IFLA Statement on the War in the Middle East — International Federation of Landscape Architects (iflaworld.com). But as I sit in my little home office here in Ottawa, I wonder: can we do more? How can I, as an individual, promote peace globally, and make this world a better place for all? I take some measure of comfort from the CSLA's work in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, which is so important. Volunteer landscape architects from across the country have come together to form a nationally representative committee to advance this important mission. We are reviewing privacy policies, creating resources, generating awareness, collecting data, coordinating communications and having tough conversations to advance this work. I thank those volunteers from the bottom of my heart. They are taking time and making efforts for a better world, and at CSLA, we will do all we can to promote justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
Submit your project for the 2024 Awards of Excellence Program
National Awards are granted for work that demonstrates excellence against all judging criteria. Up to fifteen National Awards may be awarded each year. These projects become nominees for the Jury’s Award of Excellence, which, at the pleasure of the jury, will be given to a project which best demonstrates the CSLA’s vision to advance the art, science and practice of landscape architecture.
Deadline: Thursday, January 25th, 2024 at 4 pm ET
Nominations are now open for the 2024 Class of Fellows
Election to the College of Fellows is one of the highest honours bestowed on members of the CSLA. Its purpose is to recognize achievement, further the high quality of the profession, mentor other professionals and work to benefit the community.
Submissions must be received by e-mail before 4 p.m. EST January 19th, 2024. Late or incomplete submissions will not be accepted.
Nominate your colleagues for the 2024 Recognition Awards
The CSLA invites nominations for the Recognition Awards. The deadline to submit nominations is February 1st 2024 at 4 pm ET.
Click on the link below to visit our website where you can find the nomination guidelines and submission form for each award.
Submit your Abstracts for the 2024 CSLA-MALA Congress
The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) together with the Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects (MALA) invite qualified experts to submit abstracts for presentations and sessions to be presented at the upcoming 2024 CSLA-MALA Congress.
Call for Submissions: Spring 2024 Edition, "Generations"
Generations are defined by shared experiences, values, aspirations, identities, challenges, and practices. As we prepare to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the CSLA, we ask: What gets passed on from one generation to the next? And what threads have generations of landscape architects woven to sustain us thus far?
Final Draft submission deadline is November 24, 2023 (or earlier).
Call for Submissions opens for the 2024 National Urban Design Awards
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC), the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) are pleased to announce that submissions are now being accepted for the 2024 National Urban Design Awards.
The National Urban Design Awards are awarded every two years and recognize the important link between architects, planners, and landscape architects in achieving successful urban design.
The deadline to submit a project for consideration is January 11, 2024, at 10:00 p.m. ET.
Call for members to review historical timeline and make suggestions
The CSLA's 90th Anniversary Celebration Task Force is currently working on a special logo to commemorate the anniversary in 2024 in addition to developing a historic timeline of the profession and the CSLA.
You can check out a preview of the timeline and by all means, please share all important historic milestones we should add to the timeline by emailing me at executive-director@csla-aapc.ca. The task force has also submitted a proposal to the Royal Canadian Mint for a commemorative coin.
Summary of Decisions of CSLA Board Meeting: September 2023
- A network on artificial intelligence and its use in the profession was established.
- Congress agreements were approved with OALA (in Ottawa in 2025) and AALA (in Calgary or Edmonton for 2027)
- The Awards of Excellence's management and administration was restructured slightly by shifting its responsibility in-house, removing the committee structure put in place earlier to support the awards, introducing up to three year terms for jurors, tasking the jury with providing feedback on the program's improvement and tasking the Executive Director and Board Champion (currently CSLA Board member for Alberta Michael Magnan) for the program with facilitation and management of the program as a whole.
- Changes were approved to the various recognition awards, increasing their frequency and simplifying the nomination process, and the past president and president elect were tasked with championing the recognition awards program.
Member News
CSLA Offers Its Condolences to the CCxA Team, and Landscape Architects Everywhere Mourn the Passing of Claude Cormier
Designed Landscapes, 37 Key Projects
By Alan Tate, Marcella Eaton
Designed Landscapes is a case-by-case study of 37 significant, existing works of landscape design worldwide, largely constructed since the Renaissance. Being an informative and easy-to-read reference volume for practitioners and students alike, it presents key precedents in landscape architecture using site plans and recent photographs to showcase each project.
LACF News
Kristina Zalite Receives the Inaugural 2023 Robert N. Allsopp
Urban Design Fellowship
Congratulations to Kristina Zalite on being the recipient of the inaugural Robert N. Allsopp Urban Design Fellowship for her project titled "Examining Ecological Succession and Decolonizing Approaches to Find Methods for Designing Urban Landscape Architecture Projects for Long Term Success".
