Landscape Journal - Spring 2018

SPRING 2018

landscapeinstitute.org

The Future Talent issue

DESIGN TANK PHOTO CHARLOTTE SVERDRUP

Kong

Design: Allan Hagerup

2

A teenager who appreciates the beauty of nature, who enjoys climbing trees, is the future adult who will fight to save the tree outside their apartment.

#ChooseLandscape Lily Bakrasta Find out more on page 31

3

CONTENTS

05 Editorial

Supporting and mentoring future talent Eleanor Trenfield FUTURE TALENT

06

14

State of Play

Understanding Gen Z: your future workforce

Fiona Shaw analyses the results of research into practice and education

18

My life in Landscape Landscape professionals describe their lives, hopes and aspirations

45 A trailblazer for talent The LI’s Landscape Apprenticeships Trailblazer offers new opportunities for young people 25 YEAR ENVIRONMENT PLAN

52 A Green Future

The government’s 25 Year Environment Plan, examined by Merrick Denton-Thompson 4

31

Canadian research into the values and expectations of the next generation

38

#Choose Landscape

How we nurture future talent

Landscape Ambassador Lily Bakratsa writes about her experience as a student mentor

Landscape practice TEP describes how it nurtures skills and develops talent

46

50

Training the next generation

Learning the language of landscape

Sheffield’s Department of Landscape celebrates its 50th anniversary

Inspiring young people to greater awareness of their ancient landscape

58

64 Reading list

The latest books on landscape

66 On my mind

Kate Bailey on future talent and past experience

68 Humphry Repton

The bicentenary year, by Paul Lincoln

71 LI News

Northern Forest Paul Nolan explains the rationale for the new Northern Forest

News from the Landscape Institute

74 A last word

Future talent and the Environment Plan

by Merrick Denton-Thompson

EDITORIAL

Publisher Darkhorse Design Ltd T (0)20 7323 1931 darkhorsedesign.co.uk tim@darkhorsedesign.co.uk Editor landscape@darkhorsedesign.co.uk Editorial advisory panel Eleanor Trenfield, honorary editor CMLI David Buck AMLI Amanda McDermott CMLI Peter Sheard CMLI John Stuart Murray FLI Jo Watkins PPLI Jenifer White CMLI Lily Bakratsa, Licentiate member (invited guest) Francis Hesketh CMLI MCIEEM CEnv MICFor (invited guest) Landscape Institute President Merrick Denton-Thompson Landscape Institute CEO Daniel Cook To comment on any aspect of Landscape Institute communications please contact: Amina.waters@landscapeinstitute.org Landscapeinstitute.org @talklandscape landscapeinstitute landscapeinstituteUK Subscription and membership enquiries: www.landscapeinstitute.org/contact The Landscape Institute is the chartered body for the landscape profession. It is an educational charity working to promote the art and science of landscape practice.

The LI’s aim, through the work of its members, is to protect, conserve and enhance the natural and built environment for the public benefit.

The Landscape Institute provides a professional home for all landscape practitioners including landscape scientists, landscape planners, landscape architects, landscape managers and urban designers.

To advertise in Landscape, contact Anthony Cave, Cabell: 0203 603 7934 Cleaner, greener. Landscape is printed on paper sourced from EMAS (Environmental Management and Audit Scheme) certified manufacturers to ensure responsible printing.

The views expressed in this journal are those of the contributors and advertisers and not necessarily those of the Landscape Institute, Darkhorse or the Editorial Advisory Panel. While every effort has been made to check the accuracy and validity of the information given in this publication, neither the Institute nor the Publisher accept any responsibility for the subsequent use of this information, for any errors or omissions that it may contain, or for any misunderstandings arising from it.

Landscape is the official journal of the Landscape Institute, ISSN: 1742–2914 © 2018 Landscape Institute. Landscape is published four times a year by Darkhorse Design.

SPRING 2018

landscapeinstitute.org

The Future Talent issue

Cover image © Getty Images

Supporting and mentoring future talent In this edition of Landscape, we examine Future Talent and the 25 Year Environment Plan, both of which will have an impact on our profession going forward. Both themes are particularly pertinent to me as a professional and business owner of a practice one year in, having experienced the challenge of recruiting the people with the skills our practice needs as a start up outside of London.

The statistics, eloquent opinion pieces and work reported in this issue have given me much to reflect on. We all need to support, encourage and mentor the next generation, and increase the profile of the profession to attract young people of a high calibre who share our values.

Now for a brief introduction to the articles in this edition. On Future Talent, pieces include ‘State of Play’ (page 6), which sets out findings from recent Landscape Institute research and a practice survey, a feature on the Landscape Apprenticeships Trailblazer group (page 45), and the ‘Training of the Next Generation’ (page 47) which celebrates the 50th anniversary of Landscape at the University of Sheffield. This is the first of a regular series which will profile different education providers and routes into the profession.

A strength of our profession lies in the range of roles and careers. In ‘My life in landscape’ (page 18), eleven landscape professionals discuss their career paths and what attracted them to choose landscape. While landscape education can start in schools, as Lily Bakratsa writes (page 31), employers have a big part to play in making a career in landscape more widely

accessible. TEP’s Francis Hesketh’s reflections (page 38) on how his firm nurtures future talent to overcome the challenge of attracting qualified graduates will probably strike a chord with many of our readers.

Articles on the 25 Year Environment Plan include an analysis piece by the President of the Landscape Institute, Merrick Denton-Thompson OBE FLI (page 52), who has worked tirelessly in promoting our profession and agenda to government, with great success.

Part of the 25 Year Environment Plan includes increasing woodland cover in England to 12%. Paul Nolan OBE, who is director of the Mersey Forest and Chair of England’s Community Forests, has written an article on page 58 about how the Northern Forest will help to achieve this objective.

You may have noticed that Landscape’s style, visual language and content is evolving. We have introduced a themed approach to each issue of the journal, are commissioning shorter articles for multiple platforms, and evolving a bolder graphic style.

There will be a greater focus on membership. You will also notice that this edition arrived through your letterbox in an FSC certified paper envelope, a small detail, but given the circulation figures are around 5,000 copies, this cleaner and greener responsible printing approach is a significant reduction to plastic waste.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this edition.

Enjoy!

Eleanor Trenfield, BA(Hons) MA CMLI Director, ETLA and honorary editor of Landscape

5

F U T U R E TA L E N T

By Fiona Shaw

Fiona Shaw is a business journalist. She is consultant editor of the Business Tribune and publisher of Ethos magazine.

State of Play What is the state of skills in the landscape professions right now? How do we shape up to face the future challenges and seize new opportunities? As the education and employment landscape shifts, the LI has commissioned two major pieces of research – the ‘State of Landscape’ practice survey and an Education Review. Analysis of the responses of LI members proves a timely reminder of the skills relevant to people working across the sector, and emphasises skill shortages – and opportunities for development.

The State of Landscape responses point to a profession in flux. In 2016, there were a projected 2,020 urban planning and landscape architecture companies in the UK*, and estimated GVA (gross value added) is growing steadily.

But money remains a key concern for both private and public sector respondents. Uncertainty in the current business climate means that landscape architecture is exposed to changes in confidence and investment in the construction sector, but the broader market for architectural services still demonstrates optimism.

For the private sector, fee levels and profitability were noted by 67% of respondents; in the public sector, concern about accessing funding (62%) dominates responses.

Uncertainty over budgets and priorities for private practice goes hand in hand with other key challenges – namely a lack of recognition among potential 6

clients (48%), and not being involved at the right stage of the project (45%). While the importance of the environment we live and work in is increasingly significant, one respondent commented: ‘The reality is that the focus is on what the client wants and where the client is going to spend their money… it isn’t always on the landscape.’

The profession’s future potential, however, is immense. By 2030, nearly 9% of the global population will live in megacities of more than 10m inhabitants. The World Economic Forum (WEF)’s ‘megatrends’ show the opportunities that will drive change – rapid urbanisation; increasing middle classes in emerging markets; new energy supplies and technologies, and the impact of climate change all impact the environment we work and live in, specifically around landscape architecture roles.

The scope to transform landscapes

and develop member skills to help them create a sustainable future and respond to challenges like demographic shifts and climate change is vast. That growth will come from the education sector, alongside practices and the LI itself, seizing an unprecedented opportunity to shift mindsets towards learning, employment and CPD to see the profession develop.

Comparing added value to other professions shows the potential for expansion. Since 2010, the sector’s contribution has increased by 15.9%.

While still relatively small, it is growing: in 2016 it’s estimated that the landscape profession in the UK contributed £948m in aGVA (average gross value added) – just 0.04% of the UK’s total. To give this context, architectural services contributed £5.1bn, and construction, £97.6bn. *Source: Nomis, UK Structural Business Statistics

One of the messages that’s coming through clearly in this research is that we need to do more to encourage young people to Choose Landscape as a career.

Multi-disciplinary skills The State of Landscape review looks to the WEF’s drivers of change to anticipate future skills needs. The WEF identifies us as in the middle of a fourth industrial revolution, characterised by the fusion of technologies like genetics, robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing and biotech.

Building digital proficiency into a portfolio of futureproofed skills remains a challenge yet to be faced.

Visualisation techniques including virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), and the use of drones, have huge potential to transform the way the profession works – both as a a proxy for site visits, and to present ideas to clients – alongside the increasing use of big data, and BIM (Building Information Modelling).

While just 27% of State of Landscape

respondents report experience operating BIM at level one (and just 3% at level three), the role of BIM in landscape design is only set to increase. A corresponding survey from the National Building Specification in 2016 showed that 54% of architects already use BIM in their practices.

The need for expertise in writing plans, reports and evaluations – closely followed by communications and presentations – features strongly in the Top Ten Professional Skills.

One State of Landscape respondent noted: ‘Communication is really a skill and it is key to everything we do.

You don’t win work unless you can communicate with people that will give it. You don’t retain work. You don’t get work approved. All of those things fall flat if you can’t communicate.’

Respondents to the Education Review

also identified skills gaps amongst graduates around professional skills, including developing leadership ability, understanding ethical practice and multi-professional working.

Real world experience The State of Landscape review points to a gap between teaching provision and professional skills, with 41% of practice heads reported that recruitment was a problem and graduate calibre was a key concern, although the Education Review reiterates that a changing education landscape is putting courses under a lot of pressure from universities.

The strong reputation of the UK education system creates its own issues. Wardell Armstrong’s Natalie Murray teaches the Professional Practice module on the University

Main challenges with recruitment*

*41% of practice heads cited recruitment as a key challenge. Of this 41%, the main concerns they had were the stats on the right.

37% Calibre of graduates

30%

Not enough local talent

24%

Not enough people in the profession

22%

Recruiting people with the right qualifications

Top professional skills required by landscape professionals 82%

Writing plans, reports & evaluations

65%

Communications/presentations

65%

Project management

65%

Problem solving

56%

Client & customer service

53%

Collaboration & partnership working

51%

Contract management

50%

Community/stakeholder engagement/facilitation

48%

Professional conduct & ethics – attitudes, behaviours & values

43%

People management 7

F U T U R E TA L E N T

of Edinburgh’s Master’s course, and mentors candidates on the Pathway to Chartership (P2C). She says: ‘There are a large number of overseas students who may not remain in the UK or go on to join the LI. They’re interested in the courses from the perspective of gaining a known and recognised qualification that sets a benchmark within the profession.

That has an impact on the number of practicing Landscape Architects within the UK.’ There are also discrepancies between theory and practical focus.

She says: ‘The Master’s concentration on educational objectives means we sometimes lose focus on what people need to know to do the job on a day-to-day basis. There are some gaps in the Master’s syllabus around those skills, and students can become detached from the practical application of the syllabus topics. There is a need for both professional and practical skills and for guidance on many of the technical constraints we work within.’

As the LI looks at including more content around professional practice skills in its training and CPD materials, the Landscape|LED course, which supports LI members on the P2C, shows the appetite for practical CPD skills. 2018 is the first year that the two-day course has been run biannually. Tina Muldowney delivers the course alongside colleague Natalie Murray. ‘We’ve created the format of the Landscape|LED course to give people a really good grounding and a better understanding of the application of the theory of the LI syllabus. We took over the course a few years ago and it has always had a great reputation. Our spin is more graphic presentation of the theory and case study examples.’ The course has been successful at marrying the gap between theory and practice. ‘We use as many workshops and live examples as we can,’ she says.

The strategic implications of real world experience, from planning legislation and regulations to under­ standing both local government and the construction sector better, are areas where both the LI and practices can step in and develop skills across the

8

profession. ‘We need to understand the public sector and private sector.

If you factor in public sector reform as a lot of our work sits within the public sector. So, we need business planning skills as the public sector changes continually,’ the CEO of one landscape management body commented in his State of Landscape response.

Acknowledging the difference between skills learned in university and their development through real life practice and CPD gives employers the opportunity to step in to both educate and inspire. As one respondent says, the profession’s ‘deadline driven nature and pace is not always conveyed through university’. Both reviews point to renewed emphasis on multi-disciplinary skills for landscape professionals, embracing digital and professional practice skills to meet the needs of employers and clients.

SALARIES –GENDER SPLIT

Salary over £50,000

Salary £30,000 – £50,000

Wider access Greater diversity could be key to boosting the profession’s popularity and addressing skills gaps. LI members are less likely than the general population to be disabled or be from an ethnic minority background.

And while the gender split is finely balanced, more than twice as many men than women fall into the over £50k salary category (20.4% of men compared to 9.4% of women). Figures are more comparable in the £30k-£50 bracket, implying significant challenges in equality of career progression that must be addressed.

New pathways will go some of the way towards addressing diversity concerns. Tina Muldowney says: ‘The LI is improving awareness of the profession generally – the Ambassador for Landscape movement is really good at generating more interest in schools.

But, academically, lots of people don’t want to study for three years, have a year out, then a year back at college, and come out with crippling debt. We really need to look at apprenticeships and widening access.’

Andrew Tindsley has just retired as BDP’s principal for landscape architecture, and remains a strong advocate of the apprenticeship route – the practice welcomed its

first engineering apprentices in 2012. ‘It’s proved a successful part of our recruitment strategy and valuable addition to existing graduate programmes,’ he says. ‘Our wider approach to ‘on-the-job-learning’, sharing experience, coaching and mentoring sits well with the apprenticeship model. At a time when we find it difficult to recruit UK trained landscape architects with skills matched to our needs, we believe the apprenticeship initiative may be one way of helping to resolve the situation.’

Government policy emphasis has returned to technical education and apprenticeships, demanding that ‘trailblazer’ groups work with education providers to create new apprenticeship routes for their sector. Supported by the LI’s head of external affairs, Poppy Smith, a group of practices has established an apprenticeship trailblazer to develop new talent, improve diversity and accessibility, and use apprenticeship levy funding

The Ambassador for Landscape movement is really good at generating more interest in schools

What types of organisations do LI Members work for?

£50,000

44%

Private professional practice

22%

Consultancy

14%

Local Authority

4%

Third sector (charity, advisory, government)

6%

Engineering company

Important sources of work for professionals in private practice

£40,000

£30,000

78%

Housing developers

75%

Architecture practices

74%

Commercial developers

65%

Public sector bodies

to support the skills shortage. In its discussions, the group saw potential in creating apprenticeship routes at both a lower level (equivalent to A-level) and at a degree level.

Degree apprenticeships – which enable study alongside on-the-job training – are central to the agenda.

At least 60 universities and higher education institutions (HEIs) plan to introduce degree apprenticeships, creating an opportunity for the Landscape Institute to pursue, alongside lower-level apprenticeships.

The potential to attract students who might not otherwise go into traditional university programmes – not least by eliminating tuition fees – will help institutions widen participation and social mobility, whilst meeting employers’ needs.

Many of the LI’s accredited under­graduate landscape courses have recorded an interest in degree apprenticeships – partly to make up for dwindling numbers, but also to enhance student diversity and

widen the profession’s potential applicant pool.

Opening up routes into the profession inevitably means raising the profile of the industry – which LI members recognise. Showcasing projects that have delivered value and other benefits – like health and wellbeing – tap into contemporary concerns about quality of life and healthy cities – and the need for businesses to do more than simply offer a service, or value for money. Green space; fresh air; work-life balance. The LI’s role is vital in educating a wider audience – especially across adjacent disciplines – of the reasons for investing and spending money in landscape projects.

‘You can measure value in different ways. I don’t think you can get away from recognising financial value but there is an ever-growing recognition of things like social value, environmental value,’ says the principal of a medium sized landscape practice. Quantifying that value is key.

New talent Widening accessibility could help grow numbers coming into the profession, which have plateaued in recent years. The State of Landscape report estimates that in 2016, 16,845 people were employed in the landscape and placemaking professions. Dan Cook, CEO of the LI, says: ‘One of the messages that’s coming through clearly in this research is that we need to do more to encourage young people to Choose Landscape as a career. We’re launching an exciting new careers campaign in mid 2018 and will be announcing a range of other initiatives to help students get the skills they need.’

Alison Barnes is chief executive of the New Forest National Park Authority and a Fellow of the Landscape Institute. ‘To meet the aspirations of green growth and the government’s 25 year environment plan we need students to be energised and engaged with it,’ she says. ‘We need the landscape community to

9

F U T U R E TA L E N T

9%

By 2030 nearly of the global population will live in megacities of more than 10m inhabitants

be real catalysts for sustainable liveable places of the future, sharing best practice. We can’t just rely on developers and local authorities to make change. The challenge is very much ‘advocating the art of the possible’.

