Kia ora e te whanau,

I know it seems a long time ago now, but I trust you all had a good break over Christmas and the New Year.  This is my first President update for 2019 – perhaps an indication of the extended break that I managed to get with my family after a busy year. 

2019 has kicked off how 2018 left us – busy in all respects. 

The 2019 Conference Creative Team and our Event Organisers are in full swing, with draft speaker lists, venues booked and the theming for the conference taking shape nicely.  The 2019 theme, DISRUPTION, centres on the responses that critical-thinking people have actioned in the face of disruption, whether this has been instigated by natural systems or humans.  The conference will lead on from the Lincoln University School of Landscape Architecture 50 year celebrations.  Many of my landscape program cohorts have started organising reunions during the same week, so make sure you take the chance to catch up with colleagues and old class mates at the same time. 

The Landscape Guidelines are taking shape.  The authors have continued to make progress despite the loss of funding from government departments.  We have an MOU now between the authors and the NZILA.  2019 will deliver a well resolved set of guidelines to take to our 2020 AGM.  Look out for your chance to have input in the second half of the year.

Di Lucas was busy late last year, being recognised in the New Years Honours list for her services to conservation and also in co-ordinating a meeting of plant propagation and supply interests to address the crisis facing our plant supply industry.  Well done Di and thanks for your passion and hard work.  

The NZILA AGM will be held on 5 April in Tāmaki Makaurau and will be followed by a landscape research workshop co-ordinated by Dr Julian Bolleter and facilitated by the Landscape Foundation.  

This week we have an Executive meeting in Ōtautahi, where I am really looking forward to checking out some of the conference venues and to hearing about progress for the conference and the awards.  I will share an update with you from the meeting next month.
      
As always, if you have anything you want to share with me, then please drop me a line,  
 
 
 
Mā te wā,
Brad