Contact:
Kate Fried
PR Manager, ASLA
kfried@asla.org

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) will be represented by three delegates at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. This is the fourth year ASLA has been an NGO observer to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) process. 

ASLA’s delegates:

• Meg Calkins, FASLA, FCELA, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, North Carolina State University, and Chair, ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan Task Force. Focuses on nature-based climate mitigation strategies, author of Details and Materials for Resilient Sites: A Climate Positive Approach, and a founding member of the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES).
    
• Marcelo Tomé Kubo, International ASLA, PhD, landscape architect, urban planner, and botanist and managing partner, Patricia Akinaga Landscape Architecture, Environmental Planning, and Urban Design. Focuses on urban nature-based solutions and Brazilian flora diversity and evolution and has been a National Geographic Explorer since 2021.

And the landscape architect delegate of the Government of Thailand:

• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA, Founder, Landprocess and Porous CIty Network; Chair, Climate Change and Biodiversity Working Group, International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA). Focuses on lifting up Global South voices on climate adaptation and nature-based solutions since COP26 (2021). 

 
“Brazil has hosted this COP at the gateway to the Amazon rainforest because they know climate and nature are interconnected. Landscape architects also know that the problems and solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises must be addressed together,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA. “This is the year when we need to scale up investment in nature-based solutions that increase our ability to adapt to climate change, create gains in biodiversity, and lead to economic growth. ” 

“Landscape architecture helps ensure nature-based solutions provide even greater adaptation and resilience benefits for urban, suburban, and rural communities,” Calkins said. “There are now so many smart, proven design approaches worldwide that show how these solutions reduce flood, storm, and heat risks; store carbon; increase biodiversity; and generate economic value. Landscape architects around the globe have proven ability to work with policymakers and communities to design these solutions to create stacked economic, ecosystem, social, and health benefits.”
  
At COP30, ASLA will co-host From Shoreline to Skyline: Resilient Infrastructure, Buildings, and Coastal Planning for a Changing Climate, a session in the Resilience Hub, organized by the Government of Peru, in the Blue Zone on November 13, 7:30 - 8:30 AM EST. The event is co-hosted by Arup, the World Green Building Council, and Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER) at BRAC University. 

During the session, Calkins and Voraakhom will outline how landscape architects design nature-based solutions to increase resilience while maximizing the economic and other co-benefits of these solutions at the same time. 

Media interested in attending this event can contact press@asla.org
 
Landscape architecture delegates will also present at these blue zone sessions:
 
Nature at Work: Advancing Climate Resilience through Ecosystem-Based Solutions 
Government of Thailand Pavilion, Blue Zone, November 11, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM EST 

Highlights Canadian and Brazilian leadership in landscape-based adaptation, showcasing cross-sector approaches that integrate biodiversity, infrastructure, and local livelihoods for resilient development. 
 
Presenters: 

• Marcelo Tomé Kubo, International ASLA, PhD, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
• Alan White, Representative, International Association of Horticultural Producers
• Dr. Sitarrine Thongpussawal, Director of Knowledge Development and Dissemination Subdivision, Office of the National Water Resources, Government of Thailand 
• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA, Founder, Landprocess (moderator) 

 
Undoing the Damage, The Retrofit Urban Revolution with Nature: Action Pathways for Livable, Thriving, and Resilient Cities 
Government of Thailand Pavilion, Blue Zone, November 11, 2025, 9:00 to 10:00 AM EST

Explores how urban landscapes can be redesigned to restore ecological function, reduce emissions, and enhance community well-being. 

Presenters: 

• Meg Calkins, FASLA, FCELA, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) 
• Dr. Bruno Marques, President, International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA)
• Hugh Lim, Executive Director, Centre for Liveable Cities, Singapore 
• Simone Sandholz, Head of Programme, Urban Futures & Sustainability Transformation, United Nations University (UNU-EHS)
• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA, Founder, Landprocess (moderator) 

 
Sustainable Amphibious Home: Achieving 13 SDGs in Climate-Vulnerable Bangladesh 
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Pavilion, November 11, 1:20 to 2:20 PM EST 

Presenter: 

• Sharmin Nahar Nipa, Coordinator of Research, Capacity Building & Partnership Development, Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER), BRAC University

Discussant: 

• Meg Calkins, FASLA, FCELA, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) 

Water as Leverage
Government of Thailand Pavilion, Blue Zone, November 13, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM EST

Organized in collaboration with Dutch and Southeast Asian partners, this interactive session will explore how integrated urban water projects can catalyze climate adaptation and equitable urban transformation. 

Presenters: 

• Meike van Ginneken, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands
• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA, Founder, Landprocess (moderator) 

 
Paris at 10: The 10th Anniversary of the Paris Agreement 
Government of Thailand Pavilion, Blue Zone, November 19, 11.30 AM - 12.30 PM EST 

Fosters discussion on how ambition, implementation, and equity have evolved over the past decade and what the next phase of global climate cooperation demands.

Presenters:   

• Susan Biniaz, Principal Deputy Special Envoy for Climate, U.S. Department of State
• Michael Weisberg, Deputy Director, Perry World House 
• Jimena Leiva Roesch, Head of Peace and Sustainable Development, International Peace Institute  
• Khadeeja Naseem, Senior Advisor on Climate Negotiations, International Peace Institute   
• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA, Founder, Landprocess (moderator) 

 
At COP30, Calkins, Kubo, and Voraakhom will also share the vision outlined in the recently released Landscape Architecture 2040: Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan. They will explain how landscape architects design nature-based solutions to create multiple benefits for people and communities:

1) Strengthened Resilience 
Healthy, biodiverse landscapes that store carbon in trees, plants, and soils increase communities’ ability to adapt to climate impacts – such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and sea level rise. Nature-based solutions can be designed for urban, suburban, and rural communities to bolster resilience over the long-term. 

2) Going Beyond Net-Zero
Landscapes are the most efficient way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon. Through smart planning and design, landscapes can achieve zero emissions and double sequestration by 2040.
 
3) Increased Biodiversity
Nature-positive landscapes are the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems and efforts to achieve the goals of protecting and restoring 30 percent of ecosystems by 2030 (30 x 2030). Biodiverse landscapes are more resilient to climate impacts and better at storing carbon. 
 
4) Improved Health and Livability 
Accessible public landscapes, such as parks and recreation areas, provide proven physical and mental health benefits that reduce healthcare costs and increase community cohesion. All communities should benefit from nature-based solutions in an equitable way. 

5) Expanded Investment and Sustainable Livelihoods
When woven into communities, nature-based solutions become resilient assets that lead to increased investment in housing, infrastructure, and public amenities, and create sustainable local livelihoods. In the U.S., investments in parks and green space can generate between $4 and $11 for every dollar invested, due to increased tourism, improved property values, and enhanced community health. 

