The Landscape Institute (LI) is delighted to announce that the Landscape Institute President’s Award 2025 has been presented to Dark Skies Working Group Wales, for its pioneering publication, Good Practice Guidance: Planning for the Conservation and Enhancement of Dark Skies in Wales.
The President’s Award represents the best landscape project of the year and was presented by President of the Landscape Institute, Carolin Göhler, at the Landscape Institute Awards ceremony on Friday 14 November.
The President’s Award was chosen from the winners of each of the 17 Award categories, with the Planning for Dark Skies guidance also taking home the Excellence in Landscape Planning and Assessment category.
For the full list of categories and winners, see below.
For images of each winning project, see here.
Connecting People, Place and Nature
This year’s Awards ceremony was hosted by the horticulturalist and presenter Frances Tophill and was attended by professionals from across the built and natural environment, as well as clients and partners from across the industry.
Embracing the theme ‘Connecting People, Place and Nature’, the Awards echo the purpose of the Landscape Institute: Through the art and science of landscape design, planning and management, to deliver wellbeing, sustainability and delight, by enhancing and connecting people, place and nature.
With more than 200 entries across the 17 categories, this year’s Awards reflected growth, ambition, and innovation across the sector. Submissions were reviewed by a distinguished panel of over 70 judges, many of them Chartered or Fellow members of the Landscape Institute. Their rigorous assessment ensures that every shortlisted project meets the highest standards of professional quality.
This year’s winners illustrate the breadth of contemporary landscape practice, while also celebrating outstanding student work. Collectively, the winning projects demonstrate the critical role of landscape in addressing pressing societal challenges across the UK nations and internationally. These projects show how landscape interventions are advancing action on the climate emergency, driving nature recovery, supporting public health and wellbeing, and contributing to the delivery of quality homes, infrastructure, protected landscapes and public spaces.
LI Awards winners 2025 in full
Landscape and Parks Management Awards
A Landscape Vision for Bedgebury – The Environment Partnership (TEP) Ltd
Excellence in Masterplanning and Urban Design
AELTC Wimbledon Park Project – LUC
Excellence in Public Health and Wellbeing
Appleby Blue Almshouse – Grant Associates
Dame Sylvia Crowe International Award for Small to Medium Scale Projects (up to 10ha)
Aranya Stream Park – Z’scape
Dame Sylvia Crowe International Award for Large Scale Projects (10ha and above)
Jiaxing Station Park – Z’scape
Excellence in Climate, Environment, and Social Outcomes
Beckenham Place Park East – BDP
Excellence in Place Regeneration
Bradford Transforming Cities Fund – City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
Excellence in Collaboration, Engagement & Influence
Down Lane Park – Levitt Bernstein and Haringey Council
Excellence in Biodiversity Conservation and Enhancement
Eden Dock – HTA Design
Excellence in Landscape Planning and Assessment
Good Practice Guidance Planning for Dark Skies – Gweithgor Awyr Dywyll Cymru / Dark Skies Working Group Wales
Excellence in Heritage and Culture
Greenwich Park Revealed – The Royal Parks
Student Dissertation
Living with the Wild: Navigating the Human-Leopard Dynamics in Mumbai – Aditi Nair, The Bartlett, UCL
Landscape Legacy
Reviving NAN TOU: A Place Caught in the Pitfall of Gentrification – Lab D+H SH
Landscape Research and Digital Innovation Award
Seeking Resilience and Equity in Transforming Cultural Landscapes – South China Agricultural University
Student Portfolio
Tides of Heritage: A Journey through the Scilly Landscape – Aditi Nair, The Bartlett, UCL
Excellence in Small Landscape and Garden Design
Turing Locke Hotel, Cambridge – Robert Myers Associates
Excellence in Landscape Design
Urban Nature Project, Natural History Museum – J&L Gibbons
President’s Award
Good Practice Guidance Planning for Dark Skies – Gweithgor Awyr Dywyll Cymru / Dark Skies Working Group Wales
For images of each winning project, see here.
Jill Bullen FLI, Lead Specialist Advisor, Landscape, Natural Resources Wales and Dark Skies Working Group Chair, said: “Encouraging dark sky lighting and reducing light pollution is something we can all do right now to protect dark skies and dark landscapes, benefitting wildlife and our wellbeing. Winning both the President’s Award and the Excellence in Landscape Planning and Assessment award for ‘Planning for Dark Skies’ takes the Good Practice Guidance to a new level of awareness, reach and opportunity to truly make a difference. Help us make that difference a reality by implementing Good Practice Lighting Principles.”
Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Welsh Government, said: “I am delighted that the Landscape Institute has recognised and rewarded the pioneering work that we are doing in Wales to protect our dark skies and I am thrilled that the efforts of the Dark Skies Working Group have been acknowledged.
“Planning for dark skies is critical. By working together, we can address light pollution and promote the important role of dark skies in biodiversity, human health, energy conservation, heritage preservation, and astronomy.”
Carolin Göhler, President, Landscape Institute, said: “The Dark Skies Working Group Wales stood out for its pioneering national guidance, which breaks new ground and provides a vital resource for those planning and designing landscapes with a sensitivity to the night sky – in Wales, and beyond, thus protecting wildlife and creating more people-friendly, cheaper lighting schemes.
Chartered landscape professionals are uniquely placed to create places that are beautiful, functional and resilient, and I am immensely proud to celebrate the ingenuity and purpose on display across this year’s Awards. Thank you to all our sponsors and congratulations to the winners!”
Rob Hughes, CEO, Landscape Institute, said:
“The LI Awards embody the creativity and technical excellence that define our profession at its best, and we congratulate all the finalists and winners. Landscape professionals play a vital role in shaping places where people and nature can flourish, strengthening climate resilience, restoring ecosystems, and improving everyday lives. As the Landscape Institute continues to invest in our members, champion landscape-led approaches, and build new partnerships across the built and natural environment, these projects show exactly why this work matters.”
