parks planning Archives - LEES+Associates

City of Regina Parks Master Plan

The City of Regina commissioned LEES+Associates to develop a Parks Master Plan for the city. This plan focuses on park policies and provides a clear path to sustain, improve, and develop Regina’s parks in the future. Through community engagement activities, we helped articulate Regina’s goal to create sustainable and inclusive year-round parks, offer enriching experiences, and connect communities through nature and culture to improve the quality of life of residents and visitors.

We created the Parks Master Plan by facilitating extensive community engagement to help Regina understand how the broader community wants to use their park spaces. We conducted 15 online interviews and workshops with community groups, two online surveys, and incorporated a separate Indigenous Engagement project done by Wicehtowak Limnos Consulting Services.

The City of Regina prioritized Indigenous worldviews into their Parks Master Plan, as part of a larger strategy of moving more meaningfully towards reconciliation. Sessions were held with the Touchwood Agency Tribal Council, File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council, and the Metis Nation Saskatchewan, where there were a mix of political figures, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and invited delegates. Overall, the First Nations groups recommended incorporating signs, educational plaques, and other displays to teach Regina citizens more about Indigenous use of the land, Treaties, and the histories of the First Nations of the area as well as increased naturalization and making the parks more accessible.

First Nations representatives emphasized how naturalizing some of the urban colonial public spaces could transform them into sites of greater inclusivity, and that sentiment was also echoed by broader community feedback. In response, Regina aims to naturalize 25% of its park spaces by 2028 to achieve benefits including support for biodiversity, climate resilience, reducing potable water use, and creating a sense of place for all visitors to the parks. Part of the naturalization will also include reintroducing Indigenous plants and medicines into the park landscapes, such as sage, sweetgrass, choke cherries, and other medicinal plants. Naturalized spaces will also offer trails, outdoor education, and nature appreciation to connect us to the wonder of the world around us.

Making parks more four-season friendly is also an important part of making the parks more accessible to all Regina’s citizens. Recommendations for making the parks more appealing in the winter included more events to bring people into the parks, increased lighting, improving snow clearing for pedestrians and cyclists, and planting vegetation that can protect against prevailing northwest winter winds. These steps will bring people into the parks, make them feel safer, and also encourage more casual winter activities like skating, cross-country skiing, and tobogganing.

In May 2024, the Regina Executive Committee voted 6-0 in favour of endorsing the city’s first Parks Master Plan.

Tse’k’wa Amphitheatre Project

The Tse’k’wa Heritage Society commissioned LEES+Associates to design an amphitheatre at the Tse’k’wa National Historic Site as part of their initiative to incorporate interpretive elements into the site.

The site’s location, on the plateau of the Peace Region near the City of Fort St. John, lies along early routes of northward migration for the Dane-zaa First Nations; they consider the site to be a hallmark of their long history in the Peace River region.

Tse’k’wa means “Rock House” in Dane-zaa/Beaver language and has been the gathering place of the Dane-zaa people for more than 12,500 years. Discoveries at the Tse’k’wa site, such as this fluted stone point (pictured left) found at Tse’k’wa in the 1980s, are among the earliest evidence of people living in the Americas. The Dane-zaa people have always known that Tse’k’wa was a significant site. In 2013, three local Treaty 8 Nations—Doig River, Prophet River, and West Moberly First Nations were incorporated into the Tse’k’wa Heritage Society to collaborate as stewards of the site. Under their leadership, Parks Canada designated Tse’k’wa as a national heritage site in 2019, making it one of very few Indigenous-owned and managed national historic sites in Canada.

Close collaboration with the three Dane-zaa Nations informed our design approach for the site. The amphitheatre was envisioned as part of a larger initiative to welcome people to the Tse’k’wa lands, share the Dane-zaa culture, and bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples together for cultural learning, sharing, and celebration. In designing the amphitheatre, we were inspired by the shapes and forms of the cave.

The amphitheatre provides a storytelling and performance space for gathering, drumming, interpretive events, outdoor classrooms, and presentations. We incorporated natural materials into the design, focusing on native plants with traditional and medicinal uses. For example, a band of wild rose and edible berries were planted to frame the seating area and native aspen trees provide a backdrop to the amphitheatre. We sourced some of the plants from Twin Sisters, an Indigenous-owned native plant nursery.