ByDesign is thrilled to announce an official partnership with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). This landmark agreement completes a powerful trifecta of support from the design and built world, joining the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).

At its core, America ByDesign is committed to shining a light on exceptional and innovative design that impacts the way people live, work, and connect. By partnering with these three pillars of the American design industry—Architecture (AIA), Interiors (IIDA), and Landscape (ASLA)—the series is positioned to add unparalleled variety, scope, and depth to future programming.

“This is a defining moment for the series and for design visibility," said Mike Chapman (ByDesign Executive Producer). "To have the official support and collaboration of the AIA, IIDA, and ASLA means we can truly deliver on our promise to tell the whole design story. From the foundational blueprint to the interior experience and the surrounding natural environment, we can now celebrate the integrated artistry that shapes our built world.”

Voices from the Design Leadership

“AIA is proud to continue its support of America ByDesign. Collaboration is the foundation of exceptional architecture. By expanding this partnership to include ASLA and IIDA, we have a unique opportunity to highlight how our members’ work is enriched by its deep connection to interior and landscape design”.

—AIA Interim EVP/CEO Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA

“The built environment represents a high level of creativity and collaboration across the design professions, and IIDA is delighted to see our partners at America ByDesign bringing greater recognition to the role each facet of design plays in creating spaces that enhance lives and embrace humanity. Design is future-focused and inherently optimistic, and we are excited to invite viewers to take a deeper look at interior designers and allied professionals, and their remarkable contributions to the built environment and a better world.”

—IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO, Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA

“ASLA is thrilled to partner with America ByDesign to share the projects and stories of landscape architects — who design the places where we live, gather, and thrive.. By joining alongside AIA and IIDA, we’re highlighting design at every scale — interiors, buildings, and landscapes — all working together to shape a more vibrant future.”

—ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA

About America ByDesign 

America ByDesign is a magazine-style half-hour television program that airs on CBS News Livestream and is simulcast on ten FAST Channels. The series brings greater visibility to exceptional design principles, projects, materials, and products across the U.S.

Upcoming episodes are currently filming nationwide, highlighting diverse and inclusive designs and the professionals who created them, with a specific focus on architectural homes, design that reflects culture and learning, and projects centered on sustainability and collaboration.

Where to Watch

In addition to broadcast airings, episodes are available to stream On-Demand:

• aia.org: Episodes are housed in the AIA Resource Center, available to view there before the general public.
• bydesign.global
• Smart Healthy Green Living: A streaming platform at shgliving.com and via the SHGL app.
• @ByDesignTV YouTube Channel

“Landscape architects grow our economy and design Nebraska’s safe, healthy, resilient communities,” said ASLA Nebraska/Dakotas Chapter President Josh Johnson. “The landscape architecture program is essential to the university’s mission as a comprehensive land-grant university. Without it, there would be no institution in the state committed to training landscape architects and the many in Nebraska who aspire to the profession may leave the state for training and never return.”  

UNL’s program meets urgent workforce needs, supporting a state-level industry that has exceeded national industry growth by 206.2 percent. Enrollment in the program has grown by 40 percent in the last nine years. 100 percent of graduates from the program find work, and 71 percent of those graduates stay in-state. In Nebraska, landscape architects earn a mean annual wage of $79,470 versus $58,080 across all occupations. The state is home to at least 18 active landscape architecture firms, all of which rely on UNL graduates to meet workforce needs.

Further, landscape architects contribute valuable expertise to the state, collaborating with planners to design and improve parks and other public spaces, prevent and mitigate flood damage, and more. Over the last four years, landscape architecture has contributed $1.15 million in in-kind time to Nebraska communities.  

“Landscape architects are highly skilled STEM professionals who must be licensed to carry out their jobs to protect public health, safety, and welfare,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA. “Landscape architects design the spaces where people play, workers commute, and communities come together. Nebraska, and the world at large, needs more landscape architects, not fewer.” 

The proposed elimination of UNL’s landscape architecture program reflects a troubling national trend, but Nebraska has more at stake. In 2023, West Virginia University reversed a similar decision after public outcry. If UNL’s program is cut, Nebraska will lose its direct pathway to professional licensure in landscape architecture—weakening the state’s workforce and accelerating brain drain.

The UNL Academic Planning Committee is expected to begin evaluating the future of the landscape architecture program, and others on October 1. The committee’s recommendations then move on to the university’s chancellor on October 24. UNL’s Board of Regents will make the final decision about program cuts in December. Other programs up for elimination include community and regional planning; earth and atmospheric sciences; educational administration; statistics; and textile, merchandising and fashion design. 

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and ASLA Fund announced today that it has released a new plan to address the climate and biodiversity crises together. Landscape Architecture 2040: Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan charts a pathway for landscape architects to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in their projects and operations, increase carbon sequestration, and protect and restore biodiversity in an equitable way by 2040. It is a significant update of the organization’s first plan, which was released in 2022. 

The new Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan was developed by a high-profile Task Force of five landscape architects, chaired by Meg Calkins, FASLA, professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning at North Carolina State University. The task force worked with a 34-member Advisory Group of climate and biodiversity experts. 

The plan outlines a bold vision. By 2040, all landscape architecture projects will simultaneously:

• Achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions and double carbon sequestration from business as usual.
• Protect, conserve, restore, enhance, and manage biodiversity.
• Provide significant economic benefits in the form of measurable ecosystem services, co-benefits, and livelihoods.
• Address climate and biodiversity injustices, amplify the power of communities, and increase the equitable distribution of climate and biodiversity investments.

“Our new plan represents a major shift. We know that the problems and solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises are intertwined. So, we have developed an ambitious plan for addressing both crises – through landscape architecture,” said ASLA President Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA. “This approach builds on decades of work by landscape architects on climate and biodiversity. The new plan unifies the nature-based planning and design strategies that best address both challenges at the same time. We also seek to ensure communities benefit from these solutions in an equitable way and see real economic gains.”  
 
“Landscape architects can help communities undo the rapid loss of ecosystems and biodiversity. We can speed up our work to achieve global biodiversity goals – protecting and restoring at least 30 percent of terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems by 2030 (30 x 30),” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA. “At the same time, we will continue to help communities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, sequester more carbon, and address worsening climate impacts, like extreme heat, flooding, drought, sea level rise, wildfire, and air and water pollution.”

Landscape Architecture 2040: Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan is organized into two volumes – one for ASLA members, which include landscape architects and designers, educators and students, product manufacturers and material suppliers, and one for ASLA and ASLA Chapters. Both volumes are organized around four key goals: 

• Climate: Scale up climate positive approaches
• Biodiversity: Protect, conserve, restore, enhance and manage 
• Equity: Amplify the power of people and communities
• Advocacy: Advance climate and biodiversity action through leadership and engagement

The new plan is designed to act as a resource and guide the climate and biodiversity work of landscape architecture firms and organizations of all sizes. It will also direct all ASLA climate and biodiversity programs and investments from 2026 to 2030. Collective goals and actions will be revisited and updated in 2030 and every five years until 2040 and beyond.
 
