The 2016 OALA Awards Bestowed to Individuals with UofG Connections

Numerous awards were bestowed to landscape architecture faculty and alumni at the 2016 Ontario Association of Landscape Architects AGM and Conference at the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario, on April 1, 2016.

OALA Pinnacle Award for Landscape Architectural Excellence:

Professor Cecelia Paine was awarded the “Pinnacle Award for Landscape Architectural Excellence.” This prestigious award recognizes an OALA member for a body of work demonstrating outstanding professional accomplishment.  Her body of work includes professional built works across Canada, teaching, professional communications and dedication to the establishment and growth of the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation.  Congratulations to Cecelia!

Professor Cecelia Paine.  Photo courtesy of OALA.

In addition to Cecelia’s honour, the following awards were also presented to individuals with University of Guelph connections:

OALA Honourary Member Award:

Rob Gordon, the former Dean of the Ontario Agriculture College at the University of Guelph, was recognized as an Honourary Member of the OALA for his support of the Landscape Architecture programs in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) at the University of Guelph during his tenure as Dean of OAC.

Image:  Rob Gordon received the OALA Honourary Member Award from Joanne Moran. Photo courtesy of OALA.

OALA Public Practice Award:

Steven Barnhart, MLA alumnus and adjunct faculty member of SEDRD, received the OALA Public Practice Award.  This award recognizes the outstanding leadership of a member of the profession in public practice who promotes and enhances landscape architecture by working for improved understanding and appreciation of the work of landscape architects in both public and private practice.  Steve has taken the lead on signature projects in the City of Hamilton and is most recently the manager of Forestry and Horticulture for the Niagara Parks Commission.

Image:  Steven Barnhart receiving the OALA Public Practice Award from Joanne Moran.  Photo courtesy of OALA.

David Erb Memorial Award:

Congratulations to Tim McCormick, BLA alumnus who was awarded the David Erb Memorial Award, named after David Erb, an outstanding volunteer in furthering the goals of OALA and his example set a truly high standard. The award is the best way to acknowledge the one outstanding OALA member each year whose volunteer contributions over a number of years have made a real difference.

Tim is a passionate advocate for the profession.  He is committed to outreach initiatives that serve to strengthen the OALA’s partnership with the accredited programs of landscape architecture in Ontario and is encouraging the future generation of emerging professionals.  His volunteerism reflects a strong commitment to the future of our Association, and it exemplifies the OALA’s David Erb Memorial Award that recognizes an OALA member who has made an exemplary voluntary contribution to the works of the Association.

Image:  Tim McCormick.  Photo courtesy of OALA.

OALA Carl Borgstrom Award for Service to the Environment:

Congratulations to Dougan and Associates Ecological Consulting and Design.  This award is given to individual landscape architects or a landscape architectural group to recognize and encourage special or unusual contributions to the sensitive, sustainable design for human use of the environment. This award is named in honour of Carl Borgstrom, who, of all OALA’s founders, was the most actively in tune with the natural landscape.

Dougan & Associates – Ecological Consulting & Design (D&A) was founded by James Dougan in 1981. As an ecologist and Honourary member of the OALA,  Jim’s deep understanding of ecology and his vision for what a healthy landscape could be led him to hire a Landscape Architect as his first employee. Since then, the firm has grown from a sole proprietorship to 16 employees, many of whom are Guelph alumni with expertise in Landscape Architecture, Terrestrial Ecology, and GIS. Based in Guelph, Ontario, Dougan & Associates provides a wide range of services to the public and private sectors.

Image:  Jim Dougan and Kristina Shaw-Lukavsky.  Photo courtesy of OALA.

OALA Emeritus Member:

Congratulations to Owen Scott.  Emeritus members are full members of OALA who have ceased full-time practice and who are nominated by another full member in recognition of their years of service to the profession. 

Owen Scott has been an OALA Member since 1968 and a CSLA Member since 1966, being elected to Fellowship in the CSLA in 1977.  He has served as President of both the OALA (1973-1975) and the CSLA (1976-1978) and the Ontario Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (1984). 

With his late father, he established the first horticultural consulting practice in Canada in 1965, specializing in plant material evaluations.  Prior to moving to Guelph in 1969, he was engaged by Project Planning Associates Limited, where he contributed to plans for Expo ’67, the University of Guelph Master Plan and site and landscape plans, a master plan for Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, and numerous others.  From 1969 to 1981, he was an Assistant Professor in Landscape Architecture at the University of Guelph.  He founded an interdisciplinary corporation, Ecological Services for Planning (now part of Stantec), in 1975 and became a director of The Landplan Collaborative Ltd. (Guelph and Saskatoon) and The Pacific Landplan Collaborative Ltd. (Vancouver and Nanaimo) in 1977.  He has been president of Landplan since 1985.  His project experience at Landplan includes hundreds of master plans, landscape plans, park plans, urban designs and heritage landscape projects for which he began developing a specialty in 1969.  Projects to which he has contributed his expertise have received awards from professional societies, government ministries, professional journals and municipalities.

Image:  Owen Scott.  Photo courtesy of OALA.

Our faculty and graduates of the landscape architecture programs at the University of Guelph continue to make significant contributions to the School, the landscape architecture profession and society.  Congratulations to all award recipients.  

For more information regarding the 2016 OALA awards, please visit the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects website.