by Larry Weaner, FAPLD, Affiliate ASLA, and Sara Weaner
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
Office Hours with Larry Weaner and Ian Caton
Tuesday, November 14, 2023 | 2:00 – 4:00 PM EST
Recordings are viewable for three months after each live session date, so join live and/or watch the recordings at your leisure. Registration is available for single sessions or a bundle of all six and includes a 100+ page course manual. Additionally, we are happy to offer a 20% discount to all students; please email info@ndal.org for the code.
This series is co-sponsored by Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes.
NDAL is also holding two in-person field sessions later this summer: August 10 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum and August 15 at Glenstone in Maryland:
In the Field: Ecology-based Landscape Practice at University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum
Madison, WI
Thursday, August 10, 2023 | 9:00 – 4:30 PM EDT
In the Field: Ecology-based Landscape Practice at Glenstone Museum
Potomac, MD
Tuesday, August 15, 2023 | 9:00 – 4:30 PM EDT
All three NDAL programs highlighted are approved for LA CES professional development (PDH).
For more upcoming events and opportunities, please see ASLA’s RFQs and Opportunities list. Those who wish to share an upcoming event, RFQ/RFP, or call for submissions may submit information online. For a comprehensive list of national events of interest to landscape architects, see ASLA’s Conferences for Landscape Architects page. For more about fellowship opportunities for landscape architects, see ASLA’s Scholarships and Fellowships page.
Larry Weaner, FAPLD, Affiliate ASLA, founded Larry Weaner Landscape Associates in 1982 and established NDAL in 1990. He is nationally recognized for combining expertise in horticulture, landscape design, and ecological restoration. His design and restoration work spans more than twenty U.S. states and the U.K., and has been profiled in numerous national publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Garden Design, American Gardener, Wildflower Magazine, and ASLA’s The Dirt and The Field blogs. His book Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change (2016) received an American Horticultural Society Book Award in 2017, and in 2021 he received American Horticultural Society’s Landscape Design Award.
Sara Weaner is NDAL’s Executive Director. She integrates the areas of culture, art, social and environmental justice, and ecoliteracy into NDAL’s ongoing ecological landscape focus.