“Climate change and biodiversity loss are impacting the health, safety, and welfare of our communities. Landscape architects are the only professionals who are uniquely qualified to address climate mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity in our work. We improve health outcomes, provide ecosystem services, and create strong economic outcomes,” said Meg Calkins, FASLA, Chair of the Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan Task Force.
 
Calkins will represent ASLA and highlight the vision and goals of the Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP30 in Belém, Brazil. ASLA has been an official non-governmental organization observer of the COP process since 2022.  

Washington, D.C., September 25 – The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the ASLA Fund have released a free resource on how to design for biodiversity – Biodiversity Primer for Landscape Architects: Essential Knowledge to Inform Meaningful Action. 
 
The resource was developed by the ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Committee (CBAC), a group of landscape architects charged with implementing key aspects of the upcoming ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan. Landscape architects play an important role in designing nature-based solutions that protect and increase biodiversity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sequester carbon, enhance community resilience, and create economic opportunities. 
 
“Having just returned from the International Federation of Landscape Architects’ conference spotlights for me how important it is that we share information and resources to achieve our mutual responsibility to our planet and each other. This primer brings together the latest global policy goals, science, and design best practices in one place,” said Kona A. Gray, FASLA, PLA, ASLA President. “It provides landscape architects with the baseline information needed to take action on the biodiversity crisis – the challenges we need to prioritize; the most effective ways to design solutions with ecologists, biologists, and others; how to measure our impact; and how to steward landscapes into the future.”
 
“The loss of biodiversity worldwide continues to accelerate. We need to rapidly shift to better ways of designing and managing landscapes and do our part to achieve global 2030 goals,” said Aida Curtis, FASLA, PLA, Chair, ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Committee and president, Curtis + Rogers Design Studio in Miami, Florida. “The primer introduces the real, concrete steps we can take on every project to protect, conserve, enhance, or restore healthy, enduring habitats for more species.” 

The primer was edited by Betsy Peterson Sanford, ASLA, August Design Collaborative and co-chair of the CBAC Subcommittee on Biodiversity. 

A team of CBAC biodiversity experts reviewed and contributed to the resource:   

• Keith Bowers, FASLA, PLA, Biohabitats
• Lisa Casey, ASLA, StudioOutside 
• David Cutter, FASLA, PLA, Cornell University 
• Jennifer Dowdell, ASLA, Biohabitats 
• MaFe Gonzalez, Assoc. ASLA, BASE Landscape Architecture 
• Weston Henry, ASLA, SWA 
• Maria Landoni, ASLA, Sur Landscape Architecture 
• Meghan Mick, ASLA, PLA, Florida State University 
• Christian Runge, ASLA, Mithun 
• Grant Thompson, ASLA, PhD, PLA, RDG Planning & Design

The primer offers direction on how to mitigate the biodiversity crisis through design and planning work. It provides landscape architects with baseline information needed to support biodiversity through projects at all scales. It introduces foundational information that enables meaningful collaboration with allied fields, such as ecologists and biologists, during planning, design, and management phases. 

The primer introduces a range of biodiversity topics, including:

• The state of the biodiversity crisis
• Global 2030 goals
• The five key biodiversity priorities
• How to design with landscape ecology principles
• How to design for biodiversity across scales
• How to measure impact, and 
• How to steward a site for biodiversity

This resource supports the implementation of the ASLA Climate & Biodiversity Action Plan (2026-2030). It will be updated periodically to reflect the shifting state of nature, evolving global priorities, and the latest research.

On September 23, 2025, the world lost Kongjian Yu, FASLA, a visionary leader and landscape architect. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) celebrates Yu's life and enduring contributions—founder of Turenscape and professor at Peking University—whose visionary leadership reshaped how cities around the world can work with water and nature for a more compassionate and resilient future.

Yu advanced a holistic approach to landscape architecture that integrates flood resilience, biodiversity, and human well-being. His “sponge city” strategies—embracing wetlands, parks, and permeable landscapes to absorb, store, and cleanse stormwater—have informed national policies in China and influenced urban resilience efforts globally. A prolific scholar and mentor, Yu inspired generations to see landscape architecture as the art of survival and a pathway to climate action.

His design practice and scholarship earned international recognition, including the IFLA Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award,  the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, and the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize.  Yu spoke tirelessly to landscape architecture professionals and the public over his decades long career, including in 2019, when he was a keynote speaker at the Conference on Landscape Architecture in San Francisco. Yu was elected a Fellow of ASLA in 2012, and his work with Turenscape was the recipient of several ASLA Awards.

Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA, and ASLA President said, “Kongjian was a colleague and a friend. Earlier this month we spoke together on a panel and a few good laughs, and I was reminded how his smile could light up a room and his words could make complex truths feel simple and human. He showed the world that resilience can be beautiful—and that we can make friends with water. We honor his life by carrying his work forward with open hands, open hearts, and the quiet confidence he modeled so well.”

ASLA extends its heartfelt condolences to Professor Yu’s family, friends, Turenscape colleagues, and the many communities uplifted by his work. His legacy lives on in landscapes that heal, protect, and bring people together.

ASLA has announced its 2025 Student Awards. Winners showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement among the future of the profession. All project winners and their schools are listed below.

Jury panels representing a broad cross-section of the profession, from the public and private sectors, and academia, select winners each year and are listed below. The 34 winners were chosen out of 502 entries.

"What an incredible display of talent," said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. "I'm so proud of the talent and advocacy at the heart of these projects because they reflect a deep commitment to tackle the thorny issues communities face."

Award recipients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony during the ASLA 2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture in New Orleans, LA, on Saturday, October 11. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials. For more information, visit www.aslaconference.com.

