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Call for Ideas

Ideas and Submissions

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly, is published by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects.

Ground: Landscape Architect Quarterly 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. Photographs submitted for publication should be 300 dpi at a minimum of 8″ x 10″. For details and submission guidelines, please contact Ground at [email protected]

Ground reserves the right to edit all submissions. The views expressed in the magazine are those of the writers and are not necessarily the views of the OALA and its Governing Council.

For information about advertising in Ground, please contact the OALA Office at [email protected]

GROUND Magazine Article Types

*asterisk indicates articles that are intended to be in each issue of Ground.

Artifact*

Pages/Words: approx. 1pg/200 words
Description:  Focuses on the sharing of a particular design element, feature, product or occurrence that is noteworthy, but unlikely to warrant more extensive exploration in a longer-form article format.  These are short articles that are intended to be interesting and provocative. They typically focus around one main large photo, and x# of words, and are found at the end of the magazine as the last story.

Book Corner

Pages/ Words:  approx 1-2pgs/400-600 words
Description:  Reviews interesting publications related to the profession.

Business Corner

Pages/ Words: approx 2pgs/800 words
Description:  Focusing on issues related to the financial and operational aspects of the profession, the business corner looks to address important topics often overlooked. This section aims to explore issues related to the practice of landscape architecture – from office management, legal, insurance, and other more experiential stories of professional practice.

CSLA Awards

Pages/ Words:  6-8pgs
Description:  Annual section that highlights the CSLA award recipients that include OALA members on their teams. The Awards are typically shared in the Summer issue of Ground.

Design by Detail

Pages/ Words: approx 2pgs/800 words
Description:  Explores a particular construction detail to give greater insight into an artful or interesting landscape element.

Education Corner

Pages/ Words: approx 2pgs/800 words
Description:  Focusing on an issue related to the teaching of landscape architects, whether degree-seeking students, or professionals seeking further education.  

Issues and Debates

Pages/ Words:  approx 2pgs/800 words
Description:  Focusing on topics that are controversial, mark a significant change, or are of great importance to the future of the profession.

Letter From…

Pages/ Words:  approx 4pgs/1,000-1,500 words
Description:  Typically written by someone who is based outside of Ontario (typically outside of North America), who is writing on a subject that is relevant to OALA readers, but from the perspective of an international practitioner.

Notes*

Pages/ Words:  2-4pgs
Description:  “A miscellany of news and events” – the Notes section collects timely news for OALA members in brief pieces (6-10 news items) over a spread of 2-4 pages.  It also includes quarterly updates such as new members and in memoriams for members who have died.

OALA Awards

Pages/ Words:  2pgs
Description:  An annual article that highlights recipients of that year’s OALA awards. The Awards are typically shared in the Summer issue of Ground.

Plant Corner

Pages/ Words:  approx 1-2pgs/500-800 words
Description:  Showcases a unique plant species, plant disease or pest – describing their function and habit in the landscape.

Research Corner

Pages/ Words:  approx 2-4pgs/1,000-1,500 words
Description:  Highlights and explores research projects and other new discoveries or practices.  Intended to showcase the scientific rigor of academic or professional research to the readers.

Round Table*

Pages/ Words:  6-8pgs
Description:  A primary feature of every issue of GROUND.  The roundtable is a gathering of luminaries from a variety of backgrounds that meet to discuss in-person an issue pertaining to the theme of the GROUND magazine in which it will be featured.  These panels are moderated, and the dialogue is transcribed and edited for printing in the magazine. Typically 4-5 people participate in the moderated discussion, in addition to the moderator.

Sites of Value

Pages/ Words:  approx 4-6pgs/1,000-1,200 words
Description:  A series of articles that highlights important landscape projects in Ontario history.  These articles discuss their origin, creation and performance and change over time.

Student Corner

Pages/ Words:  approx 2pgs/800 words
Description:  An opportunity for students studying landscape architecture to share their issues and experiences from a first-hand perspective.

Technical Corner

Pages/ Words:  approx 2pgs/800 words
Description:  Explores a technical element or product that relates to the practice of landscape architecture or landscape construction.

Up Front*

Pages/ Words: approx 1-3pgs/400-700 words
Description:  Typically, short articles that may or may not pertain to the theme of the magazine in which they are published.  They are intended to be timely explorations of issues, happenings, and/or new projects.  These articles are placed near the front of the magazine.