donation

The work and effort OALA volunteers bring to the association is immeasurable. In this day and age, time is a rare commodity and your contribution is greatly appreciated.

In recognition of the 2022 OALA volunteer efforts, the Association has made a $2,000. donation to a group that originated as a cohort of Master of Landscape Architecture students at the University of Guelph. The group formed One Bench One Tree—where a single native tree is planted, physically distanced two metres from the bench, as a token of appreciation to the front-line workers during COVID-19.

Additionally, we thought what better way to formally recognize OALA volunteers’ efforts than on National Volunteer Day, April 20, 2023? With that in mind, stay tuned for Volunteer Appreciation Day in April, knowing that One Bench One Tree is recognized because you are paying it forward, and acknowledgment of your contribution is on its way.

New Members

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

Waiyee Chou*

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

Let the sun be your partner in powering play! PlaySoleil™ lights the playground at night through solar panels that charge throughout the day. By casting light downwards onto equipment, this security solution not only deters vandalism and other destructive behaviors, but also minimizes light pollution. PlaySoleil™ can easily be installed across new and existing play structures, making it a convenient, affordable option for your next project.

Functionality: PlaySoleil™ is fully solar powered. Recent advancements in LED and battery technology allow us to deliver this product that will, when fully charged, shine for hours. Charging time is typically two hours of direct sunlight. Parks and recreation directors tell us that when play equipment is well-maintained and well-lit, vandalism and other destructive behaviors are discouraged.

Installation: PlaySoleil™’s unmatched convenience and affordability starts with its quick and easy installation. PlaySoleil™ can be easily installed on new or existing play structures because there is no need to pre-drill light posts. Simply remove the current post cap, put the light in its place, and attach with the included self-tapping screws. PlaySoleil™ is made of clear plastic roughly 5.5” in diameter and 6” tall, and its stair-step design enables PlaySoleil™ to fit 3.5”, 4” or 5” (8.89cm, 10.16cm, 12.7cm) diameter posts.

Patent No.: US 11,221,116 B1

Inspire greater safety in your community with PlaySoleil™, an inexpensive and efficient solar lighting method that increases playground security after hours. Its downward light deters vandalism, destructive behavior, and inappropriate nighttime use of your playground, while minimizing light pollution. New World

Playworld Systems, Inc. is a PlayPower, Inc. company © 2022 PlayPower, Inc. All rights reserved.

Woodlands Park is haunted by absence. Located in Hamilton’s emerging Barton Village neighbourhood, near the city’s heavy industry, today’s Woodlands is a windswept open space: the City levelled it after the ’46 Stelco strike. When a commemorative placemaking installation came to Woodlands this spring, the old park and its stories had been largely forgotten. The multimedia installation Woodlands Park: Ghost Landscape commemorates the lost park, exploring the meanings of public space and who controls it.

Hamiltonians knew the old Woodlands as “the People’s Park” for its labour gatherings, but it started life as a treed, Victorian park, with a cast-iron fountain at its heart. Later, an Edwardian bandstand hosted eminent speakers, and crowds gathered there to celebrate VE-Day. Workers organized and assembled here. It was the site of a brutal crackdown on people gathered for International Workers’ Day festivities on May

Day of 1932— a day which lives on as a notorious instance of violence against the labour movement. And it was an important gathering place for workers during the landmark 81-day Stelco strike.

When the Parks Board removed the trees, fountain, and bandstand, contemporaries used photography to document the destruction. Ghost Landscape incorporates these and other haunting archival images on signs and banners, with text from the period. Oral histories— sampled in the sound installation, together with music and ambient nature sounds—recall the rich life of the old

Woodlands, and what was lost just before May Day, 1947. (Listen, or find descriptions of sound and visuals, at GhostLandscape.ca.)

Ghost Landscape speaks to themes of change, renewal, and the mutability of our public spaces over time. One hopeful example: the planned Woodlands Spray Pad would mean the return of a central water feature, seventy-five years later.

01, 03-05/ Woodlands Park, Hamilton, Ghost Landscapes exhibit.

IMAGES/ Sarah Sheehan 02/ Woodlands Park, Hamilton.

IMAGE/ Jeff Tessier