Members of the media, please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

General Design

Award of Excellence 
Opaque Ground: Reimagining Human-Soil Relations in the Lower
Don University of Toronto 

Honor Award
Working with Beaver Engineers: First Step in Restoring Eco-Corridors Beijing Forestry University
Beijing Forestry University, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture and University of California, Berkeley 

Honor Award
From Ruins to Roots: Healing through Unity, Growing for the Future
University of Pennsylvania 

Honor Award
From River to Seabed: Vertical Solutions for Sea Barren Ground
Kyung Hee University 

Honor Award
Riverfront Stitch: Mending Cleveland’s Industrial Valley
Kent State University  

Honor Award
Seeding the Shoreline: A Living Armature for Pengambengan’s Future
Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology and Sichuan Agricultural University 

Honor Award
Reclaimed Edges: Uncovering History, Designing Resilient Futures 
Harvard University  

Honor Award
After the Ashes
University of Oregon 

Honor Award
Soundscapes as Ecology: Designing for Natural Rhythms
Ohio State University 

Residential Design

Award of Excellence
Monsoon Memory: Khmer Hydro-Traditionalism for Community Resilience
Soochow University 

Urban Design

Award of Excellence
Kipuka Wai” Weaving Ahupua’a Wisdom for the Hawaiian Goby’s Voyage
Soochow University  

Honor Award
Mitigating Seoul’s Half-Basement Floods: Green Justice in Action
Soochow University 

Honor Award
Lugar de Encontro/ Landscape of Encounters
University of Pennsylvania 

Honor Award
The Oasis Effect: Reclaiming Tunis’s Indigenous Water Systems
Harvard University 

Student Collaboration

Award of Excellence
Re-Wetting Grossbeeren
Harvard University 

Honor Award
THE URBAN FARM EXPANSION: Design by the Community for the Community   
University of Oregon 

Honor Award
TREES ALIVE! Techniques, Details, Traditions
Illinois Institute of Technology and The University of Tokyo

Analysis & Planning

Award of Excellence
Stabilizing Thawing Ground: Meltwater Management in Utqiagvik, Alaska 
University of Virginia 

Honor Award 
Reweaving the Water Networks: Casarabe Wisdom for the Llanos de Mojos   
Southwest Jiaotong University, Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Sichuan Agricultural University 

Honor Award
Auwai Revived: Integrated Ecological Strategies from Mountains to Sea
Beijing Forestry University and Fujian University of Technology 

Honor Award
Beyond the Channel: Reconnecting a Resilient Arroyo Seco
California State Polytechnic University at Pomona 

Honor Award
Heart of the Great Lakes
Hefei University of Technology, Chongqing Jiaotong University, and Soochow University 

Honor Award
Power Lines and Beating Hearts: The Body Electric in the Energy Future
Harvard University 

Honor Award
Floods & Beasts: Adaptation Strategies for Sundarbans Border Communities
Shanghai University, Beijing Forestry University, and Chongqing University 

Honor Award
The Haunt of Mobile: Reconnecting Down the Bay
Auburn University 

Communications

Award of Excellence
Stewards of Pyrran: A Game of Fire, Care, and Cooperation
University of California, Davis 

Honor Award
Shifting Terrains: Glacial Debris and Flow
University of Virginia 

Honor Award
SOLARPUNK: Recovering the Lost Art of Landscape
University of British Columbia 

Honor Award
Way to the Park 
Macau University of Science and Technology About Time: Adaptive Management for Coastal Salt Marshes

Research

Award of Excellence 
HAIL: Healthy Aging through Intergenerational Living
Texas A&M University 

Honor Award
Overlooked Carbon Contributions of Urban Green Spaces
Beijing Forestry University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 

Honor Award
Reimagining Residential Landscapes in the Pacific Palisades
Purdue University 

Student Community Service

Award of Excellence
Stimulating the Senses, A Calming Retreat in a Skilled Nursing Setting
University of Washington 

Honor Award
Nasi Ulam Forest Garden as a Living Lab
National University of Singapore 

 The 2025 Student Awards Juries

Jury: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Student Collaboration

Jury Chair: Lauren Stimson, ASLA, STIMSON

Members:

Jury: Analysis & Planning, Research, Communications & Student Community Service

Jury Chair: Haley Blakeman, FASLA, Moffat and Nichol 

Members:

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) announced that the Testing Ground: Adapting Fairways to Resilient Barrier Isle Ecosystems in Jekyll Island, by the landscape architecture firm Design Workshop and their client the Jekyll Island Authority has won the ASLA/IFLA 2025 Global Impact Award.

The ASLA/IFLA Global Impact Award is presented to a project in the Analysis and Planning category of the annual ASLA Awards. The award is given to a work of landscape architecture that demonstrates excellence in addressing climate impacts through transformative action, scalable solutions, and adherence to ASLA’s and IFLA’s climate action commitments.  

The Jekyll Island restoration project reverses decades of sea-level rise and the loss of biodiversity and cultural landscapes. It transforms an aging golf course into thriving native habitats—restoring longleaf pine savannas, salt marshes, and sweetgrass prairies. In honoring the island’s ecological heritage and resilience, the project sets a national model for coastal restoration and sustainable development.  

“Our collaboration with the Jekyll Island Authority and local experts reimagines what former golf courses can be—resilient landscapes that elevate ecology, experience, and cultural connection. Georgia holds one-third of the East Coast’s vital salt marshes; therefore, repurposing degraded and underutilized coastal areas sets a vital national precedent,” said Emily McCoy, Principal-in-Charge at Design Workshop, FASLA, PLA. “By blending science, art, and community insight, the project addresses sea-level rise, biodiversity loss, and freshwater challenges with creativity and purpose.”

In using strategic restoration and adaptive management, the project seeks to enhance biodiversity, climate resilience, and soil health. The landscape architects behind the project removed turfgrass and invasive plants, reintroduced fire-adapted native plants, and designed habitats for target species. Their vision transforms the landscape into interconnected habitats that support threatened and at-risk species while increasing ecosystem stability, showing how landscape architecture can help mitigate the effects of climate change. They also repurposed existing infrastructure to anticipate sea-level rise and increased storm surges.   

The restoration is also notable because it honors Jekyll Island’s rich cultural history, especially the Gullah Geechee people. Reintroducing sweetgrass pays homage to their traditional craft, while interpretive trails, art, and educational displays immerse visitors in the island’s complex ecological and cultural narratives and legacies. Elevated boardwalks and a living classroom provide firsthand learning experiences, fostering environmental stewardship and public appreciation for coastal ecosystems. 

The Global Impact Award was announced as part of the ASLA 2025 Professional Awards. This year, 35 winners in multiple categories showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession. Read more in the awards press release.  

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony at the ASLA 2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture in New Orleans, October 10-13. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials. For more information, visit www.aslaconference.com.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

Award Categories

General Design

Award of Excellence
​​​A Floating Forest: Fish Tail Park in Nanchang City
Nanchang, China
Turenscape 

Honor Award
The Beach at Elliott Bay
Seattle, Washington 
SurfaceDesign, Inc. 

Honor Award
Guitou Wetland Park: Reclaiming Public Space for the Rural Forgotten
Shaoguan City, China 
YXDesigners 

Honor Award
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund
Kinigi, Rwanda 
MASS Design Group + TEN x TEN 

Honor Award
More than Human: A Land Bridge for Cultural and Wildlife Connections
San Antonio, Texas
STIMSON 

Honor Award
The Shepherd Arts Park: Community, Art, Play
Detroit, Michigan
OSD – Office of Strategy & Design 

Honor Award
A Walk in the Woods: Re-Wilding, Experimentation and Pedagogy at UMass
Amherst, Massachusetts
STIMSON   

Honor Award
Waterloo Park: Reclaiming Public Space in the Center of Austin
Austin, Texas
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. 

