We all know that Australia has an idyllic climate with year round sunshine, so embracing renewables like wind and solar as part of a comprehensive energy policy is logical and will play a vital role in achieving each State’s renewable energy targets. The Queensland Government has introduced a number of policies and guidelines to support and regulate this growing industry such as State Code 23: Wind Farm Development and the Queensland Solar Farm Guidelines. These address key concerns about the development of these projects, including aspects relating to their impact on landscape character and scenic amenity - including views enjoyed by the community.

Practice Director Wendy Davies has an extensive and established career in Landscape Planning throughout Australia and Europe. Landscape Planning as a discipline encompasses a broad range of project types such as landscape and visual impact assessment (LVIA) for energy, transport, water and urban infrastructure, landscape policy and strategy at the site and regional level (including landscape character studies) and recreation planning.

Wendy's experience in the landscape planning discipline extends to industry contribution as a member of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) Queensland Regional Landscapes Group, who collectively wrote the recently AILA-endorsed Guideline Note for Landscape and Visual Assessment (GNLVA). The efforts of the group on this important resource was recognised with the President's Award at the 2019 AILA Queensland Awards last week.
 
Wendy leads our landscape planning team that has delivered or is currently working on numerous projects across Queensland and beyond including:

• Aldoga Solar Farm LVIA
• Dulacca Wind Farm LVIA
• Coopers Gap Wind Farm Stage 1 & 2 LVIA
• Ross River Solar Farm LVA
• Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail LVIA (Northern New South Wales & Queensland Sections)
• Rockhampton Northern Access Upgrade
• Tugun Character Study
• Burleigh Heads Village Character Study

The team at Lat27 pride ourselves on our focus on the environment, striving to not only reduce our impact as a studio and as part of our projects but making sure we can benefit the environment wherever possible. We are proud to have achieved 2 Star status in the CCIQ ecoBiz program. This program is funded by the Queensland Government to help businesses reduce their environmental impact.