Learn more about Kristina and her urban design project here
Margot Kopache is the 2023 Recipient of the Frederick Gage Todd National Scholarship
Congratulations to Margot Kopache, the recipient of the 2023 Frederick Gage Todd National Scholarship!
Click here to read more about Margot, the jury's decision, and what the scholarship means to her
Thank you to our 10 generous Frederick Gage Todd Scholarship donors!
Thanks to the 'Ten for Todd' fundraising campaign, we are approaching our goal and in three years have raised over $300,000 in this campaign.
We are that much closer to endowing the 2024 Frederick Gage Todd Scholarship, which is LACF's premier scholarship valued at $10,000.00 per year. It was awarded for the first time in 2021 to Kendra Scanlon, to Nicole Dulong in 2022, and to Margot Kopache in 2023.
The 2023 "Ten for Todd" are:
- Christine Abe
- Vincent Asselin
- Eha Naylor
- Margaret Ferguson
- Faye Langmaid
- Chris Grosset
- Margot Long
- Doug Carlyle
- Peter Jacobs
- Trevor McIntyre
Invest in the Profession by Donating to LACF
Make a donation to LACF today to help provide critical financial support for LACF programs and initiatives aimed at creating a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient future for all. Help us empower future leaders and innovative researchers in the profession of landscape architecture.
Learn more about how your contributions can make a difference, and how to make your donation
IFLA News
Strategic partnership: IFLA Americas and CLARB aim to strengthen landscape
architecture profession in western hemisphere
RESTON, Virginia
The International Federation of Landscape Architects Americas Region (IFLA Americas) and The Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at elevating and uniting the landscape architecture profession across the Americas.
To formalize the partnership, CLARB president Carisa McMullen, PLA and IFLA Americas president and CLARB director-at-large Mónica Pallares signed a memorandum of understanding at the CLARB Annual Meeting in Henderson, Nevada on September 20, 2023.
The agreement outlines the two outlines the two groups' efforts to work collaboratively on several common goals, including:
- Promote the development of landscape architecture standards for professional registration and education accreditation in Latin American countries.
- Conduct research on topics related to official recognition and regulation of landscape architects.
- Disseminate the findings of the IFLA-CLARB Global Survey of Practice to countries in the IFLA Americas region.
- Support the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in a pilot candidacy for LAAB accreditation.
"It is important for IFLA Americas to build key partnerships with allied organizations, as it is with CLARB, to mutually collaborate and share our knowledge and experiences. This kind of agreement will make both organizations stronger, giving more visibility to the profession and giving support to those places where it is still emerging," says Pallares.
The two groups plan to work closely together to achieve their shared goals. CLARB will provide bilingual technical support for the 2023 IFLA Americas Region Council.
"We believe that nature has no borders, and neither should landscape architecture," says McMullen. "We are grateful for this opportunity to contribute to the international landscape architecture community by sharing our organization's experience in the development and promotion of landscape architecture standards."
Reflections on the 59th IFLA World Council and Congress from IFLA President Bruno Marques
Greetings,
And four weeks have passed since we met in Nairobi, Stockholm or online. It was great to see old friends and make new ones. It was equally exciting to see the energy and dedication of our member associations, The Architecture Association of Kenya and Swedish Architects, in putting together the first-ever bilateral congress in IFLA’s history.
As we resume our lives, I’d like us to reflect on the accomplishments of the last council.
Over two days, we witnessed the power of collective action and the strength of our global community of landscape architects. It was a testament to our commitment to enhancing the profession, addressing global challenges, and fostering innovation.
We were delighted to welcome the Egyptian Society of Landscape Architects (ESLA) and the Saudi Society of Landscape Architects (SSLA) to the IFLA family and our new individual members. We are now 80 member associations representing more than 70,000 landscape architects worldwide. We were equally excited to welcome our long-lasting partner as the first Category D Corporate member of IFLA – the Council of Landscape Architecture Registration Boards (CLARB). Adding these organisations and individuals to our global network reinforces the diversity and richness of our community. Together, we will strengthen our collective voice and influence.
Turning our attention to education in landscape architecture, we recognise the pivotal role played by organisations like the European Council of Landscape Architecture Schools (ECLAS) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA). It was great to have them present at our council. The collaborative efforts of ECLAS and CELA with IFLA are shaping the future of education in our field, ensuring that the next generation of landscape architects is well-prepared to address the complex challenges of the 21st century.
Professional standards and registration are paramount to our profession’s credibility and accountability. In this pursuit, we must remain steadfast and unwavering. We have made strides, but there is more work to be done. I’d like to acknowledge the Professional Standards Working Group led by Fritz Auweck. Together, we will continue to push toward attaining professional standards worldwide.
As we look ahead, the future of corporate governance within IFLA is a topic of great importance. We must ensure that our organisational structures are agile, transparent, and accountable, enabling us to adapt to a rapidly changing world. I look forward to embarking on the corporate governance review and having the input of our membership on what IFLA should look like in the future.
