Ground 44 – Winter 2018 – Stress

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Landscape Architect Quarterly 10/

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Publication # 40026106

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Round Table Confronting Marginalization Landscape Architecture and Indigenous Territories 3 Questions, 3 Perspectives Responding to Reconciliation Winter 2018 Issue 44

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Editor Lorraine Johnson

2018–2019 OALA Governing Council

Photo Editor Jasper Flores

President Jane Welsh

OALA Editorial Board Kanwal Aftab Shannon Baker Trish Clarke Jasper Flores Eric Gordon Ruthanne Henry Aaron Hernandez Eric Klaver (chair) Nadja Pausch Le’ Ann Seely Katie Strang Andrew Taylor Devin Tepleski Dalia Todary-Michael

Vice President Kendall Flower

Web Editor Jennifer Foden Social Media Manager Jennifer Foden Art Direction/Design www.typotherapy.com Advertising Inquiries advertising@oala.ca 416.231.4181 Cover Image courtesy of IISD Experimental Lakes Area. See page 07.

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published four times a year by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Ontario Association of Landscape Architects 3 Church Street, Suite 506 Toronto, Ontario M5E 1M2 416.231.4181 www.oala.ca oala@oala.ca Copyright © 2018 by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Contributors retain copyright of their work. All rights reserved.

ISSN: 0847-3080 Canada Post Sales Product Agreement No. 40026106 See www.groundmag.ca to download articles and share content on social media.

See www.groundmag.ca for a digital, searchable, archival database, listing all articles, authors, subjects, key words, etc. published in Ground over the years.

Treasurer Steve Barnhart Secretary Stefan Fediuk Past President Doris Chee Councillors Cynthia Graham Cameron Smith Justin Whalen Associate Councillor—Senior Trish Clarke Associate Councillor—Junior Mark Hillmer Lay Councillor Peter Hersics Appointed Educator University of Toronto TBC Appointed Educator University of Guelph Brendan Stewart University of Toronto Student Representative Elspeth Holland University of Guelph Student Representative Robyn McCormick OALA Staff Executive Director Aina Budrevics Registrar Ingrid Little Coordinator Sarah Manteuffel

OALA

OALA

About

About the OALA

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly is published by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects and provides an open forum for the exchange of ideas and information related to the profession of landscape architecture. Letters to the editor, article proposals, and feedback are encouraged. For submission guidelines, contact Ground at magazine@oala.ca.

Ground reserves the right to edit all submissions.

The views expressed in the magazine are those of the writers and not necessarily the views of the OALA and its Governing Council.

The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects works to promote and advance the profession of landscape architecture and maintain standards of professional practice consistent with the public interest. The OALA promotes public understanding of the profession and the advancement of the practice of landscape architecture. In support of the improvement and/or conservation of the natural, cultural, social and built environments, the OALA undertakes activities including promotion to governments, professionals and developers of the standards and benefits of landscape architecture.

Upcoming Issues of Ground Ground 45 (Spring) Consume Deadline for advertising space reservations: January 14, 2019 Ground 46 (Summer) Colour Deadline for advertising space reservations: April 9, 2019 Deadline for editorial proposals: February 8, 2019 Ground 47 (Fall) Power Deadline for advertising space reservations: June 11, 2019 Deadline for editorial proposals: April 12, 2019 Ground 48 (Winter) Death & Renewal Deadline for advertising space reservations: October 7, 2019 Deadline for editorial proposals: July 12, 2019

Erratum In the text for the 2018 OALA Awards, on page 33 of Ground 42 (Summer 2018), incorrect information is included in the description of Gary Heine’s work on the Toronto Zoo and on Centreville Amusement Park. The text should read: “Gary was involved in programming, planning, and detailed design development of the Toronto Zoo and most recently the Children’s Wildlife Discovery Area, and in 2016 he updated the master plan and design of the Centreville Amusement Park on Centre Island, Toronto.”

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Advisory Panel Andrew B. Anderson, BLA, MSc. World Heritage Management Landscape & Heritage Expert, Oman Botanic Garden John Danahy, OALA, Associate Professor, University of Toronto George Dark, OALA, FCSLA, ASLA, Principal, Urban Strategies Inc., Toronto Real Eguchi, OALA, Eguchi Associates Landscape Architects, Toronto Donna Hinde, OALA, FCSLA, Partner, The Planning Partnership, Toronto Ryan James, OALA, Senior Landscape Architect, Novatech, Ottawa Alissa North, OALA, Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Principal of North Design Office, Toronto Peter North, OALA, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Principal of North Design Office, Toronto Nathan Perkins, MLA, PhD, ASLA, Associate Professor, University of Guelph Victoria Taylor, OALA, Principal, Victoria Taylor Landscape Architect, Toronto Jim Vafiades, OALA, FCSLA, Senior Landscape Architect, Stantec, Toronto

Contents

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Up Front Information on the ground Stress:

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Round Table Confronting marginalization MODERATED BY ERIC GORDON, OALA

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Landscape Architecture and Indigenous Territories Mike Hensel, OALA, in conversation with Devin Tepleski 3 Questions, 3 Perspectives COORDINATED BY TRISH CLARKE, OALA

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Responding to Reconciliation COORDINATED BY LORRAINE JOHNSON AND KATIE STRANG

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Diana Beresford-Kroeger Battling climate change with trees for life TEXT BY LORRAINE JOHNSON

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Design by Detail A tear in the seam TEXT BY VICTORIA TAYLOR, OALA

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Research Corner Assessing stress to salty street trees TEXT BY JEN HILL

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Notes A miscellany of news and events Artifact Beaded flowers TEXT BY LORRAINE JOHNSON

TO VIEW ADDITIONAL CONTENT RELATED TO GROUND ARTICLES, VISIT WWW.GROUNDMAG.CA.

Winter 2018 Issue 44

President’s Message

Editorial Board Message

President’s Message

Editorial Board Message

Winter is here—and it has arrived as I sit at my desk on a bleak November afternoon. But even in the absence of colour and without the long hours of daylight of the other seasons, there is a subtle richness of colour and texture and dramatic light and space—for ideas and creativity to flow as we spend more time indoors.

The publication of this issue marks my first as Editorial Board Chair. I couldn’t be more pleased by the result and am very happy to be part of the team that brought it to fruition.

A number of OALA volunteers from Council and the Practice Legislation Committee have continued our conversations with representatives of the new government with some success. On September 25, 2018, we were joined at Queen’s Park by CLARB President Christine Anderson, CLARB President-Elect Phil Meyer, CLARB CEO Joel Albizo, CLARB Senior Director of Strategy Veronica Meadows, and CLARB Member Engagement Manager Missy Sutton, all of whom were happy to support us by meeting Ontario MPPs and explaining the positive impact that licensure has had in the U.S., where it is in force in all 50 states. As our profession becomes more connected globally, it is interesting to follow similar discussions from around the world, especially as they relate to the need for more awareness about the scope and scale of our work—about what landscape architects do.

We are also finding a voice at the municipal level, with many volunteers using the opportunity to tell municipal candidates, during the October 2018 election, about what we do and why it is important to have a Practice Act to regulate our profession. At the national level, a working group of municipal landscape architects has been formed to share thoughts on how landscape architects can address climate change adaptation—something our profession is uniquely qualified to lead.

In commemoration of the OALA’s 50th anniversary, a reception was held on September 21, 2018, with all OALA past presidents to welcome me into my new role as OALA president. We heard some inspiring stories from past presidents and staff, and I feel I am well supported by those who have held this role before me. Thank you to Past President Doris Chee for coordinating this celebration!

Most importantly for the future of the profession, we continue to support and be inspired by our partnerships with the students and faculty of the University of Toronto and University of Guelph and for their support volunteering as part of Council and its various committees.

It is easy to see stress as a negative—it is often portrayed as such—but there are many ways in which it is positive.

A suspension bridge is fettered stress. We pre-stress concrete in compression to make it stronger. Stress in biology drives evolution and growth. At the core of stress is change.

While a student, 25 years ago, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the OALA, I had the opportunity to attend LABash at the University of Guelph. There was great energy at the event and a burgeoning sense that the profession of landscape architecture could lead the way in providing solutions to problems that our world was finally waking up to. At the time, we had only a basic understanding of the forces behind climate change—the Kyoto Protocol was still four years off in the future. The week of LABash, Canadians were seeing a tragic and horrific video of Indigenous children’s lives in Davis Inlet, Labrador. Fast forward 25 years, and these same issues are even more acute, with more awareness in the general public but not enough progress.

The calls for action that I heard 25 years ago at LABash still resonate. Although we may now understand more, we are only beginning to understand the stresses we are facing. The Stress issue of Ground seeks to understand more and perhaps point to some solutions. But we still need more: more action more quickly than ever, more understanding, more voices.

In this issue and in issues to come, we will continue the tradition of looking outside and beyond the profession, listening to voices that can inform our actions. On the Editorial Board and within Ground’s pages, we continue to seek and include Indigenous voices that provide perspectives on the many issues that affect everyone. In terms of the past, we now have an archival catalogue of past Ground issues (no simple and easy feat) that can inform future topics.

You can view this catalogue at www.groundmag.ca.

It’s not too early to save the date for the 2019 OALA AGM & Conference, taking place April 25-27 at Blue Mountain. The theme for this year’s event is “Big Thinking—WatershedScale Landscape Perspectives.”

The hope and desire in our small but important corner of the profession is to provide deeper understanding by knowing where we came from, and listening to voices that help illuminate our path. Perhaps then we can in our practices confront with confidence the challenges and changes facing us, that we may understand stress and put it to work to build better, stronger bridges to the future.

JANE WELSH, OALA, FCSLA OALA PRESIDENT PRESIDENT@OALA.CA

ERIC KLAVER, OALA CHAIR, EDITORIAL BOARD MAGAZINE@OALA.CA

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Up Front

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bours. “My entire neighbourhood is grass,” she explains, whereas her garden, which she originally planted with edibles but is now full of delphiniums, peonies, daylilies, roses, daisies, and calendula—“whatever does well with just rainwater”—is exuberant, colourful, and free-form. “It doesn’t take any work,” says Nicoll, who recently put down woodchips in a nod to the neighbourhood aesthetic.

01 GARDEN REGULATIONS

rethinking milkweed “I was having a great day,” says Doreen Nicoll, “until I got home and saw the notice on my door.” The notice, dated June 28, 2018, was from the City of Burlington and directed Nicoll, who has lived in the house for more than twenty years, to remove the milkweed from her front-yard garden or the City would remove the plants for her and give her a bill.

Nicoll hadn’t planted the milkweed. The plants were volunteers, but she wasn’t surprised that they had just shown up, since her lot had been a farmer’s field until it sprouted new houses instead of crops.

Nicoll was likewise not surprised by the City’s removal notice—hers, she says, is the only “naturalistic” garden in an area full of clipped lawns and regimented plantings, and she suspects that her landscape’s non-conformity irked some of her neigh-

Up Front: Information on the Ground

Nicoll is a high-school teacher and environmental activist who was involved, years ago, in the successful fight to ban cosmetic pesticides in Ontario. After she received the removal notice from the City, she started emailing and phoning former

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comrades from the pesticide battle to determine her options. She researched the province’s weed law and discovered that milkweed had been removed from Ontario’s Noxious Weed List in 2014. She was incensed to discover, however, that milkweed remained on Burlington’s list of regulated “weeds,” despite the fact that milkweed is the only known larval host plant for the monarch butterfly, a species designated by the federal government as “Special Concern,” at risk of extinction.

“It’s ironic,” Nicoll further explains, “because the City gives out free milkweed seeds and plants to people who want to plant it for monarchs.” Armed with information, Nicoll phoned the weed inspector (“he was very nice,” she notes) and went public with her story, speaking in the media and writing an article for the news website rabble.ca.

Her activism had speedy effect. The evening before the seven-day deadline to remove her milkweed, Nicoll received an email from the Chief Planner and Director, City Building, of Burlington, notifying Nicoll that the milkweed could stay. The City was granting a moratorium on milkweedcutting-notices until the autumn, when it planned to change the bylaw and remove milkweed from the local weed list.

“This outcome was a lot better than I expected,” says Nicoll. As for the neighbours who can’t abide anything other than

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“neat and tidy” lawns and complain about “naturalistic” landscapes, “Get over it,” says Nicoll, “these gardens aren’t going away.”

TEXT BY LORRAINE JOHNSON, EDITOR OF GROUND AND AUTHOR OF BOOKS ON NATIVE PLANT GARDENING.

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The City of Burlington ordered Doreen Nicoll to remove the milkweed plants from her garden.

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Doreen Nicoll

TO VIEW ADDITIONAL CONTENT RELATED TO THIS ARTICLE, VISIT WWW.GROUNDMAG.CA.

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winning solutions are selected and shared under a Creative Commons License.

OpenIDEO was launched in 2010 as an open-platform offshoot of IDEO, an international design and consulting firm founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991, that was among the first to adopt a “human-centred” approach to design. IDEO outlines its creative approach in its Field Guide to HumanCentered Design: “When you understand the people you’re trying to reach—and then design from their perspective—not only will you arrive at unexpected answers, but you’ll come up with ideas that they’ll embrace.” Whatever designers are called upon to design, IDEO’s six-step methodology begins with understanding user needs and ends with innovative solutions tailored to these needs. By offering its methodology freely to anyone, OpenIDEO aims to place “the power of human-centred design in the hands of many.”

04 DESIGN THINKING

building solutions Around the world, design thinking and human- or user-centred design has changed the way companies and organizations design and market their work. Whether designing smartphones or educational experiences, design thinkers are no longer simply looking to their own hypotheses for solutions. Instead, they are taking the time to observe and understand the values, lifestyles, and habits of users to develop truly responsive designs.

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Design session at Evergreen Brick Works

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OpenIDEO Toronto Chapter

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Team activity at Evergreen Brick Works

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OpenIDEO Toronto Chapter

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Design session with Polly Hill Intergenerational Daycare

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OpenIDEO Toronto Chapter

TO VIEW ADDITIONAL CONTENT RELATED TO THIS ARTICLE, VISIT WWW.GROUNDMAG.CA.

