NZILA Conference: Spirit of the Landscape Te Mauri o te Whenua

Sarah Peddie, a graduate landscape architect in our Auckland studio attended the 2015 NZILA conference, The Spirit of Landscape: Te Mauri O Te Whenua. Coming away from the conference, Sarah felt inspired by the range of projects in which Landscape Architects are currently involved. It also made her think more deeply about how decisions that are made in the course of a project can affect the wider environment and community in positive ways.

The conference involved looking at cultural, tourism, productive and habitat landscapes, from different perspectives. It was held in Rotorua for a couple of days and there were a mix of speakers from around New Zealand and overseas, as well as field trips around Rotorua.

Going to a conference provides the chance to learn about current issues in Landscape Architecture and see the range of projects in which people are involved. After attending the conference, Sarah felt that most of the speakers and field trips have added to projects she has been working on since.

One of the sponsors of the conference, Kauri Park Nursery, provided a few helicopter trips over a floating wetland, and a highlight was flying over the areas the attendees had walked earlier in a field trip. It was a complete change of perspective, seeing the wetland and lakeside from the land and then from the sky. What can be seen from the air and what is seen at eye level is very different, and is is easier to connect the broader landscape.

Overall, the conference related to a bigger question which is becoming more pressing, how to balance peoples' requirements of the land in a way that doesn't destroy our environment. Landscape Architects potentially have the skills and ability to help deal with this challenge.