Ground 55 – Fall 2021 – Connect by Ground Magazine

Landscape Architect Quarterly

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Round Table Connecting our Inner and Outer Landscapes Features Diversity in Canadian Landscape Architecture

Five Trees for the Senses

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Publication # 40026106

The City is a Forest

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Fall 2021 Issue 55

Masthead

OALA

About

About the OALA

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects and provides an open forum for the exchange of ideas and information related to the profession of landscape architecture. Letters to the editor, article proposals, and feedback are encouraged. For submission guidelines, contact Ground at magazine@oala.ca. Ground reserves the right to edit all submissions. The views expressed in the magazine are those of the writers and not necessarily the views of the OALA and its Governing Council.

The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects works to promote and advance the profession of landscape architecture and maintain standards of professional practice consistent with the public interest. The OALA promotes public understanding of the profession and the advancement of the practice of landscape architecture. In support of the improvement and/or conservation of the natural, cultural, social and built environments, the OALA undertakes activities including promotion to governments, professionals and developers of the standards and benefits of landscape architecture.

Councillors Cynthia Graham Aaron Hirota Shawn Watters

Upcoming Issues of Ground Ground 56 (Winter) Home

Associate Councillor—Senior Chen Zixiang

Deadline for advertising space reservations: October 13, 2021

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Editor Glyn Bowerman

2021 OALA Governing Council

Photo Editor Jasper Flores

President Steve Barnhart

OALA Editorial Board Saira Abdulrehman Tracy Cook Eric Gordon Mark Hillmer Helene Iardas Eric Klaver Sarah Manteuffel Nadja Pausch (Chair) Kaari Kitawi Dalia Todary-Michael Stacey Zonneveld

Vice President Stefan Fediuk

Web Editor Jennifer Foden Social Media Manager Jennifer Foden Art Direction/Design Noël Nanton/typotherapy www.typotherapy.com Advertising Inquiries advertising@oala.ca 416.231.4181 Cover Kinetic installation by Dalia TodaryMichael and Saria Ghaziri - see page 03. Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published four times a year by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects. Ontario Association of Landscape Architects 3 Church Street, Suite 506 Toronto, Ontario M5E 1M2 416.231.4181 www.oala.ca oala@oala.ca Copyright © 2021 by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects. Contributors retain copyright of their work. All rights reserved. ISSN: 0847-3080 Canada Post Sales Product Agreement No. 40026106

Treasurer Cameron Smith Secretary Justin Whalen Past President Jane Welsh

Associate Councillor—Junior Jenny Trinh Lay Councillor Karen Liu Appointed Educator University of Guelph Nadia Amoroso Appointed Educator University of Toronto TBC University of Guelph Student Representative Tatijana Vukovic University of Toronto Student Representative Natasha Raseta OALA Staff

Ground 57 (Spring) Explore Deadline for editorial proposals November 8, 2021 Deadline for advertising space reservations: January 12, 2022 Ground 58 (Summer) Impact Deadline for editorial proposals February 10, 2022 Deadline for advertising space reservations: April 6, 2022

Executive Director Aina Budrevics Registrar Ingrid Little Coordinator Juleen Anderson

See www.groundmag.ca to download articles and share content on social media. See www.groundmag.ca for a digital, searchable, archival database, listing all articles, authors, subjects, key words, etc. published in Ground over the years.

TO VIEW ADDITIONAL CONTENT RELATED TO GROUND ARTICLES, VISIT WWW.GROUNDMAG.CA.

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Advisory Panel

Andrew B. Anderson, OALA – Inactive Member, BLA, MSc. World Heritage Management Landscape & Heritage Expert, Oman Botanic Garden John Danahy, OALA – Retired Member, Associate Professor, University of Toronto George Dark, OALA, FCSLA, ASLA, Principal, Urban Strategies Inc., Toronto Real Eguchi, OALA – Retired Member, Toronto Donna Hinde, OALA, FCSLA, Partner, The Planning Partnership, Toronto Ryan James, OALA, Senior Landscape Architect, Novatech, Ottawa Alissa North, OALA, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Principal of North Design Office, Toronto Peter North, OALA, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Principal of North Design Office, Toronto Nathan Perkins, MLA, PhD, ASLA, Associate Professor, University of Guelph Victoria Taylor, OALA, Principal, Victoria Taylor Landscape Architect, Toronto Jim Vafiades, OALA, FCSLA, Senior Landscape Architect, Stantec, Toronto

Contents

Up Front Information on the ground

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Connect: Diversity in Canadian Landscape Architecture Where we’ve come and where we need to go

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TEXT BY KAARI KITAWI, OALA AND HELENE IARDAS, OALA

Round Table Connecting our Inner and Outer Landscapes MODERATED BY REAL EGUCHI, OALA (RETIRED) 12/

The City is a Forest Building cities that are smart, green, and connected

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TEXT BY SHANNON BAKER, OALA

Five Trees For The Senses

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TEXT BY HEATHER SCHIBLI, OALA

Landscape and the Smart City

President’s Message

Editorial Board Message

Landscape Architects’ Guide the Smart City Conversation This summer seemed to provide exceptional focus for outdoor experiences, whether close to home or planned treks into the wilderness. Pandemic restrictions have shown that people’s desire to connect to nature has become a high priority in response to a lack of other recreational opportunities.

Whether consciously or subconsciously, we know we live fuller, healthier lives when we are in a state of connection. As social creatures, we thrive in community, both with each other and the larger world around us. We know intuitively that when we operate from a place of connection our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health is bolstered and improved. It is when we are in connection that we operate at our highest potential.

Seeking the Outdoors Working remotely has its negative impacts on fitness and social isolation; too much time sitting in front of a computer screen has driven many people to seek the outdoors to counter the sedentary lifestyle. All walks of life are reconnecting to nature through a variety of recreational activities, from strolls through neighbourhoods, cycling along trails, or hiking to that special destination to embark on the half-day adventure. Share Experiences Today’s pandemic world is different, with access to mobile technology and reliance on staying continually connected outdoors to track steps, share experiences on social media, and explore destinations, while remaining always present for the next video chat.

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TEXT BY ALISON LUMBY, OALA, JENNIFER SISSON, OALA, AND MAX LI, OALA

Notes A miscellany of news and events

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Artifact New Snow Plows for Old Toronto TEXT BY GLYN BOWERMAN 42/

Internet Access All levels of government are recognizing the importance of internet access for Canadians, especially in remote, rural communities who are falling behind in the so-called “digital divide.” Connecting remote locations has historically been cost prohibitive, but with many more satellites and advances in 5G and LTE networks, the blanket of the connected outdoors is spreading. In fact, in June, the Canadian government announced they would spend almost $16 million to bring internet access to about 7,500 homes in rural Ontario alone. With this technology comes new opportunities to introduce unique elements into the outdoors. Landscape architects are in a great position to lead that aesthetic solution. Design Solutions Wi-Fi transmitters incorporated into street light poles, or slim mini cell towers along public streets, charging stations, and interactive trail maps will bring a host of opportunities for new design solutions.

Fall 2021 Issue 55

Editorial Board Message

The time for our profession to respond to a rapidly changing outdoor environment has never been more pressing. STEVE BARNHART, OALA, CSLA OALA PRESIDENT PRESIDENT@OALA.CA

This season’s Round Table, moderated by Real Eguchi, is a contemplative and unique conversation regarding our relationship with the broader landscape around us—our more-than-human kin. The participants offer diverse and reflective discussion on how we might begin to connect our ‘inner landscapes’ with the broader environment around us. It is an important reminder for a species that so often gets wrapped up in our own ego—we are inherently tied to these broader landscapes, and it is disconnection from the natural world around us which can cause deep disharmony within ourselves and our societies. In many ways, our task as landscape architects is to design spaces which facilitate connection. We can achieve this through providing increased access to natural areas, or by bringing ecology back into the urban realm, but we can also leverage digital tools into order to create a connected cityscape which is more responsive, resilient, and equitable. The concept of the ‘Smart City,’ as well as our role in it as landscape architects, is discussed within this issue. With increasing vaccination rates and easing restrictions across the province, as well as globally, we have been able to venture back into connection with those we’ve been isolated from over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. For me personally, I have been struck by a sincere depth of gratitude for the opportunity to connect with loved ones beyond the now-familiar virtual realm. Let us move forward, never forgetting the privilege and beauty of being in connection with one another. NADJA PAUSCH, OALA, CSLA CHAIR, EDITORIAL BOARD MAGAZINE@OALA.CA

Up Front

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Up Front: Information on the Ground

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In Rhythmic Fragments interactive kinetic installation by Dalia Todary- Michael and Saria Ghaziri.

HEALING

virtual landscapes

Dalia Todary-Michael

As landscape architects, we are deeply in-tune with the fundamental principle that being in nature has a restorative effect on our health. Healing gardens have been in existence since the Middle Ages and continue to be associated with hospitals and care facilities. However, understanding of the psychological effects of nature were advanced only relatively recently; in large part by the work of Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in the field

Up Front

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of environmental psychology during the 1970s, to the 1990s. Their work on Attention Restoration Theory had a profound impact on how landscape architects design parks and gardens. In 2016, the World Health Organization released a report concluding that increased exposure to green landscapes in urban areas is associated with a reduction in mortality rates, improved mental and physical health, and fewer birth complications. As such, it is clear why immersion in nature is an important aspect of health and care programs, globally. By contrast, we are also deeply aware that access to nature is not equitable. Racially segregated communities and lower-income areas often encounter significant physical, social, and structural barriers to quality green spaces. Additionally, there are those who may be housebound or mobility-constrained who simply cannot access nature.

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4D Animation still of interactive kinetic installation by Dalia Todary-Michael and Saria Ghaziri

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Dalia Todary-Michael

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In Rhythmic Fragments interactive kinetic installation by Dalia Todary- Michael and Saria Ghaziri.

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Dalia Todary-Michael

Up Front

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better understand all the possibilities of nature-based, interactive technology in the arts, and how to bridge them in landscape design to heighten wellbeing and leverage more pronounced experiences of stimuli from nature and, ultimately, enhance our connections to the landscape.

