News

Landscape Institute President's Schools Challenge to Address Climate Change

30th November 2006

Climate change is the biggest challenge facing the built environment professions, Landscape Institute President Nigel Thorne warned in a speech (can be found at the bottom page) at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, London last night (Wednesday, 29 November). But there is a severe shortage of qualified landscape architecture professionals which is impeding progress.

Mr Thorne urged the 5000 strong membership of the Landscape Institute to become careers advisers and visit schools to inspire more young people into the environment and design profession.

“Collectively we are facing one of the most important periods in our history,” said Thorne. “From a professional standpoint the implications of climate change for the UK are very significant. Landscape architects are acutely aware of this because landscape and climate go hand in hand. Landscape will have a major role in how we mitigate and adapt to climate change.

“Coast lines, river flood plains, energy generation are all being affected and landscape architects have a vital role to play on all these fronts,” said Thorne. “The interplay of urban with rural, the relationship between our homes and where we work, whether we take our holidays at home or abroad. All these things will play a part in helping us switch to a low carbon economy.

“I think there can be no doubt that landscape architecture has a fundamental role to play in solving many of the problems of climate change by creating and adapting an environmental infrastructure for the 21st century in much the same way that engineers did in the Victorian period and planners did in the post-war era.”

But Thorne warned that a severe shortage of landscape architects was impeding progress: “Demand is extremely high and recruitment is a real headache for employers and clients,” he said. “The Landscape Institute is investing heavily in careers work and our education policies but we need to inspire more school students to increase applications to our university courses.”

Thorne challenged the Institute’s 5000 members to take the message into schools themselves. “Inspiring our young people to see that they can help shape their environment and contribute to the quality of their own and their fellow citizens’ lives is vital if we are to meet the public role we should be playing as professionals and thereafter tackle the issues of climate change,” he concluded.

The President's Speech 2006
Thanks Nick and welcome everyone. I’m glad so many of you could join me this evening.

Looking round the room I’m struck by how diverse a gathering we are: we have people here from other built environment professions, from the voluntary sector, from education, from politics, the media and many other disciplines.

It’s very good that we have opportunities like tonight to meet and talk. I think it’s more important than ever given the times we are living through – I’d go so far as to say that it’s essential because collectively we are facing one of the most important periods in our history.

The biggest challenge of our times is climate change. I’d like to talk a little about what we can do together to ensure that our national response to climate change is effective and successful.

No-one in this room needed a wake up call to climate change. But this autumn’s Stern Report has made the issue mainstream. Every decision that we take now as a country has to be in the context of climate change.

From a professional stand point the implications for the UK are very significant. The profession of landscape architecture is acutely aware of that. Landscape and climate go hand in hand. How we treat the land, how we create and manage landscapes, whether urban or rural, has an important relationship with climate. Landscapes don’t just happen. Very few are natural, even though our romantic tradition invites us to believe they are. In fact, in city or countryside, they look and work the way they do because someone somewhere has made decisions about initial interventions and ongoing management.

Landscape can have a major role in how we mitigate and adapt to climate change. The interplay of the urban with nature, the relationship between home and work, whether people stay at home to enjoy holidays in our national parks, on our coasts or go abroad – all of these things can play a part in helping transition to a low carbon economy.

At a more technical level too, landscape architecture can provide solutions. Because of climate change things are beginning to look noticeably different

• Our coast lines
• Our river flood plains
• Our energy generation
• Our strategic planting operations like forestation

We know we have a vital role to play on all these fronts, in collaboration with our fellow professionals.

Landscape is the context within which all development takes place and landscape architecture is an holistic profession which embraces technology, design and the natural world, all related to socio-economic and cultural considerations.

All of our political parties and leaders now appear genuinely concerned about such matters and are beginning to understand the importance of landscape to major strategic issues of the day.

I think there can be no doubt that the profession of landscape architecture has a historic role to play in solving some of the problems, creating and adapting our environmental infrastructure for the 21st century, creating social and economic value, in the same way that engineers did in the Victorian period and planners did in the post-war period.

There is another problem though. It is the severe shortage of landscape architects – the demand is extremely high and recruitment is a real problem for employers and clients. It’s great to see so many representatives of our accredited schools here tonight and members of our Student Landscape Institute Council. You’re doing fantastic work to promote the profession and educate the next generation of landscape architects. The Institute has been investing heavily too in careers work and our education policies. Next month we are launching our new professional qualification system, Pathway to Chartership, after four years of piloting.
In the past only around 200 candidates have become chartered every year. We need a lot more than that and we fully expect a significant proportion of the 1000 plus Associate members of the Institute to progress in the next couple of year to full chartership.

But we need to attract the school children at a much younger age to get applications to our university courses up. Interestingly about a quarter of the people joining the Institute are mature students changing career – we need to target more of those too with strong messages about the meaningful work they can do as a landscape architect.

I’ve therefore issued a challenge to all of our members – to go into their local school to spread the word. If our 5000 plus members do that we could make a big difference. We are fortunate in the Landscape Institute to have members who are passionate about what they do. We have a great capacity to live up to the promise in our Royal Charter to work in the public interest.

During my Presidency I therefore want the Institute to focus strongly on careers campaigning and we’ll be producing a toolkit of materials to support our members in schools, at careers fairs, and in raising our profile in the media.

We’ll need the help of all of you – we’re already working well with many of the people in this room but this issue of careers, of inspiring our young people to see that they can help shape their environment and contribute to the quality of their own and their fellow citizens’ lives is vital if we are to meet the public role we should be playing as professionals.

My predecessor as President, Kathryn Moore, was giving a lecture at the University of California at Berkeley last month and she picked up a leaflet there written by one of the Faculty. It was entitled ‘How landscape architecture can save the planet’.

I’m sure that could give rise to some debate, but it’s certainly eye-catching and it’s the kind of thing we need to be saying to our school children. I hope you’ll join with us in spreading the word and helping solve some the problems we face. The challenge is great but the rewards will be greater. There’s a world to play for.

Thank you all very much for coming – do enjoy the rest of the evening.

Source: LI