In Toronto, a volunteer community of design enthusiasts passionate about design thinking and creating positive social impact is doing just that. The Toronto Chapter of OpenIDEO is a multidisciplinary team that engages in local design projects through which it prototypes and tests ideas to help address global challenges issued on OpenIDEO’s worldwide, open innovation platform. Challenges are addressed using IDEO’s unique “design thinking” methodology, and

Step 1 of IDEO’s methodology is Observation, which consists of observing end users and gaining a true understanding of their needs. Step 2 is Ideation, wherein ideas are brainstormed based on the observations and insights gleaned in Step 1, staying focused on the needs and desires of end users and generating as many ideas as possible. Step 3, Rapid Prototyping, involves building a quick and simple prototype of an idea to test with users. Once the prototype is in the hands of users, Step 4 is to Collect Feedback. This step is crucial to the humancentred design process, as it allows designers to determine whether or not the proposed solution is on target. Step 5, Iteration, involves using the received feedback from users to further develop the design. Once designers have iterated, tested, and integrated user feedback enough times to fine-tune the design, they can move on to the sixth and final step, Implementation, in which the design solution is just right and end users have validated its usefulness, and the design is released into the world.

Denise Pinto, a designer and “placemaker” whose Master of Landscape Architecture thesis at the University of Toronto explored the application of a human-centred approach to park design, is a member of

Up Front

the OpenIDEO Toronto Chapter. The former director of Jane’s Walk and former Chair of the Ground Editorial Board who now runs her own engagement and facilitation company, believes that “all OpenIDEO challenges have a connection to place.”

As a chapter organizer, Pinto has helped design and plan engagement sessions for the chapter’s recent initiatives.

Since recruiting Pinto to join its ranks in January 2017, the OpenIDEO Toronto Chapter has organized responses to two challenges, including OpenIDEO’s Early Childhood Innovation Prize challenge, which sought to maximize the potential of children during their first three years of life.

In partnership with local non-profit Polly Hill Intergenerational Daycare, the OpenIDEO Toronto Chapter assembled a group of parents, toddlers, teachers, and designers who converged at Artscape Youngspace, a community cultural hub dedicated to creativity and children in Toronto, to reimagine how children interact, develop relationships with others, and experience their community. Using rapid ideation and prototyping, the design series generated several innovative ideas, including partnered outings for seniors and kids to farmers’ markets, museums, and local trails; a communication tool to support Polly Hill’s efforts to develop partnerships; and a community-living pilot project to expand beyond the traditional model of daycare to foster an intergenerational community.

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For its most recent challenge, the OpenIDEO Toronto Chapter partnered with Evergreen Brick Works, leveraging Evergreen’s free Summer Wednesdays program to better connect with and serve local communities.

Among the eight neighbourhoods that back onto the ravine where the Brick Works is located, three are made up of underserved, predominantly immigrant communities very much in need of outdoor space where residents can play and enjoy nature. The collaboration brought together OpenIDEO Toronto Chapter members, designers, Evergreen staff, community residents, and other stakeholders to co-design and pilot interventions aimed at addressing access to the Brick Works site, providing a wider range of activities that serve the needs of diverse cultural groups, and empowering neighbourhood residents to increase their participation in the community and grow their sense of belonging.

While design thinking is now being applied in a variety of contexts, it is still not widely used in the fields of landscape architecture and urban design, despite the contributions of research pioneers such as Jan Gehl, William Whyte, and Clare Cooper-Marcus.

As we in the design and planning professions look for ways to create inclusive places that are environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable and resilient, we don’t always need to look to complex new technologies, we simply need to look to a resource that’s been there all along—the communities for whom we are designing.

TEXT BY JENNIFER MAHONEY, A LANDSCAPE AND URBAN DESIGNER WITH TEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE PRACTISING THE ART OF PLACEMAKING IN CANADA, THE UNITED STATES, AND ASIA.

07 FOREST BATHING

markham’s new initiative In the fall of 2018, the City of Markham completed construction of four Shinrin-yoku trails in local parks. Shinrin-yoku, also known as forest bathing, is a practice of forest therapy that has its roots in Japan. In Markham, a design team led by Marlise Eguchi worked closely with consultant Ben Porchuk of the Global Institute of Forest Therapy to design trails that connect people with natural environments. The project is the result of a partnership between the City of Markham’s Parks Renaissance Program, the Greenbelt Foundation, and Park People. While Markham’s Parks Renaissance Program funded more than 80 percent of the project, the remainder of the funding was provided by the Greenbelt River Connector Program (a collaborative grant offered by the Greenbelt Foundation and Park People).

The grant facilitated the establishment of a series of trails and the hosting of guided

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Marlise Eguchi on the Springdale Park and Valley Shinrin-yoku trail

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Marlise Eguchi

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A dip in the Don River,on the Springdale Park and Valley Shinrin-yoku trail

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Ben Porchuk

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Tea ceremony with Katie Van Den Berg

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Ben Porchuk

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Ben Porchuk and Marlise Eguchi at Toogood Pond Park

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Samantha Chu

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Tea ceremony in the Rouge River Community Centre woodlot

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Marlise Eguchi

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Ben Porchuk giving an introduction to forest bathing,at Pomona Mills Park

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Marlise Eguchi

walks that promote the practice of Shinrinyoku. The paths are along the Greenbeltprotected urban river valleys in the Rouge and Don watersheds in Markham. Located in four of the city’s oldest wards, the trails are designed to be easily accessible to all residents and open to people of all ages, abilities, and experience levels.

Occasional guided walks are offered free of charge to the public. The four locations of the trails are Pomona Mills Park, Toogood Pond Park, Springdale Park and Valley, and Rouge Valley Park.

The Springdale Park and Valley trail is the first Global Institute of Forest Therapydesignated trail in Canada. The most important feature necessary to certify a site as a healing forest is the qualitative way in which it engages all five senses. Considerations include temperature, humidity, luminosity, radiant heat, air current, sounds, volatile organic compounds given off by tress, and

physiological factors such as heat and cold, light and dark. In addition, the site must be of a unique contextual character. In the case of Springdale Park and Valley trail, the site has historical significance for local residents. It is the source of a stream that comes directly from the groundwater and that has long been rumoured to have healing properties. During guided forest bathing walks along this trail, participants are invited to take a dip in the water in order to awaken their senses, and to inhale the aroma of sap and to drink tea brewed with elements of the forest gathered along the walk.

I had the opportunity to participate in a Shinrin-yoku walk at the Springdale Park and Valley site, prior to the official launch of the trail, with the designers and with Ben Porchuck of the Global Institute of Forest Therapy. Marlise Eguchi noted that her team considered the existing usage of the site by local residents when deciding how to formalize the trail. During the walk, Springdale Park and Valley was notable in the way it is so far removed from its urban context.

Claims regarding the benefits of Shinrinyoku lie somewhere between evidencebased hard science and an intuitive understanding of the benefits of nature. The Markham design team worked with the idea that the health of the local watershed is directly linked to the health of the community, based on research indicating that

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spending time in nature has direct benefits for physiological and mental health, such as lower heart rates, blood pressure, and concentration of stress hormones.

The Markham forest therapy trails aim to provide visitors with the unique opportunity to explore the Greenbelt-protected river valleys and experience the positive physical and mental health impacts of connecting with nature. The trails include mulched pathways and interpretive signage and seating. The design features are meant to guide visitors through their own explorations. In addition, guided walks with the Global Institute of Forest Therapy, and natural heritage educational walks with the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, are also offered within the four parks. The first series of free guided programs was held in the fall of 2018 and took participants on an immersive experience in the woods.

One of the goals of the program is to help communities organize to take stewardship of the site. While the initial funding helped to set up the inaugural walks, the plan is that ongoing programming will engage the Markham community in Shinrin-yoku in parks.

TEXT BY KANWAL AFTAB, A MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD. TO VIEW ADDITIONAL CONTENT RELATED TO THIS ARTICLE, VISIT WWW.GROUNDMAG.CA.

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An experiment from the 1970s at IISD Experimental Lakes Area showing that phosphorus is the key driver of algal blooms IISD Experimental Lakes Area

RESEARCH

experimental lakes area The Experimental Lakes Area (ELA), a research station east of Kenora, Ontario, recently celebrated its 50th year of monitoring and manipulating lakes—50 years during which scientific and government focus has changed enough to imperil the research station and open exciting new directions.

The field station is deliberately isolated from human activity, at the end of an unpaved road off the Trans Canada Highway. It has been protected by special legislation since 1968, when the need to investigate pressing freshwater issues prompted the Fisheries Research Board to establish the research station. The legislation reserved 58 small lakes and their watersheds for the study of human impacts on freshwater. Fundamental to the

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ELA mandate has been finding solutions to anthropogenic impacts, and informing policy, such as the landmark work on algal blooms that illustrated the effects of phosphates in detergents in the 1960s and 1970s.

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Researchers at IISD Experimental Lakes Area use a seine to capture fish for monitoring.

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IISD Experimental Lakes Area

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A graduate student handles a turtle at the IISD Experimental Lakes Area.

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IISD Experimental Lakes Area

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Researchers track and process individual fish at IISD Experimental Lakes Area.

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IISD Experimental Lakes Area

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A newt is processed and analyzed in the chemical laboratory at IISD Experimental Lakes Area.

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IISD Experimental Lakes Area

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A researcher looks out over a lake at IISD Experimental Lakes Area.

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IISD Experimental Lakes Area

Dr. Michael Paterson has worked at the ELA for more than 20 years, and served as the section leader (or chief scientist) from 2004 to 2010 and 2014 to 2017. As he says, “The thing that’s unique about the ELA is that we apply experimental methods at the environmental scale, and it is at the environmental scale that we as a society primarily interact.

And that’s where the problems arise.”

He elaborates further: “The Great Lakes have been impacted by nutrients, new species, fishing pressure, contaminants, and climate change. All of these things are happening simultaneously so it makes it very hard to partition the effects of all of these various insults that are occurring to 16

Up Front

the lakes. What we can do at the ELA is manipulate one factor at a time in a carefully controlled fashion, following what happened to the lake before and after the manipulation. We also have the ability to compare what’s going on in our manipulated lakes with a set of unmanipulated lakes, analogous to controls in a laboratory experiment. So, we have a comparison to see what kind of natural variation in lakes might also occur in these lakes.”

This approach has led to a body of work that has been cited in more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications, covering topics from cattail bio-platforms to climate change and mercury contamination. The longest running experiment has been in progress for almost 50 years and relates to the addition of nutrients to and subsequent eutrophication of Lake 227.

The longevity of the ELA has also proved to be valuable in some unexpected ways as climate change becomes a more important area of research. For limnologist and ELA research scientist Scott Higgins, five reference lakes have provided opportunities to look back at the history of climate change.

Higgins notes: “We talk about climate change like it is something that is going on in the future, but the climate has been changing since human industrialization. If we look back over the last 50 years of data from the reference lakes, we can ask how climate change has happened without the impact of other stressors like fishing pressure or impact from cities or development. As the data sets get longer, they get to be really valuable.

There are a few other places in the world where you get these really long data sets, but typically not with data this comprehensive.“

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with the Canadian public, the international scientific community, and non-profit organizations. Negotiations between provincial governments resulted in a joint solution, with ownership shared between the Ontario government and the Winnipeg-based nonprofit International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). According to Dr. Paterson, the transfer to the IISD has come with a broader mandate to do science in the public interest, beyond fish and lakes to terrestrial ecology and new research into oil spill remediation.

“Ultimately, lakes are a reflection of everything that happens around them. Lakes are really just holes in the ground that collect water, and all of that water is very strongly affected by any of the activities that happen on the land,” says Dr. Paterson. “One of the things that I have looked forward to working on now that we are a part of IISD is to try to get more terrestrial ecologists involved, so we can link what we are doing right now to the surrounding land,” Dr. Paterson notes.

The land around the ELA is significant as it consists of boreal forest, the world’s largest intact forest and an important global carbon sink. As Scott Higgins describes it, the black spruce and pine burn on an approximately 100-year cycle, sending their carbon back into the atmosphere. However, the carbon in the sediment of the wetlands, lakes, and peat bogs is stored for long periods of time under water, potentially dating back to the last ice age. This makes the ELA a particularly valuable and potent data point in global climate change research.

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“We get a lot of data requests every year from external organizations asking for our data to answer questions about global change. And then we become one site of many sites around the world.

It makes our site even more valuable that we aren’t just collecting data for ourselves and our research questions; we freely provide the data to anyone who asks for it,” says Higgins.

According to Dr. Paterson, there are unique challenges when working on an ecosystem scale: “Ecosystems are complicated things, and our understanding of ecosystem responses is still very imperfect. I think part of the problem comes from the fact that historically not that many people have looked at ecosystem responses. We tend to have a lot of specialists that have looked at isolated slices and we have lacked the tools to integrate all the parts to come up with effective predictions. I definitely believe that the accumulation of data and the development of more synthetic tools for putting that data together and understanding it will lead to improvements in policy and best practices.”

TEXT BY KATIE STRANG, WHO WORKS FOR THE PLANNING PARTNERSHIP AND IS A GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER.

As just one example, Higgins points to a meteorological station at the ELA that has been jointly operating with Environment Canada since 1968. “We’ve got data on hydrology, how much water is flowing over land, and the chemistry of that water. We can start to ask and answer some really good questions about climate change.”

In 2012, the Harper government announced its intention to stop funding the ELA. This move proved to be wildly unpopular 18

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Exclusion and the public sphere MODERATED BY ERIC GORDON, OALA

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National Housing Day of Action,Toronto, November 2016

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Alan Pike/Flickr

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Homelessness has reached epidemic proportions in Canada.

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Jasper Flores

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National Housing Day of Action,Toronto, November 2016

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Alan Pike/Flickr

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as a queer woman living in a small town, there was just so much prejudice. There was also the racism that happens in small communities towards Indigenous people from white people. So, there are different kinds of stresses in a rural community.

But the stressors in a city are really compounded by one’s socioeconomic status, like whether or not you can afford to live here, or what your access to society’s resources is like. I work with people who can’t even get access to housing or who are being pushed out of their homes because of development and revitalization projects. Where do people go? Among the homeless and marginalized people I know, they have a big sense of community and they have a network that exists and they take care of each other.

