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Institutional
Our institutional projects have included hospital designs, a library, a domestic shelter, and school ground naturalization projects. These are public facilities, but all with a health & wellness and educational attributes. True to our design philosophy, opportunities to preserve and enhance habitat are top priorities in all of these concepts.
*The following project photo files will be updated this spring/summer, once things flower*
to suggest a future plant list for the 2021 plant installation.
COVID-19 prevented the committee from completing its work in 2020, but we are poised for the installation in spring/summer of 2021, as conditions allow. FRALA intends to be involved in the generation of alternative design concepts for the entire site once the current restrictions are relaxed.
University of Guelph Student Coop – Naturalized Garden
Guelph, ON (2019-present)
The office was part of a community-based volunteer group that collaborated on a project that hopes to be a demonstration garden of several ecological principals: pollinator gardens, rain water recharge, and environmental education.
The committee was initiated by Tom Klein Beernink (manager of housing and member relations) and is made up of like-minded individuals that bring their own expertise to bear on a project that could involve up to three individual sites along College Avenue, all owned by Guelph Campus Cooperative student housing, and are expected to be developed over the next few years.
For 2020, the committee focused on the main administration office, starting with the installation of a rainwater garden, designed by the City of Guelph’s Outside Water Use Program Coordinator, Karen McKeown and her associate, Emily Dixon, and installed by various committee members and volunteers. Roof rainwater was redirected to a small filtration raingarden that was planted with water-tolerant edge species that would also provide pollinator habitat. This was achieved based on a City of Guelph Grant program available to both home owners and community/commercial participants. FRALA’s role in this project was to provide a base plan of current site
conditions/measurements to be used for future design drawings. We also provided suggestions for future pollination/habitat gardens for the site, including the boulevard garden. Volunteer member, Dr. Judy Brisson (an optometrist whose next door clinic also uses a naturalized theme for their office landscape) applied for and secured a Pollination Guelph grant for the boulevard garden, and worked with FRALA
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Centre
Guelph, ON (1988-Present)
Phase 1: Naturalized Stormwater Management and Green Linkages
The institutional naturalization of this site has been evolving over the last 30+ years and has involved many players and projects within the 22 hectares, and Fiona has been involved in all of these phases. She was originally involved in 1988 as a supervisor on the installation of the noise attenuation berms on the Northern property edge, while working as a Landscape Architect for KW Buck. Following this work, the Healthy Habitat Project was created by the St. Joseph’s Historic Cemetery (1996-97) as a joint effort between Guelph 2000, Trees for Guelph, GRCA, City of Guelph, and other municipal partners. This created rich shrub and tree habitat as well as a tall grass prairie element. In 2000, FRALA worked with Braun Consulting Engineers to design the SWM Ponds, creating additional wetland and other diverse habitats.
Phase 2: Green Linkages
In successive springs, the GRCA, Our Lady of Lourdes High School, FRALA, and Trees for Guelph have been involved in mixed plantings of wetland species (dogwoods, viburnums, aspen, cedars, and red and silver maples) in an area that is off limits to development. This area is now fully planted and will be allowed to follow a natural succession pattern. The group is now trying to identify another area on the 22 hectare site for its 2020 planting.
The Healthy Habitat Gardens Tall-grass Prairie is still being cared for by FRALA with a ‘managed succession’ approach that involves removing aggressive woody plants such as trembling aspen and invasive species of buckthorn and Russian olive, to allow the prairie to retain its unique identity. Left unattended, this unique site feature would disappear, taking with it its specific animal community.
Due to this source of plants, other areas of the SWM ponds have now become home to these tallgrass species.
Phase 3: LTC Extension
When the main Hospital & Home facility needed to expand its building footprint, it was important to create a planting plan that would integrate the extension with the established building landscape. Initially, FRALA identified existing trees and shrubs that could be relocated to other parts of the 22 hectare site, prior to building construction. Distribution of these plants involved most of the site and was very successful. The second part of the project involved creating a planting plan that would blend with the other existing plantings around the main hospital building to have the effect of making the expansion appear as though it was actually part of the original development.
Phase 4: Senior’s Life Lease
This project involved creating an entrance off of Edinburgh Road that leads to the new Senior’s condominium development backing onto the smaller portion of the naturalized stormwater management ponds. The broader viewshed for these condos is the larger area of the pond with its amazing diversity of plants and animals.
This project was created for more active seniors to enjoy independent living. The entry tree planting used an edible variety of crabapple (Malus ‘Dolgo’), providing berries eagerly collected by residents and staff for jelly-making. Flowering crabapple species have been used throughout the institutional site, starting back at the original site entrance from 1861. The planting composition for the building entrance focused on a mix of native and horticultural species in order to distinguish the area from the naturalized wetlands.
School Grounds
During the late 1990’s, Ontario provincial government set up a grants program where schools could apply for funds to ‘green’ their landscapes. This involved planting shade trees, nature shrub clusters, and pollinator gardens.
Fiona and her team were involved in three such projects:
• Alma Public School
• Central Public School
• Westwood Public School
Alma Public School
Alma, Ontario (1996)
FRALA worked with this school to prepare a site grading and drainage plan for the large area that included two baseball diamonds and a multi-purpose sports field. Once this was prepared, a planting Master Plan was provided to surround the property boundaries based on a thick hedgerow concept with a linked pathway system and seating accommodation for each activity area. In addition, a concept for a mixed bed of shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers was prepared as a ‘butterfly garden’ for habitat creation.
Central Public School Wildlife Garden
Guelph, Ontario (1995)
As the name suggests, the concept in this small garden was to focus on creating opportunities for wildlife habitat. Working with some existing trees in this corner of the schoolground, native plants were employed to various habitat zones for butterfly gardens, shade gardens with native understorey plants, and an area for a future water feature. A bark mulch path provided the main access through the garden, with small ‘off route’ trails provided by stepping stone paths. Seating was provided for observation and contemplation, and rocks, stumps, bird baths, and bird feeders provided additional options for wildlife to visit.
Westwood Public School
Guelph, Ontario (1993)
Principal Faye Lunde contacted FRALA to work with her school to enhance Westwood’s ‘active’ playground to include more ecological attributes. Gifted with a natural site feature of an amazing slope at the rear of the property, the concept was to retain ½ of it for a natural toboggan run (used by the entire neighbourhood) with a reduced summer mowing schedule; and allow the other ½ to naturalize and be planted with a hedgerow of evergreens, and a ‘small tree nursery’. On the remaining level was a sports field area, skating rink, and diamond, and creative play space. The northern neighbouring boundary was used to enhance the hedgerow idea and provide path linkages. Other site features dealt with butterfly gardens, seedling nurseries entrance and street tree enhancements.
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