Starting in the 1990s, there has been an increased interest in utilizing virtual technology to connect people who cannot access nature and its healing effects. Virtual Reality (VR) has been at the centre of a number of clinical studies in the prevention and treatment of mental and psychological health problems. The practice of connecting patients with nature through VR has been studied in the treatment of chronic pain management; in patients undergoing cancer treatment; as therapies for mental health, focused on anxiety disorders, eating disorders, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder; and cognitive rehabilitation. While many of these studies have shown levels of success in VR-immersive natural environments as a treatment therapy, there is still not enough evidence to definitively draw correlations.

Another approach to using interactive technologies in unlocking the restorative effects of nature is through physical, movement-based sculptural art. Fellow Ground editorial board member Dalia Todary-Michael has been studying this very idea through the process of building an artistic body of work using linear and radial automated machines that work on interactive feedback loops to replicate lively and nuanced movements in nature. Her work “In Rhythmic Fragments,” in collaboration with Saria Ghaziri, uses two interwoven waves that respond to the collective rhythm of people moving in its environment, captured by an infrared camera, shifting their interaction from asynchronous or synchronous to simulate harmony or dissonance. The effect of this and her other installations is to draw-out memories of nature: to make the viewer recount and relive the experience of watching wind pass through trees, or the steady and repetitive motion of waves on a beach. The outcome brings forward that individual’s memory and amplifies their cognitive recollection through heightened contemplation, back to that experience, to re-engage with the therapeutic effects, individually and collectively. Dalia is continuing her research to

As animals, humans need to connect with nature. It revitalizes, heals, and calms us. With the explosion of urban environments and their continued intensification, nature is becoming less accessible to us. On the other hand, technological advancement is constantly evolving, and, with it, we seem to be bridging the gap to nature and reconnecting with the land—hopefully leading to a greater respect for what nature we have left.

TEXT BY MARK HILLMER, OALA, MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD AND A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WORKING FOR A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY DESIGN FIRM IN TORONTO.

Up Front

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POLICY

good intentions As landscape architects, we have a built-in reverence for nature and outdoor space; for many of us, it is the reason we chose this profession. It may have been the camping trips with our families when we were kids, or the farms we grew up on, or walks along forest trails that gave us an appreciation for the natural world. Now, through both circumstance and necessity, the rest of the world has also come to embrace the great outdoors in the way landscape architects do, realizing, at least for this moment, the true value of this priceless asset to daily life—now and in the future. Over the course of the last year and a half, while we endured a global pandemic, we experienced a global awakening to the value of our shared parks and green spaces. This interest is reflected in the increasing number of webinars and podcasts on shaping outdoor spaces, exploring the value of green spaces from a social and financial perspective, and reenforcing the importance of open space to urban life and city-building. Articles and publications abound extolling the virtues of green space on our physical and psychological well-being—it lowers blood pressure, allows us to get some well needed exercise, and calms our frayed nerves. Additionally, well-designed green spaces can be part of our stormwater solutions, sequester carbon, and allow space for growing fresh fruit and vegetables. Clearly, open space is to be valued. How often, though, have we visited our local parks only to find public washrooms either closed or in a state of disrepair, or waste bins and recycling facilities overflowing? Not maintaining open space, whether it is public or private, is a too common problem. Even the best designed outdoor areas will deteriorate if not properly maintained. This sends a negative message about the value of open space. While trying to curb the spread of COVID-19 by working from home, having

virtual rather than in-person meetings and visits, and respecting government stay-at-home-orders, everyone gained a greater appreciation for those rare opportunities to meet with friends and family in the great outdoors. With this new demand, outdoor space became more limited, as everyone gathered in the same public spaces for muchneeded social contact. The casual observer became acutely aware of how important the parks, streets, and natural areas that have, until now, been taken for granted, really are. In response, the supply of available open space was being stretched in new and interesting ways to keep up with this new demand. Streets became cafes, patios, and cycling routes; parking lots became parks; parks invented strategies for socially distanced use; ravines and natural areas became overcrowded as social media promoted selfies in nature.

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An offering carefully arranged within a Toronto park shows how much it’s valued.

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Helene Iardas

Up Front

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Queen Street, Port Perry— temporary cafes.

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Helene Iardas

Calls to maintain this momentum by increasing and improving open space are being made, not only by prominent landscape architects, planners, architects, and other city-builders, but also by political representatives, fellow citizens, social agencies and other organizations, as well as medical communities. Collectively, we can all agree on the value of open space. But achieving concrete results comes with a new set of challenges for city-building professions and the bottom line. Our shared challenge, as a profession, as individual practitioners, and as citizens, is to find ways to be effective and creative about expanding and improving open space opportunities through our work, projects, policy, budgets, and communication. For example, the dual-use of outdoor space is one way to increase capacity for leisure activities that has had success during the pandemic. In Toronto, Lakeshore Boulevard became a car-free zone on weekends, and in cities everywhere, sidewalks were permitted to expand beyond the curb to accommodate outdoor seating. These examples of flexible approaches to how outdoor space is used, designed, and managed, demonstrate cost-effective solutions to increasing

available open space to accommodate greater numbers of people during periods of high occupancy. Our shared COVID experience has confirmed that open space is not a frill for urban living. It is an essential service. We need it to be part of our daily life for physical, psychological, social, environmental, spiritual, and even economic reasons. Budgets and funding for parks, natural areas, streetscapes and other open spaces should reflect this. The realized value of outdoor space is worth protecting for future generations—not just as a pandemicrelated anomaly. Funding will be tight during the recovery period, even as the value of outdoor space is promoted. Landscape architects, as stewards of the land, need to be realistic and innovative advocates for the public realm and other open space, in the face of competing and worthy interests including equity, reconciliation, affordable housing, long-term care reset, economic recovery, health, and welfare issues. TEXT BY HELENE IARDAS, BLA ’78, CURRENTLY ENJOYING HER OALA SEMI-RETIRED STATUS, AND HER GARDEN. TRACY COOK, BLA, ISA, TRAQ, MOM, WORLD TRAVELER, NATURE LOVER, NOT ALWAYS IN THAT ORDER.

Diversity in Canadian Landscape Architecture

TEXT BY KAARI KITAWI, OALA AND HELENE IARDAS, OALA

In Fall 2020, the CSLA, OALA, AALA, BCSLA, and MALA conducted a national Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) survey as a joint initiative. The survey’s purpose was to inform and support the profession’s goal to build an inclusive environment, understand those impacted, and identify the improvements needed to achieve inclusivity. The survey was partially in response to the June 8, 2020 Call to Action letter from OALA and CSLA members. One of the demands in the letter was for the OALA and CSLA to conduct “an annual formal diversity survey that includes a racial and gender breakdown for our membership so we can better understand our current membership base, how to engage a more racially-diverse member base, and to publish the results in an Annual Diversity and/or Annual Reconciliation Report.” To undertake the survey in a timely manner, the CSLA adapted an existing, researchvalidated diversity survey from a higher learning institution in Alberta. The survey had 24 questions covering quantifiable data such as age, gender, race, ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and language fluency. The survey also asked about members’ experience

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Where we’ve come and where we need to go with discrimination, familiarity with diversity policies, and ideas on improving diversity in the profession. Of the 2,009 OALA members, 332 (16.5 per cent) members responded to the survey. The survey outlined areas of inequity within this profession that are of concern to the responding members. In terms of race and ethnicity, recent demographics show there has been an increase in the number of East Asian professionals within the organization, but the number of Indigenous and Black landscape architects remains quite low. Gender issues rank as the greatest concern to responding members, followed by race and ethnicity. Survey respondents offered thoughtful and actionable suggestions for equity and reconciliation, reducing barriers, and promoting inclusivity. Dr. Radu Craiu, the Professor and Chair of Statistical Sciences at the University of Toronto, told Ground one of the challenges of surveys is they are optional and, in many cases, are completed by individuals with strong views who therefore eager to participate. These are individuals on polar opposites of the spectrum on issues, being either deeply disgruntled or highly satisfied. “People who are sort of lukewarm or in the

middle, or without any strong opinions, will not feel as compelled to participate.” To this end, surveys fall short of representing the opinions of people with middle-range views. Shortcoming of the DEI Survey Questions Certain survey questions were confusing and ultimately failed to provide useful information. Question 15, for example, received the lowest number of responses, and seemed to rile members. It asked: “Which racialized group(s) do you identify with?” It was preceded by Question 14 which asked, “We define a racialized individual as an individual who is identified or identifies as someone who is socially constructed as different among people and where this difference is based on characteristics such as accent or manner of speech, name, clothing, diet, beliefs and practices, leisure preferences, places of origin, and so forth. Do you identify as racialized?” One respondent responded, “The definition is so broad any person may be defined and identified as racialized.” In an attempt not to offend anyone by being all-encompassing, the question did the very opposite, and provided little useful information. Question 15 was one of the most important in the survey: yet, it only had 85 responses. Of those responses, 31 were answered as “not

Diversity in Canadian Landscape Architecture

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Stop viewing White men as a problem that needs to be solved.

Acknowledge there is a diversity problem – or rather a lack of diversity problem.

Advocate for universal design in public space. Ensure all designs meet or exceed requirements.

Acknowledges there is a problem

LA history should be inclusive – Asian, African, South American, Indigenous.

Respect traditional Canadian values, culture, heritage and English language.

Acknowledges a lack of diversity

Age

Doesn’t acknowledge there’s a problem

Indigenous Peoples Identification

60 11

225

3 No

5 Yes

Do you identify as a member of one of the First Nations, Metis, Inuit, or non-Status communities?

65+ Years

55-64 Years

45-54 Years

35-44 Years

25-34 Years

18-24 Years

Prefer not to Answer

232 Answered / 100 Skipped

233 Answered / 99 Skipped

Gender Identification

National DEI Responses

104 109 0 0 1 0 1 13 3 231 Answered / 101 Skipped

Male Female Transgender Male Transgender Female Nonbinary Gender Fluid Questioning Prefer not to Answer Another Identity

332 11 7 4 4 3 1 0 0 237 Answered / 5 Skipped

OALA members responded AALA members responded BCSLA members responded MALA members responded APALA members responded AAPQ members responded SALA member responded NWTLA members responded NUALA members responded

Prefer not to Answer

Diversity in Canadian Landscape Architecture

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Results from Survey: Question 9 comments from OALA respondents regarding areas to improve.

