The Field

Practice Basecamp at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture in Nashville will be the EXPO’s hub for a range of practice-focused programming:

• Engaging campfire sessions organized by ASLA’s Professional Practice Networks (PPNs)
• Continue the Conversation with select education session presenters
• Fast-paced Game Changer presentations
• Presentations from ASLA’s Climate Action Committee and the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS)

Many of these events are designed to be opportunities to meet and network with other ASLA members and conference attendees. The Professional Practice Network (PPN)-organized campfire sessions, for instance, will be conversation-focused, allowing for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge-sharing. Perhaps best of all: no one has to remember to unmute in order to participate.

Want to make the most of your PPN experience at the conference? Explore what’s planned and get ready to make new connections in Nashville.

Saturday, November 20

12:30 – 1:00 pm

• Digital Technology

1:00 – 1:45 pm

• Ecology & Restoration
• Education & Practice
• Parks & Recreation
• Women in Landscape Architecture

3:15 – 3:45 pm

• Sustainable Design & Development

Sunday, November 21

11:30 am – 12:15 pm

• Campus Planning & Design
• Children’s Outdoor Environments
• Community Design
• Water Conservation

1:00 – 1:45 pm

• Design-Build / Residential Landscape Architecture
• Environmental Justice
• Historic Preservation
• Transportation / Planting Design

See below for more information on what’s planned for each PPN event, or click the PPN name above to jump to that PPN’s event information.

Continue the Conversation with the Digital Technology PPN
Saturday, November 20, 12:30 – 1:00 pm
Practice Basecamp Main Stage

After their session Mapping Equity: Illustrations of a Just Future, continue the conversation with Andrew Sargeant, ASLA, Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress and Digital Technology PPN leader, Christine Ma, Urban Planning Practice Lead at Esri, and Matthew J. Wilkins, ASLA, LEED GA, Sr. Landscape Architect at KTUA Planning + Landscape Architecture and Digital Technology PPN leader.

Moderator: Eric Gilbey, ASLA, Vectorworks – Digital Technology PPN Co-Chair

Ecology & Restoration PPN Campfire Session
Saturday, November 20, 1:00 – 1:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

Gather around the PPN campfire for an engaging opportunity to meet and network with other Professional Practice Network (PPN) members. These campfire sessions will be conversation-focused, allowing for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge-sharing. Join Ecology & Restoration PPN leaders Sohyun Park, ASLA, and Elyna Grapstein, Student ASLA, for a facilitated discussion on what’s new and what’s next in this landscape architecture practice area.

Education & Practice PPN Campfire Session
Saturday, November 20, 1:00 – 1:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Theater

Join the Education & Practice PPN for a facilitated discussion with the Landscape Architecture Foundation to hear from participants of the Green New Deal Superstudio about their experiences translating the GND into planning and design projects at regional and local scales. Led by Education & Practice PPN Chair Bill Estes, ASLA, guest speakers include: Megan Barnes, ASLA, Kevin Robert Perry, FASLA, Brian Tseng-Nicodemus, Student Affiliate ASLA, L. Irene Compadre, ASLA, and Adam Scott, Associate ASLA.

Parks & Recreation PPN Campfire Session
Saturday, November 20, 1:00 – 1:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

The conversation around the Parks & Recreation PPN campfire will focus on funding and implementation mechanisms for parks and park maintenance, from impact fees and land development code updates, to partnering with developers and homeowner associations. Bring your experiences, challenges, and insights to this informal, collaborative discussion.

Women in Landscape Architecture PPN Campfire Session
Saturday, November 20, 1:00 – 1:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

From Mentorship to Sponsorship: Friendship is the Key!

As we grow in our career path, it is important to seek out professional relationships that move us forward. Sometimes, mentors and sponsors are not enough. A successful relationship which evolves into a friendship is essential. A friendship with an industry colleague who has walked a similar path can guide us along the same track—with this type of friendship, mentoring can be a transformative two-way relationship, in which mentor and mentee act in both roles to support and advocate for each other.

Can you identify your connection with this idea? Are you seeking a mentor, a sponsor, or a friend? Would you like to serve as a mentor, a mentee, or both?

Join us for the WILA PPN Campfire Session to talk about how we can benefit from professional relationships and how they contribute to a flourishing career.

And, don’t miss the Women in Landscape Architecture Walk on Monday, November 22, organized and led by the ASLA Tennessee Host Chapter. This morning walk will explore the diversity of landscape architecture in Nashville designed by and featuring women. The event is free and open to all registered conference attendees. Meet at the firepits on the north side of Music City Center, near 7th and Demonbreun, at 6:30 a.m. or at the first stop, Noble Park in the Gulch, at 7:00 a.m. Wear your walking shoes, and be prepared for any weather! The route is roughly 3.5 miles around downtown Nashville.

Continue the Conversation with the Sustainable Design & Development PPN
Saturday, November 20, 3:15 – 3:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Main Stage

After the session Collaboration on Nature-based Solutions Is Key to Resilient City Infrastructure, continue the conversation with Lisa Beyer, PLA, ASLA, Urban Water Infrastructure Manager for the World Resources Institute and a Sustainable Design & Development PPN leader, and Joshua Sloan, ASLA, of VIKA MD, LLC, and Sustainable Design & Development PPN Co-Chair.

