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Climate
The tools and resources linked to this portal are offered to support Landscape Architects in addressing climate change in their practice, and are intended to complement Resources for Climate Adaptation provided by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.
A Landscape Architect must always exercise their own professional judgment when providing professional services according to the BCSLA Standards of Professional Conduct and Practice Any links provided to other websites are for your convenience, and do not imply endorsement by the BCSLA. The BCSLA does not assume responsibility or liability for the content of external sites, so it is your responsibility to evaluate information before using it in your practice. Adaptation to climate change requires modifications to codes, standards, and related policies so Landscape Architects must take the time to evaluate any current requirements as part of their professional practice.
PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP IN A CHANGING CLIMATE: JOINT STATEMENT
Professionals are required to use the best available science in making our decisions, and so we, the resource and planning professional associations of British Columbia, recognize that climate change is occurring and it has fundamental impacts on British Columbia’s communities and ecosystems. We know the importance of both reducing the presence of greenhouse gases in the global atmosphere (climate change mitigation) and in adapting our society and ecosystems to prepare for climatic changes (climate change adaptation).
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Latest News
ASLA Climate Action Plan The American Society of Landscape Architects Announces Industry-Wide Benchmarks to Address Climate Change and Biodiversity Crises.“Landscape architects are uniquely qualified to understand and manage... Read More >COP27 SURGe Cities are the frontline of climate change. From the initiatives of the COP27 Presidency Sustainable Urban Resilience for the next Generation (SURGe):"Though cities are a big driver of planet-warming... Read More >Debt-for-nature deals at COP27 Bankers bet billions on new wave of debt-for-nature deals.Via Reuters Read More >Free PICS Climate Insights Course Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions is providing a free and publicly available course for those who want to learn more about our changing climate. This interactive and self-paced short course... Read More >Innovation Magazine of the Engineers and Geoscientists of BC Innovation Magazine of the Engineers and Geoscientists of BC Article: Disaster in BC - Catalyst for Change The record-smashing atmospheric river event highlighted the need for changes to building... Read More >IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - Working Group III Report The evidence is clear: the time for action is now. We can halve emissions by 2030. GENEVA, Apr 4 – In 2010-2019 average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human... Read More >Landscape Architecture and the Science of Climate Change Cal Poly Pomona's Landscape Architecture and the Science of Climate Change Speaker Series. Pertinent topics & expert presenters: see "flooding" and "wildfire". This series of lectures,... Read More >Simon Fraser University - Adaptation to Climate (ACT) The LCR Planning Handbook This handbook compiles the results of the Integrated Climate Action for B.C. Communities Initiative (ICABCCI), drawing on best practices and key learnings.... Read More >Sustainability, Urban Resilience and False Resilience Interesting blog post from The Field (ASLA's Professional Practice Networks' Blog) titled 'Sustainability, Urban Resilience and False Resilience'. First posted Aug 17th , 2021 Read More >The Seas are Rising - Could Oysters Help? Kate Orf, ASLA, 'Leads Charge on Resilient Shoreline Project in New York'. Part of her plan is to use oysters to mitigate storm surges. Read More >
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Climate Change
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Adaptation Strategies – BC Selections
How to meet the ambitious target of conserving 30 per cent of Earth by 2030 A good introduction to Canada's new conservation goal called 30 by 30 which aims to conserve 30% of the nation's lands and waters by 2030.Meeting this ambitious goal would mean roughly doubling... Read More >
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Carbon
Climate Change Positive Design Climate Positive Design is a collaborative initiative founded by landscape architect Pamela Conrad. It is home to the Climate Positive Design Challenge which challenges landscape architects and... Read More >Tree Canada Site includes access to a Carbon Emissions Offset Calculator and links to free and public domain technologies for urban forestry. Read More >
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Economics
ACT's Green Infrastructure Resource Portal est 2021 Produced and curated by the Adaptation to Cimate Change Team (ACT), at SFU, the resources are searchable by name and can also be sorted by focus area (biodiversity, agriculture, business and economy... Read More >
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Risk
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Water