In designing the amphitheatre, the key design consideration was aligning the space with the Dane-zaa worldview and culture. The shape of the amphitheatre emphasizes the shape of the horizon and incorporates views of the sun and moon, which are both significant in the Dane-zaa worldview. The amphitheatre’s shade sails are also meant to remind viewers of a drum, reminding them of the cultural activities that will take place in the space.

Due to the site’s archaeological significance, our design minimizes ground disturbance and works with the natural slope of the site to minimize any potential damage to archaeological evidence still below the surface. Archaeological digs are ongoing at the site.

Construction on the amphitheatre was finished last year. Since then, the site has been actively welcoming visitors to learn about the Dane-zaa and their culture.

LEES+Associates at 25 Years!

To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we wanted to tell you a little about where LEES+Associates started and reflect on how far we’ve come!

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. This experience led to a horticultural apprenticeship program, summer work in landscape installations, and eventually, to working for the City of Nelson, running the greenhouse for their parks during the Nelson Main Street Revitalization project of the 1980s. After experiencing park work, Erik pursued a degree in landscape architecture at UBC. While there, he also began a job as the parks manager for the District of West Vancouver, which he held for a decade.

While working in West Vancouver, Erik oversaw the Capilano View Cemetery. He’d long had an interest in sacred spaces, as both a designer and a planner. Cemeteries are expected to bring together notions of sacredness, meaning, and ceremony, but Erik was also interested in seeing how he could bring that design perspective to parks and landscapes more broadly.

These experiences in horticulture, parks, cemeteries, and the public sector were key to Erik’s development as a landscape architect. In 1998, when Erik opened the doors of LEES+Associates, he knew that his ability to bring together a love of design with knowledge of the mechanics and operations of park systems would allow him to fill an important niche in the market. There were very few competitors working with cemeteries and memorials – and they weren’t seeing them through an experiential lens or a business lens the way that Erik was.

LEES+Associates started with just Erik and Kathi. Erik had the background in landscape architecture while Kathi brought her interest in history, art, and museums. She played a critical role in the administration and strategy of the firm. The firm started growing almost immediately, hiring about one new employee per year. LEES+Associates’ office on Homer Street in Vancouver opened in 2001, followed by offices in Toronto in 2014 and Whitehorse in 2016.

With a strong design team, we were recognized for our work across multiple specialties, receiving awards for memorials, cemetery design, and parks and trails planning. Some of our award-winning projects include the Woodlands Memorial, Everett Crowley Park Management Plan, the Air India Memorial, Mountain View Cemetery redevelopment, the Komagata Maru Memorial, and Toronto’s Natural Environment Trail Strategy. Most recently, the Iqaluit Municipal Cemetery project received awards from both the CSLA and ASLA for reflecting the essence of a landscape with restrained embellishment and connecting the land to the people of the community.

In 2020, Heidi Redman, Richard Cook, and Megan Turnock took the helm, although Erik continues to be involved. The firm has grown significantly in the past three years. Heidi spearheaded the opening of LEES’ office in Whitehorse, which has led to increasing work in the north. Dealing with permafrost and working in arctic and remote landscapes has its unique challenges and LEES is excited to continue building this specialization. Richard directs the cemeteries and memorials practice area; he is excited to help cemeteries deal with some of the real challenges that are coming as attitudes about death and burial change and the generation of Baby Boomers begins to pass. Megan leads the firm’s work in parks and trails planning, building on her background in ecosystem restoration. The firm has been expanding its practice to include civic, cultural, and institutional projects, as well as embarking on expansion in Ontario and into the U.S.

As LEES moves into its second quarter century, we want to celebrate and build on our successes. In our newsletters for the next year, we’ll be revisiting some of our foundational projects and sharing stories from our past. We’re excited for the next 25 years!

Youth Engagement

Student brainstorming sheet

We were at Monterey Middle School this week as part of our work on the Carnarvon Park Master Plan for the District of Oak Bay. We had a chance to meet with nearly 50 Grade 7 students to get their input on the park.
After a brief presentation, a group brainstorming exercise, and a “sharing out” of each group’s favourite ideas for the park, there was an opportunity for the students to vote on what they would love to see in the new park using sticky notes.
We’ve generated ton of great ideas that we can’t wait to incorporate into the master planning process as we move forward.

A big thank you to Mr. Friese and his class for welcoming us into their classroom and making the engagement session a success.