Outreach To High Schoolers Empower/Listen 01 10 19 Implement Policies Reach Out 02 11 20 Inclusive University Recruitment Acknowledge 03 21 Scholarships & 12 Grants University HR 04 Policy 13 22 Ask How Training 05 14 23 Indigenous Training Inclusive Urban Design Policies Collaborate 06 15 24 Avoid Tokenism Mentor New Staff Second Language/Accent 07 16 25 Cultural Landscapes Gender Equality 08 Diverse Leaders 17 26 Keep Discussion Going Amplify Diverse Voices and Increase Visibility 09 Track Progress 18 New Immigrant Career Pathway Accessibility Outreach to High Schoolers

HR Policy – fair wage, hiring policy, diversity hiring policy

Cultural Landscapes – not just Eurocentric design

Empower/Listen to young professionals

Ask How

Gender Equality – pay gap, pro-family HR policies, equal opportunity

Implement Policies – RFP, public engagement process, governance

Training – diversity, implicit bias, human rights, respect

Diverse Leaders

Reach Out to diverse groups

Indigenous Training – Integrate knowledge and land stewardship

Keep Discussion Going – articles, forums, dialogue

Inclusive – respect, celebrate differences

Inclusive Urban Design Policies – gentrification, inclusive policies, review CPTED, etc.

Amplify Diverse Voices and Increase Visibility – panelists, conferences, print media, highlight achievements

Collaborate – with allied professions to support BIPOC initiatives and professionals

Track Progress – through survey

Avoid Tokenism

New Immigrant Career Pathway – mentorship and internship

Mentor New Staff

Accessibility – design and work accommodation

University Recruitment

Acknowledge past issues and speak up

Scholarships & Grants – opportunity

University – curriculum, faculty, recruitment of students

Second Language/Accent – value technical competency over language fluency

Diversity in Canadian Landscape Architecture

applicable,” while the other 54 responses included a range of answers such as Asian, Disabled, Accent, Age and LGBTQ+, to name a few. Instead of focusing on all categories, this question’s focus should have been narrowed to a single category, in this case Race, and offer defined options to select from. Other diversity surveys, such as The City of Toronto’s Count Yourself In, capture the gender, indigenous status, race, ability and sexual orientation composition of staff. The questions are clear, concise, and direct, with answer options provided. The Ontario Association of Architects also conducted a diversity survey in March 2021 (results were published June 2021). 1,323 Members out of 7,447 completed the survey. The question on race was “Which race category best describes you? Select all that apply,” and they provided answer options. Lina Al-Dajani, chair of the CSLA’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, was not involved in the survey but acknowledged the survey has room for improvement. Perhaps, moving forward, the survey could make the questions clearer, focus on one category per question, and, where relevant, provide answer options. How far we have come The road to inclusion is a long one, and there’s a long way to go. The good news is the journey has already begun. OALA women members have experienced glass ceilings, overt disrespect and derision at construction sites and in boardrooms, salary discrepancies, and double standards. They have since made inroads, attributable, in part, to their efforts and perseverance. Today, gender is understood as a spectrum. Achieving equity across this spectrum will require sustained effort, but OALA membership has demonstrated some measure of success in dealing with gender— success that should inspire future progress. The OALA includes members of diverse ages, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, cultures, races, and ethnicities—role models

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whose inspirational careers and stories, past and present, need to be heard. Let’s recognize and appreciate those landscape architects who helped, and are helping, to reduce barriers and promote equity within the organization and industry. Next steps Al-Dajani advised that CSLA and OALA Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion task forces are preparing to hire a consultant to guide the development of a national and provincial action plan for the profession. “The consultant will also help to interpret the data collected and clarify what it means nationally, contributing to the action plan as a next steps,” she said. “There are also plans to improve upon this first survey and continue to issue effective and engaging diversity surveys, annually, so as to have measurable targets and performance indicators in support of an actionable plan that leads the profession to a demographic composition that is more accurately representative of its national and provincial populations.” Who, What and Why In Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss tells the story of an elephant named Horton who hears a faint cry for help from a tiny speck of dirt. Upon investigation, Horton learns the entire population of the town of Whoville lives on that speck. To keep the town safe, Horton carefully places the speck on a clover, which he vigilantly protects. The other animals in the jungle are perturbed by Horton’s obsession with protecting this “imaginary” town, and scheme to destroy the speck. In desperation, Horton calls on the Mayor of Whoville to get every Who to make a loud “Yopp!” sound in unison, so they can be heard by the other animals and, hopefully, prevent their demise. All efforts fail until, at last, they are joined by a final, tiny Who. “That one small, extra Yopp put it over! Finally, at last! From that speck on that clover their voices were heard! They rang out clear and clean.” Whoville was saved. To move the dial on diversity, equity and inclusion, every member will need to lend

their voice and efforts. Some members may feel these issues are not part of “our work,” or we should focus on matters such as climate change. Our profession is focused on both environment and people. The inclusion of all people is part of our work. The environment, the land is at the core of landscape architecture. The very land on which we work as Canadians is the ancestral home of the Indigenous people. So, in essence, our practice infringes on the world-view and rights of others. The challenges faced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) are not unique to landscape architecture, but cut across other allied disciplines such as planning and architecture. I know of several BIPOC professionals with international and local training who struggled to secure an internship with a firm and start their professional accreditation process. Some opted to work in factories, while others changed careers altogether. How do you “earn your place” if you cannot get your foot through the door? One survey respondent commented, “Organizations should not feel shame if their membership composition does not reflect the diversity of society.” But is it not our responsibility to ask why that is and what we can we do about it? As the number of immigrants in our population and women in our practice continues to grow, it is prudent from an economic as well as social perspective to review our policies to accommodate all voices, in order to remain relevant. By not having diverse voices represented in our association, we are missing important perspectives. Let us embrace and tap into our multicultural identity as Canadians and remember diversity is indeed our strength. BIO/

HELENE IARDAS, OALA (SEMI-RETIRED), CSLA, RPP, MCIP (RETIRED), GRADUATED FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH WITH A BACHELOR OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. RECENTLY RETIRED FROM TORONTO CITY PLANNING. KAARI KITAWI, OALA, IS AN URBAN DESIGNER AT THE CITY OF TORONTO AND IS A GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER. SHE HAS A MASTERS DEGREE OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO AND A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MATHEMATICS FROM KENYA. PRIOR TO MOVING TO CANADA, KAARI RAN HER OWN LANDSCAPE FIRM FOR OVER 10 YEARS.

Round Table

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01 MODERATED BY REAL EGUCHI, OALA (RETIRED) 01/

Dancers: Ryan Genoe & Alexis Fletcher, Blind As Night That Finds Us All

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Courtesy of Maggie Forgeron

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Illustrations from Where does it all come from? Where does it all go? Toronto water, engergy & waste systems by Mariko Uda, PHD.

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Courtesy of Dr. Mariko Uda

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Tamalpa Environment Days with Ken Otter

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Victoria Donnet

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Connecting hands immersed in flowing water is a practice of sharing a somatic and emotional connection between each other and our inner and outer landscape.

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Barbara + Real Eguchi

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MAGGIE FORGERON RSME/T, EXAT, TTPPD-CERT. (NBS), RYT 200, IS A PROFESSIONAL DANCE ARTIST AND TEACHER, EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPIST, AND KRIPALU YOGA TEACHER. MAGGIE IS AN ADVOCATE OF LEADINGEDGE MOVEMENT RESEARCH AND PEER EXCHANGE. SHE IS MOST PASSIONATE ABOUT BODY-BASED EXPRESSIVE ARTS APPROACHES, EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITY FOR RENEWED HEALTH AND EXPANDING THE PARAMETERS OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE DISCIPLINE OF ART AND DANCE. WWW.NOTJUSTANYBODYPART.CA ISAAC CROSBY ALSO KNOWN AS BROTHER NATURE, IS OF OJIBWE AND BLACK CANADIAN HERITAGE. HE COMES FROM UNCEDED LAND, 20 MINUTES SOUTH OF WINDSOR, ONTARIO. HE IS THE CURRENT INDIGENOUS URBAN AGRICULTURIST AT EVERGREEN BRICK WORKS, WHERE HE USES HIS TRADITIONAL FARMING, BLENDED WITH HIS HORTICULTURAL TECHNICIAN STUDIES FROM HUMBER. THE BLENDING OF THE TWO HAS GIVEN HIM A CHANCE TO TEACH OTHERS HOW TO CARE FOR THE EARTH AND GROW GREAT CROPS. HE IS ALSO ON CBC RADIO ONCE A MONTH ON FRESH AIR, AND HAS YOUTUBE VIDEOS CALLED “GARDENING WITH BROTHER NATURE.” DR. MARIKO UDA IS AN ECOLOGICALLY-MINDED WRITER/ILLUSTRATOR, SPEAKER, AND CONSULTANT, WITH A BACKGROUND IN BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY, ARCHITECTURE, AND CIVIL ENGINEERING. SHE HOLDS A PHD IN CIVIL ENGINEERING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, FOCUSED ON THE DESIGN OF SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT COMMUNITIES AND CITIES. AS “ECOMARIKO,” SHE ASPIRES TO WRITE INFORMATIVE AND DELIGHTFUL BOOKS THAT EDUCATE, INSPIRE, AND EMPOWER. HER DEBUT, ALL-AGES PICTURE BOOK WHERE DOES IT ALL COME FROM? WHERE DOES IT ALL GO? TORONTO’S WATER, ENERGY, AND WASTE SYSTEMS HELPS US REDISCOVER OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CONNECTIONS DESPITE LIVING IN A CITY. WWW.ECOMARIKO.COM DR. MARK HATHAWAY, PHD, IS AN AUTHOR, EDUCATOR, AND RESEARCHER WHO HAS WORKED IN NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN BOTH CANADA AND LATIN AMERICA. MARK IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE JESUIT FORUM FOR SOCIAL FAITH AND JUSTICE AND THE PRINCIPAL AUTHOR (ALONG WITH LEONARDO