‘The next generation is crucial for that. It’s not yet being done across the board – the next generation can be the one that makes it happen.

It would seem that their value set aligns closely with the challenge.

Landscape architecture plus landscape management creates an unprecedented opportunity. We need them to have the education to

10

60

At least higher education institutions plan to introduce degree apprenticeships courses

understand what is possible – and recommend those approaches as the norm.’

The last ten to 15 years have seen unprecedented changes in the education landscape – not least in its commercial focus. Students and parents have become switched on to their return on investment, expecting more support into their chosen career, and beyond. ‘We have to enable and motivate people to get those experiences which enable them to do those jobs in the future as a community or landscape professional,’ says Alison Barnes.

For the LI, practices and current

41% of practice heads

cited recruitment as a key challenge

landscape professionals, the impetus is on to inspire and produce the good professionals of the future.

Andrew Tindsley is upbeat: ‘In our travels, the work of landscape architects is sought after and respected. In much of our international masterplanning work, our landscape architects are frequently leaders of multi-disciplinary design teams, quickly gaining the confidence and respect of client bodies as they bring together complex solutions. This bodes well for the profession in general and in particular for the UK, whose landscape architects are well respected.’

One of the messages that’s coming through clearly in this research is that we need to do more to encourage young people to Choose Landscape as a career

5.5% of students come from the EU

Future challenges The Education Review shows the impact that removing the numbers cap has had, increasing competition for students. Half of institutions which responded to the Education Review, and offer landscape courses, report steady numbers on courses – though many reached targets through clearing. Just half of LI-accredited courses recorded steady numbers of EU students, while the remainder saw them decrease.

For non-EU students results were mixed too: those who saw an increase reported significant numbers from China and South-East Asia, as

162

higher education institutions provided a wide range of courses, from Foundation Degrees and HND courses

well as Japan and Turkey. Non-EU students tend to be concentrated in postgraduate provision.

Postgraduate provision has held up, it shows, though less than half of postgraduate entrants come from LI-accredited undergraduate courses.

This could be because applicants are deterred by fees, or because entry to courses is part of career change – and high proportions of international students. Nonetheless, fewer ‘traditional’ entrants are making universities more competitive in commercial areas.

It remains to be seen to what extent Brexit will affect the 5.5% of

200,000 UK students have benefitted from the Erasmus programme and HND courses

students who come from the EU, although early evidence shows a drop in the number of EU students coming to UK universities. A ‘hard’ Brexit could also mean the end of participation in the Erasmus programme. 200,000 UK students have benefited from the programme – which entails spending part of their study period on the continent – which is popular among LIaccredited undergraduate courses.

More noticeable hits could be a significant loss of funding in the 15% of EU research grants that head for UK universities, and difficulties in recruiting staff from Europe.

11

F U T U R E TA L E N T

UK landscape professions – number of people employed*

15,895

15,151

16,928

16,845

2015

2016

15,776

11,514

7,455 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

* Source: Nomis, UK structural business statistics

Opportunities New accreditation models would also provide more support and opportunities for courses. Examples from other sectors prompt timely questions… Do the LI’s professional standards remain fit for purpose? Do they reflect the needs of a diverse and complex workforce, and recognise all programmes relevant to a career in landscape? Is there an opportunity to encourage more diversity?

RICS has restructured its accreditation processes and operates a partnership model designed to improve relationships between HEIs and RICS. Accreditations will run for five years, piggy backing on universities’ internal validations and QA processes, with a dedicated education manager overseeing the process of accreditation.

Similarly, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has seen a number of accredited courses close because of declining numbers. It has put scrutiny of professional standards at the centre of a new review. The development of new standards – against which individuals seek assessment for different grades of membership – have reversed a decline in membership numbers.

Across the country, 162 HEIs currently provide a wide range of 12

courses, from Foundation Degrees and HND courses, with over 90 undergraduate Environmental Science courses that could align with LI learning outcomes, and it is keen to better support the courses Some concerns remain that accrediting or recognising a broader spectrum of landscape-related courses could contribute to the watering down of standards. But the LI is keen to explore this further, aligning with its broadening agenda beyond design courses, and taking a wider knowledge- and skills-based view of incoming graduates. Poppy Smith says: ‘While we have the ambition to accredit more courses, we can’t guarantee that all courses will be receptive. We are happy to put in a lot of work for this, and will always uphold standards – that is part of our charter.’

An appetite for exploring accreditation of landscape management courses suggests the LI may provide a natural ‘home’ for many, with accreditation supporting and enhancing their status within the university.

Alison Barnes’ background is in landscape management, and she calls the LI’s embrace of her profession as ‘exciting’. ‘LI accreditation has proved an excellent place to go and talk about ideas as a profession – it is such an important space for everybody, and a great opportunity to realise potential.

Dieter Helm, the Chair of the Natural Capital Committee, talks about ending the apartheid between economic growth and protecting and enhancing the environment,’ she says. ‘Landscape is the place where you can do that.’

The opportunities for the profession – the recognition of our changing world and a coming together of ideas around sustainability and the environment, quality of life and natural capital demonstrate the prizes to be grasped. Uniquely, the landscape profession needs knowledge of systems connecting people, place and nature – and the challenge is to make sure that the next generation are skilled across these areas.

Whilst recognising its transitional state, the future looks positive. As a result of the research, the LI is looking into a number of changes, which will be announced over the coming months. Global trends show huge potential for the sector, and the opportunities to be harnessed.

Emphasising multi-disciplinary skills for landscape professionals and embracing a wider range of roles and pathways will help future-proof the profession and meet the needs of employers, clients and policy.

The Education Review and State of Landscape survey are available from the members’ area of the Landscape Institute website.

Digital skills have huge potential to transform the way the profession works

Concrete Diversity Bespoke - Paving - Blocks - Steps - Kerbs - Street Furniture - Accessories Large Format Paving

Email: sales@blyko.co.uk

Tel: 01273 704970

www.blyko.co.uk

13

F U T U R E TA L E N T

By Giselle Kovary

Giselle Kovary, President of n-gen People Performance Inc of Canada, outlines her research, the results of a national survey published as Gen-Z: A Generation To Look Up To.

Understanding Gen Z: Your Future Workforce Who are Generation Z? They will be the next generation of landscape professionals and we need to understand their values and expectations to attract and retain talented and motivated individuals into the profession.

Who is your future workforce?

Do you know what they value, their expectations of employers, and what will motivate them?

The newest generation to enter our workplaces is Generation Z, born 1996–2012. In order to future proof the landscape profession, organisations, leaders and colleagues need to understand the next generation of employees and how to tap into their values, expectations and behaviour in order to attract and retain top talent.

X

Y

Z

Baby Boomer

Generation X

Millennial

Generation Z

BORN 1946–1964

BORN 1965–1980

BORN 1981–1995

BORN 1996–2012

14

Who are Gen Z? Positive, optimistic, practical, inquisitive and confident are some of the adjectives we can use to describe Gen Z. Many leaders had feared that the next wave of employees would be more entitled and complacent, less driven and hardworking, but these fears can be put to rest. Gen Zs might just be a generation to look up to.

We conducted a national survey in Canada to gain an understanding of how Gen Zs feel about their lives, their career aspirations, technology and learning. The results were fascinating.

The data suggests that this generation will have a work ethic and loyalty similar to the Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964), the independence of the Gen Xs (born 1965–1980); and the tech savviness, fluid lifestyle and creativity of the Millennials (born 1981 – 1995). They will combine these traits into a unique hybrid that powers them

forward to their distinctive brand of happiness.

The eldest Gen Zs are just graduating from university. This generation has come of age in a different environment compared to Millennials; with the terrorist attacks on 9/11 barely memorable, this cohort has grown up with the impact of increased security, cyber-attacks, WikiLeaks, climate disasters, reality stars, and all things digital. They have never known a world where Wi-Fi doesn’t exist, where social media hasn’t been fully integrated into their lives, and where wearable devices track, monitor and constantly capture data about their lives in real-time.

71 per cent of Gen Zs in our study go on YouTube everyday and 68 per cent use Facebook daily. This generation seeks knowledge, connection, entertainment and learning online.

Gen Z parents are: 23% Baby Boomers 59% Gen Xers 18% Millennials

What is most important to Gen Z? A job that is secure ‘I can’t imagine ever owning my own home’

50% Agree

‘I don’t plan to own a car because I can use public transit, uber or a car-sharing service’

A job that will help me develop new skills and learn new things

47% Agree

A job with great benefits A job working in an industry that I believe in, or that matches my personal values A job that I can stay at for a long time

88% list the ‘ability to adapt to change’ as a top factor to success

Who are Gen Z? In our study

94% are students

89% % 89 88%

86% 85%

The eldest Gen Zs are just graduating from university

Gen Z’s expectations and values There are several important expectations that Gen Zs revealed in our study: 1 They are bullish about the future –– 59 per cent of this cohort believe that they are going to be better off than their parents.

–– 65 per cent agreed that, overall, their generation has much better opportunities than previous generations.

2 They are loyal and value security –– Generation Z employees don’t believe they need to work for several different companies to be successful –– 85 per cent want a job they can stay at for a long time –– 89 per cent listed a secure job as a top priority –– 89 per cent want a job that allows them to develop new skills and learn new things

3 They have traditional values –– This generation is likely to demonstrate greater loyalty than Millennials –– They understand the need to follow direction, respect authority, and pay their dues –– 74 per cent indicate that it is important to ‘do what your boss tells you to do’ in order to advance –– 84 per cent want a job in an industry they believe in, or that matches their personal values –– 88 per cent seek employment with great benefits

15

F U T U R E TA L E N T

4 They are realistic and balanced –– Gen Z employees are likely to respect authority, processes, and hierarchy –– 67 per cent believe that when getting a new job, they would feel lucky to have that job, versus believing the company would be lucky to have them as an employee –– 88 per cent list the ‘ability to adapt to change’ as a top factor to success The question most people ask is: why are we seeing this shift in Gen Zs’ values versus Millennials? One key factor is that this generation is that they have been raised by Gen Xs 59 per cent of our survey respondents having Gen X parents.

Given Gen Xs’ focus on independence and results, it’s not surprising that they are raising their children to be more selfreliant, more pragmatic and more realistic about what they need to do to be successful. A significant difference is that 63 per cent of Gen Zs define themselves as savers versus spenders. This shift toward fiscal responsibility is likely due, in part, to Gen X parents who are less willing to act as the bank of ‘mom and dad’ and are requiring their children to contribute more financially to their futures, than Baby Boomers required of their Millennial kids.

Gen Zs want a job that...

... has a great boss

84% ...allows them to work where and when they want

...lets them be part of a team

76%

74%

The top 3 most important factors needed to progress in their careers...

88% Ability to adapt to change

16

87% 86% Being a great team member

Being innovative and solving problems

Implications for employers Recruitment: To attract Gen Z talent, employers must understand this generation’s need for stability and engagement.

Organisations and leaders should focus on: –– Ensuring Gen Z team members feel appreciated for their work –– Supporting and celebrating Gen Zs’ loyalty –– Highlighting how organisational values are aligned to what Gen Zs value –– Providing career-path options that tap into Gen Zs’ desire for security and a job they can stay at for a long time –– Communicating how the profession and employment opportunities tap into Gen Z employees’ creativity and innovation Leadership: All leaders will need to enhance their situational leadership skills so that they can tap into what motivates and engages Gen Zs, in order to create more productive multigenerational teams. Some desired action steps include: –– Understand the values and expectations of all four generations in the workplace in order to cultivate high levels of engagement and collaboration with multigenerational employees –– Provide coaching and feedback that aligns with Gen Zs’ expectations –– Identify how to increase communication effectiveness through the enhanced use of technology Learning and development: All employees want to learn and grow. This will be particularly important for Gen Zs as they will be life-long learners with an appetite for learning that is: –– Self-directed –– Focused on collaborative problem solving –– Practical and real-world focused –– Integrating external sources of information –– Leveraging technoloy As the landscape profession welcomes more Gen Zs into the field, this generation’s optimism, creativity, practically and loyalty can make a significant impact. It will be incumbent on all organisations to adjust their people practices, policies and leadership behaviour to ensure that top talent can be attracted and retained into the profession and contribute to its growth and vitality.

This Canadian research study was undertaken by n-gen People Performance Inc. by means of a national online survey in Canada of 600 Gen Zs, ranging in age from 14-21. The survey, deployed by Environics Research, was sampled to census for region and gender and a representative number of French Canadian respondents were collected.

The survey was conducted online from July 19 – 28, 2017, with 362 re-interviewed from August 31 – September 14, 2017.

Giselle Kovary, M.A. is president of n-gen People Performance Inc., and the author of Loyalty Unplugged and Upgrade Now. To learn more visit www.ngenperformance.com Follow Giselle @ngen_training or like us on Facebook. Or gkovary@ngenperformance.com

London - Natural History Museum Contractor: Blakedown Landscapes Products: Porphyry Setts, Yorkstone Paving, Green Schist Paving

01708 867 237 enquiries @cedstone.co.uk www.cedstone.co.uk

@CEDNaturalStone @CED.Ltd.Natural.Stone @ced_stone_group 17

F U T U R E TA L E N T

my life in landscape We asked eleven landscape professionals, all at different stages in their careers, to tell us what inspired them to follow a career in landscape and what advice they would give to others. Their answers show the breadth of talent, experience and passion across the profession. They explain how they trained, what is important to them about the profession and how they would recommend it to others.

Alex Burton

Alex is a Chartered Member of LI and a landscape planner.

He took a BSc in Geography at Newcastle University and an MSc in Geographical Information Management at Cranfield University.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

I really wanted to pursue a career that would make good use of the knowledge and skills I learnt during my BSc and MSc. It was a revelation when I discovered landscape planning perfectly blended my interests in geography and the environment What projects are you working on at the moment?

A Landscape Character and Sensitivity Assessment for Greater Manchester, Landscape Assessments and Mitigation for HS2, and a Green Belt Assessment for Shropshire.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I love being outdoors and understanding how natural and human forces shape the landscape and how we perceive it. I am always armed with my camera!

18

How do you make your mark on the world?

I integrate my beliefs and ideals into the work that I do. I have opportunities to influence landscape and environmental protection, to work on projects that will help combat climate change, and to incorporate measures such as the planting of woodlands.

What trends do you predict for your industry in the next few years?

With the need to decarbonise the economy and problems with air pollution, we are entering a new golden age for the railways and other low-carbon means of transport. In our duty to protect the natural environment while enabling the development needs of society to be met, the landscape profession will play a vital role in making sure these major pieces of infrastructure are integrated within the landscape as sensitively as possible.

Why is the landscape profession important to the future of society and the environment?

It links the built and the natural environment.

We play a vital role in making sure society has access to outdoor green space and the benefits to health and wellbeing that brings. We shape places and spaces, from urban, to rural to wild, from the very small to those that are vast in scale.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a landscape professional?

I’d advise them that, depending on the area you want to work in, you don’t always need a degree in landscape architecture to get involved, as you can learn many skills you need while you’re on the job. A background in geography, planning, environmental science or horticulture can be a good route in. It can lead to a very interesting and rewarding career. It allows me to work on a wide variety of projects that I feel proud to be a part of. The landscape profession is as much a vocation as a career. People in landscape really believe in what they do.

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Liz Stark

Liz is in the second year of the MLA Landscape Architecture (conversion route), at The University of Greenwich.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

A desire to pursue a career that combined my interest in art and design with an increasing consciousness about the environment. I came to this profession late, having studied as an undergraduate in advertising and marketing communications.

I worked in the digital media industry for more than 10 years. I hadn’t been aware of landscape architecture previously. When I found the www.bealandscapearchitect. com website, through exploring town planning courses, I realised I had found the perfect fit for me.

How did you train, what sort of work experience did you have?

I am training now and had no prior experience – which definitely feels very overwhelming at times! Media agencies are structured almost identically to landscape practices, so that is relatable from a business perspective. I am a trustee for Parks for London, an independent charity, and last summer I worked for a garden design company to gain some planting experience.

Start growing things! Veggies, bulbs, herbs, anything!

What trends do you predict for your industry within the next few years?

The industry is set to become more inclusive with a focus on collaboration of specialists versus isolation of professional titles. This is a welcome approach to a newcomer like myself who has a nontraditional background. I am interested to see the evolving role landscape professionals play in responding to the challenge of water management in the present and future climate. I also believe the profile of the industry will only go from strength to strength, as parallel topics related to the environment – like the use of plastics and our oceans – gain mainstream news headlines.

Why is the landscape profession important to the future of society and the environment?

It comprises a variety of very talented and passionate individuals that, as a collective, have the power to instigate debate, decisions and action on behalf of or by society. My observation would be that people are particularly committed to their work and trust that they can make a positive difference to the status quo.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a landscape professional?

Great decision! I wasn’t proactive enough in my own background research. I would advise speaking to someone who works in the profession to find out more about their role. If you are planning to study, cross check the expectations of the industry with the course syllabus. Also start growing things! Veggies, bulbs, herbs, anything.

For me the landscape profession is an interesting balance of art and science, with an underlying practical intention. There are a lot of highly inspiring projects at an international and national level. With a multitude of aspects to learn inevitably I assume there is a niche for many people, as well as a generalist role you can pursue.

