The tabs below contain entry guidelines for each of the category types. After you have checked through you can then proceed to Enter the Awards categories of your choice.
Membership requirement
The Professional Category awards are open to members of the Landscape Institute (LI). Except where stated in the specific category details, submissions entered for the Professional Category awards must be the work of an individual Chartered, Fellow or Academic Member of the Landscape Institute or an office, department or section headed by a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute (CMLI).
Price of entry
Standard entry price:
- Early bird until Sunday 29 March – £185 (excluding VAT)
- Normal price – £205 (excluding VAT)
Sole traders or those who work in the public or third sector (including voluntary groups, charities, and NGOs).
- Early bird until Sunday 29 March – £155 (excluding VAT).
- £175 (excluding VAT)
Entry Deadline: All submissions must be received by midnight on 24 May 2026.
Consent and sole work
The consent of the chartered LI member responsible and the client or owner of the work must be obtained prior to entry.
The entry must be the sole work of the practice as entered. If not, then other contributors must be acknowledged.
Applicable timings of work
For our Professional and Open categories, we ask that part of the awarded activity has taken place between July 2022 and July 2026.
By this, we aim to ensure that our Awards are broadly contemporary. However, landscape projects are by their nature multi-year, and our awards cover all phases of landscape work. There are many good reasons why activity falling outside of these dates could be relevant, particularly if you have been involved in a single scheme across multiple stages.
You should assume a common-sense approach when deciding your entry. For example: if you are entering our Excellence in Small Landscape and Garden Design, it would be reasonable (but not essential) to enter a project following an annual period of post-completion maintenance. However the plant specification or sourcing may have taken place many years prior, and you should not exclude this from your entry, if this is a reason why the project is excellent. The judges will decide between eligible entries solely on the basis of the outlined criteria, not on how recent a project is.
Satisfactory for assessment
Particular care should be taken to avoid entering work prematurely before it can be satisfactorily assessed.
Your online entry
You will need to provide the following information as part of your LI Awards online entry:
Judging information
This information will be used to administer and judge the Awards
- Contact details of entrant and the details of the LI professional member responsible for production of work
- Information about the work being entered and client/owner authorisation to enter it into the LI Awards.
- Site visit details, if relevant to the work being entered
- Provide a brief introduction to the work and what makes it special. This should include a general overview (100 words) and then more detail on the background, objectives and results (up to 400 words)
- Please use language which would be suitable for communicating to non-professional audiences.
- Four judging criteria questions setting out how this work meets each of the judging criteria for the category and why it deserves to win an LI Award (up to 250 words).
- PDF File upload (100MB max): Provide a single submission document to showcase your work and support your entry. This may include images, reports, plans or other materials.
- Online media: if you have referenced a video or website in your submission, please provide the URL of these materials.
Publicity and marketing information
This information will not be provided to judges and will only be used if you are a Winner or Finalist in your category. These materials would be used for marketing and publicity around the Awards and in ongoing promotion by the LI.
- Images upload: Upload 3 to 10 images (JPEG, at least 300dpi with high resolution; at least 3 images in landscape orientation) which showcase your entry. These may be featured in promotional material and publicised by the LI. For each image, you will need to provide a brief description and image credit; make sure you use only letters, numbers and spaces in your description credit (ie no apostrophes or special characters) or the image upload may fail. Only provide images that the LI has the right to use.
- Online media: if you have referenced a video or website in your submission which could be used in publicity, please provide the URL. Only provide links to materials that the LI has the right to use.
- List of contractors and partners to be credited in publicity materials if the entry wins an Award
- A brief description so the work can be featured across our channels (500 words).
- Key quotes or third party endorsements for use in publicity.
Submission document guidelines
You will be asked to submit a single PDF Submission document which the judges will take into account when assessing your entry.
- This can be up to 100MB file size. You may submit an A3 or A4 document, with a maximum of 20 pages.
- Please note, that PDFs more than 20 pages may be disregarded by the judges.
- If you refer to online resources, such as videos or websites, please include links to these in your Submission document.
- Your document should include any materials that you would like the judges to take into account. This could include images, photographs, plans, reports, designs.
- Key quotes or third party endorsements for use in publicity.
You do not need to send a separate hard copy of your submission document.
Image submission guidelines
The images you submit in your online entry form are for promotional purposes (such as on social media, blog posts, articles in the LI Journal ‘Landscape’) and (if you are shortlisted) for use at the LI Awards ceremony.
They are not shared with the judges and are not considered when assessing your submission.