BOFF) OF THE TAO OF LIBERATION: EXPLORING THE ECOLOGY OF TRANSFORMATION (ORBIS, 2009) WHICH INTEGRATES PERSPECTIVES FROM ECONOMICS, ECOLOGY, SOCIAL JUSTICE, SPIRITUALITY, AND POSTMODERN COSMOLOGY. IN ADDITION TO TEACHING AS A SESSIONAL LECTURER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, HE IS A VISITING PROFESSOR AT SEVERAL LATIN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES, AND A FACULTY MEMBER OF THE EARTH CHARTER CENTER FOR EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BASED AT THE UN PEACE UNIVERSITY IN COSTA RICA. DR. NATHANIEL CHARACH IS A TORONTO-BASED PSYCHIATRIST, PERMACULTURIST, AND FOOD FOREST ADVOCATE WHOSE INTERESTS FOCUS ON HEALTHY CONNECTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SELF, OTHERS, AND NATURE. HE HAS WRITTEN AND PRESENTED ON THE TOPIC OF ECO-ANXIETY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ADDRESSING OUR UNDERLYING SADNESS AND GRIEF. HIS CLINICAL WORK FOCUSES ON THE HEALING POWER OF GROUPS, AND HE IS IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A HEALING GARDEN TO SIMULTANEOUSLY ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH, FOOD INSECURITY, AND HEALTHIER AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES TO ADDRESS THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY. REAL EGUCHI, OALA (RETIRED), WAS A PRINCIPAL OF EGUCHI ASSOCIATES LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS/BREAL ART + DESIGN FOR OVER 30 YEARS. HIS CURRENT INTERESTS INCLUDE SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY, EMBODIMENT, AWE, AND EQUANIMITY. HE BELIEVES THE DESIGN OF LIVED-IN LANDSCAPES MUST PROMOTE A HEALTHY RECIPROCAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE HUMAN WORLD AND MORE-THAN-HUMAN WORLD. AS A SURVIVOR OF THE CULTURAL GENOCIDE AND INCARCERATION OF JAPANESE CANADIANS, REAL VIEWS NATURE AS A PARTNER IN HIS OWN JOURNEY TOWARDS WHOLENESS AND HEALING FROM RACISM AND ATTACHMENT/EXISTENTIAL/ INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA. REAL BELIEVES THAT, TO HOLISTICALLY ADDRESS ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, IT IS CRITICAL TO ACCEPT THAT HUMANS ARE UNEXCEPTIONAL, MORTAL CREATURES.

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Real Eguchi: I want to explore how landscape architects can create lived-in landscapes that deepen our emotional acceptance and spiritually-based understanding that we are sentient, mortal creatures, cohabiting and interconnected with other species. So how did we become disconnected from our outer landscape? How do we allow the outer landscape or the more-than-human world to connect with us so we can all heal? How do we reconnect in a reciprocal manner? How do we become whole? Isaac Crosby: My view of the world and how I was raised is to look at us humans as the ‘two-legged,’ and the rest—the so-called animals—are the other sentient beings out there that share this earth with us as the ‘four-legged.’ And we are all destined to either live together or die together. We, as the two-leggeds, as humans, have ventured off our path. We neglect our responsibility when it comes to taking care of this world and taking care of the four-leggeds. So we’ve become disconnected with the outer landscape, because we have fallen into the trap of capitalism. If our outer landscape is in chaos, that means that our inner landscape, as twoleggeds, is in great chaos. We’ve got to find a way to calm that and get re-connected to the 05

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Dancers: Ryan Genoe & Alexis Fletcher, Blind As Night That Finds Us All

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Courtesy of Maggie Forgeron

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The Conversation—photo-based animal art portrait

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Laura Berman

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Anna Halprin’s Place-Based Planetary Dance

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Courtesy of Anna Halprin

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web of life in order for us to move on, to have this world secure for future generations. Mark Hathaway: I think one place that I’ve found helpful is the whole field of ecopsychology, which is a little bit different than environmental psychology: it examines the psychological roots of our disconnection from nature. We live in houses separated from nature. We go to schools behind walls as opposed to something like a forest kindergarten. We are missing how people at one time would have learned with an elder out on the land. That’s not how most people in Canada learn nowadays, we learn behind walls. It is also related to how we raise children. If a baby cries, you don’t leave it in its crib to cry. Yet, for many settler Canadians, we came to see that as the normal thing to do. Maggie Forgeron: A lot of this is related to systemic, self-division that comes from what we call Cartesian dualism—the moment when the body became separated from the head. And this is the moment when the body became a machine for production. This focus on production, on technology, was meant to improve our lives. Medicine was meant to expand our life expectancy. Now we’re faced with the biggest health crisis of our time. So what the heck happened? When we experience disconnection from ourselves, it becomes a disconnect from our thoughts, feelings, our six senses, and much of what makes us who we are. And it stands to reason this split also extends to our relationships to other people, and also the environment, the spaces and places in which we move. It just points to the fact that we’re very much living from the neck up. So my work in movement based expressive arts therapy is really all about a process of living in our bodies again. It’s a balancing endeavor between the head and our sensing and feeling bodies that can then extend out to our relationships and the environments we create. Nate Charach: The disconnection is, in part, a response to trauma. We clearly see, when people have been traumatized, they

disconnect from the situation, because that is adaptive in that moment, because to be present is just too unbearable. And I think that can be very clear in an overtly traumatic situation. But, as Mark was mentioning how we sometimes treat our child who is crying, and how we treat emotions in general, often we tell a child, “Oh, it’s okay, stop crying,” as though that is supportive. In fact, the child is crying for a reason. In a way, every time we invalidate the experience, we’re teaching them to not listen to what their body and their emotions are telling us: teaching them to create that space into separate things.

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Tamalpa Environment Days with Ken Otter—Oceanside somatic workshop helping participants tune into their felt sense of the environment

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Ken Otter

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Illustrations from Where does it all come from? Where does it all go? Toronto water, engergy & waste systems by Mariko Uda, PHD.

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Courtesy of Dr. Mariko Uda

So the process of reconnecting is actually one of facing fears in what we’ve been told is wrong with us in some way, when it’s actually our natural state of being. RE: I wanted to mention speciesism that speaks to the idea that humans have moral rights over other animals, and it’s reflected in how we treat those other species. And something Maggie knows about and to my understanding, is that when Europeans spread out across the world, they witnessed people celebrating through ecstatic dance, a dance form which is part of Maggie’s 09

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practice and mine. And I understand they viewed this form of dance as animal-like, so not only are non-human species ‘othered,’ some humans are, as well. Perhaps this is where social and ecological issues intersect? MH: I think it’s the domination and the hierarchical mentality. RE: So how do we get back to being more integrated? I’ve been to City of Toronto public meetings about coyotes. I just don’t know how we’re going to get to that point of cohabitation.

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A souvenir of dried Phragmites can be a springboard to education and a cognitive and more holistic understanding of this plant species while minimizing eco-anxiety and despair through the lens of beauty.

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Barbara + Real Eguch

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Though ecologically disturbing, people have found comfort by creating symbolic stick shelters while sheltering- in-place in a Toronto ravine during the pandemic.

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Barbara + Real Eguchi

IC: Cohabitation with our four-legged brothers and sisters is inevitable. Because we keep building homes and spreading out into where they live. They’re doing what is natural to them. They’re living with the two-legged humans. Usually, when they see humans, coyotes turn the other way. It’s we humans that have to learn how to re-live with nature. With or without human beings, nature will live on. So we either get over our egos and learn how to live with nature and support her and the natural beings that are out there, or we will eventually be swallowed up by nature. RE: Mariko is using the book she recently wrote and illustrated to help reconnect us to our local landscape and offering related

classes as well. Mariko, what have you noticed about the awareness people have in terms of some of our basic human needs? Mariko Uda: Yes, the book is Where does it all come from? Where does it all go? Toronto’s water, energy & waste systems. It’s a picture book for kids and adults. It helps people understand where their water comes from or where their sewage goes, for example. A lot of us don’t know these things. With sewage, and back to the dualism/ disconnect point, I think we tend to not want to see our waste. We just want it to go away, and to see ourselves as humans, not animals. So we have clean and dirty as part of that dualistic thinking and our infrastructure reflects that. You just flush the toilet, the toilet looks nice and clean, and the waste goes somewhere we don’t see. Our infrastructure encourages the sense of disconnection. Unless we know a specific person or place, we can’t have a relationship because it’s all very vague. And we all walk around in the city. So what I’m trying to do with my book is specifically name the place where things are coming from and where they are going. And that’s kind of the start of a relationship. RE: If we are so disconnected from all of this, it will be a challenge to understand our bodies as natural and ourselves as animals. If the inner landscape lies within our skin, what are the basic needs of this landscape? How do we heal, develop greater inner wholeness and connectivity as uniquely sentient, yet unexceptional mammals? NC: One of the things I see often is the differences between re-experiencing things in a way that’s healing versus more traumatizing, and whether we are activating the fear and anger pathway, which leads to the disconnection, or we’re able to activate the sadness and love pathway. Our environments can play a crucial role in a challenging setting, while helping us feel safe. If the person can feel safe, and therefore able to access the sadness and love pathway, they are in an environment that’s going to offer a curiosity towards nature that feels safe to explore. From there, we

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can move towards that healing place and reconnecting with that part of ourselves. So, if the landscape that we’re in, for example, can show us what watershed we’re in, or even just where our food is coming from, or where the compost pile is, that can nurture the curiosity within us, rather than make us feel afraid. That’s the root towards helping people step in the direction of also reconnecting with the inner landscape, rather than feeling afraid and pushing it away. MH: There are studies about what could be called self-transcendent emotions, including things like gratitude, love, and awe. Instead of acting out of duty, we need to act out of a sense of care and connection. This is reflected in something like Joanna Macy’s The Work That Reconnects, which promotes connecting with gratitude before we confront the pain in the world, because if we begin with the pain right away, we just start shutting down and experiencing fear. Some practical things strike me about that. I’ve worked with students in my Ecological Worldviews course, and the Earth Charter course, where I get them to do an ecological meditation: they have to find an other-thanhuman being, broadly defined. It could be a rock. I don’t say where sentience lies. If they

find sentience in a rock, that’s fine. It could be a bird, a tree. an ant. And they just spend time trying to connect with that other-thanhuman being. I encourage them to let it be their teacher and ask themselves ‘what is this other being trying to teach me as a being?’ So there are landscape-related activities that are practical ways to start reconnecting and feeling that wonder and a bigger sense of self, where we’re drawn out of our little ego into something broader. IC: I am thinking about COVID. There’s something I realized that I think we forgot about with respect to the beauty of nature. When human beings stepped away for a while, nature came back and started to re-heal herself. And people said, ‘Wow, look at that. I can actually see a blue sky. I can hear those birds singing again. I can see a fox running.’ People were so happy with all of this, but they are now forgetting. We’re starting to walk back that path where we’re going to start polluting the Earth again. MF: I really hope we build on the outdoor momentum we’ve built during the pandemic. Looping it back into the subject of lived-in, landscapes, I think it’s going to be helpful to have infrastructure that reminds us nature

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Located within a Hydro One corridor, this +1/2 acre urban farm developed through the City of Toronto CEED Garden Program, includes plots in which 6 community residents operate small farm businesses.

