Czech Landscape and Garden Society, Civic Association
The Czech Landscape and Garden Society originated as a non-profit making organization in 1990 due to an urgent need to join forces and co-ordinate the effort to enhance the authority of garden and landscape design as a branch of architecture and to establish intensive co-operation with state administration and self-government authorities in the improvement of the state of public greenery, with professional schools in the education and training of new specialists and, last but not least, to address the public and demonstrate the irreplaceable role of gardening and landscaping and garden design in the creation of the environment.
The statutes of the Society define the following principal goals and tasks of the Society:
- popularization of the problems of vegetation in the settlements and in the landscape, especially its significance for the environment,
- improvement of the quality of professional work performed in the design, foundation and maintenance, administration and protection of settlement, landscape or historical greenery,
- care of the improvement of the theoretical as well as practical standard of the members of the Society and other specialists in the field,
- active co-operation with professional schools in the education and training of young specialists,
- co-operation with branch research.
Members
The members of the Society include garden and landscape architects, officials of municipal offices in charge of municipal greenery, officials of state and municipal authorities and institutions concerned with nature and landscape protection, monument conservation of historical buildings and areas, settlement and landscape development, etc., arborists, workers and executives of communal enterprises as well as private firms performing everyday care of vegetation in the settlements and in the landscape, businessmen concerned with this field, research workers and scientists, teachers of professional medium-grade and hihg-grade schools and universities and, last but not least, the students of these schools. Nowadays the Society has about 500 members.
Activities
In the framework of its activities aimed at the enhancement of the professional standard in the field the Society organizes conferences, seminars, workshops, excursions, domestic and foreign tours, lectures and conducted tours for various target groups, Czech Tree Climbing Championship, co-operates with other organizations and institutions, issues professional publications, books, brochures and collections of papers presented at the various professional events organized by it.
The Society finances its activities from the membership fees, gifts, grants and revenue from educational and publishing activities.
In accordance with their specific interests the members of the Society can associate and actively participate in the following sections:
- Tree Care Section – The Czech Chapter of the ISA
- Section of Landscape Architecture IFLA CZ
Tree Care Section – The Czech Chapter of the ISA
concentrates primarily on the comprehensive care of the wood species (trees and shrubs) and the possibilities of their use in garden and landscape design. It affords attention also to the assessment of individual characteristics of the wood species significant for the needs of the field. Its members, together with other members of the Society and other specialists, co-operate in the drafting of profesional standards and methodology. The section is chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). The section is also member of the European Arboricultural Council (EAC).
Contact: Ing. Jiří Skotnica, section board chairman, skot@all4trees.cz
Section: Czech Association for Landscape Architecture (SZKT CZALA)
associates primarily the architects authorized for the field of garden and landscape design, one of the sections of the Czech Chamber of Architects. The section affords principal attention to the problems relating chiefly to physical planning and vegetation design. Its members work in the individual working groups of the Czech Chamber of Architects. The section is the member of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).
Contact: Ing. Jana Pyšková, section board chairman, pyskovaj@gmail.com
Publishing
In order to influence the investors in favour of vegetation protection the Society issued an illustrative poster „Tree protection on building sites“ for instance. The Society delegates its members to the assessment commissions of the Village of the Year competition – the award of the Green Ribbon to the municipality with the best standard of the vegetation and the environment care in the community. Since 2002 takes part in the international competition Entente Florale Europe.
For example in 2000 the Society published the book Prazske zahrady a parky (The Gardens and Parks of Prague)mapping the history and the present of 130 of vegetation units in the capital city of Prague. This original Czech publication was issued in 5000 copies and now is competely sold.
Magazine
The Czech Landscape and Garden Society has been publishing the periodical Zahrada-Park-Krajina (Garden-Park-Landscape) since its foundation in 1990. At the beginning it was issued irregularly, at present it appears four times a year.
It is intended primarily for the professional public in the field of garden and landscape design and related fields and, naturally, for all interested parties. It is distributed to more than one thousand regular subscribers. Due to its relatively exclusive professional character it has not been sold (so far!) in conventional distribution network except for the Academia bookshop in Prague and the Modre knihkupectvi bookshop in Brno.
The members of the Society receive it in the framework of their membership fee. It serves the Society partly also as a means of communication with its members who can find there topical information on prepared events and activities of the Society. The number of authors published in the periodical includes university professors, teachers of professional schools, vegetation administrators, garden architects, town planners, specialists of monument conservation institutions, contractors of gardening works and other specialists, students and laymen.
The individual issues contain articles of various themes. For instance articles on the history and the present of the Czech and universal garden art, present the assortment of various decorative wood species, technologies and processes used for the planting, maintenance and protection of vegetation in the settlements and in the landscape, in public and private possession, acquaint the reader with appropriate legislation, etc.
The periodical offers also wide possibilities of company presentation.
Contacts:
For deails contact the office:
Ladislav Kejha, chairman of the board
Pavla Černovská, DiS., project manager
Plzeňská 247/59
150 00 Praha 5
Phone: +420 257 323 953
e-mail: kancelar@szkt.cz
Detail data of the Czech landsape and Garden Society:
Address: Plzeňská 247/59, 150 00 Praha 5, Czech Republic
Phone: +420 257 323 953
e-mail: kancelar@szkt.cz
web: www.szkt.cz
Registration with the Ministry of Interior No. VSP/1-3665/90-R
Ident No.: 44684932
Bank account: with CSOB Praha 5 No. 157864624/0300
IBAN: CZ03 0300 0000 0001 5786 4624
SWIFT: CEKOCZPP