I love it because it is impossible not to care.

19

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Donald is a Licentiate Member of LI and a Senior Landscape Architect at Assael Architecture, He trained in Landscape Architecture at Kingston University and has worked at Churchmans, PRP and ETLA.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

Landscape architecture is hugely important. Landscape professionals have a responsibility to protect and improve cities, to increase accessibility and inclusivity for everyone, and to upgrade the infrastructure to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

My current projects are incredibly diverse and include a number of UK masterplans plus smaller projects in central London that include podium gardens and roof terraces.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

Seeing how my work improves people’s lives and the way they interact with their surroundings and the wider community is the ultimate reward for working in the built environment. Getting the opportunity to breathe new life into areas that have faced deprivation is extremely fulfilling.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

Balancing creativity with financial viability and client expectations on each project.

I work in a creative industry with ideas on how to improve the lives of end-users; convincing clients of their importance is a challenge. It’s a challenge I revel in, but a challenge nonetheless.

20

How would you say you make your mark on the world?

My work turns conceptual ideas into a material reality, using technologies like BIM to constantly improve and streamline the work process. I am always looking to improve the process of landscape architecture, how we work and approach each project. By doing this, I hope that clients gain understanding of the importance of landscape architecture and the difference it can make to a scheme.

Why is the landscape profession important to the future of society and the environment?

Landscape architecture is the conduit in which we, as humans, interact with the natural world. Our designs mediate this experience, tying the internal to the external. Well-designed landscapes can drive interaction between humans that wouldn’t necessarily connect. As designers, we have a responsibility to rise to the challenges and offer viable, creative solutions.

What trends do you predict for your profession in the next few years?

The growth of the build to rent sector is driving a renewed interest in landscape architecture. When housing becomes a service, clients are inherently interested in the user experience of their developments; how their residents and the wider public interact with the spaces, both internally and externally. This has huge implications for landscape architecture – we have to deliver designs that perform and last to the level that residents and developers demand.

Is the landscape profession a great career path?

For me, it was the creative freedom and being able to leave behind my own personal mark in the landscape. Whenever I see or experience an exciting landscape project, I’m always fascinated by the story behind it and what that adds to the sense of place.

If you want your work to add something to the physical world, then landscape architecture should definitely be a career you consider.

Landscape architecture is the conduit in which we, as humans, interact with the natural world.

© Getty Images/iStockphoto

Donald Roberts

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Jai Warya

Jai is a landscape architect CMLI with The Landscape Partnership.

After a BA in Architecture at Indraprastha University, he studied for a Masters in Landscape Architecture at Edinburgh College of Art.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

Growing up in a big, dense city where nature was difficult to access, I had first-hand experience of an unforgiving urban environment designed for vehicles.

I became interested in understanding the reason behind this; how people moved, how they interacted with and inhabited spaces, and whether these spaces could contribute to a better quality of life. This interest led me to study architecture, but I came to the realisation that the key to healthy urban environments were the imperfect, incremental and sometimes invisible open spaces between them.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The opportunity to learn something new each day; about the natural environment, about materials and construction processes, and most importantly about how society organises itself to achieve its goals and face future challenges. Due to its generalist nature, the day-to-day work of a landscape architect can be more varied than a lot of other professions, which helps keep things interesting.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

Good landscapes take time and patience.

Understanding this intellectually is easy, but truly appreciating it and communicating it effectively to people outside the profession, in order to influence decisions and bring about change, is harder than it might seem.

What trends do you predict for your industry in the next few years?

The profession will be faced with increasingly complex projects, shorter time scales and the possibility of a reduced remit, with aspects of our work being taken over by other professionals. Climate change and resource-scarcity will affect project briefs, and the rise of automation will change the way we work; every organization in existence today needs to realize that it is a tech company.

The importance of landscape architecture, and landscapes in general, is being recognised increasingly in current public debate.

Why is the landscape profession so important to the future of society and the environment?

No other profession is as capable as landscape architecture of so seamlessly bringing together the various strands of knowledge required to understand and create urban environments; design aesthetics, engineering methods, construction techniques, ecological processes and social organization, to name a few. This is critical when one accepts the

fact that in a rapidly urbanizing world with limited resources, everyone will never have a big house, car and garden, but people can still share a city with vibrant parks, safe open spaces, efficient public transport, access to leisure, and even some wildlife.

The importance of landscape architecture, and landscapes in general, is being recognised increasingly in current public debate. Many recent books about the landscape have been highly successful, and citizen-led environmental campaigns are gaining popularity. I believe this trend will continue to grow, leading to an increased demand for the expertise landscape architects provide.

21

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Georgina Stretch

Georgina is a graduate landscape manager at RSK Environment Limited. She took a BSc in Countryside and Environmental Management at Harper Adams University.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

I have always had a passion for the outdoors, conservation and design. I first considered a career in landscape during my 3rd year of university when I completed a placement year in industry as an assistant landscape manager. The experience really opened my eyes to what landscape professionals do.

How do you make your mark on the world?

I am helping to maintain places trying to create a healthy balance for people and biodiversity, which is so important for sustainability.

What trends do you predict for your industry in the next few years?

The importance of green space for healthy and happy living. More pressure on our green spaces so a need to make them multifunctional, to provide us with amenity, and biodiversity, and still promote sustainability. We need to respond to our changing climate with research into drought resistant plants and trees, disease and invasive species. Also vital to integrate flood provision into design and management.

Why is the landscape profession important to the future of society and the environment?

We can help to ensure that we all have space to work, relax, exercise and enjoy by influencing other industry professionals.

Green space is so important for human health and wellbeing physically and mentally.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a landscape professional?

Just go for it!, I came into the industry with no practical or specific academic experience and have met and worked with some amazing individuals. I love what I do, and I am excited to continue to extend my knowledge and experience as my career progresses.

The landscape profession is so varied, and the skills you learn in one part of the industry are very transferable. The profession is unique as it enables you to interact with the outdoors and with the ability to influence and enhance the natural environment.

© Getty Images/iStockphoto

The landscape profession is so varied, and the skills you learn in one part of the industry are very transferable.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

On behalf of Homes England I am involved in managing day to day maintenance of their portfolio in the SE and SW. I also assist on large infrastructure projects such as Rampion Offshore Wind Farm.

I love the challenge that my job provides me, being stretched and busy really drives me to achieve. I never know what will be arriving at my desk, as issues on site vary so widely. Responsibility gives me pride in what I do and achieve. My job also allows me to travel the country for site visits.

22

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Amanda Gregor

Amanda is an urban designer at Witteveen + Bos UK. She studied Sociology and Anthropology (MA (Hons) at Glasgow University, an MSc in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science at Lund University, Sweden followed by a PGDip in Urban Design at Westminster University.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

I studied Sociology and Anthropology and was always interested in the relationship between people and their environment.

During my MA I developed this interest by focusing on sustainability and the city. My lightbulb moment came during a chance meeting with one of the partners from Gehl Architects. I explained aspects of the field that I liked, and he said ‘that’s Urban Design’ – I say lightbulb, it was more like the neon lights on the Las Vegas strip! I finally had a framework to help me understand and allow me to pursue my career in this field.

How did you train, what sort of work experience did you have?

After my studies, I completed internships at an environmental consultancy (land remediation), a small architecture practice, a sustainable consultancy for housing associations, and an educational charity working in sustainability and architecture across London. All of these opportunities helped me define my interest in working across different scales and integrating a societal component with a spatial dimension.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

A masterplan for a historic town centre in the UK; also on using virtual reality as a tool for community and stakeholder engagement for cycling and walking infrastructure

projects in London and Inverness. After trying virtual reality, I realised how valuable it is as a way to communicate proposed plans to a wider audience.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The work I do is meaningful and it’s great to be a part of a team to help make a positive impact in someone’s experience of everyday life. Whether it is helping people travel in a safer, greener, healthier way, to helping reduce stress levels through interventions in the public realm. Every project brings its new challenges so I’m constantly learning.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

The nature of our work means that quite a lot of projects do not come into fruition for a long time. It makes it difficult to analyse how the design or strategy actually works and what it looks like in reality.

How would you say you make your mark on the world ?

I bridge the gap between the designers and the end users, and provide opportunities for a wider group of people to have an input into how their public spaces are designed.

Through my work, I contribute to creating more inclusive spaces that encourage people to live healthier lives.

Why is the landscape profession important to the future of society and the environment?

The UN predicts that nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. It is vital that the profession continues to find solutions for the people living in these urban areas as well as the environment that is supporting it while also considering the impact on rural areas.

Our profession is integral in safeguarding our environment and creating solutions for a sustainable future.

What trends do you predict for your industry within the next few years?

A greater awareness of the importance of healthy cities. We will require modal shifts from the use of private cars to a greater use of public transport, cycling and walking, and we will need an improved public realm to facilitate this. Addressing flooding and air pollution will become more pressing and I am also interested to see what impact Big Data will have, and how this will be used between corporations/government/ councils and also for us as designers.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a landscape professional?

Get as much exposure as possible, and get involved! Volunteer in community projects, pursue work opportunities, attend events and talks, and read around the subject.

If you meet someone in the industry who is doing interesting stuff, ask to meet them for a coffee and ask them your burning questions about the industry.

And it’s fulfilling! As landscape professionals, we have the opportunity to make positive changes to our environment which can impact our daily lives.

The work I do is meaningful and it’s great to be a part of a team to help make a positive impact in someone’s experience of everyday life.

23

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Paj Valley

Paj is a Fellow of LI and Director of Masterplanning at WSP. He graduated with a Bachelor in Landscape Design and BA Hons in Landscape Architecture at Manchester Metropolitan University.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

I always had a passion for the built environment and loved the history of architecture and fine arts. I found that landscape offered a profession that leant on the foundations of these themes and I was inspired to immerse myself in it.

I always carried a small sketch book with me from a very early age; the aim was to look, study and observe people, landscape, buildings and how they sit and interact with the landscape and environment.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

I joined WSP only at the start of February, but at my last company I developed a mixed use residential led masterplan for 4,000 homes in South Warrington. Historically my work has spanned across all work sectors in the UK and more than 40 countries.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I love the fact that the profession is so diverse – it requires skills from designers, managers and scientists alike. The fact that no two days are the same is a real plus.

Seeing sites and working out a vision for future development is the most satisfying aspect.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

Having to continually describe to others why good design adds value. Some clients ‘get it’ quicker than others.

24

How do you make your mark on the world?

For me it’s about developing environments that positively enhance and enrich people’s lives. I see, through good place-making, the results of uplifting communities by facilitating the way they engage with their place through all aspects of live, work and play.

What trends do you predict for your industry within the next few years?

The role of the environment and the pressure of globalisation and expansion will continue to make us work, develop and rethink the way in which our cities, towns and settlements will need to flex. Key issues – strategic infrastructure, housing, energy, employment, defence and health and wellbeing – will be paramount.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a landscape professional?

I would say come and join our very expansive profession. It requires the skills of designers, managers and scientists alike.

The profession is so diverse that you will almost certainly find a niche that you will feel very comfortable in.

The landscape profession is an adaptable and growing profession that is essential for the success of our society. Because of its diversity it always manages to be fairly resilient to economic recessions. I have seen the need for the growth of landscape professionals in the UK throughout my 25 years of working. A truly inspiring profession to be in.

Why is the landscape profession so important to the future of society and the environment?

Landscape professionals are naturally trained well and have the mindset to contribute significantly to many of the key issues and challenges that society faces.

I love the fact that the profession is so diverse – it requires skills from designers, managers and scientists alike.

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Sam Marshall

Sam is a management trainee at the Greenbelt Group. He has an MA in Landscape Management, University of Sheffield.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

Both my parents being life time National Trust members, I spent a lot of my youth amongst landscapes and properties. This has shaped my passion for landscape both professionally and personally.

How did you train, what sort of work experience did you have?

Having studied graphic design at under­ graduate level, I was taken on by Greenbelt as a graduate and have been nurtured in-house; my Masters at Sheffield has been fully supported by the company.

How do you make your mark on the world?

I strive for good-quality open space which can positively impact communities and the people’s lives within them. I like to think that my role in managing these spaces will preserve and shape their future for years to come, to the benefit of generations of people and our natural environment.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I really enjoy the freedom this job creates, having the chance to explore the country and experience some truly beautiful places. Having the chance to work onsite, away from your desk can be very rewarding – sometimes I have to stop myself and appreciate some of the locations I get to work in.

What trends do you predict for your industry within the next few years?

I envisage more consciously designed green space and diverse, multifaceted green infrastructure that has a whole range of benefits. I would like to see the protection of public green spaces and parks, places which have a great impact on everybody’s lives.

Why is the landscape profession so important to the future of society and the environment?

As our towns and cities expand and develop we can improve our urban environment and our mental and physical well-being by introducing green infrastructure; we can address climate change, flood relief, noise and air pollution, improving a multitude of diverse habitats – the list goes on. This is a pivotal, exciting time to be working in the profession.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a landscape professional?

I would wholly encourage them to do so – in my experience the profession is a real mix of people, from all walks of life and backgrounds, who all share a passion for landscape and its specialisms. It’s an emotive profession in which there are some very passionate, talented people. You will discover a huge range of people all working under the landscape ‘hood’ – creatives, scientists, technical practitioners, and more, all finding a place within the industry.

I really enjoy the freedom this job creates, having the chance to explore the country and experience some truly beautiful places.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

My research project is to explore the management of Piet Oudolf’s landscapes in England; I have been observing management of five of these landscapes for nearly a year now and will be collating my results this summer. I am overseeing an ecological management plan on a section of open space along the River Cam which includes a diverse meadow and floodplain, semi-natural woodland and river corridor habitats.

25

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Rosie Whicheloe

Rosie is a Licentiate Member of LI and a landscape ecologist at the London Wildlife Trust. She took a BA Hons in Landscape Architecture at Greenwich University and an MSc in Land Reclamation and Restoration at Cranfield University.

What trends do you predict for your industry in the next few years?

There are a lot of buzz words flying around at the moment and it is all a bit confusing, but positive things are happening. New tools (such as biodiversity ‘no net loss’ and ‘ net gain’ projects and natural capital projects) are being tested, and this is helping to deliver real benefit and communicate the value of landscapes to wider audiences.

Company corporate social responsibilities are also having a huge influence, driving positive change to business operations, and to keep up with their competitors. It’s a challenging but rewarding time.

Being active in practical nature conservation is where I first really appreciated landscape character, native plant communities and habitat management.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

At the London Wildlife Trust I will be providing landscape ecological advice for new housing schemes. Previously at The Ecology Consultancy I worked on a green grid strategy for a Business Improvement District and a review of nature conservation sites for a London borough. I am a big advocate for sharing knowledge and where I can, try to facilitate communication between different organisations and professions. I believe we are stronger and more effective if we understand and help each other.

Why is the landscape profession so important to the future of society and the environment?

Would it not be more helpful to ask: how are we managing to influence or educate other professions? Or what tips would you give to help those just starting out?

My answer to the last question would be: Attend as many multi-disciplinary events as possible, get to know other professions, learn their language and find out what really matters to them. You may find some useful allies.

© Getty Images/iStockphoto

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

It was luck initially. After A-levels I was looking for a course at university that played to my strengths (in art and design) but combined with my love for geography.

One day I just happened upon a page about landscape architecture. It sounded like an interesting, worthwhile and creative profession. I also had a light-bulb moment; walking through an ancient woodland in spring, I was struck by the ‘natural’ beauty that surrounded me. This sparked my passion in studying landscapes from an ecological perspective and has influenced my career path ever since.

How did you train, what sort of work experience did you have?

Being active in practical nature conservation is where I first really appreciated landscape character, native plant communities and habitat management. I had a few lucky breaks – a series of short-term contracts in botanical surveying and landscape planning, before getting my first ecological consultancy role. I decided to do my masters (about ten years after my BA), having taken the advice of a Greenwich lecturer, to go back only when you really had something you wanted to study. For me that was landscape ecology and restoration.

26

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Yue Rao

How do you make your mark on the world?

I worked on Tianjin Friendship Park in China last year. My major inputs were the water park and the wetland. Tianjin is a key location for migratory birds, and the park will create a pleasant environment for both humans and wild life.

Why is the landscape profession a great career path to get into?

It’s a career which can bring changes to everyday life and have huge impact on the environment around us. It’s a profession that can shape our future world; when you see something you designed getting built, you feel proud – you know you made a mark on this planet. It’s a profession which provides a platform for creativity and which recognises and rewards hard work. It’s a profession for people with great ideas and originality.

And it’s a future proof career. Originality can’t be programmed and demand for landscape professionals will continue to grow as other profession are replaced by AI.

© Getty Images/iStockphoto

Yue is a Chartered Member of LI and a landscape architect. She graduated from The University of Edinburgh with an MLA in landscape architecture and is about to move to Australia.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

The legal, law and responsibilities thing!

As a professional, I need to be careful of what I’ve done, and what I’ve said, as mistakes may cause problems to myself and the company.

What inspired you to study to become a landscape professional?

My bachelor degree course was a combination of interior design, architecture and landscape architecture. After a few years I found that I was more interested in landscape architecture. I like outdoor and natural spaces, plants and animals, I would like to create a space not only for humans but for wildlife as well.

How did you train, what sort of work experience did you have?

