Get Involved

Help grow the profession and shape the Institute.

For a relatively small profession and organisation the LI plays a hugely positive role in shaping landscapes and liveable places. Our almost 1000 inspiring volunteers are the lifeblood of the LI, and help to make the organisation so positive and relevant. The time, dedication and enthusiasm that volunteers offer enables the LI to make its voice heard and exercise the influence it does. The dedication of our volunteers helps us better represent and serve our members, and in turn, volunteering helps our members develop vital knowledge and skills. Volunteering can create opportunities for members to develop their competency and knowledge in relevant areas, and thereby contribute to their CPD.

Every year members contribute over £1 million worth of time in voluntary work for the LI, as Board, Council and committee members; Chartership supervisors, mentors and examiners; and Awards judges – as well as working with branches, speaking in schools, representing the LI on working groups and contributing to policy and technical publications.
Current vacancies are listed on the Volunteering Roles page.

Education

The future of the landscape profession depends on attracting new entrants into accredited university courses, and helping them become competent, well-rounded and skilful professionals. This section shows how you can help develop the next generation of landscape professionals.

Careers

We have developed a host of new materials to help promote the landscape profession and encourage prospective students to join a course. At the heart is our #ChooseLandscape website; it shows what the main landscape professionals are and the issues that they work with, as well as providing information on accredited courses, funding, salaries, ‘Day in the Life’ profiles and much more. We encourage members to promote the profession to young people by following the ‘Four Ways to Get Involved‘.

Pathway to Chartership

The Pathway to Chartership is the route to becoming a Chartered landscape professional, based on active learning, mentoring and an examination. The Pathway shapes the next generation of professionals. It trains and tests licentiate members on the skills, knowledge and integrity required to practice as a landscape professional. And it gives formal recognition of professional standing, including rights across the EU. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to support up-and-coming landscape professionals – as well to enhance your own leadership, management and communication skills.
Look at the role descriptions above, or here

Professional Review Groups

The LI’s relationships with accredited courses and schools are vital in ensuring that a healthy number of skilled graduates enter the job market each year. Every LI-accredited course has a Professional Review Group (PRG), comprising members from industry and academia. The PRG acts as a critical friend, offering a link to the professional world, advising on current landscape practice, and reporting back to the LI. The commitment for PRG members is about three days a year.

Ambassador for Landscape

Inspire the next generation of landscape architects.

This is a really exciting time to be part of the landscape architecture profession and with high employment rates and a wide range of roles available, the career path is a very practical and secure option.

Ambassadors for Landscape are the face of the landscape profession. Their role is to engage with schools in a variety of ways to help raise awareness of the profession and educate students and teachers. This could be through career events such as visiting a school to give a short careers talk, or curriculum-led projects bringing landscape architecture alongside the school curriculum. Being an ambassador is about drawing on your talents to promote the profession, so the role can be shaped by you.

Any member of the LI can be an Ambassador.

Governance

Shaping strategy and championing landscape, volunteers help shape the LI’s strategic direction; provide thought leadership; and advocate for the profession in a variety of roles.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees oversees the strategic direction and function of the LI, ensuring that the core values and purposes of the organisation are reflected in operational processes. The Board has legal responsibility for the Institute as a charity and its compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. There are up to 12 board members:

5 Honorary Officers directly elected by LI members:
President
Vice-President
Honorary Secretary
Honorary Treasurer
President Elect or Immediate Past President in alternate years
3 Standing Committee Chairs
4 Independent Trustees who may or may not be LI members, appointed for their particular skills and experience
1 directly elected non Chartered member

Elections are held every two years to appoint new members and independent trustees are appointed for two years via the Appointments & Selection Committee.

Advisory Council

Council is the guardian of the spirit of the Charter and its long-term objectives. Its main responsibilities are:

Ensuring accountability
Holding the Board to account
Shaping policy
Inspiring support

The Council’s role is to represent members and to help set the LI’s strategic objectives. There are up to 30 Council members:
5 Honorary Officers
3 Standing Committee representatives
12 Branch representatives
7 directly elected Corporate members
2 directly elected Licentiate members
1 directly elected Student member
Elections are held every two years

Standing Committees

Three standing committees report to the LI Board of Trustees and lead on delivering key aspects of the LI’s objectives. Each committee has a representative on Council, and the committee chairs sit on the Board of Trustees.
Members from all levels are recruited for their particular skills and experience, depending on the current priorities.

Education & Membership Committee
Provides expertise on education, continuing professional development and the standards of entry for the LI’s membership grades. Responsibilities include careers and progression, accreditation and review of higher education programmes, qualification for Chartership, and the promotion of a culture of lifelong learning in the profession.

Policy & Communications Committee
Provides expertise on the Institute’s policy programme, public affairs, marketing, internal and external communications, the journal, events programme, sponsorship, competitions, awards, and knowledge services.

Technical Committee
Provides technical and practice expertise in responding to national consultations, working with government bodies and agencies to influence legislation and guidance, and helping develop LI members’ technical knowledge and professional practice.

Working Groups

Standing Committees have working groups and sub-committees tackling specific themes and areas of work.

Education & Membership Committee	Policy & Communications Committee	Technical Committee
Fellowship Admissions Board	Editorial Advisory Panel	BIM
Membership Panel	Awards & Competitions	Biosecurity
Accreditation Sub-committee	Green Belt	BREEAM
	Rural Land Use	GLVIA
		Procurement
		Visualisation

Branch Committees

The Landscape Institute has 12 UK branches (9 English regions and 1 branch for each devolved nation), plus one for International members. Each provides membership services, events and support to Institute members including CPD talks and seminars, Pathway to Chartership workshops, and social events, led by a branch committee. Branches also promote the landscape profession to a range of audiences, including other professionals. Each branch also has a representative on the LI’s Advisory Council
Branch committee roles include Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Council Representative, website co-ordinator, student representative and events co-ordinator.
Branches recruit for committee members at their AGMs which are held in April.

Fellowship

Fellowship of the Landscape Institute (FLI) is awarded to innovators, leaders and ambassadors who have made a significant contribution to the development and promotion of the profession. It is given in recognition of individual talent, expertise and active involvement with the Landscape Institute, regardless of age or job title. Every Fellow becomes a member of the College of Fellows.

Apply for Fellowship or nominate someone you think deserves Fellow status. The Fellowship scheme is expanding: all experienced CMLIs may now apply directly, or be nominated by one or more CMLIs or Fellows.
The College of Fellows’ current aims and activities include:

Lobbying local authority chief executives to promote landscape that encourages healthy activity for children
Promoting messages on public health and landscape to local authorities
Inspiring young people to study landscape architecture at degree level
Briefing Fellows on LI policy and working on dissemination
Developing a peer learning scheme linking Fellows with local CMLIs, to provide guidance on professional development

Anything else I can do?

If you’d like to get involved but none of these roles are quite what you’re looking for, there are plenty of other ways you can contribute. All LI members have something to offer, whatever stage you’re at in your career, and whatever type of work you do.

Pitch an article for Landscape, the journal of the Landscape Institute
Blog for us – suggest a post you could write for the LI website or for #ChooseLandscape
Get your practice in the news – send the news editor details of your achievements, new projects and events
Showcase your work – submit a case study for the LI Case Studies Library
Walks and talks – we’re always happy to hear from members who can speak at our events or give guided walks

Any other ideas? Get in touch and tell us what you would like to do.