2024 OALA Awards

Steve Barnhart

As the former President of the OALA, Steve devoted countless hours to promoting and advancing the profession of landscape architecture in Ontario. 

In his role as Past-President, Steve has been an invaluable representative for OALA at the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA), ensuring that Ontario’s voice is heard at the national level. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he anticipated the long-term changes in public spaces and authored an insightful article that promoted the profession to the public, demonstrating his commitment to raising awareness of landscape architecture.

His leadership during his presidency ushered in transformative changes to the way OALA conducts its meetings and led to the establishment of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. His efforts also laid the groundwork for the restructuring of OALA's Committee Structure through the By-law Review Task Force.

Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag

Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag (NDG) (Anishinaabemowin for “Flooded Valley Healing”), is a unique land-based program for Indigenous youth (ages 15-20), co-led by Elder Whabagoon and Liat Margolis. Started in 2018, the program provides full-time summer employment, mentorship, and pathways to postsecondary education in fields related to design and the environment. Youth work with community partners on the research, design, and realization of Indigenous place-keeping projects, ranging from medicine gardens to urban agriculture, ecological restoration, food forests, and seed keeping. Combining cultural teachings with landscape architecture and ecological conservation, NDG enables the youth to discover a range of education and career paths – including landscape architecture, Indigenous and environmental studies, traditional and urban food systems, and forest conservation – all while foregrounding Indigenous land and water protection.

Heather Schibli

Heather Schibli has demonstrated unwavering dedication to ecologically based landscape design and community engagement. Spearheading the mini-forest project; a collaboration between Dougan & Associates, Green Communities Canada, and Canadian Geographic, Heather has connected communities across southern Ontario and across Canada with nature, addressing climate change and habitat loss. Her leadership in the Guelph mini-forest project, which involved over 1300 native plantings and engaged nearly 200 volunteers, exemplifies her ability to inspire and achieve tangible environmental impact. Heather's initiatives, including the mini forests, pollinator gardens, and innovative monitoring systems, reflect her commitment to sustainable practices and community collaboration. Through her advocacy and effective communication, Heather has fostered widespread awareness and set a benchmark for environmental stewardship.

Aaron Hirota

Since arriving in Ottawa from Winnipeg in 2019, Aaron Hirota has become an active leader in the landscape architecture community through his involvement with Landscape Architecture Ottawa (LAO) and OALA. His regular attendance and insightful contributions at LAO meetings quickly earned him the role of Secretary.

In fall 2021, Aaron stepped down as LAO Secretary to serve as an OALA Councillor and Chair of the Continuing Education Committee (CEC). As Chair of CEC, Aaron organized several webinars and created a comprehensive library of recordings on the OALA website. By April 2022, Aaron was elected OALA Vice-President.

Aaron's exceptional leadership is evident in his planning of the two most recent OALA conferences and his role as Tradeshow and Sponsorship Coordinator for the national CSLA Congress. He also works quietly in the background, acting as an Advisor and Reviewer for Intern members, and attending events on behalf of the OALA.

His continuous generosity, flexibility, sharp wit, and dedication to the profession make Aaron an exemplary volunteer.

Friends of Allan Gardens

The Friends of Allan Gardens, a volunteer-based registered charity, exemplify community service through their efforts to revitalize Allan Gardens—a significant, complex, and dynamic cultural landscape in downtown Toronto.

In 2017, they published "Refresh," a vision for a 21st-century horticultural park. Their initiative, "Growing with the City," fosters engagement, fundraising, and stewardship to address challenges and seize opportunities by developing social infrastructure and implementing an ecosystem of initiatives. These include expanding the historic greenhouse conservatory, reinvesting in the park’s landscape, supporting Indigenous placemaking, and enhancing horticultural and cultural programming.

The Friends are a model for stewardship through community-based initiatives. In just five years, over 750 volunteers have contributed more than 14,000 hours to the Gardens. Between 2018 and 2024, the volunteer team delivered over 400 public programs and special events, engaging over 40,000 participants and park visitors.

Trees for Guelph

Since its inception in 1990, Trees for Guelph has had an incredible impact on the City of Guelph's urban canopy through environmental education, community leadership and planting trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Trees for Guelph’s mission to enhance Guelph's natural landscape has resulted in the planting of over 175,000 native trees and shrubs across diverse local sites. Their inclusive approach has engaged thousands of volunteers, including students from multiple school boards, fostering experiential learning and environmental stewardship. Beyond planting events, their impact extends through collaborations with local organizations and City initiatives like the "Take Root" program, distributing over 1700 trees to over 1000 residential areas. What Trees for Guelph has accomplished and will continue to accomplish is a lasting legacy of benefit to the community and environment.

