News

In March, the Advanced Planning Practice class travelled to Polk County in Central Florida. The objectives of this trip were to provide experiential learning through case study analysis, draw on comparisons between American and Canadian jurisdictions and develop skills for applying this analysis to a local Ontario context. During this field trip, the class experienced a new-urbanist community, a reclaimed phosphate mining site and a sixth generation cattle ranch.

“There are things that landscape architects and urban designers can do to make cities cool, particularly during heat waves,” says landscape architecture professor Bob Brown in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development.  A leafy canopy creates shelter from the sun's rays.  Not only do they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, but they can also help keep urban areas cool.

See full article in At Guelph http://atguelph.uoguelph.ca/2013/07/trees-can-help-cities-beat-the-heat/

University of Guelph

Local Food and Agriculture

by:  John F Devlin

As the planet’s population continues to grow and use finite resources, long-term sustainability comes more and more into question. Food sovereignty, responsible water use, the role of technology in environmentally sustainable development, and healthy communities all depend on long-range vision and good land use decisions.

The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development was saddened to learn of the recent passing of Dr. Douglas Hoffman.  Dr.

Heather Schibli, a second year student in the Master of Landscape Architecture program has recently been featured in a news article on the Ontario Agricultural College website.   

https://www.uoguelph.ca/oac/news/meet-heather-oac-student

Congratulations to Heather, who also has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) scholarship for the 2013/2014 academic year.

June 13-14, Professor Cecelia Paine, FCSLA, FASLA, OALA, served as a design juror for the 2013 Toronto Urban Design Awards. In addition to Paine, the jury included an urban designer, two architects and a journalist from across Canada.   In total, the jurors reviewed 90 professional entries and 30 student entries. The purpose of the awards is to recognize designers and developers who contribute to the creation of great public spaces.  The Awards Ceremony will take place the evening of Wednesday, September 11, 2013.

Desiree Valadares (MLA 2013), advised by Nate Perkins and Sean Kelly, has been accepted to present her graduate thesis at the 2013 ECLAS (European Council for Landscape Architecture Schools) Conference this September in Hamburg, Germany.  Her thesis involved the compilation of a landscape biography of Ontario Place, a neglected modernist landscape along Toronto's post-industrial waterfront.

Mark Harrison (MLA 2012), advised by Associate Professor Sean Kelly, recently published a mountain recreation landscape article entitled: "Powder to the people: Can the back-country experience be designed?" in Ski Area Management, May 2013 Vol. 52. No. 3 (page 46).

http://www.saminfo.com/magazine-archives

Jim Taylor FCSLA FASLA FCELA, is an invited keynote speaker for the IFLA Africa Symposium to be held from October 14 to 18, 2013 in Logos, Nigeria.  The symposium theme is People and Landscapes and will receive papers on environmental philosophy and theory; productive regional landscapes; urban landscapes; cultural landscapes; and politics, policies and landscape development.  Professor Taylor has served as the Chair of the IFLA Africa Committee responsible for advancing the profession on the continent.