Alliance for Water Efficiency The AWE (Alliance for Water Efficiency) strives to provide the best online resources on water conservation and efficiency. The Resource Library is still in development with new resources added weekly... Read More >City of Victoria Rainwater Management Standards, Professional Edition. 2015 The City of Victoria produced this document as a planning and design tool to assist professionals with on-site stormwater management. The document provides guidance on selecting appropriate... Read More >CRD Green Stormwater Infrastructure The Capital Regional District site includes detailed information on Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) found in the lower Vancouver Island and Southern Gulf Islands region, and provides links to... Read More >Flood Preparedness in 16 Major Canadian Cities Published by the University of Waterloo in February 2021, this report focuses on how the municipal governments of 16 major Canadian cities self-assess their efforts to reduce the severity of flood... Read More >Shoreline Armoring - Relic of the Past Close to 30% of Puget Sound's shoreline is armored with seawalls and other structures meant to protect beaches against rising tides and erosion. But science increasingly shows that these structures... Read More >Skeena River Watershed Conservation Project This is the archived home of the Climate Change Adaptation Planning Project (CCAP) and related Skeena River Watershed Conservation Project (SRWCP). The projects embraced approximately 20,000 km2 of... Read More >
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Wellness, & Cultural & Social Resiliency
COVID, Climate Change and Equity: Challenges, Connections and Opportunities for Multi-solving. 2020 On June 23rd, 2020, 10:00 – 11:30AM SHIFT Collaborative hosted this webinar on behalf of the BC Climate and Health Network. The session featured presentations and a panel discussion with four... Read More >Green is not white - Racial Justice & the Climate Fight CBC's Laura Lynch explores the connection between racism and climate change by looking back at Black History month and ahead to a bill to address environmental racism. The broadcast includes dialogue... Read More >What are Indigenous Knowledge Systems - and how can they fight climate change? Deborah McGregor, the Canadian Reserach Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice, states "One of the things scientists recognize is that 80% of the world's biodiversity is in the lands that... Read More >
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Adaptation Strategies – BC Selections
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Green Infrastructure
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Environmental Benefits
For the love of swamps: Why Canada's wetlands are a natural climate fix On May 9th, CBC's Laura Lynch hosted a program on the value of wetlands across Canada and around the world, and their importance in addressing climate change. At the end of the broadcast is an... Read More >ACT's Green Infrastructure Resource Portal est 2021 Produced and curated by the Adaptation to Cimate Change Team (ACT), at SFU, the resources are searchable by name and can also be sorted by focus area (biodiversity, agriculture, business and economy... Read More >
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Plant Guidance
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Soil
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Urban Forest, Biodiversity Strategies, Landscape Performance Monitoring
Cities have a Green Infrastructure Blindspot Cities have a green infrastructure blind spot Carbon footprint standards exist for buildings, but not for the landscaping that surrounds them.... Read More >Municipal Roundtable Presentation Recording: Great presentation on the GreenforceTO: Toronto’s Green Streets Operations & Maintenance program focussing on green infrastructure operational and maintenance considerations. Read More >Shoreline Armoring - Relic of the Past Close to 30% of Puget Sound's shoreline is armored with seawalls and other structures meant to protect beaches against rising tides and erosion. But science increasingly shows that these structures... Read More >
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Environmental Benefits
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Sustainable Materials
Building Green Building Green is an excellent resource for sustainable materials, design processes and strategies, building science, buildings and project types, and codes and certifications. The site includes an... Read More >
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Tools and Resources
Users Manual on the Singapore Index on Cities Biodiversity The Singapore Index, also known as the City Biodiversity Index, serves as a self-assessment tool for cities to benchmark and monitor the progress of their biodiversity conservation efforts against... Read More >
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Tools
