2.2.

1 Respect and Inclusivity

The Department of Plant, Food and Environmental Sciences and the Landscape Architecture program
actively promotes and articulates cultural competence, equity, diversity and inclusiveness as supported
by Dalhousie University’s Strategic Priority 5.2. The program fosters these core values among its faculty,
staff and students through multiple avenues

The University’s Diversity Strategy and any updates or Task Reports are reviewed at the program’s
monthly meetings as required. The program has support to enhance faculty and student learning from
the Human Rights and Equity Office which provides workshops and open discussions. Faculty are
required to attend University or Department equity, diversity and inclusiveness (EDI) sessions.

The program’s pedagogy includes Diversity & Inclusion and Indigenous Recognition statements in all
syllabi. The National Truth and Reconciliation Report and the Recognition of Mi’kmaq Territory, on
which the Program’s physical spaces are built, are components of many courses. The following courses
specifically teach and require intercultural perspectives:

ARTS 2000 – Natures Image: A Survey of Landscape Art

CMMT 3000 – Human Communications and Conflict Resolution
ENVA 2000 – Environmental Studies I
ENVA 2000 – Environmental Studies II
HORT 1000 – Landscape Plants I
HORT 3000 – Environmental Processes and Natural Landscape Functions
HORT 3008 – Horticultural Therapy
LARC 2001 – History of Landscape Architecture
LARC 2003 – LA Studio I: Introduction to Design
LARC 2004 – LA Studio II: Site Design
LARC 3002 – LA Studio III: Site Analysis
LARC 3003 – LA Studio IV: Community and Design
LARC 3004 – Landscape Architecture Theory
LARC 4001 – LA Studio V: Regional Site Analysis and Planning
LARC 4002 – LA Studio VI: Independent Study

With specific attention to the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the
University has enhanced affirmative action admissions criteria and will included learning around the
distinct health needs of Indigenous peoples as well as provided cultural competency training for
learners.

In July of 2020, an analysis of the three (3) primary landscape architecture education and professional
organizations in North America was conducted to review their equity, diversity and inclusion
declarations. They all had issued statements:

CSLA: draft statement only

https://www.csla-aapc.ca/mission-areas/equity-and-diversity
Accessed July 12, 2020
A Message from the CSLA Executive Director Michelle Legault
The Canadian Society of Landscape Architects condemns discrimination and all forms of racism
that permeate our society. We believe that inclusion is a priority of utmost importance not only to
society as a whole but to the profession of landscape architecture. One of the core values of
the Canadian Landscape Charter is to Consider All People.
Recent events remind us there is much to be done and much to be done urgently. For me, it is
also a reminder that we all have the responsibility to act to effect positive change. Let's be part
of the solution to create a just society.
We are currently working on several initiatives to promote anti-racist advocacy in our
organization, including the following:
1. The CSLA has engaged the provincial, regional and territorial component associations and
the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation in the discussion of equity and diversity in the
profession
2. The CSLA has joined a cross-disciplinary discussion with other organizations from related
professions
3. The CSLA has added equity and diversity to its draft Strategic Plan, which is slated for
approval at the Annual General Meeting to be held on Thursday, June 18th.
4. The CSLA has drafted a statement for discussion at the Annual General Meeting on June
18th. Do you have any feedback on the draft statement? If so, share it with Michelle Legault,
Executive Director, at executive-director@csla-aapc.ca. Read the draft statement below.

From the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects Board, Staff, and Members

We affirm that Black Lives Matter.

The CSLA condemns racism, bigotry, and oppression in all its forms. It is imperative that each of us, as
associations, employers, and individuals, do our part to eradicate systemic racism. Let us be clear: there
is no place for racism in our association or in the profession of landscape architecture. Landscape
architects have the power to design places that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, we
recognize that design which ignores those values can bring harm to Black, Indigenous, and other
racialized people in Canada. The profession of landscape architecture must not be silent about the
injustices that people of colour are facing. Systemic racism in the built environment has taken many
forms, including redlining, gentrification, and disinvestment. Environmental injustices, including lack of
equitable access to clean air and water, and greater concentrations of pollution continue to plague
these communities. We know that many of you share our concerns for those who have been hurt and
impacted and are searching for answers.

We have a long journey ahead of us to see diversity, inclusion, and equity represented in our profession
and to break down the barriers within the profession. However, the CSLA recognizes that dismantling
systemic racism requires more than words. We require action to unravel injustice. The CSLA commits to
working on those actions to ensure the profession is inclusive, right our historic wrongs, and lead the
profession to be part of the solution, not the problem. As the voice of the profession in Canada, we are
committing to leading positive change within the profession.
Addressing the issues of racism and inequality will require significant commitment and ongoing effort by
the CSLA and by each of us as individuals. We are dedicated to working towards a framework for
understanding and creating solutions that help bring an end to these longstanding injustices. The CSLA
has united the provincial, territorial, and regional component landscape architecture associations, has
amended its Strategic Plan, has created a web page with resources, and has shared important social
media content as a start to this framework.