EG: Wherever you are, urban or rural, poverty is going to be stressful, and it can compound any other stressors you might be confronting.

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ZOË DODD IS A CO-FOUNDER AND PROGRAM COORDINATOR OF THE TORONTO COMMUNITY HEP C PROGRAM (TCHCP), OFFERING COMMUNITY-BASED ACCESS TO HEP C TREATMENT AND SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS. SHE IS CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN THE MOSS PARK OVERDOSE PREVENTION SITE IN TORONTO WHILE PURSUING A MASTERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AT YORK UNIVERSITY LOOKING AT THE DRUG TREATMENT SYSTEM. ZOË PRACTISES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, POPULAR EDUCATION, AND HARM REDUCTION WITHIN A SOCIAL JUSTICE FRAMEWORK. ERIC GORDON, OALA, IS A GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER AND PRINCIPAL AT OPTIMICITY, A TORONTOBASED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN PRACTICE THAT MAINTAINS A DIVERSE PROJECT PORTFOLIO REFLECTING AN EFFORT TO SOLVE URBAN AND LANDSCAPE PROBLEMS OF ALL SORTS. CLARA ROMERO IS A SENIOR URBAN DESIGNER AT PERKINS+WILL AND A MEMBER OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE OF THE TORONTO CENTRE FOR ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION. HER AREA OF INTEREST IS THE ROLE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN SUSTAINING URBAN LIVABILITY, AND THE IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OPEN SPACE AND BUILDINGS IN CREATING FUNCTIONAL, COHESIVE, AND BEAUTIFUL PLACES. JACQUELINE L. SCOTT IS A WRITER AND PHD STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. HER RESEARCH FOCUS IS ON RACE AND DIVERSITY IN THE CANADIAN OUTDOORS. A KEEN WILDERNESS FAN, SHE LEADS HIKES FOR TWO OUTDOORS CLUBS. HER ARTICLES AND IDEAS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE NATIONAL POST AND THE CONVERSATION. HER TWITTER HANDLE IS @ BLACKOUTDOORS1.

CHRIS SPOKE IS THE FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HOUSING MATTERS, WHERE HE LEADS A DEDICATED TEAM OF STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS TO ADVOCATE FOR GREATER HOUSING AVAILABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY IN TORONTO. CHRIS HOLDS A BACHELOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCE IN ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA.

Eric Gordon (EG): Stress is a complex problem affected by a host of socioeconomic, physical, and mental health issues not yet fully understood. But by addressing these complex problems from a myriad of perspectives, we can gain insight. From each of your unique perspectives as urban thinkers, what are some of the prime causes of stresses in the city? Who are the people most vulnerable and disproportionately affected by the stresses of urban life?

Zoë Dodd (ZD): There is a pervasive idea out there that living somewhere rural is more peaceful or calm than living somewhere urban. I wouldn’t necessarily agree. I grew up in West Yukon, in poverty.

We didn’t have a car, so I used to hitchhike a lot, which is quite stressful. Lots of people in rural environments are living in conditions with no access to transit. Living in impoverished places, you don’t have access to the same kind of schooling—we had just one high school to choose from. And,

Chris Spoke (CS): Over the past few decades, a lot of jobs have moved to and concentrated within cities. If you look at employment density maps, you’ll see that places like downtown Toronto have more employment than most of its surrounding areas combined, but housing prices are often keeping people away from direct access to those opportunities.

At Housing Matters, we focus on housing affordability and availability. In Toronto last year, we saw the greatest increase in rents that we have seen in 15 years. We now have the lowest rental vacancy rate—1.1 percent— that we’ve had in 16 years. A healthy city should have a 3- to 4-percent rental vacancy rate. So, you first have to be lucky enough to even get a rental unit, and when you do, you’re paying a lot of money for it. So, obviously, rents are a big source of stress.

People live with roommates for longer than they would otherwise. They put off childbirth longer than they would otherwise. Despite the rhetoric we’re hearing from politicians, the situation is getting worse, not better, and it should be addressed more seriously.

One part of the solution, though not a complete solution, is that we just need more housing to house more people.

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highly visible, and I’m not sure of the reception I’m going to get.

I don’t mean to paint the rural as all bad.

But there are certain kinds of spaces where you expect Black people to be, and the urban is the default one. If you’re not in the urban, you’re in the rural, or the outdoors, and you’re out of place.

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Overdose prevention sites save lives.

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Jasper Flores

So, in terms of the urban and rural, the perception of stress may differ, depending on race.

EG: Traditionally, we look at walking in nature as being a way of destressing from the urban environment.

If we consider Toronto, for example: in neighbourhoods where you used to be able to take a detached house and carve it up into three or four separate legal units, and house three or four families, you’re no longer allowed to do that. Modern zoning has pretty much prohibited that. In about two-thirds of Toronto’s residential land, you can’t build anything other than a detached house, which is the most expensive type of housing. No triplexes, no fourplexes, no walkup apartments. As people—whether they’re migrants from elsewhere in Canada, or immigrants from around the world—move to the city to take advantage of employment opportunities, there just aren’t enough units to house them. So people are living farther and farther away from employment densities, which contributes to urban sprawl, traffic congestion, and all these other problems.

Jacqueline Scott (JS): In terms of the difference between rural and urban stress, I find that in the city, I am invisible as a Black person. When I go to rural areas— because I’m always hiking, camping, and canoeing in rural areas—my radar goes up. I’m always wondering: Am I going to be safe? Am I okay? The gaze that I get from people—not all people—reminds me, in a very direct way, that I’m considered out of place. Whereas in the city, I can walk anywhere and it doesn’t even occur to me to put that radar up. But in rural areas, I am

JS: Going outdoors is a lovely way to destress from city life, but there’s a perception that the outdoors is a white space. Think of all those advertisements you see for outdoor recreation. Where are the Black people? Where are the people of colour, period? Why is it that in terms of outdoor recreation, no matter where you look, it’s a white space?

If you don’t see people like yourself doing something, you’re less likely to try it. You don’t know what reception you’re going to get from the people you meet in the outdoors. If something happens, if something goes down in the city, you know there are witnesses and enough people who have seen you. But if you’re deep in the trails of the woods, with no witnesses, and something happens, you’re screwed.

EG: What do you view as a possible way of bridging that separation? Or of making it a more comfortable space?

JS: I think the number one issue is recognizing that race is an issue. We’re Canadian, we don’t like to talk about race, because it makes us feel uncomfortable.

We don’t talk about the 300 years of slavery in Canada, and the fact that the first slave in Canada was sold in Montreal in 1628.

We prefer to celebrate the Underground Railroad, rather than acknowledging that this country is founded on genocide and slavery. The Underground Railroad is a more comfortable conversation.

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So, in terms of the outdoors, number one is recognizing that race is an issue. And number two: Toronto has beautiful ravines that you can get to by subway, but it’s privileged knowledge. We need to make that knowledge more widely available, for example with wayfinding systems that show you where to go, and having some of those at the subway.

There needs to be lots of education for people in terms of the woods being a safe space. Depending on where you’re coming from, your idea of the outdoors might be that there are dangerous animals.

It’s about letting people know that those little creatures outdoors are not going to bite. That we don’t have bears in the woods. If you’re in Toronto, it sounds ridiculous, but if you’re coming from overseas, you might not know that. So, it’s educating people around that. Those are some things that we could start with.

Clara Romero (CR): For people who grew up in cities, there is this very romantic idea that you go to rural communities to decompress and destress. But the idea that the city could in some way resemble those spaces of peace that we go to, is something that doesn’t cross our minds. For example: some people think, why would you cycle in the city? You go out to recreation areas to cycle, right? But the question is: Can we change the city so that we actually have a more recreational way of moving through it?

EG: Beyond the obvious infusion of greenery and beauty in the landscape, what role can our public spaces play in reducing stress? Are there any particular projects that aim to create more health and wellbeing in the resident population?

ZD: Consider the criminalization of people in public spaces, especially in public parks, depending on your race and your social status. The level of policing in Toronto is so much greater in, say, Moss Park or Allan Gardens, and so is the targeting of people for open drinking.

People use public spaces. People hang out in parks and socialize in parks. And parks

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become hubs for people to meet and congregate. But there isn’t the same level of policing in, say, Trinity Bellwoods Park, which is like a giant open bar. There are hundreds and hundreds of people who descend on Trinity Bellwoods with open containers, having picnics, smoking cannabis, whatever.

And that has gone on for years, and there isn’t the same level of policing and targeting as there is in Moss Park or Allan Gardens.

It’s because of who is using Trinity Bellwoods Park. You have a lot of white, condo-owning people with their dogs in Trinity Bellwoods Park, and it’s just not the same in Allan Gardens or Moss Park.

What you do have, though, near Allan Gardens and Moss Park, is a lot of more privileged people who have moved into the area and who don’t like their neighbours. People who don’t want to see their neighbours hanging out in the park. People who are often part of these efforts to “beautify,” quote unquote, the neighbourhood, which is really about pushing people who are criminalized and marginalized out of their sight. They don’t want to see them.

And so we use police and public parks’ ambassadors to sweep parks and fine people and ticket them. If that were happening in parks like Trinity Bellwoods, people would be so outraged to be receiving fines, but not only do people receive fines in parks like Moss Park and Allan Gardens, they also get warned that they can’t be in the park any more. They’re told that they’re banned from the park for a certain amount of time. We really infringe upon the rights of people who are more marginalized, so those spaces become unsafe for them.

I’m thinking about what Jacqueline was saying about people using the ravines: What would people think if two young Black men were walking through the ravine, and what would be their assumption? There is a lot of selective policing. If police were riding through the ravine, who would they stop?

This is a real problem in our cities. There isn’t a level of safety for everybody, and there are people who are pushed out of our public spaces. We’ve had more than 200

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encampments in which people who are homeless have been staying. It’s not their fault that they have to put a tent somewhere in a ravine to find a home, when we have an overcrowded shelter system, and we’ve been taking over all this housing stock where people could’ve lived. The city hasn’t made any attempts to try to secure and maintain rooming houses or single-roomoccupancy hotels where people could rent a room for a week. Those have been taken over by developers. So, people are pushed not just into the shelter system, but out into parks. As well, in the summertime, when people’s apartments are really hot, people go out into the parks to get cool. They go out to be in the shade.

On the one hand, we have beautiful public spaces in this city, but it really depends on who you are, whether you’re going to be able to enjoy those public spaces freely, or if you’re going to be targeted and bothered by parks’ ambassadors or police.

EG: If you had a dollar to spend, I’m assuming you wouldn’t spend it on a nice feature in a park, you would probably spend it on securing affordable housing?

ZD: First, I would work on the people in the residents’ associations. I would work on their attitudes because they drive a certain agenda, politically. They’re homeowners and yet they are only able to buy their homes in certain neighbourhoods due to other people’s poverty. It’s not like they moved there because they really wanted to be a part of the community. They want to change the community. So I think we have to work on their attitudes about who actually belongs in a community. There is a lot of racism and classism that goes on, and that is allowed.

Politicians will work with these people and not call them out on what they’re doing, and they will elevate their voices.

All of these issues are issues of inequality, and that’s what needs to be tackled—not targeting the person who is living on the street and can’t get into any kind of housing.

CR: There’s a long tradition of consultation and public engagements regarding how we build our neighbourhoods, parks, streets,

and public spaces. There are attempts to capture people’s opinions, but that’s something only certain classes have access to. What are the tools we should be using to incorporate minority voices and make them more visible in the way we plan for cities?

ZD: People who are the most marginalized know that those public consultations are a sham and that people come with their own agendas already. Consultations happen, but they’re not safe for everybody. Some things that are allowed to happen at those consultations are very offensive. They’ve basically become hate rallies against poor people, racialized people, Indigenous people in the city, whether people want to admit it or not. There are some really horrible things that people will say, and they don’t get called out for it, even though the city has policies around hateful behaviour and antioppression. Poor people generally know that consultations aren’t for their benefit.

How many housing consultations have we had and yet people still have no housing? We still have more than 100,000 families on the waiting list for social housing. Marginalized people are on to the idea that this is just a sham to try to include their voices.

CS: I’ve been to more than 40 public meetings, and if you speak up in favour of new housing, you’re immediately yelled at. I’ve had people hiss at me. The crowd is overwhelmingly older, homeowning, wealthier. I was at a public meeting for a rental building that was going to be built in midtown Toronto, replacing a handful of semi-detached homes. It was going to be 21 storeys’ worth of rental stock, which we need in this city, and everybody who showed up was against it—very, very aggressively against it. And I said, “If this building doesn’t get built, the people who would’ve lived there don’t disappear, they don’t stop existing. They have to go somewhere.

Where are they supposed to go?” And somebody yelled, “Scarborough!”

You might have a claim to your property, but you don’t have a claim to your neighbourhood in a way that is as exclusionary as it is today. And I agree that the prime culprits are the residents’

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associations who have this status quo bias, who like things a certain way, who don’t want to see renters in their neighbourhood.

And they have the ear of city council. In fact, they elect the councilors. The councilors know exactly who shows up to vote for them.

The whole system needs to be blown up, in my opinion, because it’s not working.

EG: Is there any way, within our current public engagement system, to give voice to those who haven’t been included and to ensure that those voices are heard in a meaningful way? Or, if we scrap the current model of consultation, what could we have that’s better?

ZD: Consultations are generally about people living in poverty, but the people living in poverty aren’t actually elevated to say, you know what, I think you don’t need a consultation when you have more than a thousand people on a waiting list for social housing. You actually just need to build social housing and maintain it so it doesn’t fall apart. And improve the conditions of the buildings that already exist. You don’t need consultations for that.

It’s the same with consultations about opening an overdose prevention site.

People think we need to have a consultation so they can have a say in it. Well, a lot of people hate people who use drugs. They don’t care if they live or die. People have written me horrible messages, telling me they wish me, or the people I work with, dead. People walk up to us in Moss Park and say hateful things. We have to stop elevating those people’s voices, and, unfortunately, these consultation processes are places to amplify their voices. In an emergency situation, we shouldn’t have to consult with anybody.

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EG: As landscape architects, we’re often involved with a lot of these consultations, and it’s easy to see that there are obvious flaws. Even when you’ve got the best intentions, it all depends on who’s there, it all depends on what the framework is.

so they feel okay about being in the woods.