2030 Palette 2030 Palette is a component of Architecture 2030, a not-for-profit project which also includes access to 7 climate, energy, and site analysis tools, and the Carbon Smart Materials Palette.The 2030... Read More >Athena Sustainable Materials Institute The ASMI is a non-profit research collaborative that brings lifecycle assessment to the construction sector. The site provides data and software that helps leaders in sustainability get accurate,... Read More >BC Drought Information Portal This Provincial site provides useful information on drought levels across the province.The site links to the BC Drought Information Portal which includes historic BC drought information, interactive... Read More >BC Interactive Plant Hardiness Zone Map The interactive map allows the user to identify the hardiness zone and average temperature range for any town or city in BC. It also provides specialized interactive maps for BC Average First Frost... Read More >CEE Tool CALP is the Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning, an initiative of UBC’s Faculty of Forestry. The site includes a variety of publications, engagement resources, and the CEE tool.The... Read More >citree citree is a Technical University of Dresden database planning tool that supports the selection of trees and shrubs (woody species) for urban sites. To start, input proposed site and tree... Read More >City of Victoria Rainwater Management Standards, Professional Edition. 2015 The City of Victoria produced this document as a planning and design tool to assist professionals with on-site stormwater management. The document provides guidance on selecting appropriate... Read More >Climate Action Field Guide for ASLA Members A companion to the plan – the Climate Action Field Guide for ASLA Members – provides best practice guidance, toolkits, and resources for ASLA members and their firms and organizations, along with... Read More >Climate Action Planning - Microcredentials Climate Action PlanningUBC Micro-certificateCanada is not on track to meet its 2030 target of reducing GHG emissions by 40-45% per cent below 2005 levels, despite implementing several climate... Read More >Climate Atlas of Canada The Atlas is managed by the Prairie Climate Centre at the University of Winnipeg and is a useful tool for looking at anticipated impacts of climate change across Canada. The atlas includes an... Read More >Climate Change Guide for Professionals - full version Published in August 2020 with support from PICS and the BCCIC, the Climate Change How-To Guide for Industry and Professional Associations provides practical steps to help members of professional... Read More >Climate Change Scorecard The Climate Change Scorecard is an excerpt from the Climate Change How-To Guide for Industry and Professional Associations that was published in August 2020 with support from PICS and BCCIC. The... Read More >Green Shores BC - Sustainable Landscape Rating Initiative The Stewardship Centre for BC delivers ‘Green Shores’, a voluntary incentive-based program similar to green building rating programs such as Built Green and LEED. It has relevance to rising sea... Read More >i-Tree i-Tree is a state-of-the-art, peer reviewed software suite from the USDA Forest Service that provides urban and rural forestry analysis and benefits assessments. The suite offers several desktop and... Read More >Integrated Building Adaptation and Mitigation Assessment (IBAMA) PICS Scholar, architect & UBC master's student, Ilana Judah, worked with BC Housing to co-develop the 'Integrated Building Adaptation & Mitigation Assessment (IBAMA) framework & tools... Read More >Pathfinder - Sustainable Landscape Rating Initiative Climate Positive Design is a collaborative initiative founded by landscape architect Pamela Conrad. The initiative includes the Pathfinder tool, a carbon calculator designed to improve the carbon... Read More >Plan2Adapt Tool & PCIC Data Portal ‘PCIC’, the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, is a regional climate service centre at the University of Victoria that provides practical information on the physical impacts of climate variability... Read More >Plant Hardiness of Canada This Federal site explores the relationship between plants and climate across Canada. One portion of the site is dedicated to plant hardiness zone maps, which have traditionally been used by... Read More >Plants for the Future Plants for the Future (PFAF) is a UK charity and the PFAF tool is a free-to-use database plant search for edible and useful plants – primarily trees, shrubs, and perennials. The tool currently has... Read More >The Sustainable Sites Initiative - Sustainable Landscape Rating Initiative SITES is a comprehensive system for creating sustainable and resilient land development projects. It is used by landscape architects, engineers, planners, ecologists, architects, developers, and... Read More >Tree Canada Site includes access to a Carbon Emissions Offset Calculator and links to free and public domain technologies for urban forestry. Read More >
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Websites
2030 Palette 2030 Palette is a component of Architecture 2030, a not-for-profit project which also includes access to 7 climate, energy, and site analysis tools, and the Carbon Smart Materials Palette.The 2030... Read More >ACARN - BC Agricultural Climate Adaptation Research Network The BC Agricultural Climate Adaptation Research Network (ACARN) facilitates collaboration between agricultural researchers, industry specialists, policy-makers, students and producers from across the... Read More >ACT (Adaptation to Climate Change Team) ACT, based at SFU, was the first university-based think tank in North America dedicated to climate change adaptation and remains the only one focused on a comprehensive suite of adaptation research... Read More >ACT's Green Infrastructure Resource Portal est 2021 Produced and curated by the Adaptation to Cimate Change Team (ACT), at SFU, the resources are searchable by name and can also be sorted by focus area (biodiversity, agriculture, business and economy... Read More >Adaptation Library BC The Adaptation Library is a publicly accessible and searchable collection of community, forestry, and energy related adaptation products. It includes hundreds of documents related to regions across... Read More >Alliance for Water Efficiency The AWE (Alliance for Water Efficiency) strives to provide the best online resources on water conservation and efficiency. The Resource Library is still in development with new resources added weekly... Read More >ASLA Climate Action Plan The American Society of Landscape Architects Announces Industry-Wide Benchmarks to Address Climate Change and Biodiversity Crises.