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Eguchi Associates Landscape Architects

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Dr. Charach’s newly developed permaculture/ native plant garden is intended to help educate and address the health of people and planet while encouraging the emotional and physical connection between his family and the more-than-human world.

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Eguchi Associates Landscape Architects

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Moving/ Still Workshop ALTAR with taxidermy coyote, domestic dog and much more. I’ve followed the issue of coyotes with respect to co-habitation for a number of years and I think we might be going backwards in terms of our eco outlook.

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Eguchi Associates Landscape Architects

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is what saved our mental and physical health during this time. My expertise is in movement and dance, but I think natural landscapes have a similar effect on the integration of the brain and the body. We have a visceral response in nature. We have stressed-out days where we don’t know if we’re coming and going, and something as simple as being in touch with a walk in the woods or being close to a body of water just automatically melts the stress away. We’ve discovered quite a bit of that during the pandemic. RE: What about the notion that the healing could be reciprocal, that it shouldn’t just be about humans and how we heal through nature-based experiences, but asking what we are giving back? MH: I think that’s one of the differences between environmental psychology and ecopsychology, in that ecopsychology has always said that it’s not about using the environment as a therapeutic tool. It’s about re-establishing a relationship of reciprocity, so we can heal both ourselves and the more-than-human world at the same time. RE: What might be the role of Indigenous communities and their worldviews in helping us to reconnect or improve the relationship between our inner and our outer landscape? And what role does spirituality play? IC: Here’s the thing about the role of Indigenous voices here and abroad— remember, everyone is indigenous to somewhere. It just so happens that a lot of people are not indigenous to the Americas. Let’s start there. I always tell people to go back and re-learn what your people did with the environment and how they lived in harmony with the environment. They will find a lot of answers there and realize Indigenous peoples here have a lot of the same ideas. What happened here in the Americas in the course of the past four to five hundred years is a lot of those ideas were disrupted. Now, after these four to five hundred years in this part of the world, people are waking up

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and realizing what you do to one part of the web, you eventually will do to yourself, and we have shot ourselves in the foot for far too long because we’ve allowed this disconnected ideology to take over and take root. We need to sit down and talk to Indigenous people. When you hear Indigenous people talk about “land back,” it’s not getting the land back so we can develop and build homes, we want to take the land back so we can heal this land again. Spiritually speaking, whatever I do for me when I’m planting and when I’m looking at how to take care of this Earth, everything comes from spirit. My spirit walked with her first, talked to her first. Before I undertake any planting, I always make sure I sit down and talk to Earth, feel Earth. Earth speaking to me is about a little inner knowing. It is this little whisper that speaks to me. And that’s how I connect to the Earth and how I know what needs to be done. RE: When I first heard Isaac speak, he mentioned two-eyed seeing and I didn’t know what the term meant. And I think, Maggie, you combine ballet and ecstatic dance in your practice, perhaps the two opposite ends of the spectrum and perhaps a combined expression of traditional knowledge and Western science? MF: My background in contemporary and ballet dance certainly has embedded within it the systemic division we’ve been talking about. It’s also interesting that, since I’ve started more exploration in movementbased expressive arts therapy, I see more possibilities for a new understanding of aesthetics and beauty.

RE: How does ecstatic dance connect you to Earth? And what do the students who come for ballet think about this? MF: It connects to the wild animal that we all are, but that doesn’t necessarily need to negate the need for intellect and function on our planet as well. Maybe that’s something to contribute to lived-in landscape design as well: that it’s not a one or the other, it’s a both and. RE: How can landscapes be developed, from a small balcony garden to a large ravine-park, that can help to deepen our individual, healthy connection to the human and more-than-human world? MH: Someone mentioned education. When I look at our schools, I see all these big open fields. I think of all that space and ponder how wonderful it would be if students could be gardening and growing food or even a small forest or a forest classroom or something. How could the landscape of the schoolyard change, and also change the form of education, so that people reconnect to Earth? IC: The gardens can happen. Spruce Court Public School in Toronto has a great teacherparent buy-in when it comes to their garden, and it’s beautiful. When I was working there with Green Thumbs Growing Kids, I would always make sure to ask the kids where carrots or potatoes come from. If they said that potatoes come from french fries at McDonald’s, we were planting potatoes that day. If they said carrots came from a bag in a grocery store, we were planting carrots.

My mentor, Ken Otter, once reminded me of such things as the miracle of breath, sensuality, the changing expressions of life, the mystery of birth and death, and the infinite expanse of stars.

RE: Shifting topic a bit, how we can apply the thoughts around education to our ravines? The ravine near me is filled with Norway Maples, phragmites, DSV, garlic mustard. People love nature and the ravines, but don’t seem to know what is there and the City doesn’t have the resources to deal with it.

There’s so much needed focus on trauma, loss, grief, divisiveness, and the fractured world that we live in. I just want to insert right now that I love that you’re trying to make this shift towards sustainable beauty and healing people on the planet.

IC: The strategy with the ravines is actually changing within the City of Toronto. The City of Toronto has now started to listen more to environmental groups. And the whole talk is about taking parts of the ravine, sectioning them off, and allowing environmental groups

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the changes we are making in the outer landscape actually don’t end up being significant. At the same time, sometimes just being in that outer landscape and allowing it to affect us helps us to then change the inner. Again, it’s that reciprocity. That process can become a regenerative kind of circle. Hopefully that ties in with thinking about designing landscapes. How can we design landscapes that help bring about this interchange we want to see in the world?

like to share that can help others heal by connecting their inner and outer landscapes towards the evolution of an ecologically and socially just world? MF: For me, it always comes back to the body. We need to realize that our bodies are a part of this planet… we are in it and we are of it. Until we realize that, we’re not going to be able to truly appreciate, for example, the beauty in the ecological connections of a tree. Let’s find the joy in this.

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Real Eguchi finds joy in deepening his relationship with Lake Ontario while contemplating that he is 60% water and that the lake is the source of our drinking water.

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Real Eguchi

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Real Eguchi connects joyfully to urban nature through play with feral pigeons rescued as hatchlings by a wildlife biologist from inside a Toronto apartment.

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Barbara + Real Eguchi

to go in there and tackle all the invasive species. At Brick Works, my team and I designed a program where we spend the next couple of years going into the valley, taking the nuts and seeds from all the native tree species, growing them at Brick Works for a couple of years, and returning them back to the ravine. RE: What examples from your professional and personal practices would you

MU: I would agree that joy is very important and that we need to find it in what we’re doing to help the planet. Otherwise, it’s not really going to help. I also think about our relationship to water and Lake Ontario and how we turn on the tap and we think about H2O as a commodity. Somehow, it’s become a commodity when it’s coming out of our tap, but if you look back through the pipes and how it gets to your house, it came from the lake. So the water coming out of your tap is Lake Ontario. If we’re drinking mostly tap water, rather than bottled water, and our bodies on average are 60 per cent water, we’re actually 60 per cent Lake Ontario: we really are the lake. There’s no division, and I try to emphasize that. NC: I fully agree with Maggie that, if we aren’t reflecting on our inner landscape,

MH: I facilitate an exercise where I ask my students when the last time was that they were alone with nature? I then go through the exercise and ask several questions until I get to the point where I say, “Who were you with when you were alone in nature?” And then, “Is really possible to be alone in nature?” I think we still have that mindset of being separate from the more-than-human. IC: I’m realizing something for landscape architects: that they have the responsibility to find the soul of the designed space and reveal it in a way that human beings can appreciate. That means sometimes the designer is going to have to let go of their landscape architect brain and find their spirit or inner landscape, so the soul of that space can come forward. MU: After a long time involved in environmental work, things often don’t always go the way we hope for. But what’s important is we are at least moving in a healthy direction and that people are happy and there’s love. RE: When you talk about moving in a healthy direction, you’re talking about evolving connection and relationships. I think that’s what we all talked about here today. I’d like to summarize by concluding that we seem to all agree that landscape architects need to create environments that encourage people to appreciate the gift of an embodied life, so they willingly, holistically, and reciprocally engage with their local landscape, Earth, and community. This way, basic human and more-than-human needs can joyfully and equitably be met. THANKS TO REAL EGUCHI FOR COORDINATING THIS ROUND TABLE.

The City is a Forest

TEXT BY SHANNON BAKER, OALA

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Building cities that are smart, green, and connected

The City is a Forest

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18)

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LiDAR for monitoring canopy quantity and forest structure. Remote sensing and satellite imagery for monitoring canopy cover. Smart building and green-grey infrastructure integration for energy savings and building performance. Development and land-use planning decisions based on ecosystem services trade-offs and information acquired from complementary data sources. Plants as biosensors for ecosystem resilience. Aerial seeding for urban reforestation. Virtual collection of plant pathology information for pest detection and diagnostics. Sensor networks for monitoring stormwater, urban heat islands and air pollution uptake. Street-view imagery and AI for green cover quality and management. Biodiversity enhancement through volunteered geographic information. VR and AR for green space perceptions. Sensor networks for monitoring the effectiveness of stormwater management strategies and soil quality. Social media platforms for public values elicitation about green space design. Wearable technologies for health management in response to green space exposure. Blockchain and cryptocurrency for greening initiatives. Robotics for green infrastructure maintenance. All ecosystem intelligence stored in the ‘cloud’. Real-time communication between IoN network and city.

