April 15, 2016
Positive energy fuels our profession
Paul Brydges
LO President
Albert Einstein said “energy cannot be created or destroyed, in can only be changed from one form to another.” How very true this is. Sit in on an LO committee meeting to discuss a topic that everyone at the table is passionate about and the positive energy infuses the entire group with a sense of power and ability to accomplish tasks that seem daunting individually.
We are currently working on several committee projects at LO that will help to shape our association in the coming years and carry us that much further forward. Members’ ongoing willingness to give their time and expertise for the greater good is humbling to say the least. Being a leap year, we have an extra day of energy this year. Tony DiGiovanni and I used that to our advantage to talk to about 50 landscape architecture students at my alma mater, the University of Guelph. Their diverse interests and energy were infectious for both Tony and myself. Their reasons for choosing landscape architecture were as diverse as the students themselves. The one common theme that rung true with them all was the desire to help the environment as a major part of their career path. Making the world a better place through design is one of the founding principles of landscape architecture and all environmental or green based design. Green infrastructure versus grey infrastructure is one of our major LO initiatives to help be part of the solution for continuing water management issues.
We discussed how many different opportunities LO has to offer for students to continue learning specific skills while at school and after.
As members, we continually talk about getting out in front of potential new members to show them the value of LO. Our new student category for members found a great response that day and the students had lots of varied questions. As mentors, we can easily create a welcoming opportunity for our future to come and ask us questions. Telling the group of students they are our future created such positive energy with them that it can’t do anything except have them follow through with finding out more about LO and our association.
The many dedicated student volunteers that helped at GreenTrade Expo in Ottawa earlier in February had the same energy and passion. Bringing them together to set up and greet attendees gave them the opportunity to see our diverse profession and attend some very valuable lectures early in their green careers.
In many ways, LO is becoming the go-to place for professionals such as municipalities and diverse interest groups, to learn from and lead green design and environmentally responsible design. This is a direct result of all the positive energy our dedicated members put forth for so many years.
Our newest goal is to ensure we remember from within that we are all professionals and put this language forth to all our newest members and contacts. Already, our LO staff team have started to adjust their language on websites, in emails and in presentations to remind us all that we are an association of a vast number of varied professions and professionals.
The 20th edition of Canada Blooms is now over and in dealing with the powerful team that built and created the LO feature garden, I know that energy will create and energize a new group of LO members. A special thank you to everyone involved in the LO garden can never be said too many times. Your positive energy greatly influences us all and helps us to carry through the busy times.
Paul Brydges may be reached at paulbrydges.la@sympatico.ca.
LO President
Albert Einstein said “energy cannot be created or destroyed, in can only be changed from one form to another.” How very true this is. Sit in on an LO committee meeting to discuss a topic that everyone at the table is passionate about and the positive energy infuses the entire group with a sense of power and ability to accomplish tasks that seem daunting individually.We are currently working on several committee projects at LO that will help to shape our association in the coming years and carry us that much further forward. Members’ ongoing willingness to give their time and expertise for the greater good is humbling to say the least. Being a leap year, we have an extra day of energy this year. Tony DiGiovanni and I used that to our advantage to talk to about 50 landscape architecture students at my alma mater, the University of Guelph. Their diverse interests and energy were infectious for both Tony and myself. Their reasons for choosing landscape architecture were as diverse as the students themselves. The one common theme that rung true with them all was the desire to help the environment as a major part of their career path. Making the world a better place through design is one of the founding principles of landscape architecture and all environmental or green based design. Green infrastructure versus grey infrastructure is one of our major LO initiatives to help be part of the solution for continuing water management issues.
We discussed how many different opportunities LO has to offer for students to continue learning specific skills while at school and after.
As members, we continually talk about getting out in front of potential new members to show them the value of LO. Our new student category for members found a great response that day and the students had lots of varied questions. As mentors, we can easily create a welcoming opportunity for our future to come and ask us questions. Telling the group of students they are our future created such positive energy with them that it can’t do anything except have them follow through with finding out more about LO and our association.
The many dedicated student volunteers that helped at GreenTrade Expo in Ottawa earlier in February had the same energy and passion. Bringing them together to set up and greet attendees gave them the opportunity to see our diverse profession and attend some very valuable lectures early in their green careers.
In many ways, LO is becoming the go-to place for professionals such as municipalities and diverse interest groups, to learn from and lead green design and environmentally responsible design. This is a direct result of all the positive energy our dedicated members put forth for so many years.
Our newest goal is to ensure we remember from within that we are all professionals and put this language forth to all our newest members and contacts. Already, our LO staff team have started to adjust their language on websites, in emails and in presentations to remind us all that we are an association of a vast number of varied professions and professionals.
The 20th edition of Canada Blooms is now over and in dealing with the powerful team that built and created the LO feature garden, I know that energy will create and energize a new group of LO members. A special thank you to everyone involved in the LO garden can never be said too many times. Your positive energy greatly influences us all and helps us to carry through the busy times.
Paul Brydges may be reached at paulbrydges.la@sympatico.ca.