Lockdown opportunities for LAs
The NZILA President says the predictable lockdown extension means the Institute team is working to increase online opportunities for members.
Henry Crothers says while the country or parts of it remain in lockdown, it is important to find ways for members to stay engaged and connected.
First up is an RMA Reform Working Group interactive webinar on Monday 30 August when Shannon Bray will present a brief overview of the Exposure Draft followed by an opportunity to ask questions of the panel.
The RMA Reform Working Group will be online at the end of the month.
This will be chaired by Rebecca Ryder and the panel is Shannon Bray, Brad Coombs and Dennis Scott.
Other online events ahead this year include the Kate Orff/Tama Whiting NZILA Streetscape Webinar in October and the Signe Nielson NZILA Streetscape webinar in November.
He also reminds members that speaker videos from the May NZILA Firth Conference in Tauranga are available online if you find yourself with some spare time during lockdown.
They include presentations from Kirsten Bauer of Aspect Studios in Melbourne and Jeff Hou from the University of Washington alongside a great range of local speakers.
NZILA Advocacy Panel member (and Associate Professor in the School of Architecture and programme leader of the Masters of Landscape Architecture at UNITEC) Matthew Bradbury says teaching via zoom can be a little dispiriting, facing a sea of black screens, the words disappearing into the void but he says there are positives too.
“The strange convergence of lockdown and Zoom can also provide unexpected connections. Rachel de Lambert, Gavin Lister, and Alan Titchener were presenting TE TANGI A TE MANU, the new NZILA assessment guideline to our landscape planning class. Now they are presenting to all the students, ensuring a wider conversation of this critical document.”
Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington under level 4 lockdown.