All over the world, cities are going digital. From autonomous vehicles to smart traffic signals, to trash cans with sensors, the internet of things has caught urban life in its web. With promises to transform urban mobility and streamline maintenance operations for City staff, the allure of the Smart City is undeniable. The UN projects that, as urbanization intensifies, the human population could add another 2.5 billion people to cities by the year 2050, meaning that around 68 per cent of the world’s total population will be city dwellers. This intensification places enormous pressure on the systems of cities, as roads become choked with traffic, water and wastewater systems struggle to meet the demands of a growing population, and electrical grids stretch to capacity. Smart cities promise a panacea for all of the problems plaguing the modern city, claiming to have positive impacts on all sorts of indicators including environment, human health, physical performance, economic benefits, and social connections. The Smart City promises to make the urban life more liveable.

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The Internet of Nature: Examples and applications for urban forestry and green infrastructure management.

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The Internet of Nature / Nadina Galle, Sophie Nitoslawski & Francesco Pilla

Many politicians and city managers find the draw of smart city technologies irresistible. Scanners and sensors are to the modern city what the foosball table and draught kombucha tap are to the downtown office: symbols of progress and collective cool

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Installing soil life sensors

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Tree Mania

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Soil moisture sensor

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Tree Mania

that are key to competition on the global scale for the world’s brightest minds. There are many advantages to the high tech high street to be sure, but smart cities also come with a number of challenges centred around privacy and data security. Connecting urban systems to the internet of things also makes them vulnerable, as the recent hacking of a major US energy pipeline made strikingly obvious. Not only is technology vulnerable to cyber threats, it can also simply break down, or become obsolete, requiring upgrades and rebuilds to ensure that urban systems adapt and remain state-of-the-art. When public utilities,

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street lights, garbage receptacles and the like are all interconnected, an entirely new IT work force is required to operate and maintain them. Sometimes, smart city solutions can feel like tech for tech’s sake, with no clear aim but to digitize the analog. In more cynical readings, they can be seen as a bid to monetize personal data, and more deeply entrench crypto capitalism.

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Diversitree : Tree species diversity – Vancouver street trees

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MIT Institute / Senseable City Lab

We are living in the digital age, and it is unlikely that intelligent solutions to urban issues will disappear. In an increasingly complex world, however, one in which the importance of nature and us humans’ place within it are now well understood, surprisingly few of the emerging urban technological solutions relate to natural capital, and the urban ecosystem. Innovative thinkers such as Dr. Nadina Galle are beginning to push those boundaries, through what Galle refers to as “The Internet of Nature.” Galle is involved with Treemania, a company that seeks to bring together “biology, trees, soil, technology, artificial intelligence and innovations to make the management of urban green space more sustainable and efficient.” Using a series of interconnected tree moisture sensors,

Treemania connects urban street trees with the people who care for them, from volunteers to city maintenance crews. The technology gives newly planted trees the power to ask for a drink when they need them, and that has had impressive impacts on the survivability of the trees. The City of Melbourne, Australia, recently gave 70,000 of their trees email addresses in a similar effort to connect people with trees, so citizens could report problems with tree health and request maintenance. Instead of just sending a note to say that tree #5467 needed a little water, the City was overwhelmed with an outpouring from around the globe. People wrote love letters to the trees, asked the trees the meaning of life, and sometimes just made bad jokes. Clearly, people wanted to connect with the trees, and technology allowed them to feel a sense of connection on some level. Perhaps they began to see trees with new eyes. It’s commonly understood that when people feel connected to something, they are more inclined to care for it, and may assume a more active stewardship role. Apps like PlantSnap, NatureID and iplant

The City is a Forest

can help to cure plant blindness, a condition in which people fail to notice or value plants in their environment. This condition can have far-reaching consequences for plant conservation, as it can lead to apathy in the face of environmental threats. Giving people the tools to be able to ‘see’ plants, and their human-like characteristics, endears them to the plants, and makes people far more likely to support conservation efforts. Perhaps, with these new technologies connecting us with nature in new ways, we might also learn to look to old technologies with new eyes, maybe even things we don’t typically view as technologies, but are, in fact, the most miraculous webs of interconnection on the planet. Forest ecologist Dr. Suzanne Simard has been doing groundbreaking work in this area, revealing what some call the ‘wood-wide web,’ a complex network of bacteria and fungi that trade nutrients between soil and tree root in symbiotic relationship. Simard’s work has allowed us to see the forest, and the living beings that make it up in a wholly different light. Trees create their own civilizations, their own cities in the forest. They communicate with one another, they protect one another, they recognize their own kin. Simard has revealed that trees are often connected to one another through an older tree in the community, one she refers to as the ‘mother’ tree. Mother trees act like a router in the wood-wide web, picking up and amplifying signals.

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The architect Christopher Alexander emphatically stated “a city is not a tree” in his 1965 paper analyzing urban structures. A city may not be a tree, but what if a city could be a forest? Not just a forest in the way we tend to think of the urban forest today, but a complex and interconnected ecosystem that supports a myriad of rich and diverse life forms, not just human, that are deeply connected to the soil, water cycle, and seasons? There are some tools that begin to scratch the surface of this work, soil cells that allow for root connection and respect the importance of soil structure, deepening understanding of plant communities and their complimentary fungal friends, but we have only just begun to understand the complexity of the forest. What if we started designing our cities like they were forests, embedding the intelligence of nature in all of our urban systems? What if we began to imagine smart, green cities that operated as ‘The Internet of Nature?’ Perhaps then we would begin to understand what liveability truly means: respecting the complex web of connections that make life thrive, and co-existing in deeper connection with all other living things.

BIO/

SHANNON BAKER, OALA, IS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT CURRENTLY ENGAGED AS THE PROJECT DIRECTOR FOR PARKS AND PUBLIC REALM AT WATERFRONT TORONTO.

07 06/

Diversitree : Tree species diversity – Species Taxonomy

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MIT Institute / Senseable City Lab

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Old growth forests like this one in MacMillan Provincial Park on Vancouver Island are complex systems; ones that have been well understood by Indigenous peoples for millennia, but that modern science is only beginning to unravel.

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Shannon Baker

Five Trees For The Senses

TEXT BY HEATHER SCHIBLI, OALA

How we connect to plants stems from a co-evolutionary dance. Trees have evolved to both attract and repel creatures that have in turn evolved to recognize these signals. Be it a fragrance that our nose begs us to follow, or a shocking display of colour that demands our attention, our perception of plants and how we connect with them shifts throughout the year. Here are five tree species that I have connected with in autumn.

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Sectioned pawpaw fruit by Pat Breen, Oregon State University. Pine Sawyer by Steven Katovich. Asian Long Horned Beetle by Gillian Allard. Snag by Paul Bolstad.

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Heather Schibli

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SIGHT

TOUCH

Acer rubrum Although not obvious during the summer and winter months, red maple’s name clearly reflects this species during the off seasons: it has cheery, red-coloured flowers and fruit in spring and its leaves are ablaze in various hues of red in autumn. Like most other deciduous trees within our landscape, red maple’s leaves begin to shift colour in response to shortened days and cooler temperatures. Slowing photosynthetic capacity signals the tree to break down its leaves’ chlorophyll proteins for reabsorption, storage, and ultimately later use. Underlying carotenoid and flavonoid pigments become visible once chlorophyll is broken down. This accounts for the yellows and oranges. Red pigment, however, is created in the fall by increased sugars and sunlight. These pigments (anthocyanins) are not present in all species. And although it is still unclear as to what purpose they serve, their presence is in response to sunlight and cooler temperatures. The best fall colour develops during cool (but not freezing) temperatures and sunny days.

Hamamelis virginiana Witch-hazel is the only Ontario native tree or shrub to flower in the fall. This, however, is only the half of it! As these plants captivate pollinators with their sparkler-like yellow blossoms, their fruits, pollinated from the previous year’s flowers, are nearly fully ripened and on the brink of seed dispersal. A few years back, I collected some witch-hazel capsules with the intention of propagating them. Left on the kitchen counter to dry and open, I was perplexed to find these capsules empty. I shared this with a colleague who chuckled suggesting I search the room for seeds. Sure enough, I discovered them scattered throughout the room: Under the kitchen table, along the opposite wall, and even in a shoe. As witch-hazel fruit capsules dry, they shrink thereby pinching the seeds within to such an extent they are forcibly expelled. Referred to as ballistichory (ballistic seed dispersal), these seeds are projected as far as 10 metres at a speed of 12.3 metres per second. Take cover!

Five Trees For The Senses

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SOUND

TASTE

SMELL

Pinus strobus While backcountry camping in Algonquin Park one September a few years back, I recall enjoying the solitude of residing at the only campsite on the lake. When motors, music, and general humanderived sounds like barking dogs cease, other more subtle sounds emerge. On this particular site however, a relatively loud sound prevailed: that of the pine sawyer beetle. Sawyer is the name attributed to someone who saws. And, like a sawyer, these larva chew away at recently felled and rotting pines. Also referred to as long-horned beetles, these grubs sport a remarkable size that is only overshadowed by their most impressive ability to gnaw through solid wood. On this occasion, we shared our site with the white-spotted sawyer (monochamus scutellatus), a native beetle often mistaken for the invasive Asian long-horned beetle.

Asimina triloba A Carolinian forest species, this tree is rare in Ontario, occurring only along the southern-most part of the province. And yet, in recent years, the fruit of this species has become so popular with permaculture and native plant enthusiasts that it can now be found planted in urban centres throughout southern and eastern Ontario. Pawpaw fruit is delicious! Regarded as the largest native North American tree fruit, its flavour is reminiscent of mango and banana. With a custard like consistency, the fruit can be scooped with a spoon, cut into chunks, or slurped through a small cut in the flesh. Why isn’t this fruit available at the local grocery store? It won’t readily ripen if picked prematurely and bruises easily during transport. If you are lucky, you might be able to find some at your local farmer’s market.

