Continuing EducatioN (CE) Program
The CE program became mandatory at the beginning of 2004 after a three-year voluntary program. To maintain the objectives of the Society, the Continuing Education initiative and to strengthen the public's confidence in the BCSLA, all Registered Landscape Architects, Landscape Architects, Inactive Landscape Architects and Interns are required to annually monitor their Continuing Education activities. A minimum of ten credits must be filed before Members or Interns submit the payment of annual dues on December 31 of each year. BCSLA Inactive Landscape Architects must file a minimum of five CE credits a year. Credits are pro-rated for Members who change their status or for new Members or Interns. A waiver of CE Credits will be considered, in confidence, by the CE Committee on a case-by-case basis. Following the end of the annual CE reporting period, the Continuing Education Committee (CEC) and Board of Directors review member files for minimum CE requirement compliance.
CE Policy Changes
In 2021 the BCSLA CE Policy shifted from a three-year 30-credit reporting cycle to a one-year 10-credit reporting cycle. All BCSLA Members and Interns are required to file their annual CE credits (10) prior to, or with payment of their annual dues. At the conclusion of each term revisions are made using suggestions by BCSLA Members and BCSLA Interns and to align with the CE program across boundaries and professions.
>Mandatory Continuing Education Policy (2023)
>Continuing Education Input and Credit Guide (2023)
>Download Policy for CE Annual Non-Compliant Members (2023)
>Download CE Non-Compliant Report Form (2021, 2022)
Reporting, Monitoring and Compliance
To review/update your Continuing Education Reports:
- Log in to the BCSLA Members Page
- Select the "PROFILE" link at the top left of the website
- Click the CE Reporting tab which will take you to your CE credits page. You can always return to this page.
Interprovincial CE Agreement
The AALA, BCSLA and OALA have agreed in principle to collaborate to reduce member friction related to Continuing Education (CE) Program requirements. Members that hold membership in multiple provinces (currently AB, BC and ON only) will only be required to file their CE credits in the province that they pay CSLA Dues through. Each Component receiving CE Credits will advise the others when submissions are received and approved and that will suffice for the alternate jurisdictions. As always, any Component may request an audit of your submission and you will be required to comply with an Audit request from any Component. For Example: If you file CE in BC and are a member in Alberta, and Alberta requests that BCSLA Audit your CE submission, the BCSLA will undertake an audit and advise AALA whether or not you are compliant within program guidelines.
CE & Other Professions
> CE Comparison Chart 2023: Click here to download CE Comparison Chart 2023 for details.
> American Society of Landscape Architects CE Requirements by State. Click to view on the ASLA website.
Analysis of all state requirements, a comparison chart and a chart describing allowable CE activities
How to Get BCSLA CE Credits
This section contains useful links to useful online resources.
The world, and our little corner of it, has changed a lot since the first printing of 101 Ways in 2015. While the suggestions in 101 Ways remain very useful motivators for exploring knowledge gaps, there is great urgency in staying current within the profession, because landscape is both a human construct, a way of culturally organizing territory, and with human agency can transform and redefine human settlements, meet essential needs, and enrich human lives. The completion of the Truth + Reconciliation Commission hearings and release of the 94 Calls to Action in 2016 has both personal and collective implications, and as you will see, has pushed the direction and organization of the 151 ideas in this edition into some specific and timely topics to explore and absorb.
101 [free or low-cost] ways to get BCSLA CE Credits
The requirement for continuing education (CE) ensures that the BCSLA operates as a self-regulating profession that meets its statutory obligations under the Architects (Landscape) Act. The CE requirements are intended to encourage members to expand their foundations of knowledge and stay current on new developments within the broadest definition of landscape architectural practice. This zine evolved from the 2014 AGM when several members indicated that doing CE was too expensive and time-consuming. The 101 ideas presented in the booklet should trigger your own ideas about what you need to continue your lifelong pursuit of knowledge. Nearly all of the ideas are free and while they do cost you time, they should be fun.
>University of Alberta - Indigenous Canada
Indigenous Canada is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada. View the video here. Indigenous Canada is for students from faculties outside the Faculty of Native Studies with an interest in acquiring a basic familiarity with Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relationships. Take the course for free by choosing the audit option on Coursera.
>Indigenous Awareness - British Columbia Institute of Technology
This course promotes an increased understanding of Indigenous people and their place and space in Canada, past and present. The course will provide you with foundational knowledge of Indigenous people in the hopes that as the true history and contemporary reality of Indigenous people is more broadly known, Reconciliation can begin. Cost: $0.00
>British Columbia: An Untold History - Knowledge Network
This free four-part series uncovers Indigenous resistance through decades of brutality, the exploitation of migrant workers, and chronicles their continued resilience despite systemic racism. It features Indigenous, Chinese, Japanese, Punjabi, Black, and European stories, which are woven together to present an astute look at the complicated histories that shaped BC as we know it today.
>Indigenous Corporate Training
Guiding, training and supporting you in your reconciliation journey so that you are Working Effectively With Indigenous Peoples® and changing the world.
>Dispelling Common Myths about Indigenous Peoples e-Book
Dispelling Common Myths About Indigenous Peoples takes a look at 9 myths and explores the realities of those myths. It’s a great resource for anyone who wants to look beyond common myths and misconceptions to the realities about Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
> Drought Tolerant Trees for the Fraser Valley (PDF)
> FireSmart Manual - Government of BC (PDF)
>The Infrastructure Planning Guide and Toolkit
The purpose of the Infrastructure Planning Guide and Toolkit is to support First Nations with infrastructure planning so that it helps achieve the community’s vision and goals.
Vancouver Public Library has an extensive collection of garden design and landscape architecture books to support professional practitioners and at-home experts. The Library also maintains subscriptions to the leading North American Journals of landscape architecture and has access to databases collecting relevant articles on garden design in popular and academic journals. The resources presented in this subject guide will be useful for landscape architects preparing for the Landscape Architect Registration Exam.
