Adam White

As Adam White steps down as Landscape Institute President, he looks back on two action-packed years

Two 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 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 to take the LI back to RHS Chelsea, where it was founded in 1929. It was at RHS Chelsea that I co-designed the RHS Back to Nature garden with my business partner Andrée Davies and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. The Back to Nature Gardens reached an audience of millions and highlighted the importance of nature for everyone, especially children.

#ChooseLandscape

I have always been keen to inspire the next generation to choose a career in landscape. This came in the form of Choose Landscape, a campaign created to promote the range of career choices and opportunities in the landscape profession. Since I launched Choose Landscape in 2018 it has gone global and been embraced by over 25 countries. I am also delighted that the LI will be launching the Landscape Apprenticeship programme later in the year.

Partnerships

Earlier in the year I reached out on the LI’s behalf to strengthen our existing relationship with the Architects Benevolent Society (ABS) and form a new partnership with Perennial. Both organisations provide practical, financial and emotional support for those working within our sector.

The RHS Back to Nature garden was designed by HRH The Duchess of Cambridge together with Davies White Landscape Architects. The Garden was visited by Her Majesty the Queen during the Chelsea Flower Show 2019.

© RHS

I was honoured to give the opening speech of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of Ian McHarg’s book Design with Nature: A Celebration of Influence and Legacy, at Edinburgh College of Art. This seminal text by McHarg ‘Design with Nature’ has had a huge impact on the profession of landscape architecture, shifting its focus from more of an aesthetic towards a large-scale ecological approach.

Back in 2018, the LI ran a competition in partnership with NHS England and Ebbsfleet Development Corporation to find the most creative ideas to help shape the landscape of Ebbsfleet, the first Garden City of the 21st century. We were unanimous in selecting the winner: HALO developed by Bradley Murphy Design.

One of my ambitions as President was to raise the profile of the UK profession globally. I was delighted to be a keynote speaker at the IFLA 2018 World Congress in Singapore, the World Urban Parks Congress in Kazan, Russia, the IFLA 2019 World Congress in Singapore, the Paysalia Conference in Lyon, France and, until COVID-19 came along, I was due to open the IFLA 2020 World Congress in Malaysia. The IFLA World Congress is the world’s largest gathering of landscape professionals and it has been a real honour representing the profession on such a huge stage.

IFLA World Congress Singapore showcased the work of the Landscape Institute.

© IFLA

In September 2019 I was invited to have dinner with Al Gore. Along with a number of industry leaders we discussed the challenges that lay ahead for the planet over the next ten years and I explained the work the landscape profession is doing in the UK and how I believe a collaborative approach is a huge part of the solution.

Stand out award winners during my Presidency include What’s Growing on the Greenway, a project that won both Communications and Presentation Award and the LI President’s Award. Another memorable winner was Beech Gardens, Barbican Estate by Nigel Dunnett and Landscape Agency, winning the inaugural Planting Design Award and the College of Fellows Award in 2018.

There have been some fantastic highlights. These include the collaboration with Andrée and the Duchess of Cambridge, but nothing tops getting to know Sir David Attenborough and having him accept our invitation to the LI Awards in 2019. I was delighted that I was able to present him with a LI ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award and make him an Honorary member of the LI.

A major part of my presidency was making sure we equip members with the skills they need. This is more relevant than ever as we adapt to the challenges of COVID-19. In April 2019 I was thrilled to launch LI Campus – the first dedicated online learning hub of its kind for the landscape sector.

Although COVID-19 has hijacked 2020, we must not ignore the fact that we are still facing the climate and biodiversity emergency. Climate change and COVID-19 are two very different challenges, but they have some key things in common; they are global, they do not respect national boundaries and they demand that countries work together to find solutions. When we work together, even small personal actions, like physical distancing, can make a big difference.

Last month I launched the LI Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan and made the commitment that the LI will be net zero by our centenary year 2029. We now have a commitment to offsetting all international travel and ensuring that as many of our meetings as possible take place online. It is vital that when we look back and celebrate 100 years, we are certain that our actions have worked to safeguard life of all kinds on this planet – not just for now, but for the future too. Landscape professionals are uniquely positioned to tackle this crisis head on. For years we’ve worked with nature, designed green infrastructure, and enhanced communities, respecting the past while thinking of the future. We have the power to design, plan and manage resilient places and restore natural habitats – and be low carbon when we do so.

Hal Moggride cutting the cake to celebrate the LI’s 90th Birthday

© Nick Harrison

Guest of honour Alan Titchmarsh at the LI’s 90th birthday

© Nick Harrison

Adam White at the IFLA World Congress in Oslo

© IFLA

The Back to Nature Garden received global publicity including this piece in Hallo magazine

© Hallo magazine

Royal visitors at the Chelsea Flower Show

© RHS

Celebrating the LI’s 90th Birthday at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

© Nick Harrison

Presenting Choose Landscape at the IFLA World Congress

© IFLA

Nigel Dunnett, winner of the Fellows Award 2018 for Beech Gardens with presenter Arit Anderson and host Ebs Akintade

© Nick Harrison

Being President has been a once in lifetime experience, I definitely took my Dad’s advice and seized every opportunity that came my way. He once said, ‘It’s not what you say, it’s not what you do, it’s how you make people feel.’ I do hope I have inspired those that I have worked with to keep talking and collaborating, sharing best practice and inspiring the next generation to choose a career in landscape. It is a shame that my final four months as President have been restricted to Zoom and WebEx. I was looking forward to continuing my travels across the UK to speak at events. In the meantime, thank you to all those that have supported me, and I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Jane Findlay the very best of luck as the new incoming President.