Cercidiphyllum japonicum With the onset of cooler fall temperatures and impending leaf senescence, complex sugars stored in the katsura tree’s leaves begin to break down for reabsorption and storage. A byproduct of this process is the release of the molecule maltol, which happens to be the same chemical compound found in cake, cotton candy, warmed milk, breads, cocoa, and coffee. This species originates from Japan, but has been planted in North American urban centres for over a century. The University of Guelph Arboretum has a small grove of these trees that I make a point of visiting each fall to inhale their delicious caramel-like scent.

BIO/

HEATHER SCHIBLI, OALA, ORIGINALLY FROM EASTERN ONTARIO, NOW LIVES IN GUELPH ONTARIO WHERE SHE WORKS AS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, IS AN ARBORIST, AND ECOLOGIST AT DOUGAN & ASSOCIATES ECOLOGICAL CONSULTING & DESIGN. HEATHER IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING A VISUAL TREE GUIDE, WHICH COMBINES HER TWO PASSIONS OF DESIGN AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

Landscape and the Smart City

TEXT BY ALISON LUMBY, OALA, JENNIFER SISSON, OALA, AND MAX LI, OALA

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Landscape and the Smart City

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Furthermore, the aspiration is that dataenabled infrastructure will make cities more responsive, resilient, and better able to predict and adapt to what are becoming more and more frequent climate-related events. The Smart City would be an enabler of net-zero emissions and the framework towards net-positive (fewer emissions). Yet, when we look about us today, the technological advances are, for most part, near invisible. While we may see the proliferation of smart bus shelters, data hubs, and waste bins, for example, the influence of the Smart City on the fabric and form of the built environment and the way we go about planning, designing, and building may not be as immediately felt. Being proactive in guiding and implementing Smart features So, why should landscape architects be engaging with smart cities? Where is our place in in a digital and data-based world? Can we opt out and say “no” to further adoption and reliance on databased technology?

What do we mean by “Smart?” The “Smart City” evolution is on. All around us, we are seeing the use of data-based technology expanding and affecting many distinct aspects of our daily lives. Smart technologies are influencing how we move around, shop, socialize, and get informed. It is also changing the way the environments in which we live are responding and adapting to pressures of modern life, climate and natural phenomena, and to us. As these smart technologies becomes more prevalent, as a profession, we believe there is a need to consider the role that the practice of landscape architecture, and us as landscape architects, have in the use of smart technologies, and how the Smart City may influence our profession.

data, the intent of smart technologies is to enrich user experience, better monitor, anticipate, and manage operations, improve quality of services, ease sharing of information, and enhance quality of life.

There is no one, hard and fast definition of a Smart City, however the basic principle is that a smart city is one that is enabled by a framework, or network, of connected information and communications technologies—the Internet of Things (IoT). Providing real-time collection, transmission, and analysis of 01/

Technologies defining the smartness of a city

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Wikimedia Commons

02-03/

Sidewalk Lab’s Nature & the City series

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Sidewalk Labs / Gregory Greene

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Street lamps in Amsterdam have been upgraded to allow municipal councils to dim the lights based on pedestrian usage

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Wikimedia Commons

Data and technology are not inherently good or bad: they are tools that can be applied in multitude of ways, and to the benefit of society and natural systems. Through this lens, smart technologies, and the possibilities they enable, are an evolving component of our social-urbanecological system—a smart infrastructure

Landscape and the Smart City

ecosystem. The Smart City could be an integral layer of urban infrastructure that makes lives better and improves the quality of the environment. It need not be showy. In fact, in the vein of the iceberg analogy, 90 per cent of smart technology may not be visible, what we see and experience being the outcomes of the system. For example, one significant cause of waste in urban water systems is over-usage, and data-based technologies can not only help monitor and alert us to real-time issues such as leaks and blockages, they can analyze and help adapt the system to allocate and deliver only the quantity of water needed. There is great potential for smart infrastructure to support more resilient, nature-based systems, and to augment socially conscious, biophilic design approaches. However, while data and data analytics (including AI) can be powerful tools, they are not problem-solvers. We are. As design professionals, stewards of the natural environment, and drivers of people-centered, community engaged placemaking, we have a role in wielding smart technologies and digital integration for the betterment of health, wellbeing, social equity, and environmental resiliency. From a technical perspective, it is not our intent that landscape architects must become experts in smart technologies, but there is a role for us in the ability to deliberate on and discuss smart solutions, to be able to advise our clients, advocate for opportunities that are in the public best

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interest, enable better care for natural systems, and to challenge those that are not. It is worth noting that the term Smart City implies this is an urban phenomenon, but our rural and remote communities have as much at stake in the smart cities debate, as does the management and care of many of our natural and protected places. 06

Smart ethics A healthy dose of wariness is no bad thing; there are some major ethical questions that need to be addressed. Some of these issues revolve around how data is collected, and by whom. What personal data is being collected, who owns the data, who has access to it, who decides how it will be used? What about our right to privacy and ability to opt-out? Who is responsible for oversight, when considering the scale of data collection and level of automation involved? What about data security risks and breaches? What are the fail-safes? Might this enable or conceal new or existing systemic forms of discrimination, or be discriminatory in and of itself to those who are not connected into the framework? Are we risking over-reliance on data? What about unanticipated consequences we are simply unable to foresee? When we look out at the complex, often ethically contentious nature of smart technologies, landscape architects— whether as advocates, advising caution, or opposing smart cities—should be a proactive part of the conversation.

As a profession, we can advocate and influence data governance. We can challenge the collection of personal data. We can support inclusive systems such as those that require minimal user input, do not gather or rely on personal information, and where input is required it is intuitive and basic, using platforms accessible to a broad audience. Using Smart tech for good city-building With all the risks, why might landscape architects find themselves advocating for smart solutions? Because of the potential to better stewards of the environment, and to improve people’s lives. The conversation is often focused on people and personal smart devices, however there are numerous, non-personal means of gathering data already regularly utilized, both about people and their interaction with the city, as well as natural systems and the impacts of changing environmental conditions, such as footfall and user counts, tides, temperature and rainfall, air quality, and light and noise levels, to name a few. We are already implementing solutions such as AI-enabled irrigation to improve the sustainability of our projects. We already use data to inform our design responses. The smart industry has generally focussed on five key technologies: smart energy, transportation, data and devices, infrastructure, and mobility across different smart systems. As landscape architects, we are engaged in all of these aspects to a greater or lesser scale. If we focus specifically on some of the ways landscape

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Aerial photo of Downsview Park, Toronto, Ontario.

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Courtesy of WSP

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Sidewalk Lab’s Nature & the City series

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Sidewalk Labs / Gregory Greene

Landscape and the Smart City

architects are engaging in smart cities to benefit people and environment, and changing the way we approach design, we can look at examples such as: −−

E nergy efficiency: from the choice of a light bulb, to integration of systems that actively monitor and report energy usage back to consumers and utilities, smart sensors and other data tech enable more informed personal and project decisions, better grid management, and diversified, distributed energy production.

−−

Smart infrastructure: sensor technologies can help municipalities optimize efficiency and manage municipal assets in more sustainable, adaptive ways. For example, sensors installed at stormwater management facilities, such as bioswales, may be used to monitor and provide real-time data on performance of these features for water quality and the reduction of burden on storm sewers, as well as analyze and predict trends in storm events. Data-based analysis can also serve to improve service quality and operational efficiencies. For instance, park maintenance may be informed by factors, such as footfall and use pattern data.

−−

Smart parks: the integration of smart technologies into our public spaces can allow another level of engagement in spaces, and attract wider audiences. Solar-powered infrastructure, such as benches offering free wifi and charging stations in a socially inclusive setting, for example. Digital platforms can augment built spaces, allowing users to explore public spaces remotely and learn about real-time conditions and amenities, including barrier-free facilities, in planning visits—which can help overcome barriers to equitable use.

−−

mart trails and wayfinding: smart S technologies offer another means of supporting active modes of moving ourselves around our cities, promoting healthy lifestyles and social

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inclusion by making it easier, more accessible, and more enjoyable to get out and explore on foot, bike, and while using mobility aids. Online or digital technologies can be used to augment fixed signage. This can range from interactive digital displays to integration of QR codes that link to online content. −−

Performance metrics: landscape performance is the qualitative analysis and measurement of the impact of landscape design on the physical environment. An example of this is in the development of Winston Churchill Meadows Park, where 1,500 new trees will absorb up to 72 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, supply enough oxygen for 3,000 people, and provide as much potential cooling effect as 15,000 room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours per day. Sensors can collect data on a range of factors, from air quality to visitor counts, and help evaluate the efficacy of programming and capital expenditures. The data collected by smart technologies can be used to inform design standards, support business cases for capital and revenue investment, and help convey the benefits our profession brings to the design of spaces at all scales in a relatable manner.

The key theme underpinning the examples above is all the implementations involved collection of non-personal sources of data to provide significant advances and benefits. It is through such projects that we see a potential, significant benefit to our profession through smart technologies and infrastructure systems. Perhaps it is time to champion a new stream of smart: Smart Design. For us, this would address both the process of design, integral with a smart approach to socially conscious, biophilic design principles. There is room for the integration of data-tech into the creation of adaptive places, and this flows through the early stages of planning, to design, implementation, and the monitoring and ongoing adaption of spaces.

From the outset, we can ask how to utilise smart technologies to provide a more equitable design platform for society and nature. At the planning and preliminary design stage, this means looking at the data layers of the city as part of our site analysis, augmenting physical assessment and engagement with correlations that data can reveal to macro- and micro-scale influences on the space. This may consider data relating to demographics, climate and environment, transportation, user numbers, real estate, user enjoyment, and can draw from a wide range of data sources. The Smart opportunity Recognizing that Smart City technologies are all around us and transforming the fabric of urban spaces, as a profession, we need to continue engaging in the discussion, staying informed of the benefits, challenges and risks, and being open, if cautiously, to embracing data-tech in our design process and projects. We should prepare to work closely with our clients, decision makers, and the public as ambassadors for socially conscious and environmentally responsible smart cities. Through our work, we are in a position to ask the critical question of ‘who does this serve’ and thoughtfully reflect and weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of implementing these technologies across a wide range of purposes and places. Our profession can contribute to guiding inclusive, smart cities around the world that benefit the public, while minimizing the associated and potential risks.

