NATIONAL LANDSCAPE DESIGNER COMMITTEE

BY ANNE KADWELL

A LANDSCAPE DESIGNER WORKING GROUP was formed as a subcommittee of the Landscape Canada Commodity group in 2014. The group reunited at the recent 2023 Landscape Ontario Congress where several designers from across Canada met to discuss their presence on a national level.

On February 1, thirty-three Landscape Designers logged on a zoom call led by Paul Brydges to discuss all practicing levels of the profession with the intent to harness their collective value chain power as first contacts and influencers. Out of this meeting came many goals and initiatives: l To nationally identify and engage the designer sector of the value chain l Work together to solve designer issues and opportunities l Work towards education and training leading to certification at all levels of the profession potentially to include a new laddering designation of Garden Designer (working title) for introductory-level designers l To provide a national designer hub for networking, mentoring and community l To assist Provincial Associations and to increase membership through onboarding of Landscape Designers (LD) l To have a position of influence at the national level with government and the public l To have a voice at the CNLA Board table l To position the Canadian Landscape Standard as the BMP tool within the design process

We are looking forward to growing this committee and providing a new membership resource for designers across the country. If you are interested in being a part of these discussions please contact anne@canadanursery.com.