Aboud & Associates

05/07/2025

This weekend, Partner and Landscape Architecture Lead Marc Garon-Nielsen joined his son and the 27th Guelph Scouts at a Trees for Guelph planting event—a family tradition that always feels meaningful. But this time, we planted something unexpected, and important.

This weekend, I had the pleasure of joining my son and the 27th Guelph Scouts at a Trees for Guelph community planting event at the Grange Road Natural Area. Among the native shrubs and trees, we had the rare opportunity to plant young American Elms ( Ulmus americana ). American Elms were once c

05/02/2025

Wondering how nesting birds might impact your project timeline? Our latest blog post explains and why defensible expert field studies matter. Learn how Aboud & Associates can help keep your project moving and in compliance with the Migratory Birds Convention Act and other regulations.

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04/17/2025

As consulting Arborists, Ecologists, and Landscape Architects, Aboud & Associates support clients in navigating legislation that affects land use, development, and environmental protection. The Endangered Species Act, 2007 has long shaped how we assess risk, interpret habitat, and provide guidance on compliance and planning.

The Ontario provincial government, through the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 (Bill 5), is proposing immediate changes to the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA), which would ultimately be repealed following the enactment of the provincial government’s Species Conservation Act, 2025 (SCA).

The Ontario provincial government, through the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, 2025 (Bill 5) , is proposing immediate changes to the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA), which would ultimately be repealed following the enactment of the provincial government’s Species Conservation A

12/23/2024

Hi Folks, as we close out 2024, we want to thank you for your support, trust, and collaboration. Our office will be closed from December 24, 2024, to January 2, 2025.

04/26/2024

New Partner Announcement!

Please join us in congratulating Cheryl-Anne Ross on her well-deserved promotion to Partner at Aboud & Associates! Since 2015, Cheryl-Anne has been an integral part of our team, playing a key role in leading our ecology department and providing exceptional support to our clients in this sector. Her dedication, leadership, and unwavering commitment to excellence have not only elevated our ecology team but have also contributed significantly to the success and growth of Aboud & Associates.

Cheryl-Anne's promotion to Partner is a testament to her hard work, expertise, and the positive impact she has had on our firm. We are incredibly proud to have her as part of our leadership team, and we look forward to the continued growth and success that she will bring to Aboud & Associates.

Your contributions have been invaluable, and we are excited to see what the future holds as we continue to thrive together. Here's to Cheryl-Anne and to the bright future of Aboud & Associates!

07/14/2023

Thank you Park Street Solutions for bringing the road show to Guelph to share with our team our friends at several other firms in town.

06/24/2023

Join us in welcoming Brynn Varcoe, a Terrestrial Ecologist, to our team. Brynn recently completed her MSc degree in ecology at the University of Guelph and has already made a significant impact by deploying autonomous recording units for bioacoustical monitoring on projects across Ontario.

1. Are you an early bird or night owl? During the field season I am an early bird. I like to make the most of the day and see as many birds as possible.

2. What book are you currently reading? I am currently reading Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. I tend to gravitate toward non-fiction books, though I also love science fiction and fantasy novels.

3. Where is your go-to place for take-out these days? Now that I live in Cambridge, my favourite take-out place is Leymoon Shawarma. I love anything shawarma related.

4.What is your favourite plant? My favourite native plant is the tulip tree. I love the shape of the leaves. I have a few houseplants that I manage to keep alive. At the moment I love my Alocasia polly.

5. What has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work? My biggest influence when it comes to how I approach my work has been my experience working in academia. In this field I worked with academics, students, private landowners and others. These diverse interactions with others have shaped my approach to ecology. I am always looking for ways to collaborate and learn.

03/31/2023

Happy Friday Folks! Join us in welcoming Josh Quattrociocchi, ISA Certified Arborist and Registered Professional Forester (In-Training) to the team. What better way to get to know Josh than continuing our five questions series?

1) Are you an early bird or night owl?
Early bird for sure. I like an early rise so I can have a slow, peaceful start to the day.

2) What book(s) are you currently reading?
Lord of the Rings and the Witcher. I’ve been a long-time fan of LOTR and am now delving into more of Tolkien’s world building books that I never read as a kid. As for the Witcher, I loved the Netflix series and am now reading through the books (and playing the games) to soak in as much of the series as I can!

3) Where is your go-to place for takeout these days?
Usually Thai food, its cheap, delicious, and fast. I try to find new places whenever I order, but I have a few favorites I always go back to.

4) What is your favourite plant?
Tough pick, but I’d have to go with Sweetgum (Liquidambar). I love the unique leaf and seed shapes. I also love the vibrant fall colours. It’s not a super common street tree in Toronto, so its always a fun sight when you do see one.

5) What has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
My greatest work influence has to be the variety of viewpoints I have been privileged to experience throughout my education and work. Viewpoints of academics, fellow students, landscape architects, engineers, municipal employees, and the general public are all ones I encounter on a regular basis. Being exposed to these viewpoints helped me realize there is more to urban forestry than just the viewpoint of the forester. So when tackling a project and coming to a solution, I always consider the viewpoints of the other parties involved – my solutions may work from a forestry standpoint, but not another. This helps me round myself out and come up with creative solutions that work best for all parties involved.

12/13/2022

Join us folks!

Help shape the future of Idlewood, Kinzie & Oaten Parks! Join us for an open house on Tues. Dec. 13 from 3 – 7 p.m. at Centreville Chicopee Community Centre to provide input on the final concepts of the parks that we’ve developed from your feedback.

Details: https://www.engagewr.ca/ward2parknetwork

10/20/2022

The thing about a remote team distributed across southern Ontario is making the most of a scheduled event that brings us together. When our photographer called to check if we were still good for our team photoshoot as the skies opened up an hour before we were to start. . . the response was, 'we have umbrellas'. Some folks had already been traveling for two hours, this was happening. It was the first time some folks had met in person and we have another round of less than ideal weather photoshoots in the books. Thank you to for giving us all a natural rosy glow when the temperature was below zero last time around. Can't wait to see you work your magic this time.

04/29/2022

Well friends, today we bid adieu to our space on Nicklin Road. We try our best to keep our social posts factual, but as the last boxes are moving out the door, I [Marc] couldn’t help but get emotional. We didn’t make a splashy announcement five years ago, but Denise, James, and I purchased the firm from its founder. The Nicklin space represented a new era, new ideas, and the open concept fostered collaboration in a new way that just couldn’t happen within the cozy confines of our 100-year-old house on Woolwich Street. In the past five years, our team has doubled in size, our founder retired, four babies and one grandbaby joined us, and we will have to wait until the next life to spend time with many colleagues, clients, and family again.
Of course, the world changed in other ways. In March 2020, I made a joke to the team that I would finally be able to file my emails while our world shut down for two weeks. I have never been more wrong in my life. The past two years have afforded us the opportunity to rethink how we collaborate as a team and how to best support our clients. As the door at our Nicklin space closes, we are excited to announce that we are formally transitioning to a remote-first operating model with a distributed team across southern Ontario.
Though, from time to time, there is no replacement for in-person collaboration with folks when best for a project and our clients. On May 1st, we are joining the Platform @ The Junction Community in Guelph, a flexible workspace that is serendipitously located above the Fixed Gear Brewing Company Canteen. I have a feeling in-person meetings are about to become more interesting. Thanks for making it to the end of this post folks! [Marc]