Also, our commitment to addressing the urgent issue of climate change remains unwavering. The IFLA Climate Commitment Plan has set the stage for transformative action. What’s next? It is a question we must continually ask ourselves as we strive to turn our commitments into tangible solutions for a sustainable future. Don’t forget to answer the quick survey from our IFLA Climate Commitment Working Group.
As we went home, I’m sure everyone felt richer as we forged new relationships with key partners and stakeholders. It is worth mentioning the workshops we had with the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH), where we expect the commitment of our delegates to push the urban health agenda. We’ll have a follow-up workshop in Istanbul to report progress on this. In addition, the workshop with the UN-Habitat was fantastic and we are currently working on a MoU to set the expectations for the future. We learned what they do best and we taught them what the profession of landscape architecture does. Next year in Istanbul, we hope to welcome new partners to keep discussing not only how to collaborate but also how to push forward the landscape architecture agenda.
And finally, I’d like to take a moment to recognise the exceptional work being carried out by our committees and working groups. These dedicated teams are instrumental in raising visibility, standards, and competencies in landscape architecture. Their relentless pursuit of excellence deserves our utmost appreciation. Equally, key initiatives at the regional level continue to bolster IFLA’s mandate as a global organisation. Our regional efforts keep strengthening our profession, allowing us to address local challenges while advancing the broader field of landscape architecture.
In closing, I would like to express my deep gratitude to all of you for your dedication, passion, and unwavering support for IFLA’s mission. Together, we are charting a course for the future of landscape architecture that is both impactful and inspirational. I hope everyone left the World Council and Congress with renewed enthusiasm and determination, knowing that our collective efforts will shape the landscapes of tomorrow.
Once again, a massive acknowledgment to the Architecture Association of Kenya and Swedish Architects for welcoming us with their arms wide open and being such great hosts.
We now pass the baton to the Chamber of Turkish Landscape Architects (CTLA) and look forward to seeing you all in Istanbul.
Sincerely yours,
Dr Bruno Marques
IFLA President
Other News
2024 BC Land Summit: Call for Program & Presentation Proposals
The BC Land Summit Society is proud to present the 2024 BC Land Summit – Collaborations & Connections – being held May 8 - 10, 2024 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre in Nanaimo, BC.
In anticipation of this great event, we are pleased to invite you to submit your proposal for inclusion in the program for the 2024 BC Land Summit – Collaborations & Connections.
Conference 2023 - Adaptation and resilience through landscapes!
We look forward to seeing you on November 7 at the Port of Montreal's Grand Quai.
Survey: Canada in a Changing Climate, the National Knowledge Assessment
Natural Resources Canada has launched a new survey on Canada in a Changing Climate, the National Knowledge Assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation in Canada.
The survey will gather feedback on how you use information on climate change impacts and adaptation and what topics and formats you find most useful.
Thank you for answering the survey. Your answers will help NRCan deliver what you need in the next series!
The Art of Leadership: Women
Canada's #1 Women's Leadership Conference
The Art of Leadership Women returns this November with its highly anticipated 10th national tour! This unique one-day conference features an empowering lineup of speakers and topics curated to share strategies and insights on the most critical issues facing leaders today. Don't miss this opportunity to develop your leaders, engage your talent, and build high-performing teams. Use promo code CSLA40 to save up to $100!
Survey: Barriers and Opportunities for cross-sectoral engagement on urban nature-based solutions for cities
A team from Concordia University and ECCC are undertaking an online survey to assess the ability of, and challenges for, working cross-sectorally towards bridging the science-policy gap in Canada as it is related to urban nature-based solutions. The results from this survey will help identify current strengths and weaknesses on how we mobilize science towards policy action, and guide scientific research by on-the-ground knowledge. Survey link (english) (approx. 10-20 min, deadline Nov. 1, 2023)
If you have any questions about this research project or would like to recommend other survey participants, please contact Carly Ziter (carly.ziter@concordia.ca) or Research Associate Kayleigh Hutt-Taylor (kayleighhutttaylor@gmail.com).
Practitioner Exchange for Effective Response to Sea Level Rise (PEERS)
Are you working on projects and/or research involving sea level rise and coastal resilience? If so, you are invited to join the international member-led PEERS organization.
In the past 18 months PEERS has held two global workshops, helped lead a major international conference, and held a successful series of webinars on adaptation pathways. Please fill out the PEERS membership form to join and receive updates on PEERS activities.
PEERS will be formally launched at the Adaptation Futures Conference in Montreal (Wednesday 4 October, 10am) - please join us and say hello!
THE 2023 CANADIAN CITY PARKS REPORT: Surfacing Solutions
How addressing conflict and reframing challenges as opportunities can create more equitable and sustainable parks.