News + Trends | Landscape Architecture and Design

Looking Forward: Kwanlin Dün First Nation Community and Education HUB in Whitehorse, Yukon

LEES+Associates has been working with Reimagine Architects and the Kwanlin Dün First Nation (KDFN) since 2018 on redeveloping and expanding the landscapes and spaces around their civic buildings in Whitehorse, Yukon. The KDFN consists of peoples of Southern Tutchone, Tagish, Tlingit, and other diverse backgrounds who live in the lands that define their traditional territories along the headwaters of the Chu Níikwän (known today as the Yukon River).

Looking Back: Woodlands Memorial in New Westminster, B.C.

We’re so proud of the work that we’ve done over the past quarter century that we’d like to spend some time showcasing some of our early, award-winning work.   One of LEES+Associates’ early projects was the Woodlands Memorial in New Westminster, BC, which memorialized Canadians with developmental disabilities who died while hospitalized in the Woodlands School.

Introducing our Ontario Practice Lead

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.

LEES+Associates at 25 Years!

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.

Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre - Exterior Visualizations

Nunavut Inuit Heritage Centre design team announced

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.

Elk Falls Cemetery

The development of the expansion of Elk Falls Cemetery has reached an exciting point! The LEES+Associates cemetery design team was recently in Campbell River, BC to review the clearing and top soil grading at the Cemetery.

Cemetery Business Planning : The Basics

Join Erik Lees, founding principal of LEES+Associates, and Jennifer Thibert, CPA, CMA, for an introduction to cemetery business planning. This webinar was offered in partnership with Western Canada Cemetery Association (WCCA) and LEES+Associates as a part of the WCCA conference.