We believe that the pillars of the CSLA’s Reconciliation Action Plan are an exemplary guiding framework
for moving forward:
1. Acknowledge that harm has been inflicted
2. Create an awareness of the past and atone for those behaviours, and
3. Act to change our behaviour and create opportunities for inclusivity

Racism, injustice, and intolerance must come to an end. We commit to taking action to change, no
matter how long it takes.

LACF: statement only

https://lacf.ca/about-lacf/statement
Accessed July 12, 2020

LACF Statement on Racial Inequality and Injustice

We affirm that Black Lives Matter.

LACF condemns racism, bigotry and oppression in all its forms. We encourage our members
and donors to contribute in any way they can to eradicate systemic racism.

LACF believes in the power of landscapes to transform our common future. We assert that
design must not ignore the principles which can bring harm to racialized people in Canada. As a
signatory of the Canadian Landscape Charter, LACF firmly stands with its core value of
“considering all people”. We reaffirm our commitment to equality and stand by the principles of
the Canadian Landscape Charter.

LACF invests in research, communication and scholarship that advances our collective capacity
to shape resilient, equitable and meaningful landscapes for all. We pledge to ensure diversity
and equity are represented in our profession and in the foundation. We pledge to do all we can
to dismantle systemic racism. We pledge that we shall not be silent.

LACF recognizes that more than words are needed to make change. Through its grants,
scholarships, communications and governance, LACF will work toward breaking down the
barriers and act to unravel injustice. We commit to working on those actions as a foundation and
with our partners to ensure the profession is inclusive, right the historic wrongs and place the
profession as part of the solution, not the problem. LACF will address this issue in its upcoming
Strategic Plan, work with partners, review policies, grants and scholarships and make changes
that count.
 Racism, injustice and intolerance must come to an end. We commit to taking strategic actions,
to making diversity and equity central to our core activities and to evaluate our progress to
making change.

ASLA: statements only

https://www.asla.org/dei.aspx
Accessed July 12, 2020

As a profession and as an organization, we strive to be representative and reflective of the

communities we serve. Unfortunately, the reality has not yet caught up to the ambition.

About 18 percent of the U.S. population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, while only 10 percent of
landscape architects and 4 percent of ASLA members do the same. About 14 percent of the
population identifies as African American, but only 3 percent of landscape architects and just
over 1 percent of ASLA members do.

Closing the gaps requires concentrated efforts on all sides. ASLA is committed to fostering
equity and inclusion within our profession, membership, staff, and leadership. Here is just some
of the work we're doing to make that happen.

Diversity involves celebrating difference based on gender, race, sexual orientation, sexual
identity, culture, or ethnicity. Equity is defined as fairness, and inclusion means "for all people."

ASLA Diversity and Inclusivity summit report:

https://www.asla.org/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=56237
Accessed July 12, 2020

ASLA RELEASES 2019 DIVERSITY SUMMIT REPORT

9/17/2019

Today, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) released the 2019 Diversity Summit
Report. The report, the product of a summit held earlier this year, examines issues that African American,
Latinx, Native American, and other underrepresented groups face in the landscape architecture
profession.

"We are landscape architects. We have common things that make us the same, as well as important
differences that I want to make part of this profession,” said Shawn T. Kelly, FASLA, President of
ASLA.

As ASLA continues to advance the recommendations of past Diversity Summits, the organization and the
growing community of attendees is committed to:

• Preparing ASLA members and chapters to adopt and implement engagement outreach strategies to
increase educators, new strategic partners, and STEM stakeholders;
• Optimizing a contemporary paradigm whereby messaging and resources are developed to showcase
unique solutions landscape architects apply to real-world problems, and;
• Establishing ASLA national position, values, and goals for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through an
awareness campaign for firms, institutions, and individuals.
Together, these strategies will serve to educate and engage young people in the profession of landscape
architecture and position ASLA members and chapters to implement and measure.

Background

In 2013, ASLA convened its first Diversity Summit with the goal of developing a deeper understanding
of why landscape architecture as a profession doesn't attract a more diverse profile. Each summit brings
together a group of experienced and emerging landscape architects who identify as African American or
Latinx to develop strategies that address diversity issues in the field. These strategies are compiled into
Diversity Summit Summaries and reports, which are implemented throughout the year and reexamined at
the following year's summit.

Participants evaluate goals from previous summits, develop focus areas for key diversity initiatives to
guide ASLA’s work plan, and discuss the future of the Diversity Summit.

ASLA Diversity Summit 2019 was held from May 17-19th at the ASLA Center for Landscape
Architecture in Washington, D.C.

Based on the above critical analysis and review of all available EDI material, the landscape architecture
program feels that Dalhousie University’s EDI strategy and statement is sufficient