Month: July 2023

Recognizing ASLA Members’ Outstanding Contributions

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ASLA member volunteers whose dedication goes above and beyond the call of duty are celebrated at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture. / image: EPNAC

A vibrant community of volunteers are the heart of ASLA’s culture of collaboration: the Society is “devoted to the encouragement of volunteerism and benefiting from the expertise and creativity of members who give their time and energies to advance the Society and the profession.” The ASLA Outstanding Service Award program recognizes ASLA member volunteers who are making notable contributions to or on behalf of the Society at the national level.

Each year, ASLA celebrates volunteers whose dedication goes above and beyond the call of duty at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture, when the awards are presented by ASLA’s president.

ASLA trustees, committee and Professional Practice Network (PPN) chairs and members, ASLA representatives, and other volunteers involved in the work of the Society at the national level are eligible for the award. Below, we highlight recent recipients. In case you feel inspired to get involved after reading this, the call for volunteer service is open through July 31 and ASLA members may sign up to join their Professional Practice Network’s leadership team at any time.

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TRB Standing Committee on Landscape and Environmental Design: Call for Papers

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by Christine Colley, RLA, ASLA

TRB AKD40 Committee Members surveying a roadway project near Irvine, California as part of the 2023 Mid-Year Meeting. / image: Willson McBurney, ASLA, TRB AKD40 Committee Chair

The Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Landscape and Environmental Design (AKD40) invites students, academics, researchers, and practitioners to develop papers to be considered for publication and/or presentation at TRB’s 2024 Annual Meeting, January 7-11 in Washington, DC.

The Committee is concerned with design parameters that relate to protecting, conserving, restoring, and enhancing safe, sustainable, and livable transportation systems, facilities, and their associated environments. The Committee promotes research to advance design principles and practices that enhance:

  • safety and traveler experiences,
  • scenic, aesthetic, and visual quality,
  • harmonious integration of facilities within their natural, cultural, and social environments,
  • sustainable solutions and systems, and
  • the quality of life for transportation system users and surrounding communities.

Topics identified by the AKD40 Committee as being critical areas of research include:

  • Energy and Sustainability – design, policies, and practices to protect the planet.
  • Policy needs related to the roadside environment and autonomous vehicle technology.
  • Resilience and Security – preparing for floods, fires, storms, and sea level rise.
  • Transformational technologies that will change how transportation environments could be retrofitted or rebuilt.
  • Roadside design to serve growing and shifting populations.

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, August 1, 2023.

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Call for Volunteers

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2018 ASLA Diversity Summit / image: EPNAC

ASLA member volunteers play a leading role in the success of ASLA. Your volunteer service is directly related to how we serve our members and the landscape architecture profession. A strong volunteer workforce of more than 250 members spread over 30 committees and other groups deploys the mission of the Society.

The ASLA 2022 – 2024 Strategic Plan guides and shapes the work of our colleagues and volunteer leaders. It lays out goals and outcomes in five focus areas: Community, Voice, Scale, Connections, and Innovation. We are looking for thoughtful, forward-thinking individuals with diverse experience to bring the ASLA Strategic Plan to life.

To volunteer for service, apply online by Monday, July 31, 2023.

Most committees meet once a month for an hour over Zoom during regular working hours. Some committees have additional meeting requirements for more focused conversations and work. Please review the committee descriptions for more information.

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Where Science Meets Practice

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by Larry Weaner, FAPLD, Affiliate ASLA, and Sara Weaner

The Native Plant Garden at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum / image: Susan Day, courtesy of NDAL

New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL) is an educational series dedicated to the art, culture, and science of ecology-based landscape design. NDAL is holding a six-part virtual intensive course on ecology-based landscape practice this July–August, with the first session taking place today, July 11.

Geared toward landscape practitioners in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S., landscape designer Larry Weaner and native plant expert Ian Caton will explore the integration of restoration ecology and fine garden design. Larry’s sessions will cover open and canopied landscapes, from meadows to shrublands to woodlands. Then he will share ideas on how to apply an artistic overlay to these native plant compositions. Ian will follow up with a discussion on specific characteristics of plants applicable to ecology-based design, which are rarely considered in traditional horticulture.

Session 1 – Foundations of Ecology-based Design: Science into Practice
Tuesday, July 11, 2023 | 1:00 – 4:30 PM EDT

Session 2 – The Open Landscape: Meadows, Old Fields, & Shrublands
Tuesday, July 18, 2023 | 1:00 – 4:30 PM EDT

Session 3 – The Canopied Landscape: Woodlands, Edges, & Hedgerows
Tuesday, July 25, 2023 | 1:00 – 4:30 PM EDT

Session 4 – The Artistic Overlay: Making “Wild” Legible
Tuesday, August 8, 2023 | 1:00 – 4:30 PM EDT

Session 5 – Plants of the Open Landscape: Meadows, Old Fields, & Shrublands
Tuesday, August 15, 2023 | 1:00 – 4:30 PM EDT

Session 6 – Plants of the Canopied Landscape: Woodlands, Edges, & Hedgerows
Tuesday, August 29, 2023 | 1:00 – 4:30 PM EDT

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Scale Up

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ASLA 2018 Professional General Design Honor Award. Walker Art Center Wurtele Upper Garden. Minneapolis, MN. Inside | Outside + HGA / image: Paul Crosby

Join us in Minneapolis this October 27-30, where we’ll be elevating our craft and scaling up our efforts. Get the early bird rate when you register by July 12, and be sure to add your field session and deep dive tickets now!

The Minneapolis-Saint Paul region is already a park-lovers paradise—add the ASLA Conference’s 100+ education sessions, 19 field sessions, 7 deep dives, 4 LARE Prep sessions, an exhilarating EXPO, and a whole host of special events, and you know exactly where you want to be this October.

Want to learn more about recent ASLA Award-winning projects? Check out sessions like:

A fan of ASLA’s Inside the LA Studio sessions? We’ve got four more coming up, featuring:

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