When the University of Guelph's Branion Plaza needed a new look in time for U of G’s 50th anniversary in 2014, the University sought design expertise from the master of landscape architecture students. Twelve MLA students participated in the design competition. Ben Vander Veen won first prize for the best design, selected by a jury of professional landscape architects and University staff. For more information, please see the UofG news story "Branion Plaza Gets a Makeover [1]."
The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development (SEDRD) brings together major academic fields concerned with creating strong communities, in Canada and around the world. The four highly respected programs in SEDRD share many common goals but approach them in different and complementary ways. This model reflects the imperatives in building authentic communities where planners, landscape architects, communicators, and citizens all play important interdependent roles in community strength.