Honor Award
Mill 19: A Catalytic Postindustrial Landscape
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TEN x TEN + D.I.R.T. Studio 

Urban Design

Honor Award
Jiaxing Station Park
Zhejiang, China
Z'scape + MAD 

Honor Award
Shanghai Underpass Hubs: Bridging Divides, Building Community
Shanghai, China
FISH DESIGN 

Honor Award
China Basin Park: A Dynamic Urban Connector
San Francisco, California
SCAPE 

Honor Award
Generosity of Place: Water Street Tampa’s Continuous Canopy
Tampa, Florida
Reed Hilderbrand LLC 

Honor Award
​​Turning Gray into Green: Meishe River Greenway and Fengxiang Park​
Haikou City, China
Turenscape 

Honor Award
UNIT.City: Transforming an Industrial Zone into an Innovation District
Kyiv, Ukraine
KOTSIUBA 

Residential Design

Award of Excellence
And the Wild Comes Right up to the Door
Princeton, Massachusetts
STIMSON 

Honor Award
The Little Project: Unlocking the Potential of an Everyday Urban Lot
St. Paul, Minnesota
Ping Design LLC 

Honor Award 
Huckleberry Perch
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design 

Honor Award 
Inez Point: Embracing an Old Growth Forest
Whitefish, Montana
Design Workshop, Inc. 

Honor Award
Springy Banks
East Hampton, New York
LaGuardia Design Group 

Honor Award
Sendero Verde
New York, New York
AECOM LAUD NYC 

Honor Award
Norweta
Chicago, Illinois
Site Design Group, Ltd. Honor Award

Analysis & Planning

Award of Excellence 
Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park: A Landscape of Healing and Renewal
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Design Collective with Carmichael Associates 

Honor Award
Somerville Pollinator Action Plan: A Pollinator’s Guide to City Living
Somerville, Massachusetts
Offshoots, Inc. 

Honor Award 
Rural Abundance & Vitality: The Chaobai River Basin
Tianjin Municipality, China
Sasaki Associates, Inc  

Honor Award
Sea2City: Reimagining Reconciliation in Design and Policy
Vancouver, Canada
Mithun + ONE, and PWL Partnership 

Communications

Honor Award
Greening Five Points: Growing a Grassroots Movement in Denver
Denver, Colorado 
Design Workshop + Design Workshop Foundation 

Honor Award
WORKS with Nature: Low-Carbon Adaptation for a Changing World
Boston, Massachusetts
Climate Positive Design 

Honor Award
Playbook for the Pyrocene
SWA Group 

Honor Award
Empty Pedestals
Southwestern U.S.
Kofi Boone, FASLA & M. Elen Deming, FASLA 

Research

Honor Award 
About Time: Adaptive Management for Coastal Salt Marshes
Stone Harbor, New Jersey
University of Pennsylvania Environmental Modeling Lab (EMLab) 

Honor Award
Charles River Floating Wetland Pilot Project: Multi-Year Findings
Boston, Massachusetts
Sasaki Associates, Inc + The Hideo Sasaki Foundation and Dr. McNamara Rome 

Honor Award
LONGQUAN MOUNTAIN Park: Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Research
Sichuan, China
ZAP Associates LLC 

Jury: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Landmark Award

Jury Chair: Thomas Balsley, FASLA, SWA/Balsley

Members:

Jury: Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research, Communications & Landmark Award

Jury Chair: Diane Fernandez Bibeau, ASLA, City of Boston 

Members:

IFLA Representative: Monica Pallares Trujillo, IFLA America Region 

CELA Representative: Bo Zhang, ASLA, Oklahoma State University 

LAF Representative: Signe Nielsen, FASLA, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, P.C. 

ASLA has announced its 2025 Professional Awards. Thirty-five Professional Award winners showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession. All winners and their locations are listed below.

Jury panels representing a broad cross-section of the profession, from the public and private sectors, and academia, select winners each year and are listed below. The 35 winners were chosen out of 463 entries.

The ASLA / International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Global Impact Award is presented to a project in the Analysis and Planning category. The award is given to a work of landscape architecture that demonstrates excellence in addressing climate impacts through transformative action and scalable solutions, and adherence to ASLA’s and IFLA’s climate action commitments. The 2025 award goes to Testing Ground: Adapting Fairways to Resilient Barrier Isle Ecosystems on Jekyll Island in Georgia by Design Workshop and their client, Jekyll Island Authority. From defunct golf course to resilient coastal ecosystem, this project sets a national precedent for adaptive reuse.

The Professional Awards jury also selects a Landmark Award each year for a distinguished landscape architecture project completed between 15 and 50 years ago that retains its original design integrity and contributes many benefits to the surrounding community. This year’s Landmark Award celebrates Restoring the Glory, the Restoration of Forest Park, St. Louis by HOK and their client, Forest Park Forever and the City of St. Louis. This project led a major restoration of St. Louis’ 1,370-acre Forest Park in 2000, revitalizing historic landmarks, modernizing amenities, and reintroducing natural systems to renew the park as one of America’s most celebrated urban spaces.

“These projects demonstrate that what is good for nature is good for people,” said ASLA President Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA. “Each project paired a high degree of difficulty with technical expertise and seamless design—congrats to all the winners."

"The extraordinary vision and expertise of landscape architecture is on full display with these award-winning projects,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “Underneath the serene designs beats the heart of biodiversity, carbon capture and the health and well-being of our communities."

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony at the ASLA 2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture in New Orleans, October 10-13. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials. For more information, visit www.aslaconference.com.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

Award Categories

General Design

Award of Excellence
​​​A Floating Forest: Fish Tail Park in Nanchang City
Nanchang, China
Turenscape 

Honor Award
The Beach at Elliott Bay
Seattle, Washington 
SurfaceDesign, Inc. 

Honor Award
Guitou Wetland Park: Reclaiming Public Space for the Rural Forgotten
Shaoguan City, China 
YXDesigners 

Honor Award
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund
Kinigi, Rwanda 
MASS Design Group + TEN x TEN 

Honor Award
More than Human: A Land Bridge for Cultural and Wildlife Connections
San Antonio, Texas
STIMSON 

Honor Award
The Shepherd Arts Park: Community, Art, Play
Detroit, Michigan
OSD – Office of Strategy & Design 

Honor Award
A Walk in the Woods: Re-Wilding, Experimentation and Pedagogy at UMass
Amherst, Massachusetts
STIMSON   

Honor Award
Waterloo Park: Reclaiming Public Space in the Center of Austin
Austin, Texas
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. 

