Recently AILA received some fascinating data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2011 Census of Population and Housing: 2,963 Australians identify themselves as a landscape architect or as an urban/regional planner. AILA’s current membership (excluding students, for the purpose of comparison) equals about half of the number of prospective members in the profession.

We all know at least one non-member who we might work alongside, or who we studied with at university, or who we see out on site. These professionals may have never engaged with AILA before, so I encourage you to tap them on the shoulder and invite them to be part of our vibrant community.

Now is the time to join AILA, with the social media campaign #AreYouReady in full swing. There’s also some great incentives for AILA members to get recruiting – win a ‘Green Ticket’ which will grant you access to every AILA event in 2015, including the Festival of Landscape Architecture. Also, the Chapter who recruits the most members per capita will receive a Chapter Drinks Reception to celebrate and welcome their new members. Visit www.aila.org.au/areyouready for full details.

2014 was dedicated to re-vitalising our membership association. 2015 will be dedicated to strengthening the voice of the profession and putting landscape architecture back on the agenda. Let’s get involved in #Are YouReady and make this year AILA’s best.