Because they’re panicking. If they’re so disconnected from nature, it’s hard say, “go hug a tree” or “care about the whales.”

These kids think that the outdoors is meant to be manicured grass, with one little tree.

CS: Irrespective of consultations, we need to update our zoning. I wanted to build a 25-unit rooming house, and it’s effectively impossible to build new rooming houses without substantial subsidy. It’s very easy to buy a rooming house and turn it into a mansion. That’s happening every day in Parkdale [a Toronto neighbourhood]. But if you want to buy a mansion and turn it into a rooming house, or just buy land and build a rooming house, zoning rules make it effectively impossible.

CR: That goes back to the idea that some groups don’t go into the wilderness because they don’t see somebody like them there, and so they don’t feel safe or comfortable.

We have to design in a way that makes everybody feel more welcome. Is it safe and comfortable for your grandma to go for a walk? If there are trees and shade, she can do it.

CR: The new estimates say that, by 2041, the downtown area of Toronto is going to double in population. Where are we going to put all those people? I fear that we’re building communities that don’t have the parks and services and schools that are needed. If the population is doubling, are we doubling the width of the sidewalks? We need to make enough space for this.

EG: When I’ve worked with cities that are dealing with population increases, I have enjoyed taking the empowering and energizing perspective of saying, “Great, you have the opportunity to do things right and build a whole new city, and you get to do it right here where you already live!”

JS: Along with the housing issue is the lack of paths connecting green spaces in the city. The bike lanes start in the middle of nowhere and end in the middle of nowhere, and walking trails are not connected—they’re like little islands. We need to figure out how to have green corridors so you can walk from here to there through green spaces. It’s not only good for humans, but it’s good for other creatures such as birds and butterflies, as well.

Two summers ago, I worked in Rouge Park, and the thing that struck me was how terrified the urban and suburban kids were of the wilderness. When you lead hikes, the first job is actually calming the kids down,

JS: And benches.

EG: And if it’s accessible to her wheelchair or walker or other physical accessories.

CR: Exactly, the city needs to be designed for the most vulnerable population, so that everyone feels invited to join activities.

ZD: I’m going to retract some of my comments on consultations, because there are people who have really brilliant ideas in the city, who have solutions they want to put forward. Those are the voices I want to hear elevated. I think we need urban design that is inclusive of people, and that also recognizes race and class and the ways in which people are engaging.

EG: In a past Ground Round Table [Ground 37, Spring 2017], we talked about preconsultation, and the idea of consulting the community before you have a plan, in order to develop a plan. Before you come to a community with “Here’s the development we’re doing,” instead, you say, “Anyone else have any ideas?”

JS: Yes, but your pre-consultation has to look at gender, race, and class, so that it doesn’t end up being exactly the same thing. In park development, for example, you have to go to the actual people who are using the park right now. And put the questions in language they understand.

You don’t get the people to come to you, you go to them, where they’re at right now, and ask questions. And they will talk.

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How do race and class enter into that? If we want consultation that’s recognizing our class privilege, and for the people that we’re trying to reach, it’s to go to where they’re at, and ask them the same questions. That’s a lot more work. It’s a lot more messy. It’s giving them a voice, in their territory, on their terms. It’s a very different process.

EG: The big stressors in our city are not how tall the buildings are, or how loud the traffic is, or how stinky the air is. All of those things arguably cause stress, but the bigger issues are about how one feels about oneself in the city, in terms of opportunity and access.

We know how to make a nice-looking street, and we know in theory how to make a well-functioning street. But enabling everyone to have access to the nice things we create, or to live in the city without having to worry about some of these basic needs, that’s something we need to engage with as designers, as well.

ZD: Historically, white people fled urban centres and went and lived in suburban places, and now they’re coming back to the city because they can afford it, and they’re pushing other people out who’ve lived here and who’ve built these cities, and have communities and roots here, too. There’s a sense of entitlement to space, and people who can afford it feel more entitled to it.

And this is a problem we have to tackle, beyond just policies—tackling this very toxic way that people think they’re entitled to neighbourhoods and space.

EG: We’re seeing a lot of artists move out of the city to pursue a creative career because the city is too expensive for them, and that devalues our community greatly, including from a stress standpoint. Arts and culture are a source of stress reduction, and we’re creating an environment in which artists and those who create culture aren’t able to afford cities. That doesn’t help anyone.

CR: We’re half a generation away from having a real crisis in the suburbs, with an aging population that is losing their independence, and so they might not have access to cars, and yet they still need services. How are we planning to serve all of those communities?

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JS: It’s important to remember that what you see on the streets does not necessarily reflect the power in the community. I live in Regent Park, an area where, as a Black person, walking the streets, I fit right in. But when I went to my first condo meeting, I was expecting what I see on the street to be in my condo building, and that wasn’t the case. What you see on the street does not necessarily reflect the power holders in the community. So, when we talk about space, you have to link it to race. When you look at the standard models for how people use space, that model is based on a white person.

ZD: I’ve worked at the Regent Park Community Health Centre for fifteen years, and when the revitalization started, all the billboards for the development, all the people in the billboards, were white.

There was talk of having a methadone clinic built just down the street, and there was a lot of community organizing against it. A lot of talk like, “We don’t want these people in our neighborhoods, we don’t want them here.”

JS: When we think of stress in the city, there’s a level of stress that people of colour and Indigenous people face because of racism. And that racism cuts across everything, whether it’s housing, access to housing, transit, access to green space.

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The Moss Park overdose prevention site in Toronto is operated by community volunteers.

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Google Street View

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Toronto ravine walk

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Michael A.J. Rumig/Flickr

Regent Park is within walking distance of the Don Valley ravine and a place like Evergreen Brick Works. But you go there, and who do you see in that space? Where are the Black people who live within walking distance of the ravine? We are not there. Why? Race is not seen as a fundamental category of analysis, but if it were, then the question would be: “What do we need to do to get those people from down the street, a fiveminute walk away, to come here? Maybe we need to go and do some outreach.”

If you don’t look at the human dimension in terms of race, and who’s using it, then it’s designed by white people, for white people, doing white activities. But in Toronto, 55 percent of the population are people of colour.

You need to ask what is it about those spaces that people of colour are not going to them. And you can’t just say, if we build it, they’ll come. There needs to be a bridge between communities.

THANKS TO DALIA TODARY-MICHAEL FOR HELPING TO ORGANIZE THIS ROUND TABLE.

Landscape Architecture and Indigenous Territories

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Mike Hensel, OALA, and Devin Tepleski in conversation about relationshipbuilding, responsibilities, and honouring the treaties

MIKE HENSEL, OALA, IS PRINCIPAL OF HENSEL DESIGN GROUP INC. (HDG), WHICH HE ESTABLISHED IN 1990 AND IS BASED IN COLLINGWOOD. HDG PROVIDES CONSULTING SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS, INCLUDING LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT. MIKE HAS ALSO BEEN PROVIDING SERVICES TO FIRST NATION COMMUNITIES FOR DECADES FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF PROJECT TYPES, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON BIOPHYSICAL ANALYSIS AND THE COLLECTION AND DOCUMENTATION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION FOR COMMUNITIES AND THE TRANSLATION OF ORAL HISTORY, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND VIDEO RECORDINGS INTO INTERACTIVE GEOSPATIAL DATABASES. MIKE FIRST PREPARED MAPPED RECORDS OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE FOR THE DOKIS FIRST NATION IN 2002 AND THE CHIPPEWAS OF KETTLE POINT AND STONY POINT FIRST NATION IN 2004 TO PROVIDE A HISTORICAL BASELINE DURING VARIOUS NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. MORE RECENTLY, LONG LAKE FIRST NATION AND BATCHEWANA FIRST NATION HAVE UNDERTAKEN COMPREHENSIVE TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE COLLECTIONS IN WHICH MIKE HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FACE-TO-FACE ENGAGEMENT WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ELDERS TO RECORD INFORMATION AND TO ASSIST IN DOCUMENTATION OF TRADITIONAL LAND-USE AREAS. DEVIN TEPLESKI IS A THIRD-YEAR MASTERS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO WHO HAS WORKED ON TRADITIONAL LAND-USE STUDIES, TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE STUDIES, IMPACT ASSESSMENTS, AND ON VARIOUS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTS PRIOR TO HIS GRADUATE STUDIES. HIS WORK IS BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS CAN’T OFFER EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS TO OUR MOST URGENT ECOLOGICAL ISSUES, SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND CULTURE, AND THAT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS NEED TO FUNDAMENTALLY RECONSIDER METHODS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

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Mapping of Traditional Knowledge starts with the identification of use areas on large maps and verification of special places by community members.

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Courtesy of Mike Hensel

Landscape Architecture and Indigenous Territories

Mike Hensel (MH): There is a huge opportunity for landscape architects to participate in land-based issues affecting First Nation communities. If you can understand the land and intrinsic cultural connections and bridge that through sensitive analyses of the land and provision of design solutions, that’s what we, as a discipline, are well positioned to do and have the skills for. I have been very fortunate and honoured to have been provided access to First Nation communities and to assist them with projects involving the modification of the landscapes within their Traditional Lands.

Devin Tepleski (DT): There are parallels between some Indigenous cultural values and some of the ethical values common in landscape architecture. Yet there are so few Indigenous landscape architects in the profession. What can be done through the CSLA, the OALA, and the universities to promote the profession in Indigenous communities?

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projects, and the landscape architect may not be aware of complex histories, the governance structures within First Nations, or important details of treaties. Project briefs will likely come along that request elements of Indigenous culture, whether through interpretive elements or program, or, in some cases, form. It should be clear by now that landscape architects should develop these elements through collaboration with Indigenous peoples, but the question many might have, particularly in an urban context of pan-Indigeneity, is, which people?

MH: You have to be proactive, and you have to be determined to get to the root of the issue at hand. You get at this through engagement, but you also have to be a bit of a detective to find the undercurrents of the issue, if there are any. Then you need to find a way to get at the core of the issue and respond to it responsibly and sensitively.

That’s where engagement comes in.

MH: This is connected with broader social issues. First Nations youth face greater challenges to pursuing post-secondary education than do non-Indigenous teenagers. I believe you are right that there is indeed a connection between the land and First Peoples that is intrinsic and overlaps with some of the values of our profession. To work as a landscape architect involves honouring the land, and this parallels aspects of Indigenous belief. I have come to appreciate more, as I have worked with First Nation clients, the emotion that is attached to the land.

Quite apart from the components on the landscape, it’s an inherent connection. There is an Ojibway phrase: “We are the land.”

I’ve been involved in projects where I’m told, this is your role and here is what I want you to do. And I’ve lost jobs where I’ve disagreed, and we couldn’t come to terms on an approach. Recently, we were asked to be involved in a mining-related project. The mining proponent wanted to hire us to work for them and engage the First Nation communities whose traditional lands were being affected. I said, “I can’t do that. I think that the model to be used is to fund the First Nation, and we will work for the First Nation to complete the Traditional Knowledge Assessment.”

The mining company thought about it, went back to their board, and said, “You’re absolutely right. That’s the way we need to do it.”

DT: When landscape architects work within an urban context, in a city like Toronto, where the Indigenous community is diverse and multicultural, there is the added complexity around who to talk with in order to fulfil the mandates of certain project goals.

Projects in these urban contexts don’t necessarily face the same bureaucratic scrutiny as, say, resource-extraction projects that have processes for engagement that are established, if inadequate. Furthermore, the legal obligations in an urban context may not have been tested in the same way as they have been for resource-extraction

DT: Many landscape architects may be unfamiliar with the duty to consult and accommodate. Could you expand on what that is and the history of it as it applies to your work?

MH: The Supreme Court ruling in the Delgamuukw decision mandated that Traditional Knowledge, the stories from Elders, be considered valid data, and be recognized and utilized in the decisionmaking process. When I first heard that, it went right to heart. I realized that the duty to consult, or the duty to engage, stemmed from the fact that the treaties were not

being upheld. The point is that the natural resources within a traditional land-use area are to be shared with the First Nations associated with that traditional land-use area.

The duty to consult is the requirement of any proponent within the traditional territory to engage that community for the purposes of determining what the potential impacts are and what their interests may be. That doesn’t always happen as it should.

Most agencies haven’t been mandating it.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency does, but many other agencies do not: Municipal Affairs and Housing, for example. They have trained their staff. They have put directives out to municipalities, and the words are entrenched in regional, county, and municipal Official Plans, but as long as they get a letter out to the community, which they call engagement or consultation, they consider that the tick of the box and move on.

True engagement involves asking questions properly. And in order to represent interests properly, you need to have the right information. This is where Traditional Knowledge comes in—through assistance from the community or through their own efforts to document Traditional Knowledge. Each First Nation community needs to articulate what their traditional land-use area looks like, and what elements and special values are within it that need to be considered. So, when a proponent comes forward and says, ‘’Here is what I want to do,” you are able to overlay that information on the Traditional Knowledge mapping and are able to tell the story. Only then will you be able to say, “Here are the issues that are going to arise with this proposal.” You can then begin the dialogue that leads to, potentially, an effective solution on both sides because you are able to visualize what the impact is. It is very difficult to articulate what you are trying to achieve when you don’t have a picture of the uses on the land. As a landscape architect in this situation, I see my role as the facilitator and preparer of the pictures of the land taken from all the information shared by the First Nation community. I see it as a process of engagement and communication in a respectful way: “Here is what our

Landscape Architecture and Indigenous Territories

interest is. Please help us understand your interests. We recognize your right to this land. Please explain to us what we need to do to work together to find a way to make this project happen.” And we also have to recognize and respect that there may not be a way to make it happen. In my practice, we are the instruments that facilitate that communication and that understanding through the collection of the data, the presentation of the data, the articulation of what it means to both sides. Then we are a resource as the dialogue unfolds. We are there to help facilitate the dialogue and steer it to a conclusion.

DT: You are talking about relationshipbuilding that goes beyond the responsibilities of established regulatory frameworks—a decision as a landscape architect and as a citizen to engage in the spirit of the treaties.

MH: Yes. I think you have to start from the vantage point that there are traditional land-use boundaries and land-use interests on the part of First Nations that need to be considered and respected. Starting from that premise, when we get any job anywhere, it is not about asking what are the standard checkboxes, but also what are the interests of the First Nation regarding this project?

