"Landscape architects sometimes plan, design for 500 years. The only other practitioners of such long-term planning are perhaps geologists and foresters. Therefore, landscape maintenance, financial planning, administration and interdisciplinary cooperation are crucial for landscape architecture projects. Resilience to climate change and the management of associated risks are just a couple of the challenges facing landscape architects today and in the future," says prof. Robert Holden, a landscape architect from London.

The professor is visiting Lithuania this spring to teach Landscape Architecture master's students at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VILNIUS TECH). R. Holden smiles as he shares that his main goal is to help students see the possibilities: "Landscape architects can encourage engineers, for example, to look wider, and in the face of climate change, it is difficult to predict what the scope of the landscape architect profession will be in 50 years."

The role of the landscape architect is becoming particularly important in the face of climate change
 
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is measuring and predicting climate change, which will have a greater impact on Lithuania in the future. R. Holden points out that while the constancy of climate and temperature provides stability, Lithuania has distinct seasons and requires a wider range of measures: 

"There is a lot of discussion these days about albedo, the ability of surfaces to reflect. White reflects sunlight well, black absorbs it. This is very important because it can directly affect public health. People are dying from heat waves". According to the professor, the high temperature contrasts in Lithuania, bare trees replacing lush foliage, snow and other elements should be on the radar of landscape planners and designers more often.

R. Holden notes that Lithuania's forest cover is an important asset in the fight against climate change, but points out that it's not just the quantity that matters, but also the way it's used, and that vegetation is only one of the means of improving water and air quality: "Methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, water vapour, and particulate matter in the air are a cause for concern, and molecularly-sized nano-sized particles can be released into the bloodstream, can become a part of the body, and can lead to disease".

Risk management - is the landscape architecture profession changing?

Professor recalls how Europe woke up after the winter floods of 2006-2007: "In the United Kingdom (UK), sustainable urban water management (drainage) systems are now mandatory. Sheffield is a particularly good example, with rainwater retention basins, infiltration strips, planted watercourses - systems that allow spaces to be transformed, landscaped and naturally irrigated.

The Netherlands appointed Dirk Sijmons as State Landscape Architect back in 2004, who developed the country's first national water management plan. In addition to flood risks, the Dutch population faces problems with water supply and groundwater nitrification. The profession is changing - climate change is forcing landscape architects to think about and manage the risks". 

A landscape architect has taught in Istanbul, where earthquake risk makes it essential for residents to be able to get out of the building and go to a safe place, but how do you protect open spaces? The balance between built and open spaces, the definition of development rates, taking into account security (earthquakes, war risk, etc.) in the city are important challenges today. How can landscape architects contribute?

First step - legal framework and public education  
 
"The history of landscape architecture shows that legislative changes, laws and amendments require action, which makes the work of landscape architects crucial. In the UK, for example, it was the 1947 New Towns Act that led to the growth of the profession in the 1950s and 1960s, as every new town required a landscape plan. 
 
While the training of landscape architects in Lithuania had been interrupted, VILNIUS TECH is now training them again, essentially providing a new opportunity for Lithuania to use the skills of landscape architects. For example, I think there is often a lot of environmental impact assessment work to be done," shares R. Holden". 

Professor Holden stresses the importance of collaboration between different professionals and the creation of a favourable legal environment for this to happen: "For example, in the Netherlands, it is common practice to have advisors from different fields in each ministry. Public education should be provided accordingly, so that the public can better understand the role of the landscape architect in the context of the challenges facing the contemporary world". 

Photo:Dovilė Mažeikienė