Honor Award
Mill 19: A Catalytic Postindustrial Landscape
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TEN x TEN + D.I.R.T. Studio 

Urban Design

Honor Award
Jiaxing Station Park
Zhejiang, China
Z'scape + MAD 

Honor Award
Shanghai Underpass Hubs: Bridging Divides, Building Community
Shanghai, China
FISH DESIGN 

Honor Award
China Basin Park: A Dynamic Urban Connector
San Francisco, California
SCAPE 

Honor Award
Generosity of Place: Water Street Tampa’s Continuous Canopy
Tampa, Florida
Reed Hilderbrand LLC 

Honor Award
​​Turning Gray into Green: Meishe River Greenway and Fengxiang Park​
Haikou City, China
Turenscape 

Honor Award
UNIT.City: Transforming an Industrial Zone into an Innovation District
Kyiv, Ukraine
KOTSIUBA 

Residential Design

Award of Excellence
And the Wild Comes Right up to the Door
Princeton, Massachusetts
STIMSON 

Honor Award
The Little Project: Unlocking the Potential of an Everyday Urban Lot
St. Paul, Minnesota
Ping Design LLC 

Honor Award 
Huckleberry Perch
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design 

Honor Award 
Inez Point: Embracing an Old Growth Forest
Whitefish, Montana
Design Workshop, Inc. 

Honor Award
Springy Banks
East Hampton, New York
LaGuardia Design Group 

Honor Award
Sendero Verde
New York, New York
AECOM LAUD NYC 

Honor Award
Norweta
Chicago, Illinois
Site Design Group, Ltd. Honor Award

Analysis & Planning

Award of Excellence 
Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park: A Landscape of Healing and Renewal
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Design Collective with Carmichael Associates 

Honor Award
Somerville Pollinator Action Plan: A Pollinator’s Guide to City Living
Somerville, Massachusetts
Offshoots, Inc. 

Honor Award 
Rural Abundance & Vitality: The Chaobai River Basin
Tianjin Municipality, China
Sasaki Associates, Inc  

Honor Award
Sea2City: Reimagining Reconciliation in Design and Policy
Vancouver, Canada
Mithun + ONE, and PWL Partnership 

Communications

Honor Award
Greening Five Points: Growing a Grassroots Movement in Denver
Denver, Colorado 
Design Workshop + Design Workshop Foundation 

Honor Award
WORKS with Nature: Low-Carbon Adaptation for a Changing World
Boston, Massachusetts
Climate Positive Design 

Honor Award
Playbook for the Pyrocene
SWA Group 

Honor Award
Empty Pedestals
Southwestern U.S.
Kofi Boone, FASLA & M. Elen Deming, FASLA 

Research

Honor Award 
About Time: Adaptive Management for Coastal Salt Marshes
Stone Harbor, New Jersey
University of Pennsylvania Environmental Modeling Lab (EMLab) 

Honor Award
Charles River Floating Wetland Pilot Project: Multi-Year Findings
Boston, Massachusetts
Sasaki Associates, Inc + The Hideo Sasaki Foundation and Dr. McNamara Rome 

Honor Award
LONGQUAN MOUNTAIN Park: Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Research
Sichuan, China
ZAP Associates LLC 

Jury: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Landmark Award

Jury Chair: Thomas Balsley, FASLA, SWA/Balsley

Members:

Jury: Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research, Communications & Landmark Award

Jury Chair: Diane Fernandez Bibeau, ASLA, City of Boston 

Members:

IFLA Representative: Monica Pallares Trujillo, IFLA America Region 

CELA Representative: Bo Zhang, ASLA, Oklahoma State University 

LAF Representative: Signe Nielsen, FASLA, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, P.C. 

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced that Restoring the Glory, the Restoration of Forest Park, St. Louis, designed by the landscape architecture firm HOK in Washington, D.C., has won the ASLA 2025 Landmark Award. 

The Landmark Award is bestowed upon a distinguished landscape architecture project completed between 15 and 50 years ago that retains its original design integrity and contributes many benefits to the surrounding community.  

At 1,370 acres, Forest Park is one of the largest urban parks in the U.S. The site of the 1904 World’s Fair, funding and maintenance challenges in the 1970s and ‘80s degraded the park’s quality, rendering it less functional and unsafe. In 2000, the nonprofit conservancy Forest Park Forever (FPF) engaged the design team at HOK to restore some of the park’s most iconic landmarks in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the Fair. The restoration modernized amenities, reintroduced natural systems, and reconnected visitors to the beloved public space, transforming it into an area for recreation, sports, civic and cultural events, and more.   

“Forest Park is the nation’s largest urban park, while always remaining at the heart of St. Louis. HOK’s restoration honors George Kessler’s original vision while embracing modern sustainability and resiliency,” said Brian Jencek, Director of Planning, HOK. “By restoring ecosystems, improving access, and creating inclusive spaces, we’ve prepared the park to serve its community—and future generations—as a vibrant, democratic landscape.” 

The restoration of Forest Park is a nationally recognized success story. With more than 15 million visitors annually, the park is the sixth most visited urban park in the U.S. and was recently named the best city park in USA Today’s readers' choice awards for the second consecutive year. The park continues to be recognized as a national destination and the pride of its city and region. 

“The restorations of Government Hill and Emerson Grand Basin have stood the test of time and delighted millions of Forest Park visitors for a generation. Forest Park Forever was proud to partner with HOK and the City of St. Louis on these signature projects, which remain wonderful examples of landscape architecture for the entire St. Louis region to enjoy,” said Lesley Hoffarth, P.E., President and Executive Director of Forest Park Forever. 

The Landmark Award was announced as part of the ASLA 2025 Professional Awards. Thirty-five winners in multiple categories showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession. Read more in the awards press release.

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony at the ASLA 2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture in New Orleans, October 10-13. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials. For more information, visit www.aslaconference.com.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

Award Categories

General Design

Award of Excellence
​​​A Floating Forest: Fish Tail Park in Nanchang City
Nanchang, China
Turenscape 

Honor Award
The Beach at Elliott Bay
Seattle, Washington 
SurfaceDesign, Inc. 

Honor Award
Guitou Wetland Park: Reclaiming Public Space for the Rural Forgotten
Shaoguan City, China 
YXDesigners 

Honor Award
The Ellen DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund
Kinigi, Rwanda 
MASS Design Group + TEN x TEN 

Honor Award
More than Human: A Land Bridge for Cultural and Wildlife Connections
San Antonio, Texas
STIMSON 

Honor Award
The Shepherd Arts Park: Community, Art, Play
Detroit, Michigan
OSD – Office of Strategy & Design 

Honor Award
A Walk in the Woods: Re-Wilding, Experimentation and Pedagogy at UMass
Amherst, Massachusetts
STIMSON   

Honor Award
Waterloo Park: Reclaiming Public Space in the Center of Austin
Austin, Texas
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. 

