Haig Seferian, BLA, University of Guelph, 1987 has been Principal Landscape Architect of Seferian Design Group since 1992. Haig has demonstrated strong industry leadership, participated in government affairs advocacy groups, and provided industry leadership through the mentoring of students. As a volunteer, he has designed and built millions of dollars’ worth of public space community projects and he continues to provide public and industry education in the field of landscape architecture throughout North America.
He understood early in his career the value of government relations. For the last 30 years he has been involved with municipal and provincial governments working to promote landscape architecture. Haig was past chair/co-chair of the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC). This was a position appointed directly by the Minister of Education for the Province of Ontario.
As a tireless volunteer and mentor to high school and college students, he is constantly promoting the profession at public events as well as teaching and guest speaking at Sheridan College, Humber College, Fanshawe College, University of Guelph, University of Toronto, and Landscape Ontario. Haig has always believed that you must capture a student’s interest early in their education. For this reason, he has participated in a program that sees professionals visiting high schools and sharing the incredible potential of landscape architecture with the student body. This show-and-tell approach has been so well received that the Board of Education embraced the idea with industry backing; high schools are now creating Horticulture programs, which include design and construction.
As the first television show to appear on HGTV Canada, Haig hosted “Garden Architecture” for 65 episodes followed by authoring a book, “Hardscaping: High Style, Low Maintenance Outdoor Spaces”. The show and the book have since been translated into numerous languages and presented internationally. These accomplishments have led to hundreds of public and industry presentations throughout North America which he continues with today.
