The President of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) Peta-Maree Ashford says she is focused on elevating the voice and impact of the profession.

Speaking to LAA, Peta-Maree shared the pressing issues facing AILA and the landscape architecture profession in Australia and she outlined the steps the organisation is taking to address these challenges.

One key issue, she says, is the shortage of landscape architects which she believes is now an international problem. LAA will be looking at AILA’s and other responses to this issue more closely in coming weeks.

Peta-Maree says one of AILA's key priorities is to focus on its members, providing education and training opportunities to help members strengthen their skills, both technical and soft. "We've been reviewing our CPD framework and really providing education tools for our members to strengthen their capabilities, ranging from technical skills through to soft skills," she says. "Our professionals work in a whole range of different environments and AILA’s services need to respond to this."

Another priority is culture, and AILA has embedded three values into their strategic plan to guide its work: climate-positive design, connection to country, and gender equity. Peta-Maree sees creating a safe, inclusive environment for all members as essential to this work. "We talk about ensuring cultural safe for First Nations people, and I feel like our whole profession needs to feel safe. So having a safe environment where we can have difficult conversations but feel like we're making progress as one whole institute is another focus for us." 

The pandemic has also helped to bring AILA's chapters and committees together, with the organisation pooling its resources and expertise to be more effective. "Australia is quite large, we've got different chapters that are spread out and everyone's doing fantastic work. But what if we pooled the work that was transferable?" she asks. "Every state is bespoke, every state has its own challenges. But if we did the foundations of the work as one whole supporting each other, then we can actually achieve a lot more."

Advocacy is also a major focus for AILA, as Pete-Maree believes it will drive work for landscape architects and promote green infrastructure. "We want to be there when decisions are getting made so that you can nip things in the bud rather than reacting after the fact," she said. "And this is where our advocacy is first and foremost, to give ourselves a greater voice."

AILA is also prioritising education, as the field has faced significant challenges in the wake of the pandemic. Peta-Maree sees AILA as being well positioned to lead the way in this area. "I think education has copped an absolute battering and particularly post-COVID. We actually identified that prior to COVID, the shortages of landscape architects is a key issue," she says. "So that is a primary focus for us this year with the assembling of academics from each university at an Education Summit to be hosted in April"

AILA, says Peta-Maree, is also shaping its membership offerings to be increasing inclusion of landscape architects working in government agencies. These landscape architects are in work environments where they can be proactively shaping policy and decision-making. "Rather than being reactive, we want to be proactive," Ashford said. "We want to be there to shape decisions about our communities and places.”

Another area where AILA is taking a lead is in its work with First Nations people, with the Institute having met with the Minister of Indigenous Affairs to explore ways to support Indigenous voices in government. "We feel that we can play a really big role in helping understand Indigenous voices," Peta-Maree says. "Our cultural awareness is evolving and landscape architecture as a profession is in a great position to contribute to these discussions."

AILA - What is Landscape Architecture from AILA on Vimeo.