F E AT U R E
Adam White
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As Adam White steps down as Landscape Institute President, he looks back on two action-packed years
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wo years ago, long before mass gatherings were prohibited, I took over from Merrick Denton-Thompson as President of the LI at a packed ceremony in the Garden Museum in London. Six-metre birch, field maple and small-leaved lime trees and 300 woodland perennial plants transformed the venue into a scene from my favourite childhood book, Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. In front of 250 guests, I set out my mission as President: to celebrate
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the science behind ecotherapy; to strengthen ties across the landscape sector; to explore the profession’s response to biosecurity issues and the climate crisis; and to launch a new careers campaign.
The science behind nature I often talk about nature deficit disorder: the physical and mental problems that arise when people, especially children, spend little or no time outdoors in natural environments. I was delighted to welcome Florence Williams, author of The Nature Fix, to speak at the LI Awards in 2018.
Building collaboration I believe strongly in people, place and nature - three words that now inform the core values at the LI. One of my priorities was to promote crossindustry collaboration and the need to raise awareness of plant health and biosecurity risks. We launched the LI Biosecurity toolkit, developed by the LI’s Plant Health and Biosecurity Working Group in partnership with SGD, BALI and APL. A special highlight was hosting events for the Landscape Institute’s 90th birthday. It was a huge honour
1. Sir David Attenborough at the 2019 Landscape Institute Awards, where he received the LI Medal for Lifetime Achievement. © Nick Harrison