From a jurisdictional perspective, there may be a requirement in an Official Plan to engage a given First Nation, but regardless, you have to be proactive and think more broadly. You have to think outside those boxes. What other interests may there be here? You need to enter into a dialogue with others who might have the answers to those questions. Figure out what the interests are.

In doing that, you are doing the responsible thing for the community, yourself, and for that particular First Nation.

DT: For projects that involve remediation of sites, such as mines and other extractive industries, the impacts on the land have direct consequences for the people who live nearby, and also a legacy of stress that continues beyond the project and its remediation. How important is it to allot time for working through these issues and to consider the stress, pain, and trauma of what the community has experienced?

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MH: I’ve seen the emotion of Elders talking about what once was, and what now is, on lands they lived on as children. The only thing I can think of that helps alleviate some of the pain is providing a view of the future that is real and tangible. With some agreements being reached today on new projects, there are considerations being made through reparations, compensation, and benefit agreements and funding that provide the advancement of solutions for the healing of the land and the community. As a landscape architect, it is invigorating to be part of a team that helps advance healing. Maybe it is water benefits. Maybe it is reforestation. It might be wildlife habitat. It might be something in the landscape that provides a sense that even though all these bad things have happened, we are finally moving forward together.

DT: What have you learned from the people you have worked with that has made you a better landscape architect?

MH: About twenty years ago, I worked on a project at Six Nations. It was a new school, and I had designed a series of interpretive stations within the site plan. I was quite proud of it. I had designed an interpretive trail including a butterfly wildlife garden, utensil garden, and a three sisters garden.

These were designed to help engage and teach the children about their culture and history. The balance of the site was naturalized. While it was being implemented, I was quite proud of myself watching it take shape.

It was all coming together. A woman walked up to me and said, “Are you responsible for this?” I said, “Yes.” And she said, “What consideration did you make for the souls of these trees? Do you know where these trees came from? How were they oriented?

Where were they facing? How did you consider these things when the trees were ripped from the earth and brought here?”

By the time she was done with me, I felt about an inch high. I learned that I needed to be more considerate of all the elements, including the spiritual, that fit into the context of design, placement, and the order of implementation. I had been so detached, taking this seemingly basic design element, a tree, and just putting it in a spot that was shown on my plan.

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Now, when I go to communities, I try to look at each design solution through the eyes of the user and with the sensitivity of the culture that is viewing it. I do this so that I know in my heart of hearts that I’ve thought as broadly as I can about that design solution and I’ve thought through every element of it as completely as I can to know that it is as close to the expectation and level of appreciation that I can provide.

DT: When landscape architects go into a community engagement process, there is always stress in not knowing how it might go. There are unknown unknowns.

Of course, you should always do your homework, but if there is one thing I’ve learned, it is that you need to be open to making a fool of yourself sometimes and be ready to learn from those missteps.

MH: You have to be humble. I always start by telling the First Nation communities I work with, “I work for you, and I am your instrument. You have to help steer me and point me in the right direction. If I am making a misstep, you have to let me know.” The stress comes with the job, but the test is when you present your findings or present your solution. You are asking people to tell you how you did. Even when you’re a bit surprised by the circumstances and events that come at you, they help you invoke even more considered thought in your work.

DT: Beyond the stresses related to impacts to the land, there are significant stresses stemming from the Crown’s historical relationship with Indigenous peoples. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered several calls to action that overlap directly with landscape architecture’s work.

MH: We need to recognize what has happened historically because it can lead to better understanding of the situation today. I think awareness is key, and it is up to each individual landscape architect to develop that awareness and understanding.

Landscape Architecture and Indigenous Territories

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A SELECTED RESOURCE LIST FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS https://native-land.ca/. This website will help with research into which First Nation’s territory a project falls within.

Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada, by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (Canadian Geographic, 2018).

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed, 2013).

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Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition, by Glen Sean Coulthard (University of Minnesota Press, 2014).

On Being Here to Stay: Treaties and Aboriginal Rights in Canada, by Michael Asch (University of Toronto Press, 2014).

The Right Relationship: Reimagining the Implementation of Historical Treaties, edited

by John Borrows and Michael Coyle (University of Toronto Press, 2017).

Earth’s Blanket: Traditional Teachings for Sustainable Living, by Nancy J. Turner (Douglas & McIntyre, 2005).

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Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America, by Nancy J. Turner (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2014).

Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call,

by Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson (Between the Lines, 2015).

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The mapping of Long Lake #58 First Nation’s traditional land-use areas involved data collection and mapping of travel routes,sacred sites,and various hunting,medicine-gathering,and trapping sites,among other uses,in order to evaluate impacts from proposed mining, transmission,and pipeline projects.

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Courtesy of Mike Hensel

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Mike Hensel first prepared mapped records of Traditional Knowledge for the Dokis First Nation in 2002 to assist in determining impacts to First Nation use areas as part of completing an Environmental Assessment for a hydroelectric dam.

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Courtesy of Mike Hensel

The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the Land, Rebuilding the Economy, by Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson (James Lorimer & Company Ltd., 2017).

3 Questions,3 Perspectives

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COORDINATED BY TRISH CLARKE, OALA

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BIOS/

In an era of heightened concern over safety and security in public spaces, we asked three designers to expand on how these issues have affected their practice, using specific projects as examples

that can happen in a public park.

One example is seating. We wanted to provide a lot of seating in the front plaza to encourage community use and make undesirable activities less prevalent.

However, following the park’s opening in 2014, some people have criticized the park for having too much seating, which encourages loitering, while others have suggested the seats should be configured differently to better promote conversation.

TRISH CLARKE, OALA, IS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AT THINC DESIGN AND A MEMBER OF THE GROUND EDITORIAL BOARD. JOSEPH FRY, OALA, BCSLA, IS THE FOUNDING PRINCIPAL OF HAPA COLLABORATIVE, AND FOR TWO DECADES HE HAS DEDICATED HIMSELF TO DEEPENING THE DISCUSSION AROUND THE ECONOMIC, SOCIETAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES OF CIVIC PLACEMAKING. HE HAS ADVOCATED FOR THESE IDEALS AS A MEMBER OF THE VANCOUVER ADVISORY URBAN DESIGN PANEL, THE CHAIR OF THE RICHMOND URBAN DESIGN PANEL, A DIRECTOR OF THE B.C. SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, AND AS AN ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AND ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA’S SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE. JANA JOYCE, OALA, IS PRINCIPAL, URBAN LANDSCAPE & SPECIAL PROJECTS, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT & URBAN DESIGN, AT MBTW, WITH MORE THAN 23 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANADIAN PUBLIC REALMS. JANA’S EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC-REALM DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING PLAZAS, PARKS, AND PEDESTRIAN-PRIORITY ENVIRONMENTS, HAS PROVIDED HER WITH A HOLISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT, APPROVALS, AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCESSES WITHIN COMPLEX, MULTIPHASE PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTS. JANA’S EXPERIENCE IN HIGH-LEVEL DESIGN CONCEPTUALIZATION, COMMUNITY AND STAKEHOLDER FACILITATION, AND IN TECHNICAL DETAILED DESIGN, ENABLES HER TO PLAN APPROACHES TO GUIDANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION THAT WILL ENSURE THAT ORIGINAL DESIGN IDEAS AND COMMUNITY AND MUNICIPAL OBJECTIVES ARE CARRIED THROUGH TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT. MIKE TOCHER, OALA, IS A FOUNDING PARTNER OF THINC DESIGN (TOCHER HEYBLOM DESIGN INC). THE FIRM HAS A DIVERSE PORTFOLIO OF WORK, SPECIALIZING IN PARKS AND PUBLIC-REALM PROJECTS. THE FIRM EMPHASIZES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, INNOVATION, AND SUSTAINABILITY TO DEVELOP DESIGN SOLUTIONS THAT SENSITIVELY INTEGRATE INTO THE COMMUNITY. MIKE HAS BEEN PRACTISING FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS AND HAS LED MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS ON A WIDE ARRAY OF PROJECTS, FROM WATERFRONT MASTER PLANNING AND TRAIL DESIGN, TO DETAILED STREETSCAPES AND URBAN PARK PROJECTS.

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Mike Tocher, Barbara Hall Park, Toronto _1. Have you seen a change in the way that clients address the tension between creating welcoming spaces versus the need for secure, safe spaces?

The revitalization of Barbara Hall Park, in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto, is one example of this tension.

The goal of the revitalization was to make the park more inviting to residents, accommodate special events, and improve the day-to-day function of the park. There is a tension between providing an exciting and welcoming space for users, while at the same time managing and addressing some of the less desirable, illicit activities

Another example is the raised performance stage. This platform was created to help protect the root zone of a couple of mature trees, while also providing a raised performance space for special events programmed by the 519 Community Centre.

However, the stage has been criticized by some for encouraging illicit activity in the park (such as being used as a “work space” for dismantling stolen bicycles). So, while the programming aspect of the stage has been extremely successful, some people would like to see the stage eliminated, even though this would be at the expense of two mature trees. The preferred solution for some would be to offer more programming of the space to prevent inappropriate use.

3 Questions,3 Perspectives

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The most exciting element of the park is the programmable colour-changing lights, which animate the space at all hours. These lights were an instant draw for the neighbourhood and encourage park use at night. Although the lights were a considerable investment and require technical expertise to program and maintain (especially in the event of vandalism), it was understood during the design process that such investment and maintenance would be required to help transform the park into a welcoming destination for the community.

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_2. Have you altered any aspects of your practice to take this tension into account?

We strive to be advocates for design excellence as a mechanism for making safe, secure, and welcoming spaces. Our role as advocates has increased in recent years to consider larger social issues in the design of public spaces. This includes openly discussing these issues during the public consultation process, with an emphasis on how the space should be programmed to encourage desirable uses.

For Barbara Hall Park, we participated in some post-occupancy discussions with various city departments to help resolve some of the issues and to determine what can be addressed through design and what needs to be accepted as part of the transitioning process of a space within a neighbourhood that has social challenges. _3. How have you used “defensive architecture” elements in your design practice?

We will use the standard elements, such as skate deterrents, or follow the principles of CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design), but the big lesson is to look at what holds up well under pressure and what products, materials, and details are less durable and, therefore, will require extensive maintenance and repair. No landscape is

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Barbara Hall Park,Toronto

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Courtesy of thinc design

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Gore Pedestrianization Initiative, Hamilton

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Courtesy of MBTW

100-percent damage proof, but we try to minimize opportunities for vandalism by not using products that are more easily damaged through purposeful destruction.

Using local suppliers can greatly help.

Using simple details that can be patched or repaired also helps, rather than having to call in a specialized contractor. Seating is one element where durability and the ability to replace parts is a particularly important consideration.

Lighting is one element that can be complex and require a specialized skill set.

Despite the challenges, we often incorporate specialty lighting as a means to create a presence in a space and a sense of comfort, and we try to find less complex solutions to animate spaces.

Some proponents of “defensive architecture” suggest designing a space with no seating, and adding seats (and other elements) later as the need arises. This creates a space denuded of opportunity— a space offensive in its defensiveness.

Additionally, materiality of design should not always be reflected as robust harsh elements. This creates a hard experience when the space may require a more sensitive approach. Such brutalist elements are not elements of humanistic design and instead create institutional experiences.

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Jana Joyce, Gore Pedestrianization Initiative, Hamilton _1. Have you seen a change in the way that clients address the tension between creating welcoming spaces versus the need for secure, safe spaces?

The Gore Pedestrianization Initiative (GPI), in Hamilton, marked a change in the City’s attitude towards accepting a shared-use situation (pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles) within the City’s right-of-way—a first of its kind in Hamilton. As the intent of the GPI was to seamlessly integrate a street right-of-way with a park space (Gore Park), it was critical to ensure that stakeholders for all three streams (street, park, and public) were at the table exploring design ideas and weighing alternatives to transform the street and the park into a cohesive pedestrian-priority civic space that still provided needed service and business functions.

3 Questions,3 Perspectives

_2. Have you altered any aspects of your practice to take this tension into account?

MBTW assisted in the construction of a pilot project that built out a 100m portion of the City’s updated Transportation Master Plan. The pilot was constructed in the summer and fall of 2012 and was successful in demonstrating to the community the positive impacts that will be seen when the south leg of King Street is pedestrianized.

Seeing firsthand the benefits of the pilot project, MBTW now offers these services to clients with similar challenges.

As visibility through and to the site was a key component in alleviating stress in this environment, we prepared a 3D model that allowed us to “walk-though” the design with the Hamilton Police Force and other stakeholders to ensure that designed elements were in fact in the right locations. This was such an effective way to check the design that we now offer this as a basic service. _3. How have you used “defensive architecture” elements in your design practice?

Gore Pedestrianization-Specific Elements: To reduce personal vulnerability and increase safety in the Gore Precinct, the following design interventions were implemented: Prioritizing Pedestrians: The road bed of the South Leg of King Street was reconstructed to emphasize a pedestrianpriority environment, incorporating flush connections to the park and adjacent commercial streetscapes, an inverted crown with trench drain system, and highquality, pedestrian-textured and -scaled surfacing. Other improvements to support pedestrian traffic included improved lighting and night-time presence, ample and varied seating opportunities, and places to meet and loiter.

Safety Support for Events: During special events, the Pedestrian Promenade can be completely closed at each end by the installation of temporary monolithic planters. Other sides of the area are controllable as they are defined by bollards, ornamental fences, and other landscape features.

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Defining Transitions: Tactile warning strips, Urban Braille shorelines, and bollards were utilized to mark transitions from pure pedestrian spaces to shareduse spaces.

Improving Accessibility: The design of the GPI improved accessibility and inclusiveness of the area by reducing grades and slopes and expanding the City of Hamilton’s Urban Braille system.

The construction of the Pedestrian Promenade created flush connections along the north and south edges, facilitating barrier-free pedestrian connections between the park space and the adjacent commercial streetscape. Markers were also installed to signal entry into shared-use spaces.