I started my internship in a small practice called Spacehub, working on mixed use/ housing projects in the UK. Then I joined Grant Associates where I worked on large planning projects, public realm, schools and universities, hospitals, and international projects.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

Working with creative people, and develop­ ing exciting design projects, and seeing my design and my work finally get built!

Originality can’t be programmed and demand for landscape professionals will continue to grow as other profession are replaced by AI. What trends do you predict for your industry within the next 2/5/10 years?

Humans must learn to share the world with wildlife. Technology will develop a smarter and greener city.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a landscape professional?

What you do will make an impact in the world, for human and for nature.

Why is the landscape profession so important to the future of society and the environment?

We are facing all sorts of challenges nowadays, climate change, flooding, pollution, reduction of wildlife population.

Many people are aware of that, but have not enough knowledge to make changes.

As landscape architects we use our professional knowledge to help decision makers to make sensible choices, hence to create a more sustainable environment.

27

F U T U R E TA L E N T

Sally Marsh

Sally is a Fellow of LI and Director of High Weald AONB Partnership.

She took a BSc Environmental Biology at the University of Liverpool, followed by an MSc in Landscape Ecology, Design and Maintenance at Wye College (London University).

What inspired you to decide to study to become a landscape professional?

I grew up in suburban Surrey but spent my spare time in the countryside and always wanted to be an ecologist. It wasn’t until I worked alongside a landscape archaeologist on the first statutory AONB Management Plan that I became really fascinated with the breadth and depth of ‘landscape’ as I understand it today.

How did you train, what sort of work experience did you have?

My first job was in reclamation ecology with Operation Groundwork St Helens, followed by work with conservation charities and the London Ecology Unit.

I have been AONB Director at the High Weald Unit for over 20 years, latterly as a job share which has enabled me to do other things including spend time with my kids and study for a PhD.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

We have always taken a creative and multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving. We have an open-plan office and eat together at lunch. What I enjoy most is the way in which the landscape and our commitment to it, unites us and fuels new ideas and new collaborations.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

The recent undermining of the planning system is making it more difficult to achieve the positive planning required to enable AONBs to meet the needs of people without compromising their unique character and beauty.

How do you make your mark on the world?

Those of us who work for AONB partnerships do not tend to be out in the countryside directly managing it but without us we would see steady erosion in the character of these beautiful places.

What trends do you predict for your industry within the next few years?

Community participation in landscape planning and land management will become increasingly important. Protected landscapes will be at the forefront of biodiversity protection and a growing interest in active health and well-being, but will need to work hard with others to counter people’s increasing detachment from the land.

Why is the landscape profession so important to the future of society and the environment?

The contested meaning of the term ‘landscape’ has been seen as a weakness but its flexibility as a concept encompassing a broad range of disciplines related to the dynamic interaction between culture, nature and geography suggests that it will only become more relevant as a framework for dealing with 21st century problems.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a landscape professional?

We need you and we welcome you.

It wasn’t until I worked alongside a landscape archaeologist on the first statutory AONB Management Plan that I became really fascinated with the breadth and depth of ‘landscape’ as I understand it today.

© Vivienne Blakey

What projects are you working on at the moment?

Local authorities covering AONBs are required to prepare a statutory manage­ ment plan every five years. The next High Weald Plan is due to be published in spring 2019 and we are drawing together our wide-ranging landscape research – from the characterisation of historic routeways to the economics of livestock farming – to prepare the first draft of the Plan.

28

Extraordinary

for Landscape Architects The Products in the Solid Series have a solid character. The product family includes benches, picnic tables, bicycle racks, podiums, tree planters, fencing and pedestrian and cycle bridges.

Photo: Solid Surf Isles & Podium Isles in Leipzig (Germany) Photographer: Bernd Festerra

Solid Meet&Work

Solid Serif Chaise Longue

STREETLIFE BV

Leiden, The Netherlands

Solid Base Bench

I enquiriesUK@streetlife.nl

Solid Skirt Bench

I

www.streetlife.nl

I T +44 (0)20 30 20 15 09

Solo Bridge All Black CorTen

29

A masterpiece in the making.

V&A Dundee Museum of Design.

Work on the building's exterior is complete and the museum fitting-out began in February with the official opening scheduled for September 2018.

Client: Victoria and Albert Museum Architects: Kengo Kuma & Associates, Japan Landscape Architects: Optimised Environments (OPEN), Edinburgh Contractor: BAM Sub-contractor: Careys Hardscape supplied: Kobra granite paving, benches, tactiles and kerbs and Tezal Grey, Pheno Grey and Jinan Blue granite setts. Hardscape are also supplying Carlow Blue Fossil Dark Honed limestone paving internally.

30

For further information on our paving products please visit: www.hardscape.co.uk or telephone: 01204 565 500.

F U T U R E TA L E N T

By Lily Bakratsa

Ambassador for Landscape and Green Plan It 2016 award winner Lily Bakratsa writes about her experience as a student mentor, reveals what she gained professionally from her volunteer work with Swanlea School in Whitechapel, east London, and explains the importance of promoting landscape education in school environments.

1. Students take part in a planting workshop at Swanlea School © Luke Mcgregor

1

In August 2016 I received an email from the RHS promoting the Green Plan It scheme: a UK-wide competition on which a professional from the industry would be linked with a local school to design a garden project. As an Ambassador for Landscape, I thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce the fundamentals of landscape architecture to students and signed up for the challenge. A couple of weeks later I met my team from Swanlea School in Whitechapel: five Year 9 pupils, all aged thirteen, and their Design Technology (DT) teacher,

Chris Nairn. They were all interested in architecture and design but had limited knowledge of horticulture and plants.

Together we formed ‘Team Swanleaf’, and the first decision was to design a garden for the community.

All the pupils in the team were residents of Tower Hamlets and had little or no access to green space.

Helping more east London residents to experience ‘what it feels like to have their very own garden’ was a topic they wanted to research.

We spent a morning discussing, writing down ideas and thinking of potential locations for our community 31

F U T U R E TA L E N T

2

garden. The suggestions ranged from choosing a place to enhance in the school playground to greening the entrances of buildings. One student mentioned the balcony spaces in the adjacent social housing estate, where ‘families would normally store bikes and unused furniture’. Turning a storage place into a green space seemed like a challenge we were ready to take up.

It would also offer an opportunity to engage closely with the predominantly Bengali community living on the estate.

‘Give everyone in Whitechapel a garden’: introducing the concept of public consultation.

As a team, our first step was to approach the target audience – or, as we call them in the industry, the clients.

We prepared a questionnaire, and the team visited every flat encouraging the residents to fill it in. The questions 32

asked how balconies were currently used, the residents’ needs, existing issues and the design potential.

Seventy residents took part in the survey; all of them said that they would love their balcony to be turned into a green, cultivated spot. The main problems they identified were the expense, their limited space and difficulty of plant maintenance.

Focusing on problemsolving: A pragmatic approach to design.

Design is about finding solutions to problems, and my aim as a mentor was to encourage the team to find answers to what the residents of the estate had initially identified as ‘problems’, namely; cost, limited balcony space and their ability to look after the plants.

When planning a garden, expense can quickly escalate: even a small balcony can turn into a unaffordable

The group walked the streets of Whitechapel taking note of what could be used for the balcony garden project.

see them win, because I had seen the progress they made in a relatively short period of time: starting with a limited knowledge of plants and not much interest in horticulture, they researched the plants that grow in Bangladesh, learnt about herbs they could grow themselves to use in everyday recipes and turned this school project into a celebration of their culture and their Bengali origins. And the passion and enthusiasm of the team came across so vividly that I became really interested in Bengali cuisine, treating myself to a Bhapaa Aloo (Potatoes in coconut paste and mustard oil).

2. The team win first prize for Best concept and execution in the Green Plan It Awards 2016 © Luke Mcgregor

3. Lily Bakratsa and FHA colleague Lucy Grevers work on the stand at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show © Luke Mcgregor

4. Colourful plants were grown in old gutter pipes and line the balcony © Luke Mcgregor

Our entry for the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

3

project for a family on a low income.

We did not have a specific budget in mind but we started thinking of alternative ways of limiting expenditure.

Upcycling and recycling old materials was an option that everyone welcomed: this would allow people to use objects they had in their own homes or could find around their neighbourhood for free. The group walked around the streets of Whitechapel taking note of what could be used for the balcony garden project: pallets, old drainpipes, old saucepans, tins and watering cans.

A selection of these unwanted items were painted and became containers in which to grow flowers and herbs in the garden. The pallets were painted in red and green paint, representing the colours of the Bangladesh flag, with gardening quotations written in Bengali, relating to the local community’s cultural context. Old unwanted cutlery became wind chimes that decorated the space.

The team maximised the space on the balcony by using folding furniture and creating a storage space for the bikes or tools, which could also serve as a place to sit. They experimented with laser cutting and tested whether the flat-pack furniture could be easily assembled. To create the impression of a larger space, they decided to install mirrors on the one side of the

balcony wall.

Low-maintenance planting was a key consideration. As all the members of the group were of Bengali origin, they were very keen on growing herbs that their families would normally use in their daily cooking. Onions, peppers, coriander, basil and oregano were among the species that featured in our planting list: these also did not require much maintenance.

After a series of sketches, laser-cut models and lots of brainstorming, the final model of the balcony was assembled. The team invited five of the residents who had taken part in the initial survey/questionnaire to come to the school to test the design. They had an enthusiastic response to what they saw: a very well-organised balcony, with storage space for tools, furniture that was easy to fold up, space for hanging up washing and lots of herbs and colourful plants planted in old drainpipes and other containers around the three balcony walls. It was a success.

Our journey did not stop at the Green Plan It Award. Such was the enthusiasm and pride that everyone gained from this experience that the team was really eager to take it a step further. They saw this project as a chance to help the east London Bengali community gain access to a green space of their own, and wanted to build the project to scale.

With some funding from the RHS, Swanlea School decided to enter the schools competition at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show later that year.

I was again on board as a mentor, and together with Chris Young (RHS) and Lucy Grevers (FHA), organised planting workshops and started propagating the herbs and plants we

The Green Plan It Award: our moment of pride.

In December 2016, our team presented the project to a panel of judges from the design industry and received the first prize for Best concept and execution. As a mentor, I was proud to

4 33

F U T U R E TA L E N T

would need for the exhibition garden.

We had set up a mini glasshouse in the school grounds and the team looked after it during the week. Chris Nairn (Swanlea School) collected all the hard materials we would need to build up the garden, and with a team of about 16 people (including students) we all worked together towards the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

The garden looked very colourful at the opening: such was the praise from the visitors and media that even Sophie, Countess of Wessex, stopped by to meet us. I still can’t stop thinking what a great achievement for a team of thirteen-year old students this was; from having little interest in plants to planting their very own garden for Hampton Court Palace Flower Show!

5 34

The importance of having a truly engaged school team on board.

Participative design is a challenge in itself, mainly because as designers we are asked to take a different role and to act as facilitators, rather than as decisionmakers. The project with Swanlea School looked as if it would be a success from the very beginning, because all the members of the team were eager to learn and ready to listen: this openminded approach and can-do attitude helped me a lot as a facilitator, both in exploring broad design opportunities together with the team and in taking the competition’s brief further.

But there was more to it than this.

A significant part of the successful

It showed me how crucial landscape is in shaping and designing the world around me.

5. The completed entry for the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show © Luke Mcgregor

6. The students researched Bangladeshi plants and learnt about herbs they could grow themselves. © Luke Mcgregor

7. The Swanlea School team on their completed balcony © Luke Mcgregor

outcome was due to the involvement of the DT teacher at Swanlea, Chris Nairn, who himself found a purpose in the project and believed in it. He even integrated it into his school modules and encouraged the students to put all their design and software knowledge into action. I would say, then, that it is essential that the mentor inspires both the team and the teacher, because ultimately they will be the ones who work together on the project during the week in the mentor’s absence.

What did I gain as a mentor from this experience?

A journey to professional self-discovery.

Having worked in participative design projects since 2007, with a variety of groups and audiences from prison inmates to groups of older people, I am convinced that there is always going to be a learning curve for the group moderators, regardless of how experienced they are. The beauty and the challenge of participative design lies exactly in the wide variety of projects – because all humans are different.

The most important gain from mentoring at Swanlea School was that the project itself inspired me to look into horticulture and plant science in more depth. Running the planting and propagation workshops with my team, along with Chris Young from the RHS, reflected a love I already had for plants, biology and gardening, but had not before had the chance to express.

As a landscape architect in the private sector I feel that the industry needs designers with a love and understanding of plants. I feel that the focus needs to shift from software design to the essence of our job, which is creating spaces that make the most of natural resources. Plants are our building blocks, and we should have an appreciation, understanding and knowledge of how they grow. How many of us, though, have the chance to access a garden as an opportunity for training?

My mentoring experience has shifted my professional focus to the essence of landscape architecture: a knowledge of horticulture, an understanding of human needs, a love

6

7

for nature and an enthusiasm for the building process. After a first degree in architecture and a Masters in landscape architecture I decided to rewind and return to college to gain all the experience that I feel is very much needed in the professional field, and I signed up for the Level 2 Professional Gardener course at Capel Manor College. It was a conscious decision to give up my free time and financial resources to do it, but I know that it will give me an advantage in the professional field and it will engage with my design background.

Can landscape architecture bring change? A project with a group of inmates in a youth detention centre.

Landscape architecture was revealed to me at a very late stage of my life and after I had already started working as an architect, and this was because of a participative design project I ran with a group of inmates in a youth detention centre in Greece. This was a very important experience, because it showed me how crucial landscape is in shaping and designing the world around me.

35

F U T U R E TA L E N T

The project lasted for a year, throughout which I planned workshops with the inmates in order to redesign the interior of the detention centre.

I soon realised that the inmates had a love-hate relationship with the building: it took their freedom away, but at the same time it offered them a sense of belonging, since most of them had no families to care for. This love-hate relationship was expressed through different forms of vandalism in the building, from breaking doors and windows to starting fires. All my workshops with them about redesigning the building failed miserably: the group could not care less about redesigning a building that they would later vandalise.

Surprisingly, things changed drastically when the focus of the project shifted from indoors to outdoors, to the courtyard of the detention centre. Out of the blue, everyone became interested in participating: they suggested ideas, they worked together, they shared stories about hiding and climbing on trees.

They all got very excited about turning a concrete space into a green haven, where they could at last enjoy a sense of freedom.

The result of this was that a landscape project – similar to the Swanlea gardening project – opened a new chapter for a community within a detention centre: shaping new friendships between inmates, it formed a positive behavioural dynamic, an achievement which up to that point had been an unimaginable miracle in the detention centre setting.

The role of Landscape Ambassadors in promoting landscape education.

My experience as an Ambassador for Landscape has offered me many opportunities to reflect on why our profession is not among the most popular fields of design. The salary and the hectic lifestyle that are part of the landscape design profession are often cited, but I feel there are more reasons, which lie deep in the roots of our urban childhoods, when landscape education was absent from the school curriculum.

Loving and understanding the way that nature works is not something that happens effortlessly in an urban 36

8. Lily Batraska receives the Landscape Institute Volunteer of the Year Award © Landscape Institute

8

environment. It needs training and input from experts in the field. The role of a Ambassador for Landscape is crucial in promoting landscape in the school environment: not in the form of a lecture or a PowerPoint presentation, but in the form of projects, workshops, games and activities similar to those we organised with Swanlea School during the Green Plan It challenge.

Landscape education is a seed that we need to plant early on in order to reap a future harvest. A teenager who appreciates the beauty of nature, who enjoys climbing trees, is the future adult who will fight to save this tree outside his apartment. In the future, he or she is the resident with whom we will be keen to work in a public consultation or a community workshop, because they will be able to understand the value of what we have chosen to do, regardless of whether they are a chef, a teacher or a banker.

Everyone became interested in participating, suggesting ideas and working together.

The Landscape Institute would like to thank Lily for all her contribution and for her involvement as an Ambassador for Landscape. You can find out more about the Ambassador for Landscape programme at https://www.landscapeinstitute. org/education/ambassador-for-landscape

Can’t see the wood for the Millboard Only the keenest eye can detect it’s not wood. Millboard decking provides the timeless appeal of natural wood because it’s hand-moulded from natural timbers. But its unique polyurethane composition makes it exceptionally hardwearing, slip-resistant, and immune to the normal wood deterioration – no rotting, warping or algae growth. No wonder it’s accredited by the BBA (British Board of Agrément). Millboard adds instant distinction, creating beautiful outdoor spaces where people love to spend time. Simply, it’s time to see decking differently.

Millboard: Live. Life. Outside.

Discover the collection at millboard.co.uk

Live.Life.Outside.

37

F U T U R E TA L E N T

By Francis Hesketh

How we nurture future talent 1

The Environment Partnership is an award-winning environmental consultancy and is currently celebrating its 20th birthday.

Francis Hesketh, founder and director, gives an insight into the diversity and breadth of the profession and the way in which it nurtures skills and develops talent.

38

1. Landscape managers plan a district-wide open space survey © TEP

I

n 2003, Emma Parker was enjoying a work experience placement as a countryside ranger in North Wales. She knew she wanted an environmental career. Paying her way by working for a landscape contractor, Emma built a portfolio of qualifications: firstly an NVQ, then a BTEC National Diploma, followed by BSc (Hons) in Agriculture, Environment and Conservation from Bangor University. In 2010, Emma joined The Environment Partnership (TEP) as a Graduate Landscape Surveyor and in 2017 she became a Chartered Member of the Landscape

Institute, via the Pathway to Chartership (Pathway) which is open to people from beyond LI-accredited degree courses.