Honor Award
Mill 19: A Catalytic Postindustrial Landscape
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
TEN x TEN + D.I.R.T. Studio 

Urban Design

Honor Award
Jiaxing Station Park
Zhejiang, China
Z'scape + MAD 

Honor Award
Shanghai Underpass Hubs: Bridging Divides, Building Community
Shanghai, China
FISH DESIGN 

Honor Award
China Basin Park: A Dynamic Urban Connector
San Francisco, California
SCAPE 

Honor Award
Generosity of Place: Water Street Tampa’s Continuous Canopy
Tampa, Florida
Reed Hilderbrand LLC 

Honor Award
​​Turning Gray into Green: Meishe River Greenway and Fengxiang Park​
Haikou City, China
Turenscape 

Honor Award
UNIT.City: Transforming an Industrial Zone into an Innovation District
Kyiv, Ukraine
KOTSIUBA 

Residential Design

Award of Excellence
And the Wild Comes Right up to the Door
Princeton, Massachusetts
STIMSON 

Honor Award
The Little Project: Unlocking the Potential of an Everyday Urban Lot
St. Paul, Minnesota
Ping Design LLC 

Honor Award 
Huckleberry Perch
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design 

Honor Award 
Inez Point: Embracing an Old Growth Forest
Whitefish, Montana
Design Workshop, Inc. 

Honor Award
Springy Banks
East Hampton, New York
LaGuardia Design Group 

Honor Award
Sendero Verde
New York, New York
AECOM LAUD NYC 

Honor Award
Norweta
Chicago, Illinois
Site Design Group, Ltd. Honor Award

Analysis & Planning

Award of Excellence 
Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park: A Landscape of Healing and Renewal
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Design Collective with Carmichael Associates 

Honor Award
Somerville Pollinator Action Plan: A Pollinator’s Guide to City Living
Somerville, Massachusetts
Offshoots, Inc. 

Honor Award 
Rural Abundance & Vitality: The Chaobai River Basin
Tianjin Municipality, China
Sasaki Associates, Inc  

Honor Award
Sea2City: Reimagining Reconciliation in Design and Policy
Vancouver, Canada
Mithun + ONE, and PWL Partnership 

Communications

Honor Award
Greening Five Points: Growing a Grassroots Movement in Denver
Denver, Colorado 
Design Workshop + Design Workshop Foundation 

Honor Award
WORKS with Nature: Low-Carbon Adaptation for a Changing World
Boston, Massachusetts
Climate Positive Design 

Honor Award
Playbook for the Pyrocene
SWA Group 

Honor Award
Empty Pedestals
Southwestern U.S.
Kofi Boone, FASLA & M. Elen Deming, FASLA 

Research

Honor Award 
About Time: Adaptive Management for Coastal Salt Marshes
Stone Harbor, New Jersey
University of Pennsylvania Environmental Modeling Lab (EMLab) 

Honor Award
Charles River Floating Wetland Pilot Project: Multi-Year Findings
Boston, Massachusetts
Sasaki Associates, Inc + The Hideo Sasaki Foundation and Dr. McNamara Rome 

Honor Award
LONGQUAN MOUNTAIN Park: Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Research
Sichuan, China
ZAP Associates LLC 

Jury: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Landmark Award

Jury Chair: Thomas Balsley, FASLA, SWA/Balsley

Members:

Jury: Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research, Communications & Landmark Award

Jury Chair: Diane Fernandez Bibeau, ASLA, City of Boston 

Members:

IFLA Representative: Monica Pallares Trujillo, IFLA America Region 

CELA Representative: Bo Zhang, ASLA, Oklahoma State University 

LAF Representative: Signe Nielsen, FASLA, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, P.C. 

 

ASLA 2025 Honors Recipients / ASLA

 

ASLA announced its 2025 Honors Recipients, highlighting some of the most noteworthy landscape architecture practitioners and firms nationwide. Selected by ASLA’s board of trustees, the honors represent the highest recognition ASLA bestows each year.

The ASLA Medal

Image Credit: Lexi Van Valkenburgh  

Michael Van Valkenburgh, FASLA, PLA

Michael Van Valkenburgh is the Creative Director of MVVA, the landscape architecture firm he founded in 1982. His leadership of the firm is an extension of his passion for landscape as a living artistic medium that deepens and enriches people's lives through the confluence of aesthetics, technology, and ecology. He has combined his love of cities and the energy of urban living with the lessons of his childhood on a dairy farm in rural New York State, where economy of means was a constant priority. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from Cornell University and a Master of Fine Arts in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Michael is the Charles Eliot Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture, Emeritus, at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where he taught for almost four decades. Michael received the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome in 1989. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011 and to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2021. Michael is the author of Designing a Garden (2019) and Brooklyn Bridge Park (2021), both published by The Monacelli Press.

The ASLA Design Medal

Image Credit: Sean Gasser  

Jeffrey Carbo, FASLA, PLA

"Landscape Architecture is an incredibly diverse discipline that appeals to all of my interests — art, nature, environment, and cultural history. Integrating all of these interests into works that are actually performing, and more than just for aesthetics, make what we do increasingly more essential, significant, and relevant."

 

Jeff founded Jeffrey Carbo Landscape Architects in 1994 in Alexandria, Louisiana, and now located in Baton Rouge. Jeff was the founding principal and design director until 2022. In those 28 years, he led the firm to receive more than100 national and state ASLA and AIA awards, with projects ranging from residential gardens, institutional and academic campuses, parks and streetscapes, and botanical gardens and nature centers. In 2014, ASLA awarded him its Award of Excellence for the Woodland Rain Gardens in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. 

Jeff’s love of his Louisiana home helped to shape and drive his many career and project endeavors. He maintains an emphasis on private and public work that enhances and impacts quality of life while advancing awareness of Louisiana’s diverse landscapes.

Jeff and his family continue to advocate tirelessly for the LSU/Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, hoping to advance its legacy of excellence and providing the same transformative experience he and his son Will had while they were students. Jeff is a 1985 graduate of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at LSU and in 2011 he was inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction, the highest honor given to an LSU graduate. 

In 2019, Jeff, his wife Wendy, and son William created the Carbo Landscape Architecture Recruitment Center (CLARC) to attract the best and brightest to LSU. Jeff is a national board member for the LSU Foundation and currently the director of Jeff and Wendy Carbo GoodWorks, where he provides pro-bono design services for nonprofits. He recently launched JCLA Studio, continuing his work on select new and existing legacy projects throughout Louisiana and the southeastern United States.

Community Service Award - Organizational

Image Credit: Max Cohen  

Coastal Dynamics Design Lab at NC State University

Special note: As a team, the CDDL staff used a collaborative word association game to collectively and organically build a response to this prompt.