Improving Safety: The implemented plan improved visibility through the site and from within the site by removing existing view-blocking site elements such as berms, retaining walls, and vegetation (many trees were removed as they were infected with Emerald Ash Borer). A re-organization of site elements and the placement of new trees facilitated visual permeability through the site. Site lighting improvements included the retrofitting of the existing heritage poles with sustainable LED fixtures. The incorporation of back-lighting within the interpretive features has made positive changes to the night-time personality of the area. These improvements have fostered civic ownership and passive surveillance.

Promote Social Awareness: The implemented plan focused on providing a civic design that deters unwanted activities and undesirable loitering. Many of the site benches were fitted with extra arm rests to discourage napping and lounging, which were identified by public stakeholders as disturbing activities. Improving sitelines and lighting, providing a more inviting atmosphere for pedestrians and community activities during the darker hours, integrating subtle vandalism deterrents, and incorporating dynamic park features have discouraged other negative uses of the site since completion.

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Maintain Functionality: The design maintains functionality for adjacent businesses and emergency services through proper dimensioning and pavement surfacing while addressing requirements for special events. Through a “best practices” review and full coordination with operations staff, a material palette was created that would ensure long-term durability and efficiencies in maintenance. To create the pedestrian-scaled texture within the Pedestrian Promenade that would minimize maintenance and reduce the occurrence of “bad patching,” a series of bands and fields was created by finishing plain concrete in alternating patterns of smooth-finished bands and “soft” finished fields. The finished areas were further broken down by applying a running bond pattern of saw-cut joints to emulate the look of large unit pavers.

Other Thoughts on Defensive Architecture: Unfortunately, violent occurrences, such as the Yonge Street van attack in Toronto in 2018, have caused some of our clients to now consider protection against such threats in civic spaces and streetscapes.

Some examples of protection measures include: Discouraging seating and lingering in highly visible spaces near streets and parking areas; this often runs counter to common placemaking objectives.

Providing strategically placed impactdeterrent features to stop vehicles from making contact with people.

Providing impact-deterrent features that are designed to stop a vehicle before it can reach areas busy with foot traffic.

Although the Gore Pedestrianization Initiative has been a success as designed, we would not be surprised if, at some point, the City approached us to consider design interventions to address threats related to intentional vehicular violence.

3 Questions,3 Perspectives

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Joseph Fry, Hapa Collaborative, Vancouver

locations of services (event power, hose bibs, mounting plates, cleanouts), and establishes protocols for staging, loading, and access that users abide by but that can also be adjusted over time. We hope that this will result in us staying involved longer and using our findings and observations to guide our design work on other sites.

_1. Have you seen a change in the way that clients address the tension between creating welcoming spaces versus the need for secure, safe spaces?

We don’t necessarily see a tension between creating welcoming spaces and spaces designed for safety; they are one and the same. Our work with municipalities reveals that undesirable behaviour is tempered when the space is programmed well and is supported by adjacent uses of commercial/ residential spaces that provide a sense of ownership, spill their activities into the public realm, and lend casual observation and oversight of the place without full-on policing. The undesirable activities are often still there, but are muted by other uses.

Our municipal clients, in particular, have become very savvy regarding the tools and techniques of programming and activating public spaces that leverage and enhance the original capital investment in public space. In Vancouver, the City’s Division of Street Activities includes engineers, planners, and landscape architects who are charged with developing a stewardship plan for major public spaces, and they team with local businesses, stakeholders, event managers, and Business Improvement Area associations to activate and enliven key places in the city. We help point our clients to really good management models that work (Pioneer Square in Portland, Bryant Park in

_3. How have you used “defensive architecture” elements in your design practice?

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New York, Grand Park in Los Angeles) and help create a frame of reference for a sitespecific management model. _2. Have you altered any aspects of your practice to take this tension into account?

The one aspect of our practice that has changed is that we are now participating post-occupancy in a deeper and more meaningful way than before, working with principal tenants and users on these programming models to address deficiencies in the physical space that emerge with use and activity. We are currently developing a User Guide for the North Plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery that outlines types of uses,

Defensive architecture is a rather offensive idea to us, and the resulting installations (skate stops, anti-homeless spikes, etc.) actually discourage all inhabitation of public space, sending the wrong message to all users—i.e., this is a potentially unsafe environment. Again, our best set of tools to make spaces comfortable, safe, and protected is to design for inhabitation and encourage the best kind of activity to supplant or mute the kinds of activities that are not desired. “Defensible” space is something that we advocate for through good design, good maintenance strategies, appropriate lighting, and sightline visibility, which deter bad behaviour. CPTED principles are a great starting point for this, and something we consider very carefully in our work.

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Market Lane,London,Ontario

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Nes Nassereddine

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Market Lane,London,Ontario

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Courtesy of Hapa Collaborative

e-blast

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COORDINATED BY LORRAINE JOHNSON AND KATIE STRANG

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its final report three years ago with 94 Calls to Action outlining steps all Canadians can take to create meaningful, positive change. Because landscape architects are intimately involved in the shaping of land as a vector of culture, Ground sent the following questions to OALA members, associates, and students: _1. How should the landscape architecture profession move forward—collectively— with reconciliation? _2. What steps are you taking, or do you see as priorities, in your own practice, to advance the goals of reconciliation? _3. What resources do you need to further advance the goals of reconciliation in your own practice and within the profession as a whole?

Many thanks to those who responded.

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From Aaron Hernandez, MLA student, University of Toronto I feel the first step is educating oneself on the histories of Indigenous-settler relations over the past 400 years, as a way of structuring and informing thought about how those relations might evolve in the future. Additionally, it is important to recognize that Western settler notions of land, ecology, and nature are founded on deep-seated assumptions about what is true and that there can be only one truth sought through a supposedly objective scientific method. I think we need to not only question those assumptions, but also to open ourselves, as individuals and professionals, to the myriad of ways of understanding the land and all of the beings inhabiting it.

I think a Ground Round Table could be valuable. It seems that, too often, non-Indigenous landscape architects simply apply perceived Indigenous themes and elements superficially into our work.

From Alissa North, OALA _1. Landscape architects should seek to consult with Elders on relevant projects to gain insights into Traditional Knowledge and build networks with Indigenous groups.

_2. Indigenous placemaking makes up a significant part of our practice [at Brook McIlroy]. These projects evolve out of meaningful engagement and relationship-building with Indigenous communities and are often led by Indigenous designers and architects who form an integral part of our studio.

_2. Connecting with First Nations in my studio projects. _3. Forums with equal participation between Indigenous peoples and landscape architects would be useful—in a manner that shows we are very interested in their perspectives and generations’ worth of land- and culture-based knowledge. This connection can sometimes be difficult to find, so this form of respectful networking could be valuable for everyone.

From Amy Turner, OALA I have so much to learn before having a valid opinion but I think that, as a white person, I need to listen for a long while; legitimate listening seems to be a significant challenge for a lot of us. I worked with Indigenous consultants on a community garden project a few years ago, and have realized, in retrospect, that I was unconsciously dismissive.

I couldn’t switch off the voice telling me to assert what I’d already decided was right.

This impulse was partially due to my own bullheaded attitude but also due to fear. I felt the ideas presented to me weren’t mine to communicate, which is true in many ways, but I wish I could’ve acted as a simple conduit for the community input to be realized rather than trying to act as an interpreter.

From Andrea Mantin, OALA _1. As landscape architects, we need to look for opportunities to restore Indigenous presence in Canadian cities as well as in rural communities. We, as practitioners, have the opportunity and responsibility to create sustainable environments that are inclusive and culturally appropriate.

Sometimes this also involves educating our clients about opportunities to make initial steps towards reconciliation.

_3. Educational opportunities for Indigenous youth to be trained as landscape architects would provide us with more opportunities to work directly with Indigenous designers in creating inclusive spaces in communities across Canada. To achieve this, we may need to embrace unconventional education models, including online education, distance learning, and heavily subsidized tuition and living expenses, etc., as these methods allow Indigenous youth to remain in their communities, and/or provide financial relief while attending universities and colleges away from home.

From John D. Collver, OALA _1. By acknowledging that there is a need for reconciliation in the first place and by adopting the steps towards reconciliation outlined in the report. _2. By recognizing the steps and applying them, where possible, in all of our new projects, especially when it comes to land use. _3. A useful resource would be a land data base in which affected areas, developments, and properties can be easily identified and inventoried so updates can be tracked etc.

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From John McMullen, OALA _1. Questions concerning land are central to the reconciliation process; thus, the landscape architecture profession should work to identify its strengths in conceptualizing and solving complex matters related to the land and the landscape and share this information with the Indigenous community.

Collectively identifying the skills and strengths of landscape architects in a manner that differentiates us from complementary professions would be beneficial in general and would help to identify where our work can help advance the goals of reconciliation. _2. Our municipality is working locally with the First Nation community to consider reinterpretations of (or additions to) cultural landmarks (memorials, monuments, etc.). Working with the Indigenous community is a good first step and a critical part of this process. Landscape architects as facilitators can assist these communities with everything from understanding the decision-making process related to public spaces; to developing a collaborative, open-ended design process that can be vetted in a transparent manner with the public at large to identify opportunities for interpretive landscapes, historic reinterpretation, and celebration of cultural diversity. A fascinating opportunity also exists to explore methods of integrating the Indigenous tradition of passing on cultural and historic knowledge through story-telling (oral traditions) into the design of physical space.

From Katie Strang When I read the Calls to Action, it stood out to me that there are a number of points that call specifically on professional and educational organizations to create history courses that reflect Indigenous experiences and normalize cultural competency training. As an organization actively engaging in continuing education and guiding curriculum for new landscape architects, the OALA could be a leader among professional organizations and prompt discussion with affiliated schools.

From Le’ Ann Whitehouse Seely, OALA I don’t feel that I fully understand the issues and the report’s recommendations as they relate to landscape architecture, and, therefore, I struggle with putting thoughts to words on this topic. Notwithstanding this, I

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find reconciliation to be worthy of a deeper understanding for landscape architects.

From Julianna Nyhof Young, BLA student, University of Guelph Indigenous approaches to land and landscape need to be taught in the profession’s educational programs in order to move forward—collectively— with reconciliation.

From Ryan James, OALA _1. In the Calls to Action, there are recommendations specific to law schools and journalism schools; the same could apply to the education for our profession as well. Our national and provincial associations could coordinate education and training for our members to learn about cultural competency.

The whole concept of unceded territories will be relevant to many, and this could use wider recognition. In recent years, we have all learned about the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act; the same could be done with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. _2. With any project, there is inventory and analysis to do for the site. The lens of Indigenous cultures is another aspect that can be added to the standard practice of comparing what the different layers of a site have to say. _3. Learning resources will be the place to start. Guidelines and best practices for consultation with Indigenous peoples would also be helpful.

From Victoria Taylor, OALA An open session sponsored by the OALA and guided by a knowledgeable person who is well connected to the Indigenous community should be arranged to help OALA members understand how we can bridge our skills and question and critique our role in the reconciliation process. I know that the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto provides cultural competency training. At this point, and beyond my wanting to know more, I have only more questions than answers. As a starting point, I would gladly spend time learning more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report and the 94 Calls to Action. From there we might

develop our own OALA Call to Action as a well-considered response. I’d gladly spend my fees on this process, and I put up my hand to be involved.

From Scott Torrance, OALA _1. As a profession, we can recognize the value of collecting and valuing oral histories and traditional land-use mapping. As individuals and as an organization, we should recognize that there are vast cultural differences that exist between the Indigenous peoples within Canada; and, we can lobby governments to honour existing treaties and reconcile specific claims. _2. Become familiar with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and the work of the TRC. Undertake cultural sensitivity training. I found the session I attended at Dodem Kanonhsa’, in Toronto, to be very good. Learn more about the various treaties that were made between First Nations and North American governments in the areas where my work and projects are. Participate in First Nation events to learn, meet, enjoy, and celebrate the incredible culture. Attending a pow wow at the Saugeen Ojibway Nation helped me to understand how outdoor spaces support the drumming and dance competitions.

Learn about the Residential Schools and be sensitive to their multigenerational impact.

Visit the site of what was known as the Mohawk Institute on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve to see firsthand the physical remains of a Residential School. _3. It is critical that large municipalities have a dedicated staff member who can liaise with First Nations and organizations and is knowledgeable about protocols, culture, and practices so that meaningful and productive dialogue and outreach can occur on master plans and parks, open spaces, and new development sites.

Landscape architectural programs need to attract First Nation students and professors to bring their perspective of the land to our profession. As Call to Action 92 outlines, businesses and professional organizations, such as the OALA, need to establish policies to address reconciliation.

Diana Beresford-Kroeger: Battling Climate Change with Trees for Life

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TEXT BY LORRAINE JOHNSON

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Boreal forest,Manitoba

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Call of the Forest movie/Laura Lamont

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Diana Beresford-Kroeger

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Call of the Forest movie/Laura Lamont

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Nuts of black walnut tree

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Katja Schulz/Flickr

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Upright female catkins and hanging male catkins of yellow birch

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Plant Image Library/Flickr

Here are a few things you should know about Diana Beresford-Kroeger. When she calls you a lunatic, she means it as high praise. She can be stern and impish—pretty much simultaneously. She doesn’t have a computer or send email, and yet she is one of the most connected people you’ll ever meet, referencing the most recent scientific studies and cutting-edge research.

She lives a simple, frugal life, yet happens to be the granddaughter of a British lord, orphaned when she was very young. She talks in mystic, heartfelt terms about the Druidic Celtic culture, then mentions that she is the inventor of an artificial hemoglobin used for tissue transplants.

body,” she says in an interview, “I’ll try to save the forest and stop climate change.”

Beresford-Kroeger was a keynote speaker at the 2018 CSLA/OALA conference, held in Toronto in April, and her wide-ranging, engaging speech was distinguished by a fluid movement between science and poetry. In one breath, she referred to “listening to the sound of the universe,” and then switched to a rapid-fire explanation of the glandular tissue of Thuja occidentalis.

While scientific training can dim the potential to see magic in the world, for Beresford-

But one thing about Beresford-Kroeger on which there is no apparent contradiction (and I stress apparent, because all of the above makes perfect sense when you speak with her, read any of her numerous books, or watch the documentary about her work, Call of the Forest) is that she is passionate about trees: “As long as there’s a breath in my 03

Diana Beresford-Kroeger: Battling Climate Change with Trees for Life

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MEDICINE TREES Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s book Arboretum America (University of Minnesota Press, 2003) is a treasure trove of information and inspiration about trees. The following details, and quotations about particular species and their medicinal benefits, are gleaned from the book.