TEP director Francis Hesketh CMLI says, ‘Emma’s story shows how a career in landscape can and should be widely accessible. In fact three of TEP’s eight directors started out as rangers and are now managing major long-term contracts with Homes England, National Grid and many national housebuilders.’

One of those ex-rangers is director Cath Neve who says ‘If you have good people, you will have a good business, and TEP’s aim is to help good people

find their feet in the landscape profession.’

Recruiting landscape professionals is challenging, mainly because of a shrinking pool of qualified graduates from LI-accredited courses who are eligible to work in the UK. TEP also recruits graduates with Geography, GIS, Countryside Management and Ecology degrees and provides them with training, project experience and mentoring to enable them to build a professional portfolio which leads towards LI membership.

Rebecca Martin, a senior land­ scape manager in TEP’s Leicestershire 39

F U T U R E TA L E N T

2

office, graduated with a first in Physical Geography from Manchester University. Her interest in landscape arose because she knew the health benefits of spending time outdoors and wanted to see land managed sustainably. She is now on the P2C. Rebecca explains, ‘Working in a crossdisciplinary team with ecologists and archaeologists brings me in contact with projects and experiences that stretch the horizons of landscape management. I enjoy the structured learning of P2C because it directly helps me do my job better’.

TEP is one of 21 Employer members of the Apprenticeship Landscape Trailblazer and hopes to take on at least two Level 7 landscape

3 40

apprentices in 2019. In the meantime, the company will work with the LI and universities and colleges to make sure the training element of the apprenticeships meets its needs in terms of skills and behaviours that will result in a successful environmental career. TEP has previously taken on IT apprentices which has given some insights into what the process can involve. Cath Neve recalls ‘One IT apprenticeship really didn’t work out, despite very intensive intervention from our senior managers and his college; after he left, we found out that he never really desired an IT career, he had been pushed into it.

Thankfully, our other IT apprentice was a real star and is now a highly-valued colleague, who has patiently rescued us from all our (usually self-inflicted!) technology crashes’.

TEP is fortunate to have a diversity of clients. Current projects include urban design in Weston-Super-Mare, Heritage Lottery Fund park schemes in Stafford, Cardiff and Pontypridd, landscape design for new settlements in Wirral, Cambridge, Tamworth and Basingstoke, estate regeneration in

inner London, a green infrastructure strategy for Blackpool, UK-Europe electrical interconnector projects on the coastline and the management of 10,000 hectares of open space for Homes England and the Land Trust.

Francis Hesketh again: ‘Environmental professionals are inquisitive people who think about the full range of environmental effects of development and land management including landscape, biodiversity,

If you have good people you will have a good business

2. A watercourse survey is carried out on land owned by Homes England. © TEP

3. Young professionals improve their botanical skills © TEP

4. Ecological surveys are carried out in advance of a large housing scheme near Basingstoke. © TEP

5. A member of the TEP team inspects new reedbeds which form part of a new housing scheme at Runcorn. © TEP

cultural heritage and socio-economic factors. Having a diversity of projects enables rapid career development and a feeling that your work, even if it seems a small contribution, does make a difference. In our most recent staff survey, 97 per cent said they were proud of the work TEP does.

Leadership guru Simon Sinek’s famous book ‘Start with Why’ reminds employers of our responsibilities to ensure our teams understand how their work contributes to the business, the client and most importantly, to society as a whole.’

A good and happy start to a landscape career is essential.

Internships and sandwich years should include diverse project experiences and stimulating introductions to the wide range of career paths within landscape.

Skills shortages in landscape design and planning are acute, a situation that is likely to persist given the number of infrastructure and housing schemes pushing demand and the lead-in time for people to gain skills needed to work on major projects.

Higher-level skills in design, analysis, communication, problem-solving and advocacy are required.

To address this recruitment problem, TEP maintains good links with several landscape courses, providing visiting lectures, open days and paid internships with a view to recruitment. But the number of students on LI-accredited courses simply is not enough to meet the needs of the profession as a whole,

5

4

so TEP contacted LI’s Head of External Affairs, Poppy Smith, about the LI’s Ambassador Scheme. Poppy put TEP in touch with PLACED, a Liverpool-based social enterprise, which has been collaborating with local practices and developers to put together workshop-oriented training for 13–20 year olds who are interested in a career in place-making and the built environment, and includes connecting with undergraduates on geography and built environment courses. TEP now has three CMLI staff who are volunteer Ambassadors with PLACED, and the company hopes that collaboration will broaden the pool of candidates interested in a landscape career. It also will put TEP in contact with graduates from built environment courses who

may not previously have thought a career in landscape was available.

Charlotte Hayden is an associate at TEP whose career includes urban design, landscape capacity studies and landscape and visual assessment.

She mentors P2C candidates and is volunteering with PLACED. She recognises the business challenges: ‘It is always fulfilling to mentor landscape professionals, although deadline-driven workloads and tight margins can mean that it is hard to make time to ensure people receive enough training, mentoring contact time and project diversity. But we have to look on it as a long-term investment for the business and adjust our short-term targets to allow training time. If we get it right, it will benefit the business by developing new skills, lowering recruitment costs and improving work-life balance.’

TEP is determined to remain a business led by environmentalists.

It is owned and managed by its senior members of staff and recently appointed five additional directors, three of whom are LI members, alongside two ecologists. All have worked their way up in the business from entry-level positions but still maintain day-to-day responsibilities for their projects and teams.

LI members in the Liverpool / Manchester area should contact PLACED if they would like to get involved in a similar scheme. http://www.placed.org.uk 41

F U T U R E TA L E N T

TEP has 111 environmental professionals including 33 members of the Landscape Institute.

10 Arborists 5 Town Planners 4 Archaeologists 14 Landscape & Urban Designers

42

30 Landscape Managers 8 G15 Specialists 7 Landscape Planners 33 Ecologists

43

UK partner of

zumtobel group

Material expressions When light blends together with an essential and innovative design, a unique sense of elegance arises with a strong emotional impact. Simple shapes and primitive geometries characterize the range “Tailored”

by Matteo Thun, from the creative collaboration between Simes and the prestigious italian architect and designer. A perfect balance between sustainable and diverse mat rial expressions: the range was developed using a co bination of wood teak that conveys a warm effect and the minimalist lines of aluminium, new finishes specifically dedicated to improve the quality of the lighting performance. Natural elegance and lighting poetry that dress with charm the environments with an unmistakable style.

“Tailored” by Matteo Thun

Wood

44

by

www.simes.com LightCentreUK@Zumtobelgroup.com 01388 420042

F U T U R E TA L E N T

This is the first of a series of regular articles which will focus on education routes into the profession.

A trailblazer for talent New opportunities for young people entering the landscape profession are being explored by the Landscape Apprenticeships Trailblazer.

1. Landscape professionals at Tyler Grange share skills and knowledge © Tyler Grange

The apprenticeship and Trailblazer initiative has been set up by the government and is now being championed by the landscape profession, supported by the Landscape Institute (LI).

The Landscape Trailblazer group for apprenticeships is formed of about 20 employers from small and large private practices, along with representatives from public bodies. The chair of the group is Colin Pill, Chartered Landscape Architect and a partner at Tyler Grange, working in their Exeter office.

The group has been working together over the past six months and, as Colin explains: ‘The group has identified two specific apprenticeship standards and the associated levels of knowledge and skills that an apprentice would reach as part of the proposal. The first proposed standard is a Landscape Assistant Level 4, someone who would work and support landscape professionals and others in the team. We want to encourage everyone, including but not necessarily restricted to school leavers, as we don’t want potential apprentices to be restricted by age’.

The higher level of apprentice (Level 7) is planned for someone who will go on to qualify as a Landscape

Professional. These apprentices would be most likely to start work after A-Levels or after they have taken a degree in another subject, or gained alternative vocational experience.

For this a much higher achievement of skills and knowledge would be required, and, of course, a good proportion of creative vision.’

The Landscape Trailblazer group has seen the need to recognise those in lower level roles and also to create an education journey through landscape apprenticeships. Options on how to include the broad landscape profession roles were also discussed where the group saw the importance of catering for this diversity.

Connecting with current education providers is also crucial and this will be one of the next steps for the group.

‘It is relatively early days in the whole process’ Colin continues ‘But we are pleased to announce that the group has finalised the proposal to the government, which is the first major milestone. We submitted our proposal to the Institute of Apprenticeships at the end of February. If it is accepted, we can develop in detail all the standards, skills and knowledge requirements that we have outlined and we would expect to see new routes ready in 2019.’

1

Colin and the group share a common interest, seeing apprenticeships as an excellent opportunity to shape education routes to develop new talent, improve diversity and accessibility to the profession, and use Levy funding or obtain funding for training.

But there is another reason for their interest, as Colin explains. ‘There’s a real skills shortage in our profession at the moment and we are all finding it difficult to recruit. The Landscape Trailblazer is a great initiative to help us find and train new employees as well as creating a new route for people who may not be keen or able to follow the traditional routes of training.

And it is going to be quite a cultural change for us, the employers, to make – as we are likely to be taking on some 17 year old school leavers into the office, that’s quite a big step and very new territory!

The LI thanks all employers who have been involved in the Trailblazer initiative to date.

The Landscape Apprenticeships Trailblazer group of employers has now received Government approval to develop apprenticeship schemes for both landscape assistants and landscape professionals in England.

45

F U T U R E TA L E N T

1967

1968

1973

1975

1977

1978

The first independent department of Landscape in the UK is founded by Professor Arnold Weddle

Six postgraduates begin the two-year MA in Landscape Design housed in a cramped Victorian villa in Shearwood Road, Sheffield

A three-year undergraduate course added to Sheffield’s teaching portfolio

The Department now comprises Head of Department, five teaching staff, a secretary and a technician

Professor Weddle appointed President of the Landscape Institute

Student intake increases to 10 undergraduate and 15 postgraduate students

Training the next generation 2

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Department of Landscape at the University of Sheffield.

Since it opened its doors 50 years ago, the University of Sheffield’s Department of Landscape has become one of the leading schools of landscape architecture in the world, renowned for its excellent teaching and world-leading research.

In 1968, with six students and two members of staff, it was established as the first independent Department of Landscape in the UK. Since then thousands of students have passed through its doors in the pursuit of a landscape architecture education. Today it hosts more than 400 students from 21 countries, 14 academic staff, four university teachers, five research associates and seven professional service staff.

1 46

1982

1995

2003

2005

2008

Professor Weddle retires, succeeded by Professor Anne Beer

Department now consists of Head of Department.

9 academic staff, two administrative staff and two technicians. Professor Anne Beer retires, succeeded by Professor Carys Swanwick

First National Green Roof Conference in the UK hosted

by Department of Landscape

Professor Carys Swanwick retires, succeeded

by Professor Paul Selman

Professors Nigel Dunnett and James Hitchmough appointed principal planting design and horticultural consultants for the London Olympic Park

3

4

1. A student practices the use of an oculus © The University of Sheffield

2. Landscape architecture is taught by project work © The University of Sheffield

3, 4.

Students work in light and airy studios © The University of Sheffield

The department’s ethos remains similar to its founding principles, committed to: –– Training the next generation of leading landscape architects –– Producing world-leading research that changes policy and influences practice –– Collaborating with agencies and industry that create positive social and environmental change both nationally and internationally.

Teaching New approaches and methods of teaching were adopted by Professor Arnold Weddle from the outset.

In his history of the department, Dr. Jan Woudstra describes how the development of the ‘Sheffield method’ – landscape architecture taught by project work – was transformative in its

day. This has continued to the present day with all modules organised around a real site, and in many cases involving aspects of a live project with local community and agency representatives.

Innovation and ‘research-led teaching’ remain at the heart of today’s two undergraduate and three postgraduate courses. New technologies – including drones, VR and 360 degree photography – are used in classes whenever appropriate, while module programmes are continually refined through new understandings derived from research and scholarship. The department has also had to re-think how it references design teaching to cultural norms when confronted by such a huge variety of international students.

The studio remains central to the learning experience of students,

enabling creative exchange and peer learning. Alongside discipline-specific learning, the department places great emphasis on developing students’ transferrable skills that will enable them to be successful in their future careers. The aim is for students to be creative and confident thinkers and communicators as well as competent practitioners.

As with Weddle’s first course, teaching is concerned with delivering skills across the breadth of the discipline and through academics, teachers and visiting practitioners addressing landscape design, planning, management, science and urban design. This multi-disciplinary perspective is facilitated by a large and diverse academic staff, spanning the arts and humanities, social sciences and ecological sciences.

47

F U T U R E TA L E N T

2010

2011

2011

2012

2013

2014

Professor Eckart Lange appointed Head of Department

Professor Carys Swanwick appointed to the Board of the National Trust

Department hosts ECLAS conference

Department of Landscape moves back into the Arts Tower following £36 million refurbishment

Piet Oudolf and Andrew Grant, appointed as Visiting Professors

Professor James Hitchmough appointed Head of Department

Research The ‘Sheffield method’ was unusual for its time, with Weddle also concerned about the ‘need for substantial research efforts to provide an adequate basis for teaching’. With the advent of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and its antecedents from the 1990s, in a research intensive university such as Sheffield, research is a core part of the department’s culture. It focuses on the interactions between society, culture, nature and practice that shape our environment,

5 48

and how these research findings can be applied in practice and real-world solutions developed.

As landscape architecture is inherently multi and inter disciplinary, the department has long-standing collaborative relationships with academics from diverse disciplines and end-users, including policymakers, commercial and third sector organisations. More than 75 per cent of the department’s research outputs were ranked as world leading or internationally excellent in the most

recent (2014) Research Excellence Framework. The department aims to consolidate and develop this position as a research leader in landscape architecture, locally, nationally and globally, and deliver outstanding research that is highly relevant to social, cultural and environmental issues outside the academy. The department’s research is structured into three clusters – Designed Ecology, Place, Inclusion and Equity and Creative Spatial Practices – and staff often move freely between them.

2015

2016

2018

2018

2018

Het Loo Palace Gardens in the Netherlands reopens following restoration guided by Dr Jan Woudstra

Department awarded ‘Improving Wellbeing through Urban Nature’ (IWUN) research project (£1.3 million) by the Natural Environment Research Council

Department of Landscape, now has four full Professors, plus four University teachers, ten academic staff, plus twelve Professional service and Research Associate staff.

Student numbers now exceed 400 under and post graduate students

Professor Anna Jorgensen appointed to be new Head of Department

Department changes its name to ‘Department of Landscape Architecture’

5. A live project in Sheffield has now matured © The University of Sheffield

6. Sheffield professors were appointed planting design and horticultural consultants for the Olympic Park.

London, 2008 © The University of Sheffield

6

Designed Ecology Designed Ecology is a researchinformed, evidence-led, and designcentered approach to applying ecological ideas and concepts to create healthy cities and livable places.

It takes a fresh new perspective on ‘Green Infrastructure’, combining a focus on urban social, environmental and economic sustainability, with a core concern with aesthetic quality, human satisfaction, and richness of experience. Integrating viewpoints and insight from pure science, social science, arts and humanities, and engineering, the Designed Ecology Cluster aims to place the advancement and promotion of richly vegetated urban environments at all scales and

contexts as the key to sustainable urban futures.

Place, Inclusion and Equity The Place, Inclusion and Equity research is dedicated to promoting environmental equity and social cohesion. It aims to shape culturally and socially inclusive places through landscape planning, design and management. It aims to understand how people’s health and wellbeing, throughout their lives, can be both positively and negatively impacted by aspects of space and landscape.

Creative Spatial Practices The Creative Spatial Practices group focuses on the role of visual and

material arts, culture and technologies in conceiving environmental and social landscape change. The group researches past, present and future cultures and technologies of landscape architecture and forges links between studies in creative experimental design, planning and management practices.

As part of a new initiative, Landscape will be featuring work and news about education in each issue.

If you are an accredited university or other provider with events and important news for members, please get in touch. Email:landscape@ darkhorsedesign.co.uk 49

F U T U R E TA L E N T

By Susan Dawson

Learning the language of landscape John Stuart-Murray, former Director of Landscape Architecture at Edinburgh University, aims to inspire young people to greater awareness of their ancient landscape.

W

hen John Stuart-Murray started walking in the Highlands, he was intrigued by the scattered profusion of Gaelic place names on the 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey maps.

When he began to translate them, it was a revelation. As he explains: ‘The names tell you everything about the landscape, about colour, form, texture, landform, hydrology. They locate historical events and provide a context for imaginary events in songs and poems. And unlike English place names most of them are completely intelligible to Gaelic speakers’.

Most of the Highland hills and mountains were de-populated many years ago, emptied of native Gaelic speakers evicted in the Clearances.

More recently, the decline of crofting and increasing urbanisation has resulted in many Scottish youngsters and young adults being unaware of the significance of landscape in their Gaelic heritage. Murray has set out to explain to the public how these diverse place names interpret the landscape, aiming to inspire people, especially young people, to understand and learn about the landscape and through it, appreciate the richness of their Gaelic heritage.

50

He has given talks to primary school children, for instance in Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, and lectures about Highland landscape to Gaelic groups all over Scotland. Recently an Edinburghbased walking group asked him to give a lecture on landscape; this has led to a series of walks to visit places, usually in the Southern Highlands, where there is a rich variety of landscape with Gaelic names and stories to interpret.

