We are thrilled to introduce Amanda Gebhardt as our new practice lead for Ontario and Eastern Canada. Amanda joined us in April 2023 and has swiftly shown her passion for collaboration and realizing diverse and impactful projects. Her project portfolio includes cemetery expansion development, commemorative spaces, active transportation, complete streets, trails, urban parks, and environmental habitat restoration.
When Erik and Kathi Lees started LEES+Associates in 1998, he built on his long experience in horticulture, landscape design, and parks management. Erik started as part of the “Back to the Land” movement of the early 1970s. Motivated by a deep commitment to environmentalism and an interest in land systems, Erik started his “landscape” journey with a Dutch family in the Nelson area who maintained a greenhouse that grew seasonal plants.
LEES+Associates will provide landscape design for the long-awaited Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre in Iqaluit. The winning design team of Dorte Mandrup (Lead Architect), Guy Architects (Architect of Record), LEES+Associates, EXP Services, Adjeleian Allen Rubeli, Pageau Morel, Altus Group, and Indigenous consultants Kirt Ejesiak and Alexander Flaherty was announced on July 9th 2023 following an international design competition.
The Burden of Gravity, an anthology of poems by Shannon McConnell “challenges readers to consider how we, in the aftermath of de-institutionalization, choose to remember institutions like Woodlands School”.
In June of 2020, LEES+Associates began offering e-learning opportunities for those new to the wonderful world of cemeteries and for those more experienced and wanting to ensure they are abreast of best practices and the latest training available.
We are excited to present the last in the series, Planning Makes Perfect: An Introduction to Cemetery Master Planning!
In our second Introductory Cemetery Webinar Series titled Green Burial: From Concept to Reality, Erik takes us through another fast paced webinar.
In this focused webinar, you will learn:
The foundations of green burial: from concept to reality;
Why more individuals and cemetery operators are opting for green burial, and
How to incorporate a green burial section into a new or existing cemetery.
In the first of our Introductory Cemetery Webinar Series, Erik Lees integrates over 40 years’ experience in cemetery design, planning and management, in this fast paced and interactive webinar. This 45-minute session covers current trends in cemetery design, operations, and interment options.
You will learn:
How current interment and memorialization trends are affecting cemetery managers;
We are delighted to announce that after 22 years, Erik and Kathi Lees have reached an agreement with their long-standing management team to transfer the ownership of the firm to new principals: Megan Turnock, Heidi Redman and Richard Cook. This team has been with the firm for a combined total of 30 years and have been actively involved as practice leaders and in the management of the firm.
LEES+Associates is excited to be expanding our knowledge and skillset in the realm of accessibility and universal design in the outdoor environment. One of our staff, Ivy Smith has recently become an RHFAC (Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™) Professional and is one of the first members in Canada to achieve this designation.
Her training with the Rick Hansen Foundation has given her an expanded perspective of the built environment.
Congratulations to our colleague Josh Bernsen who has recently become a member of the British Columbia Society Of Landscape Architects (BCSLA) and a registered landscape architect in BC.
Growing up in a small agricultural community in Southern California, Josh credits working on the family alfalfa and wheat farm,