Campus Planning & Design PPN Campfire Session
Sunday, November 21, 11:30 am – 12:15 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

Gather around the PPN campfire for an opportunity to network with fellow PPN members on a variety of relevant and engaging topics. Lively and conversation-focused, these campfire sessions provide excellent venues for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge-sharing. We hope you will join the Campus Planning & Design PPN for a facilitated discussion on the future of the American campus.

Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN Campfire Session
Sunday, November 21, 11:30 am – 12:15 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

Join the Children’s Outdoor Environments PPN for a facilitated discussion on what’s new and what’s next in this landscape architecture practice area, led by PPN leader Chad Kennedy, ASLA.

Community Design PPN Campfire Session
Sunday, November 21, 11:30 am – 12:15 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

Join the Community Design PPN and PPN Co-Chair Stacey Weaks, ASLA, for a facilitated discussion on what’s new and what’s next in this landscape architecture practice area, as well as opportunities to innovate our impact on community design. We encourage anyone interested in community design to explore this opportunity to learn more about the PPN. Let’s grow the community design conversation.

Water Conservation PPN Campfire Session
Sunday, November 21, 11:30 am – 12:15 pm
Practice Basecamp Theater

Join the Water Conservation PPN and guest speaker Kurt K. Thompson for a presentation that builds on the PPN’s September webinar, Landscape Design with Irrigation Focus (But First, “The Basics”).

Design-Build / Residential Landscape Architecture PPNs Campfire Session
Sunday, November 21, 1:00 – 1:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

Join the Design-Build and Residential Landscape Architecture PPNs for a facilitated discussion on what’s new and what’s next in this landscape architecture practice area.

Environmental Justice PPN Campfire Session
Sunday, November 21, 1:00 – 1:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Theater

Join the Environmental Justice PPN for a presentation from David Padgett, PhD, an Associate Professor of Geography and Director of the Geographic Information Sciences Laboratory at Tennessee State University in Nashville where he has served as the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Partner and Trainer since 2001. He also specializes in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Environmental Justice.

In previous positions at Austin Peay State University (Tennessee) and Oberlin College (Ohio), he developed and taught geography and GIS-related courses.

Since establishing the GISc Lab in the summer of 2000, Padgett has supervised several undergraduate research assistants on a variety of service learning projects—topics of which include: community-based global positioning systems (GPS) mapping to improve public transit accessibility, GIS-supported homeless population mapping, and GIS mapping of Nashville’s Red Cross emergency shelters. The GISc Lab has developed working relationships with a variety of grassroots groups, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.

Since 1992 Padgett has been the Owner and Chief Consultant of GEO-Mental, a multi-faceted environmental consulting firm. His current and recent clients include, Air Alliance Houston, Nashville-Davidson County Metropolitan Government, Black Enterprise Magazine, Catalyst Miami, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.

Moderator: Chingwen Cheng, ASLA, LEED AP, ASLA Environmental Justice PPN leader and Assistant Professor, Arizona State University.

Historic Preservation PPN Campfire Session
Sunday, November 21, 1:00 – 1:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

Gather around the PPN campfire for an engaging opportunity to meet and network with other Historic Preservation PPN members. The conversation-focused session will begin with Brenda Williams, FASLA, AHLP, Quinn Evans, interviewing Maura Rockcastle, ASLA, TEN x TEN. TEN x TEN has worked collaboratively with Quinn Evans on several projects that have deep significance as cultural landscapes, including this year’s ASLA Honor Award recipient, Indian Mounds Cultural Landscape Study and Messaging Plan. Maura will talk about ways that incorporating the cultural landscape process has enhanced planning and design for projects by broadening perspectives and developing a deep understanding of historic and cultural meaning. We will expand this into a conversation with attendees and look forward to hearing about the many ways our PPN members are incorporating cultural landscape knowledge in landscape architecture practice.

Head over to Practice Basecamp a bit early to catch the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) on the Main Stage from 12:15 – 12:30 pm on Sunday, November 21. Hear the winners of the 2021 HALS Challenge, Historic Black Landscapes, be announced and learn about the 2022 Challenge.

Transportation / Planting Design PPNs Campfire Session
Sunday, November 21, 1:00 – 1:45 pm
Practice Basecamp Campfire

Roadside landscapes and urban streetscapes have tremendous potential for pollinators, but they are often overlooked for this essential service. Join the Transportation PPN and the Planting Design PPN for an interactive session on best practices to incorporate pollinator habitats along transportation corridors and approaches to fight back against invasive species. Bring your experiences, challenges, and insights to this informal, collaborative discussion.

If you’d like to prep for the conversation, or are just interested in learning more about this topic, check out the reading & resources list prepared by Planting Design and Transportation PPN leaders.

PPN membership is not required to attend PPN events at the conference—all are welcome! Already a member of one PPN, but curious about another? Or not sure which PPN to choose (all ASLA members receive one PPN membership for free)? You are welcome to attend as many PPN events as you like!

Keep an eye on The Field as we continue to highlight ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture events through the start of the meeting on November 19. We look forward to seeing you in Nashville!