A willful dreamer and creative pioneer, Garry Hilderman’s legacy is one of spiritual, environmental, and cultural connection to the land. Not one for conventional interpretation, Garry was passionate about the expression of history, both human and natural, championing projects that forge bonds between people and places.
Born and raised in Winnipeg, Garry graduated from University of California, Berkeley, in 1969, and returned to Winnipeg to start Hilderman & Associates Landscape Architecture in his mother’s attic. He had, in fact, no associates, but his growing practice quickly grew, branching into land management and planning, and later into economic development and sustainable design. The firm’s name changed often as partners were added, becoming HTFC Planning and Design in 2013.
During the early years, Garry also helped establish the Manitoba Association of Landscape Architects (1973) and became an Assistant Professor and guest lecturer in Landscape Architecture at the University of Manitoba (1972-2016).
Garry’s pioneering spirit helped expand the definition of landscape architecture on the Prairies. He led such landmark projects as Fort Whyte Centre for Environmental Education (now FortWhyte Alive), Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre, Provencher Bridge, Leo Mol Sculpture Garden and the Forks National Historic Site. Other ground-breaking yet lesser-known achievements included projects such as the Leaf Rapids Townsite Plan, an innovative model for northern community development carved into the boreal forest; the foundational Whiteshell Park master plan and early provincial parks designations; the Red and Assiniboine River Recreation Master Plan, which helped launch the renaissance along Winnipeg’s rivers; and CentrePlan, a comprehensive vision for downtown Winnipeg that led to the establishment of the arms-length CityVenture agency which remains a transformative force for downtown renewal to this day.
The CSLA awarded Garry a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, when some of his best work still remained to be done. In 2010, Garry became the second landscape architect in Canadian history to be invested into the Order of Canada. His dedication to our collective history and its power to challenge cultural norms is alive and thriving in special places like Oodena Celebration Circle, which has won several national and international awards, and Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park, a site he tenaciously championed for over 40 years. The Fort, which expresses a new vision for heritage interpretation in Winnipeg, was Garry’s swan song. In it, he invites us all to find fresh meaning and vitality in the diversity of our shared stories.
Sources
From a biography by Glen Manning and James Thomas, HTFC Planning and Design. For more about Garry Hilderman, read their story in Landscapes | Paysages, A Timeful Way
Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park
Oodena Celebration Circle
Images
All images courtesy HTFC Planning and Design
Gary Hilderman Portrait
1 – 3 Oodena Celebration Circle
4 - 5 Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park
7 – Garry Hilderman
