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Sheguiandah First Nation Community Court, ERA Architects and Emily Kewageshing

Carl Borgstrom Award for Service to the Environment

The Award

The award recognizes an OALA member who practices in an environmentally, socially, culturally and economically sensitive and sustainable manner. Ecologically sound and sustainable design does not preclude aesthetically beautiful work, nor vice versa, and this award is intended to recognize such efforts.

This award is intended to keep alive the links with our past for members of OALA.

Carl Arvid Borgstrom immigrated to Canada from his native Sweden shortly after World War I and soon became one of the profession’s most prolific and respected designers. In 1934, Carl Borgstrom, together with eight other prominent Ontario-area designers, founded the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA). Carl Borgstrom’s work was the most actively in tune with the natural landscape. His best-known works include the winning entry in the 1928 Northwest City of Hamilton Entrance Competition and the subsequent commission to design and supervise construction of a large alpine garden, the precursor to and centrepiece of the Royal Botanical Gardens. Other influential projects include the alignment and planting designs for Queen Elizabeth and Ivy Lea Highways, thought to be Canada’s first true scenic parkways.

This award is to be given to an individual landscape architect, or landscape architectural group, organization, or agency (as recognized by the OALA) to recognize a special or unique contribution to sustainable design that is culturally sensitive and inclusive in the interaction with the environment, that may address climate change and the use of nature-based solutions.

The Nominee

The nominee must be a Full Member of the OALA, or a landscape architectural group, team or agency recognized by the OALA. The agency’s or team’s work is to have been led by a Full Member of the OALA.

To avoid the perception of self-nomination, any nomination made for a landscape architectural group, team or agency, by a member of that group will not be considered. An individual may however be nominated by a partner or co-worker from the same firm, agency or team.

Nominator and Endorser

The nominator must be either a member of the OALA in any category of membership, or a Committee of the OALA. A minimum of 1 letter of endorsement is required by a member of the OALA in any category of membership, or a non-member. Neither the nominator nor endorser should be the nominee or part of the nominated agency or team.

Submission Requirements and Evaluation Criteria

  • The contribution(s) will have made regional, or provincial impact, within the Province of Ontario, through policy, planning or design, or as an implemented project.
  • The award may be given to the nominee(s) in consideration of a specific project or for a body of work. The nomination should clearly demonstrate the landscape architect’s role and contribution.
  • The nomination should highlight specific characteristics and features which demonstrate that the cited works have been designed in an environmentally and culturally sensitive and sustainable manner.

NOTE: The Carl Borgstrom Award for Service to the Environment recognizes the contribution of landscape architects while the OALA Award for Community Service to the Environment recognizes community contributions.

Submit your nomination

Previous Recipients

Recent recipients of the Carl Borgstrom Award for Service to the Environment are:

  • 2024 - Heather Schibli
  • 2023 - Sibylle von Knobloch
  • 2021 - Jay Cranstone
  • 2020 - Brian Basterfield