“Landscape architects are uniquely qualified to understand and manage... Read More >ASLA Resilient Design Living Resource This is an online living guide organized around disruptive events that communities now experience: drought, extreme heat, fire, flooding, landslides and, importantly, diversity loss, which subverts... Read More >BC Agriculture, Land & Environment (BC Gov't site) The ‘Agriculture Land and Environment’ site embraces the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), Agroforestry, Air Management, Biodiversity, Soil and Nutrients, Farm Practices Protection, Irrigation &... Read More >BC Climate Action & Planning (BC Gov't site) The BC Climate Action Secretariat hosts this site on provincial initiatives around Climate Planning and Action (e.g. action areas, climate action legislation, carbon tax), Climate Adaptation &... Read More >BC Professionals' Adaptation Learning Network: Inspiring Climate Action The 'Adaptation Learning Network: Inspiring Climate Action' (ALN) is a resource for professionals in British Columbia who work at the front line of climate adaptation to integrate adaptation... Read More >BC Stewardship Centre The SCBC is a non-profit organization that delivers stewardship education, programs, guides, tools, and other resources aimed at protecting wildlife and species at risk and develops and champions... Read More >Building Green Building Green is an excellent resource for sustainable materials, design processes and strategies, building science, buildings and project types, and codes and certifications. The site includes an... Read More >CALP CALP is the Collaborative for Advanced Landscape Planning, an initiative of UBC’s Faculty of Forestry. The site includes RPG styled games that teach mitigation and adaptation strategies and provides... Read More >Climate Action BC This site is home to the ‘Inspiring Climate Action’ (ICA) project and the BC Professional’s Adaptation Network (BCSLA is a project partner with four representatives on the Advisory Board). The ICA... Read More >Climate Action Field Guide for ASLA Members A companion to the plan – the Climate Action Field Guide for ASLA Members – provides best practice guidance, toolkits, and resources for ASLA members and their firms and organizations, along with... Read More >Climate Atlas of Canada The ‘Climate Atlas of Canada’ is managed by the Prairie Climate Centre at the University of Winnipeg and is a useful tool for looking at anticipated impacts of climate change across Canada. The atlas... Read More >Climate Change Positive Design Climate Positive Design is a collaborative initiative founded by landscape architect Pamela Conrad. It is home to the Climate Positive Design Challenge which challenges landscape architects and... Read More >Climate Literacy 101: On a Path to Climate Success Watch presentations by leading climate experts Drs. Kirsten Zickfeld and Mark Jaccard from SFU, and expand your knowledge about climate science and solutions. These 3 sessions ran on-line May &... Read More >CRD Green Stormwater Infrastructure The Capital Regional District site includes detailed information on Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) found in the lower Vancouver Island and Southern Gulf Islands region, and provides links to... Read More >CSLA Adaptation Primers The CSLA Adaption Primers are a series of 4 manuals that provide basic information on climate change – the most complex challenge facing decision makers in this first half of the 21st century.Primer... Read More >Drawdown Self described as the World’s Leading Resource for Climate Solutions, the Drawdown mission is to help the world reach the point when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and... Read More >Engineers & Geoscientists BC - Climate Portal Engineers & Geoscientists BC has undertaken several initiatives to explore the impact of climate change on professional engineering and geoscience practice. The accessible climate page on the... Read More >Environmental Monitoring (BC Gov't site) The ‘Environmental Monitoring’ site provides indicators (graphs, maps and reports), environmental data and related information and multimedia which can be used to help track environmental conditions... Read More >Green Shores BC - Sustainable Landscape Rating Initiative The Stewardship Centre for BC delivers ‘Green Shores’, a voluntary incentive-based program similar to green building rating programs such as Built Green and LEED. It has relevance to rising sea... Read More >Inspiring Climate Action This site is home to the ‘Inspiring Climate Action’ (ICA) project and the BC Professional’s Adaptation Network (BCSLA is a project partner with four representatives on the Advisory Board). The ICA... Read More >Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. The site includes a library of IPCC Assessment Reports, Special Reports, Methodology Reports, and reports... Read More >Landscape Architecture and the Science of Climate Change Cal Poly Pomona's