President's Update

By Jane Findlay

When I last wrote for the journal as your President, we were eight weeks into our first lockdown.

Now, at the time of writing, we’re in week ten of our third. We’re approaching the end of my first presidential year, and the moniker ‘Digital Jane’ is still going strong. Thankfully, so is our Institute. Together, as a body and as a sector, we have risen to meet a tremendous challenge, and I couldn’t be prouder of our efforts.

It’s been very hard for all of us, but I have the privilege of being able to reflect on a successful year full of remarkable achievements. From a series of excellent CPD events to LI Campus, through to our first ever fully online LI Awards ceremony, our recent Jellicoe lecture focusing on diversity and our policy work on climate change and the greener recovery – we have much to celebrate.

Jane Findlay hosting the Greener Recovery Festival from her attic office

© Jane Findlay

Annual General Meeting 2020 The LI held our first fully virtual annual general meeting on Thursday 4 February 2021. We welcomed over 100 delegates – including international attendees – and with LI staff members fielding questions behind the scenes, it made for a lively and engaging event. I was honoured to welcome 14 new industry leaders to the LI College of Fellows, including seven through the invited route, as well as seven new invited Chartered members (see page 62 for details). I also had the privilege of presenting the 2020 LI Volunteer of the Year Award to Karen Fitzsimon CMLI, in recognition of her career and achievements spanning 32 years of landscape design and history, and her accomplishments as a leading female role model and Ambassador for Landscape (1) .

Landscape Institute Awards 2020 I am also delighted to be able to reflect on our online Awards ceremony on 26 November 2020. Lockdown has clearly demonstrated the importance of access to nature, as well as inequality of access, and the huge pressures parks and greenspace managers are under to keep these spaces healthy and fit for use. COVID has provided a stark warning about the challenges of urban density, and the need for professionals like us to step up and reimagine our urban environments. We celebrated outstanding projects that put nature first; that deliver for communities; that make people healthier, happier, and more connected; and that boost biodiversity, tackle climate change, and create sustainable, resilient places (2) .

Dan Cook and Jane Findlay welcome speakers to the Jellicoe Lecture 2020 (available to view on LI Campus)

© LI Zoom

Dan Cook on stage at the LI Awards 2019 as part of the LI’s 90th birthday celebrations

© Paul Upward

Jane Swift, who has recently joined the LI to take up the post of Interim CEO.

© Lily Swift

Our thanks to CEO Dan Cook Our achievements against the odds during this past year are only the most recent in a long period of positive transformation at the LI. Helping power this progress behind the scenes has been the LI staff team, led by CEO Dan Cook.

We said goodbye to Dan earlier this year, after nearly five years of exceptional leadership. In this period, the LI has made tremendous steps towards becoming the supportive, agile, forward-looking membership body that we aspire to be. Over the past years, he and the team have together: – broadened and grown the landscape profession over the past five years from 5,300 to more than 5,700 members. Our new entry standards, published in December 2020, will ensure increased inclusive growth over the coming years. We also developed new international ethical principles with our global body IFLA.

– expanded the LI’s CPD and training offering, with a new CPD event programme, plus online options such as LI Campus, livestreaming and the webinar programme.

– refreshed the LI Awards, with new, more inclusive categories and record numbers of entries in 2020. – digitised the LI, delivering new online services to members, including online CPD recording, the My.LI member portal, and new member directory.

– created the #chooselandscape careers website and launched themed editions of the Journal.

– taken real action in response to our Climate and Biodiversity Emergency Declaration in 2019, and started to address equity, diversity and inclusion across the LI and our sector.

– partnered with bodies in place and landscape management, such as the Institute of Place Management and the High Streets Task Force.

– ensured pay equity, flexible and remote working, and better training and development for the LI team. In guiding the Institute through a period of modernisation, Dan has helped provide the foundation for a successful future.

The Board and I would like to thank and congratulate Dan for his many achievements.

Next steps Under the direction of interim chief executive Jane Swift, we are now moving forward into a period of evaluation and transition. Working closely with the Board and Council, Jane will guide the Institute in consolidating our work to date and focusing on the operational delivery required for the next phase of our journey.

The pandemic hasn’t diminished the other pressing issues of our lifetime. To meet the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and the health and wellbeing crisis, we need to be at the top of our game: relevant and visible, highly skilled, and trusted.

Demonstrating public benefit is one of the Institute’s charitable objectives, and an important part of good governance. Other crucial components include managing conflicts, being open and accountable, and taking responsibility for our staff and many volunteers. Recognising that this aspect of governance needed more attention, the Board of Trustees commissioned an independent review last November to support us in improving the LI’s ways of working.

An external consultant has now produced a report and recommendations to the Board. This report was published in February and is available for all members to view and download in the LI members’ area, alongside an initial response to the report from the Board. Many of the improvements recommended are already underway. We’ll be using the 2021-22 business year to consolidate our work to date and develop a plan of action to take the report’s recommendations forward (3) .

Working together While this work is underway, we’ll also continue to build on our partnership work with other organisations.

These partnerships will be crucial in delivering our objectives over the coming years: growing the influence of the profession; increasing access to landscape education; broadening the range of professional disciplines we support; building supportive networks for practitioners from all backgrounds; and creating a profession as vibrant and diverse as the communities we serve.

Despite a challenging year, we’re proud to have watched the LI continue to grow and adapt. We’re excited for the next steps we’ll take together as an organisation.

Follow Jane Findlay on twitter: @JaneEFindlay

7. During lockdown, Jane Findlay regularly tweeted her walks focusing on #25minutesoutside #MentalHealth Awareness

© Jane Findlay

7. During lockdown, Jane Findlay regularly tweeted her walks focusing on #25minutesoutside #MentalHealth Awareness

© Jane Findlay

7. During lockdown, Jane Findlay regularly tweeted her walks focusing on #25minutesoutside #MentalHealth Awareness

© Jane Findlay