The Origins of SpruceLab.

This writing of this story is to share the origins of SpruceLab, our reason for being, and how we operate as a professional consultancy with shared ownership and a co-design approach. This story is unique and evolving, and part of a journey we are still on and have faith in. Sharing this story is important, because as planners, designers and community engagement workers, we ask others to share their backgrounds and thoughts with us, to help us do a better job in serving them. This blog post is a way to help convey to others about who we are, and how we got here.

I had the idea of creating a social enterprise to support bringing Indigenous voices into the work of planning and landscape architecture (in a meaningful way) in 2018. But this idea stemmed from my work as an Urban Designer working for the City of Toronto, from 2011-2017. I had been focused on helping the City develop green infrastructure standards to restore urban areas with natural spaces (to support all living things, to improve biodiversity), and use stormwater management designs like bioretention plantings to filter / clean and cool hot urban runoff (so the waterways and downstream Lake Ontario would be healthier, and better able to support aquatic life). That work became known as “Toronto Green Streets”, and is now part of our Earth Tending program. I had a wise friend (working with an Anishinaabeg Elder) ask me to not only consider water from the engineering perspective of water quality, quantity, or water balance, but as something that is sacred to Indigenous Peoples. Sadly, I was also told by one of our now Advisors that the Indigenous students she taught did not see themselves represented in the City’s spaces, and felt that they were not cared about or welcomed. At the same time, I was also learning what I could about Mi’kmaq culture, thinking deeply about how my own existence (and that of my 3 children) is due to the love and protection from our Mi’kmaq ancestors that married our Acadian ones , until the tragic Acadian Expulsion happened (1755 - 1762) that separated our families, and where about half of the Acadian Peoples perished (I am the 7th generation from that time; and ancestral surnames with Mi’kmaq relations include Hebert, LeJeune (Savoie), Muis d’Entremont, and Doucet). I do not identify as Indigenous, only as having ancestry from a long time ago. This soul-searching led to me looking around me to others in my profession, and I realized I didn’t know any Indigenous landscape architects. When I asked the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, they also didn’t have knowledge of any (that was around 2015). So I started to look for ways to involve Indigenous youth and artists in my work designing capital projects, both at the City of Toronto, and at Toronto Region Conservation Authority (from 2017-2019, also when I initiated and co-founded Nikibii Dawadinna Giigwag with the support of Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, and University of Toronto, where it now resides). I realized at that time that it was difficult to do the hard work that is needed to prioritize Indigenous voices in land-based work when you are seen as a government employee, working within a colonial system. I also saw the need to create real, meaningful and well-paid jobs for Indigenous Peoples working in this space, and not only honoraria for single projects or events where Indigenous placekeeping was to be included. And a part-time educator working at various Universities, I wanted to use my teaching skills to create jobs at SpruceLab to teach Indigenous women to do and eventually lead community engagement work. I spoke with many Indigenous friends and advisors about making a career shift (focusing a practice guided by Indigenous values and needs), and the seed of the idea of SpruceLab was planted with their support.

From 2020-2022, we were fortunate to grow a strong foundation working on meaningful and sustainable projects with the encouragement of our peers, and often with and for Indigenous Peoples (and have much gratitude for being invited into these spaces). In 2023 we reorganized to become Indigenous-owned (also still women-owned), through a partnership / collective ownership model with Indigenous friends and colleagues that wanted to be co-owners, and who continue to mentor and work alongside us while they manage their own businesses and practices (our Board of Advisors). It was also important to us that the Indigenous designs we are involved with, are protected by an incorporated Indigenous-owned company. In 2024, we created a Board of Directors to ensure that the governance of SpruceLab is led by two Indigenous persons, and I am the 3rd Director. (See About Us to learn about these individuals in more detail). Today we are a team of nine, including four women with First Nations or Métis membership (who are central to our Indigenous design team), and two with Acadian/Mi’kmaq ancestry (collectively with over 60 years experience), who use our design and technical skills to help advance Indigenous plans and designs as needed for implementation). SpruceLab is certified as an Indigenous member of the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) as it is majority Indigenous-owned, and it is also on the Government of Canada’s Indigenous Business Directory as it is majority Indigenous-governed. To our knowledge there are only two Indigenous-owned landscape architecture firms in Canada (our talented colleagues at Trophic Design. and SpruceLab), and a few Indigenous landscape architects and more recent graduates working in this field and towards registration.

In addition to our professional work, as a social enterprise our firm focuses on economic reconciliation and giving back to the Indigenous community through direct employment, education and training, and supporting their own businesses. We just completed our 4th year of Earth Tending (with core funding from Miziwe Biik), and each year about 3-4 of the 10 individuals trained go on to green infrastructure related work or training/educational programs. The Dbaajmowin collective we created to co-design furnishings and artwork for sites and architecture seeks to engage Indigenous businesses, from design through to sourcing materials and fabrication. We also have faith that through the employee share plan we are developing (some employees already own shares), the Indigenous ownership of SpruceLab will grow overtime (and possibly with Indigenous investment). We welcome any interest from emerging Indigenous landscape architects and designers in joining our firm, as the hope is before myself and other senior staff retire, these individuals will become Principals and continue to create this story! But I am still very concerned with the low numbers of Indigenous youth that choose to study planning, urban design and landcape architecture. Our team hopes to support and encourage them to consider these options in their career path, or anything related to working with Mother Earth, and engaging with Indigenous communities to best serve them.

This story is… to be continued… and a deep, heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us along the way <3