Ruthanne Henry

Since joining the City of Toronto in 2002, Ruthanne Henry has significantly contributed to Toronto’s natural and public environments. Beginning as a Parks Planner, she focused on strategic planning, engagement and accessibility. Now a Senior Project Manager with Capital Project Design and Delivery, Ruthanne manages a talented team of Landscape architects on diverse natural landscape projects with an emphasis on trail and shoreline infrastructure, engagement, and accessibility. Notable achievements for herself and the team include guiding the Lower Don and East Don Trail Improvements and the Guild Park and Gardens and Toronto Botanical Gardens Master Plan and Management Plans. Ruthanne champions interdisciplinary collaboration, working with various city divisions and external agencies to create resilient, inclusive, and culturally dynamic public spaces.

Joanne Moran

Joanne Moran, OALA, FCSLA, has been an exemplary leader in landscape architecture, shaping Ottawa's parks and communities for over 35 years. As former OALA President and a member of the CSLA Board, Joanne's advocacy and expertise have been instrumental in advancing the profession. Joanne has led nearly one thousand park construction projects ranging from lifecycle replacements to multi-million dollar builds. She has skillfully managed complex works along the Ottawa River shoreline, calming erosive forces at Petrie Island beach and more recently, improvements to the popular beach serving thousands of residents at Britannia Park. She prioritizes play space redevelopment and community gardens, fostering social cohesion and environmental resilience citywide. Through a life dedicated to Ottawa’s parks, Joanne brought equity, compassion and high-quality details to many of the City’s underserved neighbourhoods. These socially engaging places are a lifeline to residents of all backgrounds, drawing people together and finding common ground in a world that desperately needs it. Joanne’s passion was often recognized by colleagues and seniors and she has always been true to her love of all things landscape architecture for the pleasure it brings to those that experience the resulting beauty.

Julie Michaud

For two decades, Julie Michaud has been instrumental in shaping the City of London as a Senior Landscape Architect.

From meticulously detailed tasks to expansive city-wide master planning, Julie's expertise, experience, and innovative approach have been invaluable. As part of the municipal work team, she had the opportunity to collaborate with talented consultants, advisory committees, and community members. Some of her recent project examples include the Springbank Park accessible staircase and award-winning public spaces such as Lome Avenue Park, and East Lions Park.

In her current role, Julie ensures that parkland planning, operations, maintenance, accessibility, safety, and enjoyment are seamlessly integrated across various projects. Her leadership is characterized by kindness, trustworthiness, and humility, making her an outstanding team player and role model for colleagues and emerging landscape architects.

Gregg Lintern, RPP

Gregg Lintern, RPP, former Chief Planner and Executive Director, Toronto City Planning has, throughout his career, embodied and supported the values of landscape architecture, driving action in city building for enhanced parks and public realm, for climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience, and for justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, and in so doing transforming the shape and feel of Canada’s largest city for future generations.

Gregg's strong leadership resulted in many successful initiatives emphasizing the importance of public life and connecting parks and the public realm in a dense urban environment. These included plans for the Downtown (TOCore), Yonge-Eglinton, the revitalization of Regent Park, the creation of Dundas Square, the Mirvish Village redevelopment, and the mid-rise guidelines update. Perhaps one of the most transformative initiatives was Gregg’s leadership in introducing new forms of small-scale housing (EHON – Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods) with successful adoption of permission for laneway suites, garden suites and multi-plex housing in Toronto’s neighbourhoods.

As Mayor Chow stated when honouring Gregg’s retirement: ‘Throughout his 40-year career, Gregg has been guided by humility, generosity and a deep belief that Toronto is a resilient and beautiful city. Those values meant he never shied away from tough conversations and came to the table with solutions that offered more housing, more choices while also making sure our city is well equipped to deal with the impact of the climate crisis.’

Bill DeLuca

Bill DeLuca has been a leader in the landscape industry for over 50 years. He holds degrees in Horticulture from the University of Guelph and Economics from Western University. As president and CEO of Aldershot Landscape, Bill has transformed the company into a firm offering design, construction, plant propagation, nursery materials, and maintenance services.

Generous with his time, advice and philanthropy, Bill is a past president of the Ontario Landscape Contractors Association, has sponsored many OALA events, and in 2009, he helped establish the Aldershot Escarpment Garden in the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Bill's expertise in landscape construction and site development has earned him respect from landscape architects across the province. His built works includes collaboration with many renowned firms across Canada.

Bill is semi-retired and is enjoying time with his family in Burlington and Florida.