BIO/

ALISON LUMBY, OALA, AALA, APALA, SALA, CSLA, CMLI, HAS BEEN DELIVERING INTEGRATED LANDSCAPE AND URBAN DESIGN SOLUTIONS FOR OVER 18 YEARS. AS DESIGN LEAD FOR WSP’S LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN PRACTICE ALISON WORKS TO ADVANCE PERFORMANCE BASED ECOLOGICAL SITE INITIATIVES, CONTEXTUAL SITE PROGRAMMING, AND VIBRANT COMMUNITIES.

JENNIFER SISSON, OALA, CSLA, RPP, MCIP IS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND PLANNER WITH 13 YEARS OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE. JENNIFER IS THE TEAM LEAD FOR WSP’S LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURAL STUDIO BASED IN OAKVILLE, PASSIONATE ABOUT IMPROVING WELLBEING THROUGH CONTEXT SENSITIVE DESIGN AND MASTER PLANNING, AS WELL AS PRESERVING SIGNIFICANT HERITAGE FEATURES AND PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT.

JUNFENG (MAX) LI, OALA, CSLA, MLA, PMP, APALA, ISA , LEED AP®, HAS 10 YEARS’ OVERSEAS AND LOCAL EXPERIENCE IN DESIGNING, PLANNING, AND CONSTRUCTION. AS AN INTEGRAL MEMBER OF WSP’S LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE TEAM IN THE GTHA, MAX FOCUSES HIS PRACTICE ON TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE, RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL MIX-USE DEVELOPMENTS, AND HEALTH CARE FACILITIES.

Notes

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Notes: A Miscellany of News and Events

urban park 01

This August, the Windsor Star reported the Federal Minister of International Development Karina Gould indicated an urban national park in Windsor, Ontario’s Ojibway Prairie Complex is “as good as a done deal.” This would be only the second urban national park, the first being Rouge National Urban Park in Toronto’s Scarborough area.

curling It’s the annual OALA curling bonspiel! The first indoor, in-person Association event in a long time. The action takes place at the Guelph Curling Club (816 Woolwich Street), on November 6, at 4 p.m. Tickets are $25/person, and you can register as an individual, or as a team of four. If you’ve never curled before, there will be practice runs and training when you arrive. Individuals will be assigned a team—what better way to meet your fellow Association members? And dinner is included in the registration fee.

With the municipality on board, and the City and Parks Canada planning to launch consultations with both the broader and Indigenous communities, it seems like this really may happen. And, assuming the newly-re-elected federal Liberals don’t suddenly change up their own budget priorities, there is (Minister Gould said) money ready for the project.

Did we mention the theme? Come in your best Halloween costume. There is a prize for the group crowned “Team Thriller.”

Whether this ushers in an era of urban national parks is wild speculation at the moment, but one can dream.

Deadline to register is November 3, and you can do so by emailing OALA Coordinator Juleen at coordinator@oala.ca.

02 01-02/

OALA annual bonspiel.

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Courtesy of OALA.

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Indigenous Toronto cover.

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Courtesy of Coach House Books

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Rebound cover.

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Courtesy of Coach House Books

Notes

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country). The book has an incredible array of contributors, and covers Indigenous past, present, and future. As landscape architects reflect on how to integrate the lessons of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in their own practices, this is a good resource to learn about an important urban Indigenous community. The book is available from Coach House Books. Also, newly available from Coach House is Perry King’s Rebound: sports, community, and the inclusive city. 03

books When we talk about Indigenous people and issues in Canada, we often talk about them as a primarily rural. But Indigenous populations are rising in many urban centres and Toronto is no exception. Indigenous Toronto: stories that carry this place is a book of essays which capture the issues facing urban Indigenous people in Canada’s largest city (with the fourth largest Indigenous population in the

In Rebound, King tells the story of the role sports plays in urban communities— especially immigrant or statistically marginalized communities. It’s a story of physical health and activity, creating and maintaining social relationships, and carving out opportunities to play out of the existing urban form of Canadian cities. In the pandemic, we at once lost access to many of the spaces we rely on for sport and play, saw marginalized people especially targeted for making use of these spaces, and, finally, came to cherish these spaces as much-needed antidotes to the lockdown blues. In this context, it’s a great time to talk about sport, and the role it plays in urban communities.

new members The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects is proud to recognize and welcome the following new members to the Association: John Allison *

Andrew Danielson

Daniel Beauchesne

Holly Horne

Stephen Brophy *

Claire McLoughlin

Graham Carr

Rebecca Roy

Phoenix Chan

Beverley Windjack

oala awards The OALA invites you to nominate your peers for the 2022 annual awards. The deadline for nominations is November 30th, so if you have someone in mind who deserves recognition, make sure to put their name forward. You can read about the various award categories and how to submit here: www.oala.ca/awards/oala-awards-callfor-nominations/

awards The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Canadian Institute of Planners, and the Canadian Association of Landscape Architects are looking for submissions for the 2022 National Urban Design Awards. This awards program “encourages the submission of multidisciplinary projects involving planners, landscape architects, architects, students, and other disciplines,” and “recognizes the importance and impact of inter and multidisciplinary teams in enhancing the qualify of life in Canadian communities.” Awards categories include Urban Design Plans, Urban Architecture, Civic Design Projects, Urban Fragments, the Community Initiatives Award, and Student Projects.

Julia Crane

Asterisk (*) denotes Full Members without the use of professional seal. 04

The deadline for submissions is December 17th, and you can submit online at raic.org.

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equity resources In the hopes of promoting diversity, equity, and understanding, Ground will be sharing resources for supporting, encouraging, and celebrating racial justice in the landscape architecture field. Here are a few selections: “Ethnographic understandings of ethnically diverse neighbourhoods to inform urban design practice,” an essay by Clare Rishbeth, Farnaz Ganji, and Goran Vodicka for Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, Volume 23, Issue 1: “In more recent years exploring landscape architectural practice within the UK planning framework, it is refreshing to see a recurrent visibility about the understanding and design of “shared space,” especially when it comes to streets and mobility. But what about furthering the lens of ethnocultural and racial diversity in examining how spaces function to serve public life and “whose” public life? This paper, published by Local Environmental in 2018, addresses how to develop a deeper understanding framework for better design sensitivity and competency in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods. At times, as designers, we may miss the particularity of how we package and describe the function and programming of spaces in our design schemes, and how that can in turn unconsciously feed into narrowing the pathway of cultural considerations as design develops. The time-sensitive processes of design can render choices exclusionary to ways in which humans of many marginalized identities and backgrounds may see their role in public spaces and how those spaces can be inclusive towards their existence, safety, and culture. This paper offers insight into how we can take a further step in making these processes more inclusive.” — DALIA TODARY-MICHAEL, OALA, GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER

If you’d like to go deeper, the CSLA is providing a Diversity & Equity Resources page on their website: www.csla-aapc.ca/mission-areas/ diversity-and-equity

06 05

ontario place Many of us have been anxious about the future of Ontario Place, after the Doug Ford government declared it was looking for proposals to reimagine the aging landmark (plans, which include a spa, were recently unveiled). And while much of the amusement park-style infrastructure has been left to crumble into various states of disrepair, the relatively new Trillium Park has gained the approval of many who see the new landscape as the best possible use of the site. And it continues to get better. On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, it was officially revealed that Trillium now includes 112 plant markers, identifying the rich diversity of plants in the park in English, French, Latin, and Ojibwe. The Ojibwe translations for each plaque were provided by Dr. Jonathan Ferrier, member of the Credit of the Mississauga First Nation and professor of botany at Dalhousie University. Each plant name will be mapped and searchable on the park’s website, along with the botanical, medicinal, and nutritional information for each species—a great resource for school boards, or just inquiring minds. Walter Kehm (OALA Emeritus), who worked on the project, says, “It is hoped that the spirit of Trillium Park will continue through the various phases of the Ontario Place redevelopment.”

urban greening The Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, Landscape Ontario, and Walker Industries have combined to create a new public-private research consortium, with the goal of exploring common urban landscape challenges. “The consortium will lead urban greening research by setting research priorities that reflect industry needs and support its economic success. Consortium members will also have access to a range of other benefits, from training and skills development opportunities to innovative data, network connections and emerging knowledge.” The consortium is currently seeking membership, and those interested can contact darby.mcgrath@vinelandresearch.com. Or, for more, follow @vinelandrsrch on Twitter, or greening_lab on Instagram.

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New, multi-lingual information placard in Trillium Park, Ontario Place, Toronto.

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Darby McGrath, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Environmental Horticulture, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre

IMAGE/ IMAGE/

Walter Kehm

Courtesy of Vineland Research and Innovation Centre

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01-02/

IMAGES/

New, narrower, more flexible snow plows for Toronto’s downtown snow- clearing pilot project. Courtesy of The City of Toronto

TEXT BY GLYN BOWERMAN

For years, pedestrian advocates in Toronto have been calling for the same sidewalk snow clearing downtown that the City historically provided for the inner suburbs. Downtown residents have been responsible for clearing the sidewalk immediately in front of their residence, or risk facing a fine. But that kind of bylaw doesn’t account for rental properties (where the responsibility for shovelling may not be clear), people who are physically unable to clear their snow, people on vacation, or those who simply can’t be bothered. Because of the downtown neighbourhoods’ narrower sidewalks, the type of machines used for snow clearing in, say, Etobicoke could simply not get the job done in Old Toronto. That’s why the City embarked on a two-year pilot project to test the use of narrower, more flexible plows like the Holder brands pictured here.

For the purposes of the pilot, the City purchased nine of these Holder plows. However, City spokesperson Eric Holmes told Ground, now an expansion of the snow-clearing plan has been approved by council, there will be a competitive procurement process to decide which plows will be purchased to significantly expand the fleet. This is a big win for pedestrians, accessibility advocates, residents, and anyone who’s ever taken a bad spill on those treacherous Toronto sidewalks.

BIO/ GLYN BOWERMAN IS THE EDITOR OF GROUND MAGAZINE, JOURNALIST, AND HOST OF THE MONTHLY SPACING RADIO PODCAST.