1

The walkers are all young people, not all Scottish but all under 30, who are keen to learn about the Gaelic language and the distinct way that it interprets landscape.

The most significant way of raising awareness has been the publication of his research in two books; Reading the Gaelic Landscape and more recently, Literature of the Gaelic landscape. The first aims to understand the Scottish

he Highlands ception of that

The Gaelic Landscape Song, Poem and Tale

Leughadh Aghaidh na Tìre

Litreacheas Na Tìre – Òran, Bàrdachd, is Sgeulachd

John Murray

John Murray

hor: John Landscape t the Edinburgh covering ntly enlivened language.

The Gaelic Landscape

Leughadh Aghaidh na Tìre

grammar is ms words can nce to native at is normally nnected with specific theme Macintyre used

Literature of Reading

The Gaelic Landscape

es

rested in the l help readers on maps and or enthusiasts gain a deeper

Reading

landscape

are given aming

John Murray

hing

2 1. Lochan nan Arm – the Wee Loch of the Weapons © John Stuart Murray

2. The Cuillin range in Skye inspired Sorley Maclean’s poem of the same name © John Stuart Murray

3. The Gaelic vocabulary for describing the shapes of the landscape is far richer than English © John Stuart Murray

landscape through its place names. As Murray explains:‘The Gaelic vocabulary for describing the shape of the land, its flowing waters and serrated coastline, is so much richer and more varied than English. Even colours do not translate.

Why is a mountain a Stùc rather than a Stob, Cnoc or Tom? The dictionary is only useful up to a point. As a student of ecology and landscape, I had to go into the field to ‘ground-truth’ what these words really mean and why they might have been attached to features and places in the landscape’.

The second book looks at how Gaelic authors have used landscape and especially place-names in song, poetry and tale. To Murray this offers a new angle on Scottish culture and history Today the Scottish landscape, from the Cuillin range to Lochan nan Arm (the Wee Loch of the Weapons), has been re-possessed by walkers, bird-watchers, botanists, cavers

3

and geologists, its unique character enriched by a deeper understanding of its place names. At the Little Loch, Robert the Bruce was ambushed in 1306. His party threw their weapons in its waters to hasten their escape.

On the Cuillin range, Sorley MacLean imagines a gigantic, mythical stallion prancing from peak to peak, kicking

away the Scottish landowners who perpetrated the Clearances. ‘The language our Gaelic ancestors spoke shows a different way of looking at the world and our place within it.’

Reading the Gaelic Landscape and Literature of the Gaelic Landscape by John Stuart Murray are published by Whittles Publishing, Dunbeath, Caithness.

51

25 YEAR ENVIRONMENT PLAN

by Merrick Denton-Thompson OBE FLI

Merrick Denton-Thompson OBE FLI is President of the Landscape Institute.

He outlines the objectives of the government’s new document and gives his views on its implications for the landscape profession.

A Green Future – the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan The Prime Minister launched the long awaited 25 Year Environment Plan on the 11th January 2018, delivering the framework document to meet the Conservative Party’s manifesto pledge to become the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.

The plan is a very ambitious one but understandably it is only a framework and its success will depend on what happens next. The good news is that the government is setting out to influence the culture through a plethora of proposed actions, many of which align very closely to the work of the Landscape Institute and its members.

In brief

The government has identified 6 key areas as the focus for action through joining up policies to maximise benefits.

–– Using and managing land sustainably.

–– Recovering nature and enhancing the beauty of landscapes.

–– Connecting people with the environment to improve health and wellbeing.

52

–– Increase resource efficiency and reducing pollution and waste.

–– Securing clean, productive and biologically diverse seas and oceans.

–– Protecting and improving the global environment.

You can see instantly that the majority of these objectives are what the Landscape Profession live and work for, these are imbedded in our DNA. I want to thank Ian Houlston who has produced an excellent paper for the Institute’s Policy Committee which sets out more detail on how the Landscape Profession can engage directly with the delivery of the Government’s new Plan.

This is a vision for the regeneration of our urban landscapes that has never been so strongly articulated before.

The big picture The central theme of the Environment Plan is all about repositioning the relationship between the way we lead our lives and the landscape infrastructure – of both town and country. It absolutely recognises the symbiotic relation between the health (physical and mental) of society and the health of natural systems. It applauds the innovation around Natural Capital Accounting which begins the long journey towards rebuilding investment strategies. Starting from a ruthless review of the health of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the soils we are totally dependent on and state of ecosystems, and you can begin to understand the far reaching consequences of this Plan. There are frightening implications of projecting such an approach to the inevitable consequences on the way we lead our lives and the failure of our short term economics and political cycles. Are we ready for this?

You will appreciate that the launch by the Prime Minister emphasises that this is a corporate plan of government requiring action by almost every government department. There is no new money, it is about changing investment strategies and aligning all activities to a new strategic direction. I was surprised by the overt reference by the Prime Minister to securing the Plans objectives through a mixture of new regulations and realigned incentives.

The Plan will create a new independent, statutory body to hold the Government to account to replace the EU when we leave. However for scrutiny to really work there has to be a clear measureable account of the state of the environment that we are all working to improve – have we got that? Not really, so monitoring progress will be a challenge.

Transforming landscapes in our towns The Plan gives a new emphasis to all developments delivering a net gain to the environment and this is a bold and a new strategic policy that can only be delivered through the planning system. The test of the Government’s resolve will be measured through its

INCREASING DENSITIES IN OUR CITIES – NET GAIN – The impacts of developments go far beyond the footprint of the development – what about the air they breathe, the water they consume, the food they eat, the energy they need, where will they work and where will they play, and how will they get there?

review of the National Planning Policy Framework which is about to start.

We should welcome the ‘safeguarding and enhancing the beauty of our natural scenery and improving its environmental value….making sure that there are high quality, accessible places close to where people live and work, particularly in urban areas…’

This is a vision for the regeneration of our urban landscapes that has never been so strongly articulated before.

To achieve this proposal means that the government has to revisit the standards of open spaces in our urban environments, transforming all outside spaces and this will mean demolition in places to reconfigure our towns to achieve the extent and quality the Plan implies.

We must applaud the emphasis being put on landscape infrastructure delivering improvements to the health and wellbeing in society. Nowhere is this aspiration more important than for our children and let us hope the announcement of new money by the Prime Minister (£10 million for School Grounds) is for the first year in the 25 year programme. Intervention by government into the state of childhood is not easy. However transforming the 37,000 school landscapes is one way

of changing the lives of a captured audience, improving attitudes to learning, providing for those who learn better through experiential learning and creating the optimum framework for all aspects of play and social interaction in our schools. This would give us all a lasting return from such investment and build the base of cultural change that is so desperately needed.

The Environment Plan recognises the importance of sustainable drainage as an integral part of multifunctional landscapes, with particular reference to natural flood management solutions. We should also welcome the new emphasis being given to building resilience in towns and countryside, including improving biosecurity measures.

One million new trees to be planted in our towns and cities is a measureable outcome of the Plan but too few of the other aspirations are as clear. We must welcome the ambition to support the transformation of the Green Belt in this country, changing a system of passive ‘no development’ into a proactive transformation of the Green Belt into managing for multifunctional outcomes; you will have seen the Landscape Institute’s newly published vision for the Green Belt.

53

25 YEAR ENVIRONMENT PLAN

THE STATE OF CHILDHOOD One world living can only be achieved by securing a cultural shift in society, reconnecting our young people with natural systems, offering them different learning approaches and supplying the environment where they will make friends for life and where all aspects of play, so crucial to child development, can be realised. We can transform children’s lives to reinstate their physical and mental health by creating new opportunities to optimise child development. © LTL Trust

Transforming landscapes in the countryside You will appreciate that Brexit has created the first opportunity for 50 years for the United Kingdom to have a vision for the countryside and put in place the intervention systems to achieve it. We have a policy framework for our urban areas and associated development but we have no clear policy for the countryside.

The Environment Plan and the new consultation by DEFRA – ‘Health and Harmony : The future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit’ sets out an overall direction for government policy. Both of these align very well with the Landscape Institute’s policy position. You will be aware that our public investment into managing the countryside is approximately £3.5 billion but the public remain uncertain what that investment delivers, which makes the budget very vulnerable. The Landscape Institute suggested that a new approach to sustainable food production and multifunctionalism is needed. However the final picture will only emerge after the trade negotiations are complete following our departure from the EU (provided it happens!).

54

The disciplines attached to Natural Capital Accounting, essentially building a business case for securing clean air, clean water, restored soils and a countryside teeming with wildlife, will drive dramatic changes to farming.

The government now understand that the unintended consequences of agricultural chemicals have never been properly assessed – both chemical oppressors and artificial stimulants.

The agricultural chemicals industry are very powerful and the arguments around production, production, production - so seductive that it will take considerable political courage and strength of purpose to see the necessary changes being made.

In addition the picture will only be completed if the issues of food waste and the health agenda (diet) are tackled at the same time.

HOMES NOT HOUSES The Prime Minister spoke emotionally about the importance of our homes – we need to deliver places where people want to spend their lives, places that export energy, are resilient, are sustainably drained, are teaming with wildlife, that reconnect people with food growing, outside spaces are e-enabled for work and play, places that are beautiful, instilling a sense of belonging and pride. Places that actively encourage social interaction for young and old, for rich and poor, for black and white. © HTA Design

The Environment Plan’s focus is very much centred on land and natural systems benefitting society, ‘treading more lightly on our planet’

We must applaud the new Environmental Land Management Scheme now being proposed – at last we have a government that is accepting that all farmland should be managed sustainably. We must also applaud the emphasis given to soil restoration building systems to encourage natural processes in improving soil fertility. With respect to those of us that have focussed attention on the demise of birds and mammals, too little attention has been paid to the microbial and other organic contents of our soils. What the Plan does not spell out is the level of funding the Government is committed to. The Plan emphasises the need for resilience to be built in to our farmed landscapes and the importance of natural flood management. It also spells out the need to improve access to the countryside for education, health and wellbeing. There are many references to ‘Landscape Scale’ delivery and opportunities for environmental enhancement in all the 159 National Character Areas. However there is too little references to investment being accountable.

Of direct interest to our towns and cities are the plans to increase the resilience and for increasing forest and woodland cover, especially the commitment to the Northern Forest. Also the proposed review of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty might at last result in more National Parks, including the re-designation of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Hopefully improvements will happen to the governance of protected landscapes – for example the fact that those administering these landscapes are statutorily obliged to produce Management Plans but no-one is statutorily obliged to implement them!

Wider environmental issues The Environment Plan’s focus is very much centred on land and natural systems benefitting society, ‘treading more lightly on our planet’. As you would expect it also touches on wider environmental issues such as leading the fight against climate change, reduction of waste, promoting sustainable transport and banning plastic microbeads.

Governance The Natural Capital Committee recommended that the new Environment Plan became a statutory instrument however that recommendation has yet to be confirmed. Buy in from Parliament is essential and we can assume that the setting up of the scrutiny body will require an Act of Parliament.

There has been much speculation on the possible merging of Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission. If that should happen the government should remember the last time it brought together three organisations to form Natural England in 2006. The merging of the Countryside Agency, English Nature and the Rural Development Services resulted in a deliberate undermining of landscape as a delivery outcome and the valuable work of the Countryside Agency.

The administration of public intervention into rural land management has not been very effective in the past. Because of the administrative rules by Europe we have to claim back agriculture support

ANTS All landscapes in the UK are semi-natural, some of our most treasured terrestrial habitats have been created by humanity through farming. But there is no ‘balance in nature’ because our powerful and controlling approach to development and resource management has, at best, been crude. Our sciences have been clever but not clever enough, the unintended consequences of our chemical use have never been properly assessed.

Most damaging is our love of fur and feathers has been at the expense of the importance of the microbial world upon which life depends. Yes transforming landscapes and place making will require the re-introduction of ants! © Marwell Wildlife

55

25 YEAR ENVIRONMENT PLAN

HENRY EDMUNDS AT CHOLDERTON Henry has kindly allowed the Landscape Institute to use his estate as an example of best practice. The estate has been visited twice by George Eustice the Agricultural Minister who has influenced the Environment Plan as a result. He saw high quality crops in a thriving and healthy landscape, teaming with wildlife, achieved through a system that uses no inorganic fertilizer, no insecticides, no fungicides and no herbicides. Through a system of integrated crop management, harnessing the power of natural soil fertility which is all the more remarkable because it is Grade 3 Agriculture land – a shallow chalk soil. This is a field of Hampshire Sanfoin which contributes to the farm having 18 species of British Bumble Bee – there are only 23 different species in the country! © Merrick Denton-Thompson

funds that have been distributed to the farming community and this has led to claims being disallowed because of perceived weaknesses in the distribution of funds. The consequence of this has placed the Rural Payments agency in a very strong position, with ministers not wishing to interfere in case of further disallowance events.

Landscape Institute and its members The Landscape Institute was consulted by DEFRA and the the emerging policies align very well with our contribution to the process.

Discussion with the Department of Environment, Food and rural Affairs are on-going. However with the proposed 25 year timescale 5 governments will be involved in the delivery and we have to ensure buy-in from across the political spectrum. As an independent professional body with charitable status we have to ensure the promotion of the Institute’s policies are understood across all the political parties. Good progress has been made on this but more needs to be done.

During the lead up to the Plan 56

being drafted, the Institute made offers of support to the Government and these remain relevant to the Environment Plan. The Institute’s approach is to continue with alignment of planned activities, these include amongst others the following: –– Preparations for the review of the National Planning Policy Framework, embedding the Landscape Infrastructure (Green Infrastructure) link with health, wellbeing and the economic performance of society.

Securing the Net Gain imperative.

–– Publication of the position statement on Homes not Housing to include the Environmental Plan policies.

–– Publication of a guidance on Landscape Led Local Plans to include the Environment Plan policies.

–– Publication of the Landscape Institute’s strategy for the future of the Green Belt (9 April 2018).

–– Re-skilling the public sector. The Institute is about to produce the case for sustaining and extending the necessary skills in the public sector to deliver the 25 Year Environment Plan.

–– Our review of education will ensure that our University courses are delivering the necessary skills needed to secure the Plan’s delivery and that our CPD offer updates those working in the profession.

Both the Technical and Policy Committees are developing work streams to support the Plan and these activities have yet to be finalised.

Activities will include:–– Developing the Natural Capital Accounting approach.

–– Contributing to the development of the new Environmental Land Management Scheme.

–– Contributing to the Review of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

–– Supporting the transformation of landscapes for young people in schools.

–– Contributing to the urban trees strategy and the plans for the Northern Forest. Supporting the Trees Champion proposed by the Plan.

–– Continuing to help with the emerging Food, Farming and the Environment Strategy.

–– Continue to work collaboratively with DEFRA and other organisations to develop a consensus and consortia approach to securing the objectives of the 25 Year Environment Plan.

In conclusion The Landscape Institute would welcome contributions to this debate from members, nothing is settled but a broad commitment to a direction of travel. It cannot be left to the government to drive this agenda, it has to be a consortia across the public, private and voluntary sectors. The skills of landscape scientists, landscape planners, landscape architects and landscape managers will be needed if this aspiration is to come to fruition.

I would go further and encourage the government to underpin its Plan by a refinement of statutory and regulatory standards focussed on delivering multifunctional Landscape Infrastructure.

An infrastructure that delivers sustainable outcomes to resource management to benefit the health and wellbeing of everyone.

The Landscape Institute would welcome contributions to this debate from members

supplied 80,000m² of wildflower turf to the 2012 olympic games and 2013–14 transformation works

Designing wild flower spaces?

Need to know more about introducing wild flowers into your designs?

Wildflower Turf Ltd offer a free CPD training service covering all aspects of specifying, installing and maintaining exemplary wild flower environments.

Choose the UK’s leading dedicated wild flower specialist and bring your designs to life with Wildflower Turf ®.

A really good CPD event, introducing us to Wildflower Turf® and packed with great ideas and good examples supported by impressive technical knowledge.

TYLER GRANGE

Transformation works of the Athletes’ Village, Stratford

t: 01256 771222 e: helen@wildflowerturf.co.uk www.wildflowerturf.co.uk/cpd www.wildflowerturf.co.uk

57

ENVIRONMENT

By Paul Nolan

Paul Nolan, OBE, MICFor, is Director, The Mersey Forest and Chair, England’s Community Forests. He looks at the rationale for a Northern Forest and considers what lessons might be learnt from the experiences of 25 years of Community Forest delivery.

Delivering a Northern Forest

The Northern Forest Increasing natural capital across the Northern Powerhouse

Preston

The government’s 25 Year Environment Plan: A Green Future, sets out an ambition to increase natural capital and hand over a better environment to the next generation.

The Plan has 44 objectives, including increasing woodland cover in England to 12 per cent. Northern Forest is one mechanism to help achieve this objective.

Blackburn

Rochdale

Southport

Bolton

Manchester

Liverpool

Stockpor

Birkenhead

Warrington Runcorn

Mac

Ellesmere Port Chester

Wrexham

1. The new Northern Forest stretches from Chester and Liverpool to Hull © Merseyforest

58

Bury

1

Crewe

e

Northern Forest Manifesto | 41

Bridlington

York Beverley Bradford

Leeds Hull

Halifax Goole

Wakefield

Scunthorpe

Huddersfield

Barnsley

Doncaster

Grimsby

Sheffield

rt

cclesfield

Buxton

Chesterfield

59

ENVIRONMENT

T

he ideas for a Northern Forest have been developed by the Woodland Trust and Community Forests.