Pine (Pinus): Beresford-Kroeger refers to pines as “living pharmacopoeias,” and says that pines are the source of an important antibiotic called pinosylvin.

Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum): The sap of sugar maple contains acetol, which acts as an antistroke agent “by having a hemodilution effect on the blood.”

Kroeger it has clearly heightened her innate respect for mystery. “Trees are more complex than we are,” she notes. “We don’t even fully understand how transpiration works.”

Reverence for the unknowns of nature doesn’t mean that Beresford-Kroeger isn’t certain about our current realities: “We’ve taken down too much forest,” she states simply, and her life’s work is to repatriate lost species in order to replant the planet— something she has termed bioplanning—as a “foundation of resilient sustainability.”

Where Beresford-Kroeger departs from traditional tree-planting messages, though, is in her emphasis on the health-giving properties of trees, using terms you’ll rarely hear from a forester. Plant black walnuts, she urges, for their ellagic acid that absorbs harmful aromatic hydrocarbons from the air. Plant willows for their phenolic compounds that relieve anxiety and depression. Plant yellow birch for the antiprostate cancer compounds it emits into

the air. Plant eastern white cedar to boost your immune system and steady your pulse rate. “These are medicine trees,” BeresfordKroeger points out, exhorting landscape architects to include health attributes in their considerations for design.

Her message is as practical as it is aspirational: “Dreams help the mind climb into impossible territory,” she says. Specifically speaking to landscape architects, she asserts, “You’re the people who have the dream.” But then she’s back to earth: “Live like a groundhog— doggedly, with purpose, just do it.”

The “it” is the essence of her passionate, practical aspiration: “We can stop climate change.”

BIO/ LORRAINE JOHNSON IS THE AUTHOR OF BOOKS ON GARDENING WITH NATIVE PLANTS, INCLUDING THE RECENTLY UPDATED EDITION OF 100 EASY-TO-GROW NATIVE PLANTS FOR CANADIAN GARDENS.

Ash (Fraxinus): The bark of ash species contains escin, “a potent biochemical complex used in the treatment of peripheral vascular disorders.”

Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos): Fustin and fisetin, two chemicals found in the heartwood of honey locust, “have potent anti-carcinogenic action.”

Cucumber magnolia (Magnolia acuminata): Beresford-Kroeger suggests that cucumber magnolias should be planted at hospitals, clinics, and retirement homes, due to the beneficial effects of the flower’s fragrance, which contains volatile lactone chemicals that, when breathed in and absorbed by mucosal membranes in the nose, “help settle the rhythmic pumping action of the heart,” and have general calming effects.

Oak (Quercus): The chemical quercitrin, found underneath the bark, is an important vasoactive drug that helps control blood pressure.

TO VIEW ADDITIONAL CONTENT RELATED TO THIS ARTICLE, VISIT WWW.GROUNDMAG.CA.

Design by Detail

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TEXT BY VICTORIA TAYLOR, OALA

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Detail of Prince Edward County landscape,including settlements,farms, hedgerows,watercourses,and forests, from the OMNR South Central Ontario Orthophotography Project (SCOOP),2013

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Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Copyright Queen’s Printer for Ontario,2013

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As part of his MLA thesis,Michal Laszczuk used a series of sectional profiles of the fencerow in his study site in Guelph to create a 3D image of the outlined surface of a length of fencerow;the undulations represent the diverse species growing along the fencerow.

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Michal Laszczuk

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Hedgerows of Prince Edward County

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DRAPE 2014 LiDAR project; Land Information Ontario

Design by Detail

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Windbreak, treeline, greenfence, field margin, shelterbelt, fenceline, hedgerow, fencebottom.

These are some of the vernacular terms used to describe the linear living corridors that bend and flow along country roads and fields to create the familiar rural landscapes of southern Ontario. Whether intentionally planted to keep in livestock, left as a remnant edge from land clearing, or evolved into an accidental ecology seeded by wind or birds resting for a moment on a fence post, these biodiverse edges are the imprints of colonial occupation that mark a time and place in history when land in proximity to local markets was valued for food production. These are the living seams that tie us to the rich cultural and agricultural heritage of Ontario.

As hedgerows across Ontario disappear due to changes in farming methods and technology, as well as expanding urbanization and lack of heritage protection, what is the role for landscape architects as professionally trained advocates of natural and cultural heritage? Can the design detail, the designer’s primary tool to communicate a conceptual idea in visual form, be used to activate a conversation and aid a community’s work to raise public awareness about the beauty and cultural heritage value of the Ontario hedgerow?

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In the U.K., well-established groups are dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of hedgerows, and their efforts are reinforced by the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 of England and Wales. Since the legislation came into effect, it is a criminal offence to remove a hedgerow in contravention of the regulations. In a 2010 article in The Independent, writer Emily Duggan notes: “As well as having a nostalgic place in the aesthetics of the countryside, hedgerows are a vital part of the ecosystem.” She reports that research by Hedgelink, a network of British hedge conservation groups, shows that without hedgerows, some 130 species—from the hedgehog and the dormouse to stag beetles and the cuckoo—would be under threat. She quotes Nigel Adams, vice-chairman of the National Hedgelaying Society: “The hedgerow is the unsung hero of our countryside. It’s often overlooked, but visitors to England say it’s what makes it so special.”

In Canada, there is a nascent citizen-led movement to raise awareness about the cultural, ecological, and economic value of hedgerows as living natural and heritage landscapes. Although there is vague language in provincial and federal laws, regulations, and policy statements that recognizes the value of natural corridors and heritage areas, collaborative action is needed due to increased habitat loss, soil erosion, and more

frequent winter road closures along country roads due to the effects of blowing snow— all of which are connected with the loss of hedgerows. The removal of hedgerows is, most obviously, a visual sign of changes in the operation of the traditional mixed family farm and the global economics of food and feed production. On a cultural level, their removal is also a disturbing sign of how, in just one generation, we have so easily devalued and disassociated from history and the forces that celebrate natural beauty and spirit of place.

Ernest Margetson, an engineer, designer, and heritage advocate based in Prince Edward County, an agricultural area a few hours east of Toronto, describes how the intentional location of hedgerows frames their cultural context: “The layout and delineation of the fields within a farm are not accidental…the field pattern can be said to be strategically established with the practical limitations and physical nature of the farm always in mind. The size of the fields reflected the manageable working size, but also may have been determined by the ability to clear and establish workable land at the pioneer stage—that is, how much land could be cleared and prepared in one season. Also, it is evident that soil type and depth, topography, and drainage patterns also influenced the location of fences and field pattern.”

Design by Detail

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HIGHER CANOPY JUGLANS NIGRA (BLACK WALNUT) PINUS RESINOSA (RED PINE) PINUS STROBUS (WHITE PINE) TILIA AMERICANA (BASSWOOD)

LOWER CANOPY ACER NEGUNDO (MANITOBA MAPLE) MALUS SP. (CRABAPPLE) JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA (EASTERN RED CEDAR)

CONIFEROUS TREES FUNCTION AS A WINDBREAK AS A RESULT OF THEIR DENSE CONFIGURATION.

16.00 m

10.50 m FENCEPOST PROVIDES A PLACE FOR BIRDS TO PERCH. UNDERSTORY THE PRESENCE OF BIRDS CONTRIBUTES TO SUCCESSIONAL GROWTH THROUGH DISPERSAL CORNUS SERICEA (RED OSIER DOGWOOD) OF SEEDS BY DEPOSITION OF FECES. RHUS TYPHINA (STAGHORN SUMAC) RUBUS SP. (COMMON RASPBERRY) VITIS VINIFERA (COMMON GRAPE VINE) COARSE WOODY DEBRIS RESULTS FROM THE ACCUMULATION OF FALLEN BRANCHES, AND GROUND COVER PROVIDES HABITAT FOR INSECTS. MEADOW ALOPECURUS SP. (FOXTAIL GRASS) ASCLEPIAS SP. (MILKWEED) MEADOW MARGIN SOLIDAGO SP. (GOLDENROD) 3.75 m

AS A RESULT OF THE DEPOSITION OF SOIL, SWALES MAY FORM AROUND THE HEDGEROW AND CONVEY WATER TOWARDS LOW POINTS IN THE AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE.

FIELDSTONES PROVIDE HABITAT FOR INSECTS.

INTERIOR TOXICODENDRON RADICANS (POISON IVY) 1.30 m

PLUS OTHER COMMON FORBS AND FIELD GRASSES

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Section detail of a typical Prince Edward County hedgerow,intended by author Victoria Taylor and collaborator Michal Laszczuk to be used as a tool for landscape education and advocacy rather than as a design detail for construction

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Michal Laszczuk

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Silhouetted cross section of a Prince Edward County hedgerow

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Michal Laszczuk

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Without a hedgerow bordering this field,people can expect more winter road closures due to high winds and snow blowing.

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Bill Bonter

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Station Road,Prince Edward County, is a hedgerow-lined country road.

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Victoria Taylor

In Prince Edward County, many hedgerows—markings of the 18th-century human hand directed by the Crown—still delineate the original farmscapes that were cleared when Loyalists fled to the area during the U.S. Revolutionary War. Recent efforts in this growing agro-tourism community echo the work of others who are speaking up for the unrecognized cultural, economic, and ecological values of hedgerows. After a few local Prince Edward County residents first noticed the unchecked removal of hedgerows, they joined together to form a group called Natural Heritage Conservation (NHC-PEC), and they have been hard at work meeting with local politicians, farmers, naturalists, and others to speak out against recent removals and to advocate for the value of hedgerows to be officially recognized as important natural heritage in the County’s Official Plan. As Elizabeth Blomme, a member of NHC-PEC, explains, “What we’re really looking for is cooperation from all landowners. We’re prepared to take the time to work towards a new approach that respects both the health of the land and the rights and needs of landowners and the farming community.”

Ecologically and culturally, hedgerows create a system of connected routes across the landscape for large and small animals to travel, places for shelter and food during migration, and places offering shaded relief for cyclists and pedestrians traveling along country roads and trails. Along Prince Edward County’s Millennium Trail, a 48-kilometre publicly funded rails-to-trails project, adjacent hedgerows offer respite and refuge for humans and animals. For railpath visitors, the hedgerows animate the trail with the sound of birds, seasonal foliage colours, and the flowers of ruderal perennials and grasses. Intermittent openings in the hedgerow create natural thresholds leading off the railpath toward adjacent wineries or places of interest.

Michal Laszczuk, a recent MLA graduate from the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph, wrote his 2018 MLA thesis on the subject of hedgerows. In “Fencerows: Reinforcing regional identity in urban design,” his very thorough fieldwork and survey of fencerows resulted in a unique typology

Design by Detail

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NATURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION, A PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY-BASED, CITIZEN-LED GROUP, IS DEDICATED TO THE CONSERVATION AND STEWARDSHIP OF PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY’S RICH NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE BY: −− reviving and updating proposals to establish a viable, County-wide natural heritage system; −− halting the unchecked clear-cutting of hedgerows and woodlands; −− safeguarding the vital role of hedgerows as natural corridors for County wildlife; 06

that considers the potential of hedgerows in the design of high-density urban developments. [See Ground 35, pp. 8-9, for an article by Michal Laszczuk on hedgerows.]

Using standard detail design convention, Laszczuk deconstructed the layered elements of a typical Prince Edward County farm hedgerow, and he hopes that his work will be used by the group NHC-PEC in their advocacy.

Nina-Marie Lister, Associate Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Ryerson University and a long-time Prince Edward County resident, has run several studios in the County with her students. In one, the students investigated the role of rural severances in changing development patterns in the County, and, in particular, the role of hedgerows in the Loyalist landscape.

Lister notes, “The students recognized the morphology of the Prince Edward County hedgerow as integral to the long lot lines, and an important ecological edge condition.

As a transition space connecting one ecosystem to another, they found that hedgerows tend to exhibit high levels of species rich-

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ness even at minimum widths of 3 metres.

Interspersed with crop plants and grasses, there can be forest species characteristic of the Carolinian or Eastern Deciduous Forest including red and white oak, butternut, shagbark hickory, black cherry, and on more sandy soils, even white pine. More typically, though, it’s the particular layering of native and non-native pioneer species—lilac, eastern red cedar, wild rose, staghorn sumac, various dogwoods, and Manitoba maple— that increases the habitat complexity and provides important bird and mammal habitat with a system of landscape connectivity.”

As professionals in land-use interpretation, landscape architects can appreciate the richly layered roles of these historical cultural relics, functioning ecologies, and critical wildlife corridors, and, likewise, the advocacy challenges faced by local groups who must work against the reality of the highly managed farming regime of cash cropping and the pressures of land development felt by rural communities near large urban centres.

Landscape architects are uniquely qualified as leaders to help local groups like NHCPEC build community-based appreciation for the place-specific qualities of these living landscapes. The OALA strives to support landscape architects who improve and conserve the natural, cultural, social, and built environment, which has a very strong link to the Ontario Heritage Trust mandate to “promote and conserve Ontario’s heritage in all of its forms.” Starting a conversation about this common goal would go a long way to supporting these efforts.

−− consulting with the agricultural community to find solutions that balance productivity concerns with environmental responsibility; −− promoting the County’s historic farmscapes as potentially significant cultural heritage landscapes under the Ontario Heritage Act; −− ensuring that the final version of the County’s new Official Plan reflects these concerns; −− working with residents, Prince Edward County’s Council, and other stakeholders to develop appropriate, enforceable measures to achieve these goals.

To contact Natural Heritage Conservation, email Elizabeth Blomme at elizabeth@ finkelsteinmanagement.com or Bill Bonter at billbonter@yahoo.ca or visit their Facebook page, Natural Heritage Conservation.

