2015 OALA Awards

Joanne Moran, OALA, CSLA

Joanne Moran has brought strength, energy, and leadership to the OALA, and more recently to the CSLA, on many initiatives to further landscape architecture in Ontario. Joanne’s contributions to the OALA are numerous. She joined the Association as a Full Member in 1994. She has served on many Association committees and, in particular since 2008, on OALA Council, Council Executive Committee, and most recently the CSLA Board of Directors.

Joanne consistently displays a high level of professionalism, dedication, and standard of care. She has devoted her professional life to advancing the parks and open space system within the City of Ottawa and to promoting landscape architecture in the province of Ontario. Joanne has brought a sense of renewal to the Association. She addresses challenges in a thoughtful, deliberate manner and with innovation and insight. She has given selfless volunteer hours each year to this end.

Marius Ois, OALA, FCSLA

Marius Ois is one of the founding members of the OALA, having served as the first Secretary of the Association and has served on various OALA committees over the years. A member of OALA since May 22, 1970, and Fellow of the CSLA since 1982, he has had a positive influence on governments such as the City of Toronto and the Ontario Ministry of Housing, where he served as Chief Landscape Architect for ten years. He opened his private landscape architectural firm in the year 1984, where he worked on a variety of projects, including sports facilities, housing developments, commercial developments and property management. During that time he was active in the educational sector as part-time faculty at Ryerson University for twenty years. His close connection to and knowledge of the landscape construction industry also led to his involvement in the Landscape Ontario educational programs. He has also authored various articles in trade and property management magazines.

Steven Peck

Steven Peck is the founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) and co-founder of the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition (GIO), of which the OALA is a Steering Committee member. Through GRHC, Steven has advanced the green roof, green wall, and gardening industries by facilitating research, demonstration projects, conferences, and workshops. He has authored two books, Award Winning Green Roofs (2008) and The Rise of Living Architecture (2012). In 2007, he co-founded World Green Infrastructure Network, an international coalition dedicated to developing the living architecture industry world-wide. In 2008 he co-founded Green Infrastructure Foundation (GIF), a charitable arm of GRHC, providing education and resource materials for the development of living green infrastructure. He also spearheaded the development of an accredited Green Roof Professional (GRP) program.

As a co-founder of GIO, Steven led the delivery of the report “Health, Prosperity and Sustainability: The Case for Green Infrastructure in Ontario” to the provincial government in March, 2012. He has made us all look at changing our ways in managing rainfall and runoff more naturally and encouraged the use of green technology to protect our natural environment, which ultimately improves our physical well-being.

Katherine Peck

Since March 2013, Katherine Peck has been an associate representative on OALA Council and has been critical to the success of LARE preparation workshops and the expansion of the OALA library. Writing the LARE is an intimidating task for many associates, and any support along the way is incredibly valuable.

In addition to her coordination with the associate membership, Katherine has been vital in tending to the OALA library—a critical resource for many members. This year, the OALA was also approached by the Toronto Botanical Gardens (TBG) with the idea of hosting a satellite library at their facility. Katherine coordinated with the TBG to set up a LARE review workshop at the TBG with great success, and, in doing so, began a new collaborative opportunity for the OALA. Along with this, Katherine has started investigating the feasibility of the OALA hosting an e-library of LARE study materials, pushing an innovative approach to making OALA resources more accessible to members.
We’d also like to mention that accompanying the Jack Copeland Award is a cheque for $500 to help offset the cost of a LARE exam.

Fiona Rintoul, OALA, CSLA

Throughout her career, Fiona Rintoul, Principal of Fiona Rintoul & Associates, has focused on providing design and consulting services with an emphasis on community-based ecological design for many institutional, commercial, and residential projects.

Over the past 29 years, Fiona Rintoul & Associates has been actively involved in the renewal of the St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Guelph. Beginning in 1986, the firm has continually made a significant contribution to the protection, enhancement, and sensitive restoration of the Health Centre lands. Fiona has skillfully integrated aspects of sustainability through ecosystem enhancement and management and successfully used community involvement practices for the 44-hectare site improvements, ensuring its healthy development and progression over time.

Fiona Rintoul is a passionate advocate for the natural environment and landscape architecture in Ontario, particularly in Guelph and surrounding areas. Her firm’s work at St. Joseph’s Health Centre reflects a strong commitment to sustainable design practice.

Lorraine Johnson

Lorraine Johnson’s work has been instrumental in connecting social and ecological issues related to gardening, native Ontario landscapes, urban neighbourhoods, community parks, and local activism. Many of Lorraine’s publications have served as reference for the identification and potential use of native plants in Ontario for many landscape designers and architects. She has authored more than ten books, including: City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing (2010); Tending the Earth: A Gardener’s Manifesto (2002); 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants (1998); and The New Ontario Naturalized Garden: The Complete Guide to Using Native Plants (2005); Grow Wild: Native Plant Gardening in Canada and the Northeastern U.S. (1997); and The Real Dirt:
The Complete Guide to Backyard, Balcony and Apartment Composting, coauthored with Mark Cullen (1992).