You can submit between 3 and 10 images with your entry. Please ensure that at least 3 of these are in landscape format, suitable for use on Awards collateral, such as the website and on the big screen at the Awards.
If you do not submit suitable images then the Landscape Institute will be unable to include pictures of your project for these purposes.
Try to select images to illustrate the work you are entering, but that are also easy for those outside the profession to understand.
Video and multimedia guidelines
The LI encourages the use of videos, websites and other multimedia as part of your entry. You can provide links to these during your online application.
Membership requirement
The Open Category awards are open to any individual, organisation, employer, government, university or combination of groups to enter, but a Landscape Institute (LI) member must be part of the team being entered. However, there is no requirement to being a member for the Dame Sylvia Crowe and Brenda Colvin Awards.
We would expect applications to include reference to the involvement of relevant landscape professionals or academics, such as members of IFLA member organisations or local professional bodies.
Price of entry
Standard entry price:
- Early bird until Sunday 29 March – £185 (excluding VAT)
- Normal price – £205 (excluding VAT)
Sole traders or those who work in the public or third sector (including voluntary groups, charities, and NGOs).
- Early bird until Sunday 29 March – £155 (excluding VAT).
- £175 (excluding VAT)
Entry Deadline: All submissions must be received by midnight on 29 May 2026.
Consent and sole work
The consent of the landscape professional responsible and, where relevant, the client or owner of the work must be obtained prior to entry.
The entry must be the sole work of the practice as entered. If not, then other contributors must be acknowledged.
Applicable timings of work
For our Professional and Open categories, we ask that part of the awarded activity has taken place between July 2022 and July 2026.
By this, we aim to ensure that our Awards are broadly contemporary. However, landscape projects are by their nature multi-year, and our awards cover all phases of landscape work. There are many good reasons why activity falling outside of these dates could be relevant, particularly if you have been involved in a single scheme across multiple stages.
You should assume a common-sense approach when deciding your entry. For example: if you are entering our Excellence in Small Landscape and Garden Design, it would be reasonable (but not essential) to enter a project following an annual period of post-completion maintenance. However the plant specification or sourcing may have taken place many years prior, and you should not exclude this from your entry, if this is a reason why the project is excellent. The judges will decide between eligible entries solely on the basis of the outlined criteria, not on how recent a project is.
Satisfactory for assessment
Particular care should be taken to avoid entering work prematurely before it can be satisfactorily assessed.
Your online entry
You will need to provide the following information as part of your LI Awards online entry:
Judging information
This information will be used to administer and judge the Awards
- Contact details of entrant and the details of the LI professional member responsible for production of work
- Information about the work being entered and client/owner authorisation to enter it into the LI Awards.
- Site visit details, if relevant to the work being entered
- Provide a brief introduction to the work and what makes it special. This should include a general overview (100 words) and then more detail on the background, objectives and results (up to 400 words)
- Please use language which would be suitable for communicating to non-professional audiences.
- Four judging criteria questions setting out how this work meets each of the judging criteria for the category and why it deserves to win an LI Award (up to 250 words).
- PDF File upload (100MB max): Provide a single submission document to showcase your work and support your entry. This may include images, reports, plans or other materials.
- Online media: if you have referenced a video or website in your submission, please provide the URL of these materials.
Publicity and marketing information
This information will not be provided to judges and will only be used if you are a Winner or Finalist in your category. These materials would be used for marketing and publicity around the Awards and in ongoing promotion by the LI.
- Images upload: Upload 3 to 10 images (JPEG, at least 300dpi with high resolution; at least 3 images in landscape orientation) which showcase your entry. These may be featured in promotional material and publicised by the LI. For each image, you will need to provide a brief description and image credit; make sure you use only letters, numbers and spaces in your description credit (ie no apostrophes or special characters) or the image upload may fail. Only provide images that the LI has the right to use.
- Online media: if you have referenced a video or website in your submission which could be used in publicity, please provide the URL. Only provide links to materials that the LI has the right to use.
- List of contractors and partners to be credited in publicity materials if the entry wins an Award
- A brief description so the work can be featured across our channels (500 words).
- Key quotes or third party endorsements for use in publicity.
Submission document guidelines
You will be asked to submit a single PDF Submission document which the judges will take into account when assessing your entry.
- This can be up to 100MB file size. You may submit an A3 or A4 document with a maximum of 20 pages.
- Please note, that PDFs more than 20 pages may be disregarded by the judges.
- If you refer to online resources, such as videos or websites, please include links to these in your Submission document.
- Your document should include any materials that you would like the judges to take into account. This could include images, photographs, plans, reports, designs.