The Northern Forest spans the M62 Corridor, from Chester and Liverpool to Hull. It builds on the existing partnership between the Trust and five Community Forests. It takes its inspiration from the Community Forest Plans and strategies in the area, such as The Mersey Forest Plan (www.merseyforest.org.uk/plan).

Over the next 25 years, £75 billion of investment in housing and transport infrastructure is planned across the M62 Corridor. New investment in cities and strategic investment areas, such as the Atlantic Gateway connecting Liverpool and Manchester, is already underway. The new Super Port in Liverpool is transforming both logistics and the wider landscape across the Liverpool city region.

Currently, over one million companies create 18 percent of England’s GDP in the

Northern Forest area.

13 million people live in the project area. 650,000 new homes are projected to be built and the population is due to rise by 9 percent over the next 20 years.

New governance arrangements, with city regions and two metro mayors in place, offer significant potential to change the way in which investment decisions are made across this diverse geography. For example, new city region planning frameworks are being developed that will set the agenda for strategic investment at the city region level.

The Northern Forest aims to secure significant green infrastructure and natural capital gains through the creation of new woodland that provide a strong environmental component to the Northern Powerhouse. It can deliver national, regional and local policy and strategy.

The 25 Year Plan for the Environment, the Government’s

Industrial Strategy, and the Clean Growth Strategy each calls for integrated infrastructure investment, including green infrastructure, to secure increases in natural capital.

In 2015 Natural Capital Committee’s recommendation was that England needs an additional 250,000 hectares of woodland planted around our towns and cities.

The target is to plant 50 million new trees over the next 25 years.

We estimate the cost will be around £500m. It will create a productive forest across the Northern Powerhouse that not only provides biomass and future timber, but also helps to deliver wider social and environmental benefit to improve health, reduce flood risk, tackle poor air quality, improve water quality, provide opportunities for recreation, tourism and leisure, and create attractive places to live, work and invest. The estimated economic benefit is £3.6bn.

–

£500 million 50 million new trees over the next 25 years –

2. City Forest Park Manchester © Courtesy of City of Trees and the Forestry Commission

2

60

3. Where should we plant our 60 million trees? (Darker tone indicates greater density) © Merseyforest

Hull

Leeds

Manchester

Liverpool Sheffield

Chester White Rose Forest

HEY Woods

City of Trees South Yorkshire Forest

Mersey Forest

3

–

190,000 homes at risk where forest planting could play a role in natural flood management –

Scenarios for the Northern Forest Two scenarios have been developed for the creation of the new Northern Forest. The first scenario we named ‘Nature at Work’, a direct reference to the UK National Ecosystems Assessment (NEA) scenario. In the economic assessment of the six NEA scenarios it was ranked first in terms of total economic benefit.

In developing this scenario, we followed a very similar methodology to the one that has been used by the Mersey Forest for many green infrastructure plans and strategies such as the Liverpool City Region Green Infrastructure Framework.

Rather than starting with a focus on the forests and trees, we began with an assessment of the issues for which there is evidence that green infrastructure can make a positive impact. For example, this included: –– Reducing flood risk.

–– Helping to adapt to and mitigate risks from projected climate change.

–– Improving health and wellbeing –– Increasing opportunities for access and recreation

–– Improving quality of place, –– Enabling increases to biodiversity and providing ecological networks Landscape character was also an important consideration in developing plans for a Northern Forest. Using the national Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) mapping resource we evaluated the landscape capacity for new woodland and tree cover in each of the 55 LCA areas across the Northern Forest. Using the National Woodland Inventory and the Blue Sky data on individual tree canopy cover, we were able to identify the existing percentage woodland cover in each LCA area. This then established the capacity within each LCA area for additional planting. Our analysis showed that each LCA had capacity for additional woodland planting. In some cases, this may be in the form of urban trees and small-scale woodland: in other areas reinforcement of the existing landscape character of hedgerow trees and copses is appropriate: in other areas there is scope in the landscape for larger scale woodland planting.

Our assessment indicates that the landscape has capacity for 350 million new trees. The suggestion that Northern Forest might not be ambitious enough is perhaps supported by this data. Our response has been that the 50 million target is a realistic and achievable objective – if we reach the target early, then it is of course possible to review and refresh objectives and targets.

Of particular interest in this scenario is the impact on reducing flood risk from increasing woodland cover in the key catchment basins or areas less than 100km2 upstream of communities at risk. Detailed assessments of these catchments identified that there are over 190,000 homes at risk downstream of catchments where forest planting could play a valuable role in natural flood management. Reducing flood risk by as little as 1 per cent in these catchments could cut costs associated with flooding by £60m annually.

A second scenario was also considered. In this we considered how the Northern Forest might

61

ENVIRONMENT

4

respond to a need to rapidly increase the sequestration of carbon. This we named as the ‘Dash for Carbon’ scenario. In this case, the criteria used for spatial targeting was very different from the ‘Nature at Work’ scenario.

In a ‘Dash for Carbon’, lower value land with the potential for planting of fast growing species across large areas was established as the principal driver. The resulting map is very different from nature at work. The focus is away from people, towns and cities and Northern Forest becomes a rural programme – mainly.

England’s Community Forests The Community Forest areas form the core of Northern Forest. For the past 25 years England’s Community Forests have been delivering new woodland in and around some of

62

England’s major towns and cities.

The English Community Forest Programme emerged from a growing urban forestry movement in the late 1980s, and from the desire of government agencies to create urban fringe forests for recreation.

Collectively over the past three decades the Community Forests have planted more than 15 million trees.

More recently the Community Forests have established stronger links into national planning policy and so provide a mechanism to work with and within local plans to deliver their Forest Plans and there is clear potential to extend this into the Northern Forest which would be a major step forward.

The Forests are an example of how long-term plans can work; recent work has shown that they have exceeded their original Cost Benefit assessments.

A key lesson from the Community Forests is that whilst they have been successful in developing and delivering projects and programmes and have brought together a wide ranging of funding sources to deliver their plans, the core development work is critical, though not always adequately resourced.

If the 25 YEP and aspirations for the Northern Forest are to be achieved, it will not be through a series of three-year projects. We all know that will not work. A way to sustain an adaptive, innovative core resource will be essential.

Having a long-term plan, supported by local and national policy, a commitment to working in partnership and having dedicated resource, ideally a Forest Team, to be responsible for delivery has helped deliver the

£ –

£5.7 million committed by government to the Northern Forest –

4. Catchments smaller than 100km2 of communities at risk of river flooding Crown Copyright and database right 2017 Ordnance Survey 100031461

5. Ilchester Park, Wirral McCoy_Wynne

6. National Character Areas and NW LCAs Crown Copyright and database right 2017 Ordnance Survey 100031461

Community Forests. We would suggest that these elements will also be important in the delivery of Northern Forest.

Making it happen A £500m price tag has been estimated for delivering the Northern Forest.

This will be a significant challenge.

A mix of traditional and new funding mechanisms and resources will be required. New, post-EU exit, arrangements for land use support, forestry and sustaining or enhancing natural capital will be critical for the success or otherwise of Northern Forest. Aligning this to the planned investment in housing and transport infrastructure can also play an important role. New ideas for funding, such as Natural Capital Bonds, are being explored by the Community Forests and Woodland Trust The Northern Forest aims to accelerate woodland creation in Community Forests. We will be adding to the 15 million trees that have been planted by the Community Forest Partnerships to date.

Since the launch of Northern Forest there have been commitments for new planting from Yorkshire Water and a number of other landowners.

The Woodland Trust has programmes of activity in place, as do the Community Forests. The £5.7m committed by government to Northern Forest will help to deliver perhaps 2 per cent of our target over the next few years.

We are underway.

5

6

63

BOOKS

Reading list Recently published books and publications for landscape professionals

A FRESH APPROACH TO...

SCHOOl l AndSCAPES Playing and learning outside the classroom and reconnecting to the wonders of the natural world

Reimagining Industrial Sites Changing Histories and Landscapes

Green Wedge Urbanism: History, Theory and Contemporary Practice

by Fabiano Lemes de Oliveira, Bloomsbury, February 2017 This book constructs a history of the ‘green wedge’ concept in urbanism. It analyses its contemporary uses in city and regional green space networks and investigates how it can help promote resilient and sustainable cities today.

by Catherine Heatherington Routledge, December 2017 £92 The discourse around derelict, former industrial and military sites has grown in recent years and landscape professionals are taking new approaches to the design and development of these sites. This book examines the varied ways in which the histories and qualities of these derelict sites are reimagined in the transformed landscape and considers how such approaches can reveal the dramatic changes that have been wrought on these places.

“Wall, Waterman and the authors assembled for this volume move landscape to centre stage, where it is reconceptualised as actor. Landscape has agency. It makes a difference, both for good and sometimes for ill. Recognising landscape’s agency empowers those who shape landscape, but it also brings responsibility.

Issues of social and environmental justice are integral to the creation of landscapes. Herein lies the challenge of Landscape and Agency.”

Ian Thompson, Reader in Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, UK

Wall Waterman

Tim Waterman is senior lecturer and landscape architecture theory coordinator at the University of Greenwich, and a tutor at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. He writes for a wide range of professional and academic publications on the subjects of power, democracy, taste, foodways, and everyday life.

Edited by Ed

Ed Wall is the Academic Leader Landscape at the University of Greenwich, London, Visiting Professor at Politecnico di Milano (DiAP) and City of Vienna Visiting Professor 2017 for urban culture, public space and the future – urban equity and the global agenda (SKuOR. TU Wien).

and Tim

Landscape and Agency explores how landscape, as an idea, a visual medium and a design practice, is organized, appropriated and framed in the transformation of places, from the local to the global. It highlights how the development of the idea of agency in landscape theory and practice can fundamentally change our engagement with future landscapes. Including a wide range of international contributions, each illustrated chapter investigates the many ways in which the relationship between the ideas and practices of landscape, and social and subjective formations and material processes, are invested with agency. They critically examine the role of landscape in processes of contemporary urban development, environmental debate and political agendas and explore how these relations can be analysed and rethought through a dialogue between theory and practice.

LANDSCAPE AND AGENCY

“Landscape and Agency: Critical Essays is a wonderful, diverse and apposite collection of essays that critically discusses the future of landscape. The editors have selected an excellent set of authors who question the past, present and future. Was landscape urbanism a part of a neo-liberal plot? What is the future of the social and common, shared spaces? These and many other design questions are pursued in this valuable and timely volume.”

David Grahame Shane, Adjunct Professor Urban Design, Columbia University GSAPP, USA

A Fresh Approach to School Landscapes

by Hampshire County Council Property Services Landscape Group with Learning Through Landscapes Trust, Hampshire County Council, November 2016 £6.99 www.hants.gov.uk The Landscape Group at Hampshire County Council wrote this book with the charity Learning Through Landscapes.

It aims to inspire schools to make the best use of their school grounds for play and learning and draws on Hampshire County Council’s extensive experience of working collaboratively with schools.

LANDSCAPE AND AGENCY Critical Essays

LANDSCAPE/LANDSCAPE THEORY

ISBN 978-1-138-12556-8

Cover image: © Teddy Cruz www.routledge.com

9 781138 125568

Routledge titles are available as eBook editions in a range of digital formats

Cities Alive: Designing for Urban Childhoods

by Arup: Samuel Williams, Hannah Wright, Felicitas zu Dohna, expert advisor: Tim Gill Arup, December 2017 Free download www.arup.com Sixty per cent of all urban dwellers will be under the age of eighteen by 2030.1 A childfriendly approach to urban planning is a vital part of creating inclusive cities that work better for everyone. The report contains 40 global case studies, 14 recommended interventions and 15 actions for city leaders, developers and investors and built environment professionals.

They show how we can create healthier and more inclusive, resilient and competitive cities for us to live, work and grow up in.

1 United Nations (2014).

64

Edited by Ed

Wall and Tim Waterman

Landscape and Agency: Critical Essays

Edited by Ed Wall and Tim Waterman Routledge, 2018 £34.99 Landscape and Agency explores how landscape, as an idea, a visual medium and a design practice, is organized, appropriated and framed in the transformation of places, from the local to the global. It highlights how the development of the idea of agency in landscape theory and practice can fundamentally change our engagement with future landscapes.

Landscape Observer: London

By Vladimir Guculak Jovis, 2017 £35 London has undergone a substantial urban transform-ation in the past 15 years, focusing on improving public realm in its 32 boroughs.

Extensive infrastructure and housing market investments have fuelled the need for a range of high-quality public spaces. Changes include the creation of new public spaces and good quality housing, revitalisation of brownfields, strengthening of communities, and upgrading of existing parklands and gardens. The book gives an overview of around 90 projects completed in the last few years, ones which vary in scale, programme and budget.

If you have written or published a book that would be of interest to our members, please get in touch at editor@darkhorsedesign.co.uk

“The Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food is a timely answer to the growing interest in these subjects. It provides an authoritative and cross-disciplinary overview and stimulating discussions of a broad range of topics related to food and landscape studies and the diversity in concepts and approaches applied therein.”

Henk de Zeeuw, Founder and former Director of the RUAF Foundation, Netherlands Since the turn of the millennium, there has been a burgeoning interest in, and literature of, both landscape studies and food studies. Landscape describes places as relationships and processes.

Landscapes create people’s identities and guide their actions and their preferences, while at the same time they are shaped by the actions and forces of people. Food, as currency, medium, and sustenance, is a fundamental part of those landscape relationships.

This volume brings together over fifty contributors from around the world in forty profoundly interdisciplinary chapters. Chapter authors represent an astonishing range of disciplines, from agronomy, anthropology, archaeology, conservation, countryside management, cultural studies, ecology, ethics, geography, heritage studies, landscape architecture, landscape management and planning, literature, urban design, and architecture. Both food studies and landscape studies defy comprehension from the perspective of a single discipline, and thus such a range is both necessary and enriching.

The Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food is intended as a first port of call for scholars and researchers seeking to undertake new work at the many intersections of landscape and food. Each chapter provides an authoritative overview, a broad range of pertinent readings and references, and seeks to identify areas where new research is needed—though these may also be identified in the many fertile areas in which subjects and chapters overlap within the book.

Joshua Zeunert is Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Tim Waterman is Senior Lecturer and Landscape Architecture Theory Coordinator at the University of Greenwich, London, UK. FOOD AND LANDSCAPE

Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food

“In the Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food, Joshua Zeunert and Tim Waterman present core samples of the many scales and systems engaged by food, food production, and food distribution. This kaleidoscopic volume will appeal to the curious amateur and offer a starting point for further research to those concerned with the productive landscape.”

Dorothée Imbert, Professor, Hubert C. Schmidt ‘38 Chair in Landscape Architecture, Landscape Architecture Section Head, Knowlton School, USA

Edited by Joshua Zeunert and Tim Waterman

“Waterman and Zeunert have edited an exemplary interdisciplinary volume of great topical scope and profound conceptual depth. From landscape to seascape, Neolithic and Aboriginal to modern and globalized, the ecological to the utopian, The Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food offers culinary wisdom, sociological analysis and ethical guidance. It is an indispensable book which promises to inaugurate a new epoch of both culinary and landscape studies.”

Allen S. Weiss, Distinguished Teacher, Performance Studies and Cinema Studies, New York University, USA

Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food

Cover image: Joshua Zeunert

ISBN 978-1-138-12515-5 www.routledge.com

9 781138 125155

Routledge titles are available as eBook editions in a range of digital formats

London’s Street Trees: A Field Guide to the Urban Forest

by Paul Wood Safe Haven Books, May 2017 £12.99 An illustrated journey through the urban forest including street tree descriptions, anecdotes and history. This book describes the astonishing multiplicity of trees lining the capital’s streets, from the 19th-century plane trees on the Embankment which were painted by Monet, giant redwoods in Edgware, and magnolias in front of the ‘Cheesegrater’. The world city of of London can be seen in an entirely new way.

Edited by Joshua Zeunert and Tim Waterman

Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food

A Musicology for Landscape

by Dr. David Buck Routledge, 2017 £40.50 Drawing conceptually and directly on music notation, this book investigates landscape architecture’s inherent temporality. It argues that the rich history of notating time in music provides a critical model for this underresearched aspect of landscape architecture, while also enabling sound in the sensory appreciation of landscape.

by Joshua Zeunert and Tim Waterman, Eds. Routledge, February 2018 £175 The Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food is intended as a first port of call for scholars and researchers seeking to undertake new work at the many intersections of landscape and food. Each chapter provides an authoritative overview, a broad range of pertinent readings and references, and seeks to identify areas where new research is needed – though these may also be identified in the many fertile areas in which subjects and chapters overlap within the book.

trees can deliver. Trees are, however, under threat today as never before due to competition for space imposed by development, other hard infrastructures, increased pressure on the availability of financial provision from local authorities and a highly cautious approach to risk management in a modern litigious society.

It is, therefore, incumbent upon all of us in construction and urban design disciplines to pursue a set of goals that not only preserve existing trees where we can, but also ensure that new plantings are appropriately specified and detailed to enable their successful establishment and growth to productive maturity.