BIO/ VICTORIA TAYLOR, OALA, PRINCIPAL OF VTLA, DESIGNS SPACES INFORMED AND INSPIRED BY CONTEXT, ECOLOGY, SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT, AND HORTICULTURAL POSSIBILITIES. VTLA ENGAGES WITH LANDSCAPE AS AN ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL PRACTICE THROUGH PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COMMISSIONS, CURATORIAL PROJECTS, TEACHING, WRITING, AND TEMPORARY INSTALLATION ARTWORKS. TAYLOR IS A SESSIONAL INSTRUCTOR AND CRITIC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO’S JOHN H. DANIELS SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, LANDSCAPE, AND DESIGN, AND AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, AND IS A NEW MEMBER OF THE GROUP NATURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION (NHC-PEC).

THE AUTHOR WOULD LIKE TO THANK PLANTSMAN, BUILDER, AND LANDSCAPE DESIGNER NEIL TURNBULL, OALA, OF HEDGEROW FARM, FOR HIS EARLY INSPIRATIONS FOR THE PIECE, AND MICHAL LASZCZUK FOR HIS DRAWINGS AND CONTRIBUTIONS.

Research Corner

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DRY SOIL CELL

STANDARD STREET TREES

STORMWATER SOIL CELL

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An installation of street trees in Etobicoke is helping to reshape what we understand about street tree health and road salting TEXT BY JEN HILL 01/

The trees within both types of soil cell are notably taller than those in the standard tree pits;maples are represented here in yellow,and elms in pink.

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Jen Hill

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These two trees,planted within a stormwater soil cell,receive untreated, salty,road-runoff water throughout the winter.

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Jen Hill

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These two trees,planted within a dry soil cell,have received no additional water from any source for more than seven years.

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Jen Hill

The benefits of large shade trees in public spaces are well documented, from habitat provision, carbon sequestration, and public health through to shading and positive psychological effects. For these reasons, many cities have set targets to increase their urban canopies.

In terms of stormwater management, trees can be thought of as part umbrella, part drinking straw. They suck water out of the ground and transpire it as an invisible gas—emitted from pores in the leaves—to the atmosphere. They also trap a little rainwater on every leaf, which evaporates directly back into the atmosphere, as from any wet surface. These two separate processes are often described by the single term evapotranspiration.

“Soil cells” or “supported pavement systems” are increasingly being used by municipalities to optimize the water stored in the soil and transpired by trees. They work by reducing soil compaction and permitting more water to be available for the trees to drink and soak away into the ground. However, using this type of system to treat roadway runoff yearround poses the risk of damaging the trees due to high levels of salt from winter road maintenance. Salt damage can occur when salt enters the soil or when it is sprayed by moving vehicles onto trees. When salt damage occurs via the soil and roots, it can cause leaves to not open, or to be stunted in size; in the long term, it can cause dieback and a reduction in crown size.

So, my research question was:

Research Corner

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APPLICATIONS FOR MONITORING AND MODELING TREES —

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UrbanCrowns by US Forestry Service is a free Windows-based program. It requires a ground-based profile photograph of a tree to calculate crown volume and density.

Pocket LAI by Cassandra Labs at the University of Milan is a commercial Android application. It uses a smartphone camera to measure leaf density from beneath the tree. moti by Bern University of Applied Sciences is a free Android application.

It uses the smartphone gyroscope to measure angles and calculate the height of the tree. iTree has a suite of PC-based tools to model the benefits of urban trees at all scales, from individual specimens to whole neighbourhoods and cities.

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Do trees that are irrigated year-round with salty street runoff display significant signs of stress or stunted growth?

My research site is the Queensway, a major arterial road in Etobicoke. In winter, it receives priority plowing and salting, second only to the local expressways. The street trees in my study are Freeman’s maples and American elms planted on the Queensway in 2009 within a supported soil cell system (Silva Cell). The stormwater runs from the road into a catchbasin (an iron grate in the road with a concrete chamber below) and from there into the soil cell; beneath the proprietary sandy soil mixture, perforated pipes drain excess water into the storm sewer.

(The stormwater control provided by the supported soil cell system has been monitored for several years by researchers at Ryerson University in a separate research project.)

My study compares two different soil cell plantings, each of which contains an American elm and a Freeman’s maple.

Both of these soil cells have a catchbasin connection, but only one continues to receive stormwater (referred to in this article as the “stormwater soil cell”), whereas

the other (referred to here as the “dry soil cell”) was disconnected in 2011. As a control group, I have located an area to the west where neighbourhood street trees—five American elms and three Freeman’s maples—were planted in 2009 to standard City of Toronto specifications—that is, in regular soil without soil cells.

This year, I visited the project to see if several years of salty road runoff has significantly stressed the trees. Using a variety of free and paid digital applications (see sidebar), I’ve recorded the trees’ height, trunk diameter (d130), crown volume, and leaf area index. The crown volume is calculated by measuring the outside edge of the tree’s crown in all directions, accounting for the density of the leaves within that outline.

Leaf area index is a measure of how many overlapping leaves the tree has on average between the very top and the ground.

The stormwater soil cell trees, which have been receiving salty runoff for many years, are significantly taller than comparable nearby street trees—the five elms and three maples—in a standard planting configuration. They have much thicker trucks, larger crowns, and very similar density of leaves within their crowns. Overall, the trees receiv-

ing stormwater have a greater leaf surface area for capturing falling rain, for sequestering CO2, for shading, and for insect habitat.

The stormwater soil cell trees are very similar in crown volume to the dry soil cell installation, which has not received stormwater runoff since 2011. The disconnected, dry soil cell trees are also notably larger than the five elms and three maples in the control group, but their crowns are smaller than those that receive stormwater in the stormwater soil cell.

Given that excess salt can be toxic to trees, it is perhaps surprising that the trees receiving street-salt runoff in the stormwater soil cell are doing comparatively well. The stormwater soil cell trees may be thriving due to the enhanced drainage provided by the soil mix used within the cells and the pipe connection to the sewer. Fresh water being flushed through the cells for much of the year might be preventing the damaging salt ions from accumulating. The monitoring of tree health is continuing into the winter of 2018/2019, and the data is currently being prepared for publication. For further information, contact: jenny.hill@trca.on.ca.

BIO/ JEN HILL, PHD, IS A RESEARCH SCIENTIST FOR THE TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION AUTHORITY, AND AN ADJUNCT PROFESSOR IN THE MASTERS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO.

Notes

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Notes: A Miscellany of News and Events

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exhibitions The Winter Light Exhibition is on at Ontario Place in Toronto again this year, featuring 18 exhibits by Ontario-based artists on the theme of “disruptive engagement.” The exhibits play with the use of light, sound, and touch to connect with the audience and create an immersive experience. The Winter Light Exhibition is free of charge and open to the public, every day, at Ontario Place, until March 17, 2019.

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wildlife The world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition returns to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and runs until March 31, 2019. Featuring 100 breathtaking photographs selected by an international jury, the exhibition showcases work that calls attention to the beauty and fragility of life on this planet. For more information, visit www.rom.on.ca.

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The Golden Couple, by Marsel Van Oosten,Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018

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Marsel Van Oosten;courtesy of the ROM

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Cool Cat, by Isak Pretorius

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Isak Pretorius;courtesy of the ROM

Jeff Speck’s recently published book, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places (Island Press, 2018), explores why walkability is important for the environment, health, housing prices, and equity, and presents strategies to make cities more walkable. It also lays out 101 rules for achieving walkability, including, for example: “don’t mistake Uber for transit”; “use roundabouts with discretion”; “remove centrelines on neighbourhood streets”; and “don’t let terrorists design your city.” Other rules presented in the book relate to tactical urbanism, congestion pricing, parking, transit, street design, cycling, and more. For more information, visit www.islandpress.org.

events A one-day symposium, to be held in Toronto in February 2019, will explore frameworks for designs, at all scales, based on natural models. “The Natural City: A Practical Approach for Using Ecological References in Planting Design” will include presentations, case studies, and practical exercises. For more information and registration, email myscha@landscapeontario.com.

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invasive species The Fall 2011 issue of Ground (Ground 15) included an article about Heather Coiner’s research into a patch of the invasive vine kudzu growing in southern Ontario, near Lake Erie. This non-native plant has overtaken an estimated 3,000,000 hectares of land in the U.S. and caused extensive ecological and economic damage. Coiner has been researching the question of how low temperatures (such as those found in Ontario) might control kudzu’s northern range limits, and the results of this research were recently published in the journal Oecologia and have alarming implications for Ontario.

The research found that kudzu “can survive winters north of its current distribution…and continued northward migration is possible.”

While there might be other factors that limit kudzu’s potential spread in Ontario, Coiner’s paper advises that “Efforts to limit its spread are therefore prudent.”

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Victoria Taylor and Ken Roy Johnson’s installation,Maybe it’s better we don’t know, designed for the Winter Light Exhibition at Ontario Place,Toronto

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Andrew Williamson

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A recently published paper presents the results of Heather Coiner’s research into a patch of the invasive vine kudzu growing in southern Ontario.

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Heather Coiner

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reports

accessibility

A recently released report, Community Wellbeing: A Framework for the Design Professions, presents the findings of a twoyear collaborative research project between the Conference Board of Canada and DIALOG on the relationship between the built environment and the wellbeing of people. The goal of the project was to develop a framework by which design professions can define, evaluate, and build a business case for demonstrable return on investment related to design for community wellbeing.

For more information, visit dialogdesign.ca/ community-wellbeing.

The Canadian Urban Institute and Human Space recently launched the AllAccess Network, a new program dedicated to making Ontario’s public spaces more accessible for everyone and to assist practitioners in understanding and implementing the Design of Public Spaces Standard (DOPS), the design requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Members of the AllAccess Network receive access to valuable information about the design of accessible public space and have opportunities to participate in various project activities. For more information, visit www.allaccesspublicspace.ca.

awards George F. Dark, OALA, FCSLA, was recently awarded the 2018 Governor General’s Medal in Landscape Architecture, the highest honour bestowed on a landscape architect by the CSLA. The medal is intended to honour exceptional landscape architects whose lifetime achievements and contributions to the profession have had a unique and lasting impact on Canadian society.

The deadline for submissions for the CSLA’s 2019 Awards of Excellence, including National Awards, Jury’s Award of Excellence, and the Legacy Project Award, is January 25. Visit www.csla-aapc.ca for more information.

resilience In their book Structures of Coastal Resilience (Island Press, 2018), authors Catherine Seavitt Nordenson, Guy Nordenson, and Julia Chapman explore new approaches to effective coastal resilience planning, particularly in light of climate change. They encourage more creative design techniques at the beginning of the planning process, and offer examples of innovative work incorporating flexible natural systems into traditional infrastructure. For more information, visit www.islandpress.org.

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trees As long as people have been planting trees, there have been battles over trees, with associated questions about ownership, responsibility, hazards, liability, and more. These issues sometimes end up in the courts, and there is a complex, at times contradictory, body of case law that impacts the questions in specific cases and sets precedents to guide future judicial decisionmaking. Dr. Julian Dunster, a consulting arborist, professional forester, and professional planner with close to 40 years of experience, brings these issues into focus with admirable clarity and engaging writing in the new and updated edition of his classic book Trees and the Law in Canada (Dunster & Associates Environmental Consultants Ltd., 2018). The most comprehensive book on tree law in Canada, the new edition includes a chapter devoted to the unique nature of tree law in Quebec.

Anyone with an interest in trees will find the information useful, thought-provoking, and debate-inducing. For more information or to order the book, visit www.dunster.ca.

public art A recently launched limited-edition book, A Platform To…, features the 2017 public art projects on the West Toronto Railpath commissioned by ====\\DeRAIL Platform for Art & Architecture. To order the book, visit www.derailart.com.

new members The Ontario Association of Landscape Architects is proud to recognize and welcome the following new Full Members to the Association: Sule Alkan

Eva Li *

Nadia Amoroso *

Jeffrey Lormand

Lori Balcerek *

Peter Louws *

Nataliya Baydakova *

Bo Lu *

Lucie Bibeau

Jenna Matthews

Elena Brescia

Brendan McKee *

Matthew Brown

Oksana Negorutsa

James Burnett

Amir Ardeshir Nikzad

Shaney Clemmons

David Nowicki

Rui Felix

Timothy O’Brien

Michael Flint *

Eliza Oprescu

Misha Franta *

Sean Simms

Stephanie Fraser

Jeffrey Regan Suiter

Drew Graham *

Marta Toesev *

Maxime Grandmaison

Dorota Trzesicka-Mlynarz

Lisa Gregory *

Julia van der Laan

Ian Hampson

de Vries

Britta Hansen

Fraser Vanderwel

Tawab Hlimi

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Artifact

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01 TEXT BY LORRAINE JOHNSON

“Beading is like language,” explains Lisa Myers, curator of the exhibition Beads, they ’re sewn so tight, currently on view at the Textile Museum of Canada. “Everyone does it slightly differently.”

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Ring of Fire II (2018),by Jean Marshall, is made from tanned elk hide,beaver fur, wool stroud,threads,and beads.

IMAGE/

Toni Hafkenscheid

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Detail of Ring of Fire II (2018),

by Jean Marshall

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Toni Hafkenscheid

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Detail of Kokum’s Flowers (2018),

by Katie Longboat

IMAGE/

Toni Hafkenscheid

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Installation view of Kokum’s Flowers (2018),by Katie Longboat

IMAGE/

Toni Hafkenscheid

Myers is quoting the mother of Jean Marshall, who is one of the four contemporary artists in the show, and skills taught by mothers and grandmothers permeate the exhibition, just as the influence of ancestors, relatives, communities, and tradition permeates the works.

Katie Longboat, for example, inspired by the beadwork worn by dancers at local pow wows and by her Cree grandmother’s bead design, has created luminous floral patterns that dance with colour and light—“pow wow bling,” Myers playfully calls it during an artists talk at the museum. Jean Marshall’s beaded mittens, which present vibrant patterns of berries, blossoms, and leaves on elk hide, “express how I feel about nature, water, and the land,” says Marshall.

BEADS, THEY’RE SEWN SO TIGHT, CURATED BY LISA MYERS, FEATURES WORK BY BEV KOSKI, KATIE LONGBOAT, JEAN MARSHALL, AND OLIVIA WHETUNG, AND IS ON VIEW AT THE TEXTILE MUSEUM OF CANADA, IN TORONTO, UNTIL MAY 26, 2019.

BIO/ LORRAINE JOHNSON IS THE EDITOR OF GROUND.

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