SpruceLab is excited to announce that, along with four other firms, we have been shortlisted for the Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge competition, by Waterfront Toronto. This is an exciting and potentially precedent-setting project that will become an asset to the City of Toronto, its many residents, and contribute to the dynamic vitality of the area.  As Waterfront Toronto explains:  “The Keating Channel Pedestrian Bridge will link the Quayside neighbourhood and Toronto’s downtown to an expanded regional park system along the Don River and the emergent Villiers Island. It will con ..read more

The Canadian Society of Landscape Architecture 2023 Congress in Saskatoon Colonization. Reconciliation. These are two scary and frustrating words for many people that are also fraught with misconception. What exactly do these mean and why should we care? The best way I know how to address these questions is through sharing some of my personal story.            Colonization is very much alive. I was 30 years old when I realized how it has hurt and impacted myself and my family, and that many of the dominating systems in countries like Canada ar ..read more

Book chapter by Gary Pritchard (4 Directions of Conservation Consulting Services), and Sheila Boudreau, 2022. In: Landscape Approach: From Local Communities to Territorial Systems. Editors: Zander, H., McCartney, S., Solano, S., and Vangjeli, S. (Applied Research + Design Publishing) This book will be released in spring of 2023, but given the threats to the ecologically important Ontario Greenbelt (protected natural areas) due to the Proposed Amendments to the Greenbelt Plan, I believe sharing it now is timely. The Government of Ontario needs to understand that it must honour its Treaty obliga ..read more

Written by Cat Sobotta while working at SpruceLab, edited by Natalie Sisson Each one of us has the power to contribute to the well-being of our fellow humans and non-humans alike. One simple way to positively impact the surrounding world is to plant more native species, and/or to leave space for native species to re-establish themselves.   If you don’t have property to plant on, perhaps you have a neighbour willing to spruce up their yard with colourful native varieties, or there may be a community garden in your neighbourhood you can sign up with. If not, you could also start your o ..read more

This past November, Sheila had the pleasure of speaking at the Ontario Urban Forest Council (OUFC) 2021 Conference with a talk entitled Forests, First Peoples, & Future Cities. In this talk, Sheila discussed her personal relationship with the natural world, experience with participating in various initiatives to better protect the environment and the rights of Indigenous people, as well as strategies for making change happen.  Sheila often thinks back to her youth and the influence that the cedar forests she grew up playing in had on her. Especially during the early stages of Covid lo ..read more

By Laura Lebel-Pantazopoulos, Junior Planner at SpruceLab  Paper  As a recent Master of Planning graduate, I’m really pleased to have been awarded last month with the Minto Planning for Sustainability: Best MRP Award for the best Major Research Paper related to sustainability. This paper, researched and written from home in the height of the pandemic, was a bit outside the box when it comes to urban planning research. I worked hard to make it practical, and I'm grateful to ha ..read more

OPPI21 Conference Talk | October 20, 2021 As someone who does land-based work, what is your decolonization plan? What skills, knowledge, and relationships do you need to better bridge worldviews with Indigenous Treaty Rights holders and Peoples?  SpruceLab Principal, Sheila Boudreau, recently spoke at OPPI21 Conference on how planners can improve Indigenous engagement in their work, such as in the environmental assessment (EA) process. She invited and spoke alongside colleagues G ..read more

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