Aimed at developers, urban planners, urban designers, landscape architects and arboriculturists, this book takes a candid look at the benefits that trees provide alongside the threats that are eliminating them from our towns

THE URBAN TREE

There is a growing evidence base that documents the social, environmental and economic benefits that urban

and cities. It takes a simple, applied approach that explores a combination of science and practical experience to help ensure a pragmatic and reasoned approach to decision-making in terms of tree selection, specification, placement and establishment. In this way trees can successfully be incorporated within our urban landscapes,

Duncan Goodwin is a horticulturist, arboriculturist and chartered landscape architect. He has over 30 years of horticultural, landscape design and construction experience. Duncan is an Associate Director of Land Planning at Capita Property and Infrastructure, managing a team of landscape architects on a large multidisciplinary design and construction project based in the south of England. He is also a Senior Lecturer and Technical Coordinator for Landscape within the Architecture and Landscape Department at the University of Greenwich, UK.

LANDSCAPE / URBAN DESIGN Cover image: © Duncan Goodwin

ISBN 978-0-415-70246-1

9 780415 702461

Slow Growth: On the Art of Landscape Architecture

by Hal Moggridge Unicorn September, 2017 £30 Landscape architecture is explored, mainly through projects large and small, in 350 beautifully designed pages with 1000 illustrations, photos, plans, sections, sketches.

Early chapters discuss people and perception outdoors, microclimate, movement routes. New and restored parkland, reservoirs, quarries, hills, settings for archaeology and buildings are described. Final chapters concern metropolitan skyline conservation and cities as urban landscape. The theme: today’s most powerful, health-giving, concepts derive from naturalistic landscape design.

www.routledge.com Routledge titles are available as eBook editions in a range of digital formats

Planning Sustainable Cities: An infrastructure-based approach

Spiro N. Pollalis Routledge, May 2016 £65 The book provides an analytical framework for urban sustainability approached as a series of infrastructure systems (including landscape) that function in synergy and are directly linked with urban planning. Developed through the Zofnass Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, landscape architects have been key to its development.

DUNCAN GOODWIN

so that we can continue to reap the benefits they provide.

THE URBAN TREE DUNCAN GOODWIN

The Urban Tree

By Duncan Goodwin Routledge, April 2017 £45.99 Aimed at developers, urban planners, urban designers, landscape architects and arboriculturists, this book takes a candid look at the benefits that trees provide alongside the threats that are eliminating them from our towns and cities. It takes a simple, applied approach that explores a combination of science and practical experience to help ensure a pragmatic and reasoned approach to decision-making in terms of tree selection, specification, placement and establishment. In this way, trees can successfully be incorporated within our urban landscapes, so that we can continue to reap the benefits they provide.

65

ON MY MIND

I am delighted to see that so many talented, enthusiastic new members are being attracted to join the landscape profession.

By Kate Bailey

Kate is Chair, Policy and Communications Committee and a Trustee of the Landscape Institute.

Past experience and future talent As one of the older members of the LI, in age if not in duration of membership, I am delighted to see that so many talented, enthusiastic new members are being attracted to join the landscape profession.

Looking back, I feel very fortunate to have enjoyed a long and rewarding career in landscape design, planning and heritage conservation. Looking forward, I can see huge potential for the LI’s ‘Future Talent’ to deliver new ideas, new ways of working, new faces on our committees and working groups.

As a northerner, I have huge respect for the enthusiasm, energy and intelligence of younger people looking to re-imagine their capabilities in order to generate new job opportunities where few exist. My own family members have taught me that collaborative working arrangements, non-hierarchical partnerships, timelimited roles, flexible team-working and ‘play-time’ workshop sessions can be far more creative and productive than ‘traditional’ business practices.

Also, I have come to believe that lifelong listening and learning offers the most rewarding route towards personal

66

growth and work satisfaction.

Big questions about sustainable development, justice in natural resource management, growing disparities between north and south, rich and poor, are being debated via massive open on-line courses (MOOC) – totally flexible, endlessly varied, free professional learning opportunities.

I almost envy those new members who are starting now on their chosen career path in this transformational digital age. With so much scientific research available, citizen science projects to share, on-line learning opportunities to access, innovative thinking to ponder, special interest groups to join, individual members can surely find a unique specialist ‘niche’ in our multi-talented profession to suit each one of them. So what is on my mind at present is the idea that, via the LI, I will pass on the experience and knowledge I have accrued over my whole career, not by telling younger people to do the same as me, but by offering guidance, encouragement and options for them to consider landscape as part of a fluid, adaptable career path.

2018 is perfect timing for the landscape profession to seek to

encourage these new members.

The LI is facing an unprecedented opportunity to influence both government policy and public opinion by, for example, engaging with the recently published 25-year Environment Plan. In my view, our profession offers a coherent and sustainable response to current social and environmental challenges. For example, our work contributes to the functionality, robustness and resilience of green spaces, which are widely recognised as enabling people to lead healthier lives.

Of all the built and natural environment professions, we are best able to think and work at all scales, from local to global, to understand the complex interactions and feedbacks between biodiversity, ecosystem services and human wellbeing, and to improve public awareness by ‘joining the dots’. I am therefore looking forward to supporting and encouraging the LI’s ‘Future Talent’ to grow and flourish in future years.

Kate Bailey Chair, Policy and Communications Committee and Trustee of the Landscape Institute

In each issue of Landscape we invite a different key figure within the profession to contribute to ‘On my Mind’.

design

make

collaborate

an FSC 100% company

call 01367 242731 or mail hello@factoryfurniture.co.uk

www.factoryfurniture.co.uk

IT’S NOT JUST A TREE Properly cared for, trees are valuable and growing assets worth three times the investment.

Contact us today to discover how our uncompacted soil solutions enable trees to thrive. greenblue.com | 0800 018 7797

67

F E AT U R E

By Paul Lincoln

Paul Lincoln led the Landscape Institute HLF-funded Capability Brown Festival 2016 and is currently working on the LI’s contribution to the Repton Festival.

Humphry Repton a worthy successor to Capability Brown

1

1

1. Warley Woods

2018 marks the bicentenary of Humphry Repton’s death (1752– 1818), the last great landscape designer of the eighteenth century.

Inspired by the success of the Capability Brown Festival, the Gardens Trust, with the support of the Landscape Institute is promoting this year’s celebration of the work of Humphry Repton.

There are plans for about 200 activities across the UK with the support of the National Trust, English Heritage, the Historic Houses Association, the Georgian Group, the Garden Museum and the Royal

Horticultural Society. County Gardens Trusts researchers are producing Repton material for books, leaflets, exhibitions, study days, lectures and tours.

The Garden Trust has also been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant for the Sharing Repton audience development project, which will deliver activities at five Repton sites around the country.

The Landscape Institute is planning to run a competition for school students inviting designs for new Red Books inspired by the Red Books for which Repton has become famous.

As a landscape designer I have never been superseded by a more successful rival.

My own profession, like myself, was becoming extinct.

Humphry Repton

© Lewis Horton

Factfile

–B orn on 21st April 1752 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

– After jobs in the textile trade and as a private secretary, in 1788 he set himself up as a landscape gardener (a job title which he invented).

–R epton initially championed Brown’s landscape style but later adopted the ideas of the picturesque movement.

–H is work reintroduced terraces, gravel walks and flower beds into the area around the house, to provide a foreground for views of the landscape.

– Designed

around 400 hundred English landscapes and gardens but left the client to implement the work. As a result, many of his designs were never realised.

–C ommissions included the landscape at Bristol’s Blaise Castle, Dyrham Park in Gloucestershire, Endsleigh Cottage in Devon, London’s Russell Square, Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, Tatton Park in Cheshire, Uppark House in Sussex, Valleyfield in Fife and the themed gardens at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire.

–H is work included improvements to existing landscape schemes at the estates of aristocratic clients like the Dukes of Bedford and Portland.

–T he way Repton presented his landscape designs was a key part of his success. He produced ‘Red Books’ or folios of his plans, drawings, maps and a description of the improvements he proposed to make. They famously include watercolour paintings with overlays showing ‘before’ and ‘after’ views of the estate.

–R epton outlined his approach to landscape gardening in three books: Sketches and Hints on Landscape Gardening (1795), Observations on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1803) and Fragments on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1816).

– He died on 24 March 1818 and is buried in St Michael’s Church, Aylsham in Norfolk.

–A t the end of his life he said ‘as a landscape designer I have never been superseded by a more successful rival. My own profession, like myself, was becoming extinct.’

Further details about Repton, his work, and celebration events can be found on the website www.humphryrepton.org 69

‘Valuing Landscape – connecting people, place and nature’

Landscape Institute Annual Conference & IFLA Europe General Assembly 2018 University of Greenwich London, United Kingdom 06 – 09 September 2018

Landscape is more than just creating new space with cohesive delivery. Landscape’s tangible and intangible value is in its ability to connect society, built spaces and the environment. Examine the opportunities in ‘connecting people, place and nature’ through a programme of highly inspiring speakers who will share fresh thinking and lead high-level debate on the new leadership required to take on issues facing the profession and challenges on the horizon.

The two day LI Annual Conference will be followed by the IFLA Europe General Assembly and a number of ticketing options are available.

For programme details and a link to the booking website, go to: www.landscapeinstitute.org/conference-2018/

Telephone: 0800 612 2083

70

Email:

mail@sureset.co.uk

LI News New campaign to inspire students to #Choose Landscape

3

2

1, 3, 4 © Grant Associates 2 © Bethany Gale and Sarah Tolley 5 © AECOM Others © LUC © iStockphoto

Look out over the coming months for updates on our new #ChooseLandscape campaign. Through #ChooseLandscape, we aim to excite and enthuse a whole new generation of landscape professionals. We’ll be running events, updating our educational content and bringing the profession to life with brand new digital and video content.

Help us get the word out…

• by joining Class of Your Own’s • by volunteering your time, enthusiasm army of volunteers, helping and experience as an Ambassador for to deliver Eco Classroom and Landscape, inspiring young people Design Engineer Construct!® up and down the country to learn more about the landscape profession: workshops to schools and colleges: www.landscapeinstitute.org/ designengineerconstruct.com education/ambassador-for• or volunteer at other projects across landscape the UK.

1

5

4

TRANSFORM PLACES CONNECT PEOPLE PROTECT ENVIRONMENTS

LI College of Fellows welcomes new leaders in landscape

© Getty Images/iStockphoto

Tom Armour, Alison Barnes, Brian Denney, Carolin Göhler, Edward Hutchison, Sally Marsh, Elizabeth Newton, Julie Procter, Margaret Roe, Paul Tiplady, Helen Tranter and Adrian Wikeley joined the LI College of Fellows.

A number of these people are also members of our Landscape Management Leadership Forum, helping the LI to better engage landscape managers and provide them with a professional home.

Many accepted their Fellowship certificates at the January CMLI graduation ceremony. Please join us in welcoming these leaders, innovators and ambassadors to the highest level of the profession.

Fellowship is the most prestigious form of chartered membership with the Landscape Institute. The LI’s senior go-to group, the College of Fellows now meets regularly to share insight and discuss the future of the profession.

Find out more, apply for Fellowship or nominate a colleague at members. landscapeinstitute.org/fellow

71

Firms step up to support young entrants to the profession The LI is delighted with the level of support we’ve seen from the industry to explore creation of new landscape apprenticeships.

Over 20 firms have been involved in our Landscape Apprenticeship Trailblazer, representing a mix of large and small companies and public sector bodies that spans the full breadth of landscape disciplines.

20 of these firms joined the LI in February in submitting our official expression of interest to the Institute for Apprenticeships (IFA). IFA is currently consulting on our two proposed standards, and we hope to hear within the month whether we have been successful.

The LI is committed to doing all we can to support attract more people from a wider diversity of backgrounds into the profession.

This is a very exciting time for our industry, and we’d like to give our sincere thanks to the organisations and individuals who have helped bring the Trailblazer to life.

They are: • Meiloci • Amey • Munro and Whitten • Arup • Re-Form • BDP • The Environment Partnership • Capita (TEP) • Farrer Huxley Associates • The Landscape Practice Group • Fira Landscape Architecture • Birmingham City Council • Gillespies LLP • Townshend • Highways England • Tyler Grange LLP • LDA Design • Wilder Associates • LHC • Winchester City Council • Land Use Consultants (LUC)

© Getty Images/iStockphoto

LI News

Landscape, countryside and the public sector: our policy and influencing focus for 2018 Two new working groups will explore crucial policy areas during the coming year.

The Value of Landscape Working Group will focus on the emerging natural capital agenda. The Future of Countryside Working Group will focus on the government’s new 25 Year Environment Plan.

Driven by thought leadership, our influencing work will mainly target local authorities and public sector bodies.

We will continue and strengthen our existing work on landscape-led planning and housing to showcase the value that the profession can bring to urban spaces.

© Getty Images/iStockphoto

Going digital first

72

Major digital upgrades will help us deliver better services to our members.

Over the next two years, we’ll be putting the systems in place to deliver ability to record CPD online, access digital training and a host of new benefits.

Part of this is improving our online Journal offering.

If you haven’t already, download the Issuu app to your mobile phone or iPad and search for ‘Landscape Institute’ to see editions of the Journal going back to 2012.

We have also given the online journal content a new home at www.landscapeinstitute.org

DARKHORSE DESIGN

THE JOURNAL OF THE LANDSCAPE INSTITUTE

Award-winning publisher and full service marketing agency.

WINTER 2017

landscapeinstitute.org

BOOK NOW BOOK NOW

14–15 November14–15 2017 November 2017 RIBA, 66 Portland Place, RIBA, 66London Portland Place, London

Celebrating success #LIawards2017

#RIBAgt #RIBAgt Architecture.com/GuerrillaTactics2017 Architecture.com/GuerrillaTactics2017 SPONSORED BY

SPONSORED BY

We don’t just design stuff. We blend creative vision with commercial insight to really get your business. Then we create award-winning content and campaigns that connect with your audience and build your brand. We get results.

BRAND STRATEGY / MEMBERSHIP GROWTH / INTEGRATED CAMPAIGNS / CONTENT CREATION / DIGITAL / PUBLICATIONS

Talk with us about your next project.

Call Tim on (0)20 7323 1931 or email tim@darkhorsedesign.co.uk

17 Mann Island Liverpool Waterfront L3 1BP 0151 649 9669 52 - 53 Russell Square London WC1B 4HP (0)20 7323 1931

darkhorsedesign.co.uk

73

A LAST WORD

by Merrick Denton-Thompson OBE FLI

President of the Landscape Institute

Future talent and the Environment Plan Throughout the United Kingdom the demand to employ the landscape profession just cannot be met, there is just not enough of us and this has happened at the very moment that the government has had the courage to restore the quality of our environment.

Our programme for identifying Future Talent must capture the imagination of a new cohort of young people who will be inspired to enter the profession as landscape scientists, landscape planners, landscape architects and landscape managers – all of them will play a crucial part in restoring the health of places in our towns and countryside. They will be working at any scale they choose, every day will be different, every day will be a challenge and it will take extraordinary imagination and innovation to secure the changes that need to be made to secure our future.

The government’s newly announced 25 Year Environment Plan sets out for us to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it; it is a responsible legacy for our generation to aspire to. But our actions, and the power behind them, know no limits across time and space. To begin the task of dismantling the repercussions of the way we have chosen to lead our lives is a challenge without parallel.

It is little wonder that some of the best brains are actually contemplating

74

the saviour of humanity through abandoning planet earth! Technology, the golden bullet, will have to move very fast indeed to have any impact on climate change. As a country we celebrate our technological innovation that gave birth to the industrial revolution – with respect I think we ought to keep quiet about that particular source of greenhouse gas emissions!

I fear there is another cat out of the bag that will not be so easy to recapture – the hundreds of different chemicals we release through a myriad of actions. We keep trusting the science, yesterday it was DDT, now found in the bodies of Emperor Penguins, and today it is the levels of glyphosate in the breast milk of American women. There are numerous bizarre responses to these issues that demonstrate how disjointed humanity is over the state of the environment, one of my favourites was the expression of uncontrolled delight at the opening up of more oil wells made possible by the retreat of the polar ice cap, caused by global warming!

As an optimist I think we are on the verge of an entirely new revolution, one that will reconnect us with the natural systems upon which our survival will depend. The formal landscapes of the 17th century demonstrated our power in controlling nature and even today a large part of modern agriculture suppresses natural systems for the sake of production at any cost. The new revolution will be about harnessing the power of natural systems, reuniting the symbiotic relationship we have with our biological world. The landscape profession will play an increasingly important role in the future, uniquely placed between people and nature, skilled in the science and arts of landscape. We have the skills to build resilience back into the landscape, we manipulate micro-climate, we transform places to meet the health and wellbeing of everyone, we can build social cohesion, we can stabilise communities and we can deliver sustainable development and we can secure the sustainable management of natural resources.

Colourful Durable Cost Effective

Beautiful hard landscaping solutions

Coloured asphalt laid conventionally, throughout the year, in a range of various colours and designs, anywhere in England and Wales.

Whether a footpath, bus lane or anything in between, NatraTex is the only surface you need.

Available on the NBS BIM Library CPD presentations available Please call Fran on 01594 826768 or email us at landscape@natratex.co.uk

75

hardwood street furniture

76

01254 685 185

facebook.com/woodscapegroup

sales@woodscape.co.uk

@woodscapeltd

woodscape.co.uk

linkedin.com/woodscape

#designthenation