Landscape Architecture and the Science of Climate Change Speaker Series. Pertinent topics & expert presenters: see "flooding" and "wildfire". This series of lectures,... Read More >Landscape Performance Series The Landscape Performance Series is an online set of resources to help designers, agencies and advocates evaluate performance, show value, and make the case for sustainable landscape solutions.... Read More >Municipal Roundtable Presentation Recording: Great presentation on the GreenforceTO: Toronto’s Green Streets Operations & Maintenance program focussing on green infrastructure operational and maintenance considerations. Read More >Naturally Resilient Communities NRC is an interactive guide of nature-based solutions that use natural systems, mimic natural processes, or work in tandem with traditional approaches, to address specific hazards like flooding and... Read More >Pathfinder - Sustainable Landscape Rating Initiative Climate Positive Design is a collaborative initiative founded by landscape architect Pamela Conrad. The initiative includes the Pathfinder tool, a carbon calculator designed to improve the carbon... Read More >PCIC (Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium) PCIC is a regional climate service centre at the University of Victoria that provides practical information on the physical impacts of climate variability and change in the Pacific and Yukon Region... Read More >Resilient by Design Podcasts Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. It’s sometimes hard to know where to turn and know what to do. The Resilience by Design Podcast from the Resilience by Design Lab at... Read More >Society for Ecological Restoration SER is a global community of restoration professionals that works at international, regional, and national levels partnering with governments, NGOs, and the private sector to advance the science and... Read More >The Sustainable Sites Initiative - Sustainable Landscape Rating Initiative SITES is a comprehensive system for creating sustainable and resilient land development projects. It is used by landscape architects, engineers, planners, ecologists, architects, developers, and... Read More >UN Convention to Combat Desertification Online Library The UNCCD e-library includes an extensive collection of books, articles, serials and audio visual materials related to a full range of climate change related topics including development, economics,... Read More >West Coast Environmental Law West Coast Environmental Law is BC’s legal champion for the environment. The site provides information on numerous environment related initiatives and includes links to a vast array of related... Read More >Yale Environment e360 ‘e360’ is a weekly e-publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Great resource of ‘reporting, analysis, opinion and debate’ (including videos) on an assortment of... Read More >
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Books
Braiding Sweetgrass – Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants Klimmerer, Robin Wall. Milkweed. 2013.As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she... Read More >Collaborative Action on Health & Climate Change - Community Stories. pub. April 2021 Since the Framework for Collaborative Action on Health & Climate Change was published in 2019, there has been momentum building to take action on health and climate change in BC and elsewhere in... Read More >Drawdown -The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming Hawken, Paul, ed. Tantor. 2017.In the face of widespread fear and apathy, an international coalition of researchers, professionals, and scientists have come together to offer a set of realistic and... Read More >Lo-Tek – Design by Radical Indigenism Watson, Julie. Taschen. 2020.Responding to climate change by building hard infrastructures and favoring high-tech homogenous design, we are ignoring millennia-old knowledge of how-to live-in... Read More >Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities: Design Strategies for the Post-Carbon World Condon, Patrick M. Island Press. 2010.Condon discusses transportation, housing equity, job distribution, economic development, greenhouse gases, and ecological systems issues and synthesizes his... Read More >The Citizen's Guide to Climate Success (free download) “I cannot think of another book that covers this ground. Mark Jaccard has done a huge service, helping to lay out the vexed ground of climate information, disinformation, and conflicting conclusions... Read More >The sustainable Sites Handbook - A Complete Guide to Principles, Strategies, & Best Practices for Sustainable Landscapes Calkins, Meg. John Wiley & Sons. 2012.The Sustainable Sites Handbook offers in-depth coverage of design, construction, and management for systems of hydrology, vegetation, soils, materials, and... Read More >Weather in the City – How Design Shapes the Urban Climate Lensholzer, Sanda. nai010. 2015.Weather in the City explains and illustrates how smart urban design can enhance comfort in the city. With practical case studies richly illustrated with photographs... Read More >
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Glossary
PLACEHOLDER Climate Smart Glossary Climate Smart is a social enterprise based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that enables organizations to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen their businesses and build a resilient... Read More >
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Tools
