Every April, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) celebrate World Landscape Architecture Month (WLAM), which brings recognition and awareness to the profession, landscape architects, and works of landscape architecture in Canada. One of the key communication tools is the CSLA World Landscape Architecture Month poster.
Students recently participated in a one-day field trip to learn about Aboriginal education, both past and present, from First Nations perspectives. Through stories, teachings, and experiences, students gained insight into the complex history and legacy of federal Aboriginal education policy in Canada.
Master of Landscape Architecture student, Karen Shlemkevich’s thesis research focuses on the presence of plants, flowers and other greenery and if it can have positive effects on the eating habits and dining experience of seniors residents in long-term care facilities.
For much of rural Ontario, there is a struggle to retain existing population numbers. With low birth rates, outmigration and an aging baby boom population there is a significant risk of population loss (and in many rural communities this is already happening). The opportunity for rural communities is to increasingly attract immigrants. Recent research identifies success stories from across the province and establishes best practices that can help rural communities to succeed in stabilizing, and potentially growing their population.
Adjunct faculty member, Bamidele Adekunle in the Capacity Development and Extension program, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development has recently co-published the book “Negotiating South-South Regional Trade Agreements: Economic Opportunities and Policy Directions for Africa”.
Graduate students from the Rural Planning and Development and Master’s of Landscape Architecture programs took part in an interactive exercise to learn about the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada, and the implications of the evolving relationship and colonial policies. The activity was offered as part of the newly developed Contemporary Aboriginal Issues course offered by Dr. Sheri Longboat in the Rural Planning and Development program.
Rural Planning and Development graduate students are currently working on a project for Professor Wayne Caldwell's Advanced Planning Practice course to help Seaforth community members with ideas for downtown facelift.
View of downtown Seaforth, Ontario (picture courtesy of Huron Expositor).
Master of Landscape Architecture student, Nadine Bohner, will receive a NASA-Michigan State University Professional Enhancement Award to present her thesis research on landscape characteristics associated with turtle trauma at the International Association for Landscape Ecology meeting in Baltimore in April. The NASA-MSU awards are unique to this organization and promote the development of emerging landscape ecology scholars.
van·tage
van(t)ij/
noun
noun: vantage point
A place or position affording a good view of something. "from my vantage point I could see into the front garden"
The photos on cover of the January/February 2017 edition of the Ontario Planning Journal were recently taken by event organizers of the Ontario Professional Planners Institute October 2016 Symposium in Hamilton, Ontario. The Rural Planning and Development graduate students from the University of Guelph are showing their tech social media savvy by being connected with everyone/everything that was happening at the conference on the topic of "Healthy Communities and Planning for the Public Realm".