You do not need to send a separate hard copy of your submission document.
Image submission guidelines
The images you submit in your online entry form are for promotional purposes (such as on social media, blog posts, articles in the LI Journal ‘Landscape’) and (if you are shortlisted) for use at the LI Awards ceremony.
They are not shared with the judges and are not considered when assessing your submission.
You can submit between 3 and 10 images with your entry. Please ensure that at least 3 of these are in landscape format, suitable for use on Awards collateral, such as the website and on the big screen at the Awards.
If you do not submit suitable images then the Landscape Institute will be unable to include pictures of your project for these purposes.
Try to select images to illustrate the work you are entering, but that are also easy for those outside the profession to understand.
Video and multimedia guidelines
The LI encourages the use of videos, websites and other multimedia as part of your entry. You can provide links to these during your online application.
Membership requirements
The Student Categories are open to LI Student Members who are completing or have completed an undergraduate or post-graduate course accredited by the Landscape Institute.
It is open to those who expect to graduate in academic year 2025-26, or who have already graduated in the two previous academic years.
Entries to these awards categories are free.
You can apply for a free student membership by Tuesday 31 March 2026 to be eligible for the Student categories which close by Friday 29 May 2026.
General guidelines
- Work completed during the three year period to July 2025 will be eligible for the 2025 Awards unless otherwise stated in the specific category details.
- Entrants submitting work to the student categories of the Landscape Institute Awards must have successfully completed a course accredited by the Landscape Institute within the past three years, or currently be enrolled on an undergraduate or post-graduate Landscape Institute accredited course
- Work by the same student many be entered in more than one student category, but work which has already received a Landscape Institute Student Award may not be re-entered.
- The entry must be the sole work of the entrant as signed. The submission cannot be the work of 2 or more people.
Your online entry
You will need to provide the following information as part of your LI Awards online entry:
Judging information
This information will be used to administer and judge the Awards
- Contact details of entrant and the details of the LI professional member responsible for production of work
- LI Accredited Course details and dates
- Covering statement, up to 500 words, including
- Personal approach to projects
- Special Qualities
- Research
- Inspirations
- Experience gained in and around the course
- For the Student Dissertation Award, a Dissertation summary, up to 500 words, that gives brief details of the research problems, hypothesis and research methodology.
- PDF File upload (100MB max): Provide a single submission document to showcase your work and support your entry. This may include images, reports, plans or other materials.
- Online media: if you have referenced a video or website in your submission, please provide the URL of these materials.
Publicity and marketing information
This information will not be provided to judges and will only be used if you are a Winner or Finalist in your category. These materials would be used for marketing and publicity around the Awards and in ongoing promotion by the LI.
- Images upload: Upload 3 to 10 images (JPEG, at least 300dpi with high resolution; at least 3 images in landscape orientation) which showcase your entry. These may be featured in promotional material and publicised by the LI. For each image, you will need to provide a brief description and image credit; make sure you use only letters, numbers and spaces in your description credit (ie no apostrophes or special characters) or the image upload may fail. Only provide images that the LI has the right to use.
- Online media: if you have referenced a video or website in your submission which could be used in publicity, please provide the URL. Only provide links to materials that the LI has the right to use.
Submission document guidelines
You will be asked to submit a single PDF Submission document which the judges will take into account when assessing your entry.
- This can be up to 100MB file size. You may submit an A3 or A4 document.
- Your Unique Entry Number should be clearly displayed on the cover page.
- If you refer to online resources, such as videos or websites, please include links to these in your Submission document.
- Your document should include any materials that you would like the judges to take into account. This could include images, photographs, plans, reports, designs.
- For the Student Dissertation category, the full dissertation should be submitted to be reviewed by the judges. The dissertation should be submitted in the original format and does not need to meet the limitation of 20 pages.
You do not need to send a separate hard copy of your submission document.
Image submission guidelines
The images you submit in your online entry form are for promotional purposes (such as on social media, blog posts, articles in the LI Journal ‘Landscape’) and (if you are shortlisted) for use at the LI Awards ceremony.
They are not shared with the judges and are not considered when assessing your submission.
You can submit between 3 and 10 images with your entry. Please ensure that at least 3 of these are in landscape format, suitable for use on Awards collateral, such as the website and on the big screen at the Awards.
If you do not submit suitable images then the Landscape Institute will be unable to include pictures of your project for these purposes.
Try to select images to illustrate the work you are entering, but that are also easy for those outside the profession to understand.
Video and multimedia guidelines
The LI encourages the use of videos, websites and other multimedia as part of your entry. You can provide links to these during your online application.