image: Lisa Horne
As summer comes to an end, we look forward to the ASLA Conference in Phoenix this coming September/October. This year includes several educational sessions and networking events particularly related to children’s outdoor environments:
Field Session: Therapeutic Gardens For Healing and Respite
Fri, 9/28: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Seth Placko, Jack Carman, Jena Ponti Jauchius, Rick Spalenka, and Kristina Floor
Organized by Phoenix landscape architects with a special interest in outdoor healing environments, this tour focuses on five healing gardens, including designs by ASLA Award recipients Kris Floor, FASLA and Christy Ten Eyck, FASLA. Experience how these gardens enhance well-being, not only for healing patients, but also for their families and caregivers. Jena Ponti Jauchius, the co-chair of the Children’s Outdoor Environment PPN, will be showing the Phoenix Children’s Hospital on the tour.
Bridging the Landscape Of Autism
Fri, 9/28: 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Vincent Lattanzio, Tara Vincenta, Brian Johnston, and Julie Sando
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are increasingly present today, and this session will clarify the many related opportunities and obstacles this presents in place-making. It will suggest best-management practices to accommodate and integrate individual needs in private and public spaces during analysis and conceptual design.
Opportunities to Design and Build Sustainable Eco-learning Labs on School Campuses
Fri, 9/28: 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Marie Bordeleau, Harry McKay, Jr., and Alrie Middlebrook
Forty states require environmental literacy education in public schools. One solution is to transform schools into learning tools through the Environmental Laboratory for Sustainability and Ecological Education program, a pilot project for SITES. In this session, users of ELSEE models will present their findings.
Have We Taken the “Play” Out of Playgrounds?
Sun, 9/30: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Walter Hood and Warren Byrd, Jr.
Can we design safe playgrounds that promote adventure and imagination, or have we become overzealous with safety? Participants will explore case studies with landscape architects and clients that reflect the conflicts of design creativity, civic planning, community interaction, and protective parenting in a litigious world.
Professional Practice Network Meeting: Children’s Outdoor Environments
Sponsored by PlayGuard Safety Surfacing
Sun, 9/30: 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Join in networking with the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN. Participate in a discussion about how the PPN can better serve its members as we explore next year’s activities, goals, and objectives. Don’t miss this great opportunity to meet professionals that share the same passion for children’s outdoor environments and share lessons learned over the previous year.
PPN Networking Reception
Ticketed Event: Tickets Must Be Purchased in Advance
Sun, 9/30: 5:15 PM – 7:15 PM
Connect with like-minded professionals in a relaxed setting. Engage in conversations with members of the Children’s Outdoor PPN as well as other PPNs.
by Lisa Horne