Lorraine frequently contributes articles to magazines and journals such as On Nature, and, in addition, she has been editor for a diverse range of landscape-related writings. In addition to her writing, editorial work, and speaking engagements, Lorraine has taken a leadership role in notable community organizations and teaches at York University in the Faculty of Environmental Studies.

Green Infrastructure Ontario (GIO)

Founded in 2011 by Steven Peck of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), Janet McKay of Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF), and Tony DiGiovanni of Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association (LOHTA), the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition is affecting policies and decision-makers in both the public and private sectors for a more economical, sustainable, and healthy built infrastructure. Policy wins attributed to the work of GIO are seen in the recent acknowledgment of green infrastructure by the Province of Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing in its revised Provincial Policy Statement. This shift of momentum in favour of green infrastructure as a legitimate alternative to grey (traditional) infrastructure can largely be attributed to GIO and their 2012 report: “Health, Prosperity and Sustainability: The Case for Green Infrastructure in Ontario.” This report drew upon input from diverse stakeholders and existing research to present an argument for improved policy and support of green infrastructure in Ontario.

TrCA for the Living City Policies for Planning and Development in the Watersheds of Toronto and Region Conversation Authorities

The Living City Policies document is the result of collaboration of environmental professionals within the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) in the production of a technical policy document that provides the foundation for site review and design in compliance with the Conservation Authorities Act. The document also advocates the integration of art and science when addressing environmental issues in a rapidly growing region. This creative approach to our urbanizing landscape will bring value
and permit development of complex siteplanning scenarios while respecting our greenspace system.

The first of its kind in Ontario, this document has been reviewed by 18 municipalities within TRCA’s jurisdiction, been through extensive public consulation, the BILD (the Building Industry and Land Development association), and several provincial agencies. It has gained solid support as a policy document clearly articulating the Conservation Authority roles and responsibilities and partnering approaches with other agencies and groups to address urgent environmental needs. The vision for a well-designed and scientifically managed environment that supports sustainable living and an attractive public realm is certainly fundamental to the concepts of “nature in the city” and a future Living City.

Kendall Flower, OALA, CSLA

Kendall Flower is a tireless volunteer who has made significant contributions to the OALA over the past several years. As Chair, and the driving force, of the Mandatory Continuing Education Committee (MCEC), Kendall Flower has led a small committee and the entire Association membership through one of the most challenging growth and transition stages that we have faced as a professional association. We have been taking steps to refine and define who we are as a profession and as professionals; the implementation of a Mandatory Continuing Education program is one more big step.

Kendall has brought her wonderful gifts to this volunteer leadership role as a thoughtful, organized, tireless, persistent, and committed volunteer.

Since 2012, Kendall has led her fellow volunteer committee members in the development and implementation of a program that has been based on extensive consultation with the OALA membership. At their many monthly meetings, Kendall and the committee developed many tools to engage OALA members and to refine the MCE program through several rounds of iteration. The sheer volume and diversity of products has been incredible.

Linda Irvine, OALA, FCSLA

Linda Irvine has been employed by the City of Markham since 1998 as Manager, Parks and Open Space Development, responsible for overseeing

all new park development within Markham’s new communities and subdivisions. For more than 16 years, she has managed an expanding department of professional staff who have been part of a team to deliver more than $90 million dollars of new parks across the municipality. Markham is well known for designing and delivering “complete communities,” such as Cornell, and the delivery of great parks and public realm is an essential component of this overall vision. Prior to joining the City, Linda was a faculty member in various landscape architectural programs in the United States and Canada for approximately 15 years.

Throughout her career, she has served and promoted the profession well, in all of her roles on the Boards, Committees, and Task Forces of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, and the American Society of Landscape Architects. Further, Linda has given numerous papers and presentations at professional conferences, and has written extensively in professional publications about the important role for landscape architects in the planning and design of meaningful, relevant, healthy, and sustainable parks and public spaces.

William Sleeth, OALA, CSLA

William Sleeth had an unwavering commitment to the public practice of landscape architecture at the City of Kitchener. He was a graduate of the University of Guelph where he distinguished himself as someone committed to environmental issues. When William started his job with the City of Kitchener in 1980 he faced a number of challenges resulting from the limitations of what the City understood about landscape architecture. William worked tirelessly to raise the value of the profession at the City. In his 34 years of public practice he not only increased the profile for landscape architecture but also was instrumental in the development of new public projects and policies that have changed the face of Kitchener. Through William’s efforts and with the support of the OALA, the City of Kitchener by 1989 had revised their job description and hiring criteria for landscape architects. Today the City employs ten landscape architects and requires full OALA membership; the City’s landscape architects now have authority for review and approval of various subdivision and site development submission requirements.

Throughout his career, William worked to translate landscape architectural principles and processes into the environment of municipal parks planning and development practices. These fundamentals have been articulated through William’s career works by way of the many master plans, planning studies, and infrastructure development projects led by him, as well as by his work to create municipal standards and standard processes that embody landscape architectural principles.