Sticky dots after students voted on their favourite ideas

Salt Spring Lions Commemorative Bike Park

The Salt Spring Lions Commemorative Bike Park was opened to the public on August 6th with a ribbon cutting and community celebrations that included a prize draw for new bikes, professional bike trials demonstration and food served by the Salt Spring Lions Club.
The bike park is designed to facilitate skills development and cycling opportunities for new and young cyclists. The design consists of three main trail loops, one for beginners, one requiring more advanced balancing skills and an outer loop for intermediate riders. Each trail loop contains a variety of skills features that are challenging and fun for riders of varying skills levels, such as table tops, berms and wooden roller coasters.
Extensive understorey restoration and split rail fencing to define boundaries is expected to be completed during the fall.
The skills trails were enjoyed by many families and look to be a destination for enjoyable recreation on Salt Spring for years to come.
We’re incredibly pleased to have been part of this awesome project!

Enjoy these photos from the opening event.

Salt Spring Island Bike Park Open House

LEES+Associates presented a preliminary concept for a new Family Bike Park proposed for Salt Spring Island at a well-attended Public Open House on March 25th.

Visitors reviewed information on the planning process and environmental and technical assessments and walked the site with tour guide, Elizabeth FitzZaland of Green City Builders.

The new park will be located in Mouat Park and built with funding from The Salt Spring Lions Club, the Salt Spring Island Recreation Commission (PARC), and the Capital Regional District (CRD).

Responses to the Draft concept were generally positive and the next round of work is now underway. Construction of the bike park is projected to begin this summer.

Bowen Island Parks Plan Adopted

Bowen Island’s current Parks Master Plan dates back to 1994, when there was only one municipally owned park. Today Bowen Island has 23 municipal parks and approximately 73 hectares of municipal parkland.

LEES+Associates collaborated with Bowen Island Staff to develop an updated Parks Plan which provides a community supported vision for Bowen Island’s parks, trails and beaches over the next ten years. The plan was informed by a public consultation process with a variety of opportunities for the public to get involved including a phone survey and online questionnaire, open house events, a farmer’s market pop-up booth, focus groups with youth and elders, and stakeholder workshops.

LEES+Associates was pleased to present the final draft of the Bowen Island Parks Plan to Council on October 23rd and it was adopted in principle.

For more information visit the Bowen Island Parks Plan website at: http://www.bimbc.ca/content/park-plan

Humber Bay Shores Park Trails Improvement

We’re pleased to see construction underway at Humber Bay Shores Park in Toronto. The project, aimed at improving trail networks and bicycle connections at the park is expected to be completed in the summer of 2018.

Working with the City of Toronto, LEES+Associates completed the trail design including conceptual design through to construction documents, and a continuous linkage across the Lake Ontario shoreline as part of the Waterfront Trail System. When completed, the enhanced public space hopes to accommodate the increased popularity of the waterfront park and trail system.

For more updates on the project, check out the City’s page on the project here.

WALLED OFF: Re-imagining the Stanley Park Coastline

We’re excited to share the master’s thesis of our newest staff member Ali Canning.
Ali, a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia’s Master of Landscape Architecture program, was invited by the City of Vancouver to present this thesis to the Park Board.

WALLED OFF: Re-imagining the Stanley Park Coastline
Thesis Project: Ali Canning

With the need to adapt to changing climates and emphasis on protecting valuable coastal habitats, this thesis researches ways in which Vancouver can reimagine its connection to the marine environment. Intertidal landscapes provide disproportionately high levels of ecosystem services, making coastal and estuarine landscapes some of the most valuable on earth. However, our city is currently divided from its aquatic habitats with the beloved, but environmentally damaging seawall. Created to protect Stanley Park from erosion, the seawall is an iconic symbol of Vancouver with millions of people coming to visit it each year. However, rising tides and increasingly frequent storm events threaten its integrity and require constant maintenance and repair. With environmental pressures growing and future predictions calling for a new coastal adaption strategy, there is an opportunity to reimagine the interface between land and sea and increase resiliency within the park. Using design solutions based in both ecology and social awareness, landscape architecture can be used to redesign shoreline areas into multifunctional landscapes that restore marine habitat, are resilient to future change, and provide a place for people to reconnect with our oceans.

Due to its high vulnerability to storm events and inland flooding, the final design focuses on the landscape from Ferguson Point to Second Beach. A dynamic park is created allowing users to explore island marsh boardwalks, meander through sand dunes and investigate tide pools. With an integrated nature house and varying trail networks, this project creates a stimulating landscape that strengthens our relationship with the coastal environment we treasure.

Read the full dissertation