Creativity that bridges people and nature, providing sources of inspiration across a variety of scales and spaces. Looking to the future, we can only assume that landscape is the ultimate connective tissue to inform new directions and alternative futures that create magic.

 

The NC State University Coastal Dynamics Design Lab (CDDL) helps small towns, cities, and non-jurisdictional community organizations recover from and build long-term resilience to natural hazards and climate change. Our mission is to assist communities recover from floods, plan for more resilient and prosperous futures, and celebrate the natural and cultural resources that make each place special. Our vision is to transform design, engagement, research, and teaching into action and tangible change for our community partners.

We specialize in working with low-resource, rural communities. We provide our partners with community-based technical assistance, planning and design studies, and project/program support across the realms of recovery, resilience, and natural and cultural/heritage resource conservation. Because our community partners face significant capacity shortfalls, the CDDL’s engagement and technical assistance activities are designed to strategically bridge and/or fill local capacity gaps related to securing and managing the resources required to rebuild. The outcomes of our work protect and improve life, property, communities, and the environment, as well as heighten the awareness of post-disaster recovery and community resilience though proactive, authentic, and lasting engagements that carefully listen to and prioritize community needs and desires.

Community Service Award - Individual

Image Credit: Rebecca Garden  

Matthew Potteiger, ASLA

"I have found that starting with ordinary practices such as telling stories or eating, which seem so intangible, and then tracking how they become embedded in and change with landscapes can lead to new design pathways that go beyond individual sites to shape open-ended systems that have lives of their own."

 

As professor of Landscape Architecture at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, Matt Potteiger has sought to connect design with the cultural practices that make vital and meaningful places. His book Landscape Narratives: Design Practices for Telling Stories (ASLA Merit Award, co-authored with Jamie Purinton) provides a framework of design practices that engage with place-based narratives and has influenced the work of designers, educators, public artists, planners, students, and community activists around the world.  His on-going research and his teaching and community engagement focus on the fundamental link between food and landscape and leverages design to create more sustainable and socially just food systems. He has led community-based projects for urban agriculture, public markets, New American refugee farming, edible multi-functional green infrastructure at the landscape scale, and the first regional food system plan for Central New York. This multi-disciplinary work is grounded in long-term relationships and sustained by his commitments to co-create community organizations including Syracuse Grows, Salt City Harvest Farm, and the Syracuse Onondaga Food System Alliance. He fosters agency within and networks across diverse communities and supports their growth working toward systemic and structural change.

The Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal

Image Credit: Tina Dickenson  

Charlene LeBleu, FASLA

"Landscape architecture is a profession that has the power to change the world. I have had the privilege to teach at Auburn University for the past 22 years. What I have enjoyed most about teaching landscape architecture is meeting students where they are and providing them with the tools to reach their goals and dreams."

 

Charlene LeBleu, FCELA, FASLA, AICP, is an Alumni Professor of Landscape Architecture in the School of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture at Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Her primary areas of interest and research have focused on coastal planning and design, water quality issues, and low-impact development. She is the recipient of the 2020 Auburn University Woman of Distinction Award. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (FASLA). LeBleu is a Fellow and past President of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA). She is a former Editor-in-Chief of Landscape Journal and Landscape Research Record, the official conference proceedings of the annual CELA conference. She has a B.S. in Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida, a Master of Landscape Architecture, and a Master of Community Planning from Auburn University. 

The LaGasse Medal - Landscape Architect Professional

Image Credit: Vanessa Roth  

Mark Hough, FASLA, PLA

"I am continually amazed by the breadth and quality of work produced by landscape architects and take great pride in the cultural, ecological, and aesthetic impact of our small yet mighty profession as it works across all scales to make the world a better place.."

 

Mark Hough has stewarded the dynamic Olmsted Brothers-designed campus at Duke University for the past 25 years. His leadership and oversight in all aspects of design, planning, historic preservation, and natural resource management have guided the evolution of the campus landscape during the university’s largest period of growth. His work at Duke has garnered numerous regional and national design and planning awards.

Outside of Duke, Mark is a prolific writer whose work focuses on cultural and urban landscapes. In 2011, he was awarded the Bradford Williams Medal for excellence in writing about landscape architecture. In his recently published book, Design Through Time, he explores the evolutionary nature of designed landscapes and analyzes the critical process and discipline of landscape stewardship. He frequently shares his unique perspectives and expertise at conferences and symposia across the country.  Mark is a former Vice President of ASLA, has chaired numerous ASLA committees, and has served on the Professional Awards jury twice and chaired the Student Awards jury. He was elevated to Fellow in 2014. Mark currently serves as a founding director of the Association of University Landscape Architects (AULA) and as a member of the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board (LAAB). 

The LaGasse Medal - Non-Landscape Architect Professional

Image Credit: Ryan Redcorn  

Charles F. "Chuck" Sams III

"Land has its own stories to tell, restoration of ecosystem functions preserves the collective history of flora and fauna. Indeed, we endeavor to revive these habitats, we honor the intrinsic stories woven in the very fabric of the earth."

 

Chuck Sams grew up on the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Northeast Oregon, where he is enrolled Walla Walla and Cayuse with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. He currently serves on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. He most recently served under President Biden as the 19th Director of the National Park Service, the first Native American to hold this office. Chuck has more than 35 years of executive leadership that includes serving as Executive and Deputy Executive director for the CTUIR, in addition to communications director and environmental health & safety officer and planner and special sciences analyst.

Other prior positions include President/CEO of the Earth Conservation Corps, Executive Director of the Community Energy Project, Executive Director of the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, National Director of the Tribal & Native Lands Program for Trust for Public Land, Executive Director of the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation, and President/CEO of the Indian Country Conservancy.

He received his Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from the University of Oklahoma School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Concordia University. He is also veteran of the U.S. Navy where he served as an Intelligence Specialist. 

The Landscape Architecture Firm Award

Image Credit:
Courtesy SCAPE  

SCAPE

SCAPE is a collaborative landscape architecture practice that invents new ways to knit nature into urban life, creating enduring landscapes and a more resilient future for all. As a national leader in climate adaptive design and the implementation of complex large parks and blue-green infrastructure, we design across water and land at all scales. We aim to channel the landscape's own voice, layering multiple benefits for people and all living things: strengthening shorelines, managing extreme weather, encouraging time together. Our process is equal parts design strategy and community conversation, translating analysis and ideas into powerful, welcoming landscapes.

From the 100-mile Chattahoochee Riverlands project, to Living Breakwaters in Raritan Bay, the Gowanus Canal Lowlands, Tom Lee Park on the Mississippi River, and China Basin Park on San Francisco Bay, our work combines design excellence and a deep knowledge of ecology to regenerate, connect, and transform the built environment.

Kate Orff founded SCAPE in 2005 with the belief that a focus on climate and community could push landscape architecture beyond its disciplinary boundaries.  Today, we are a team of over 80, with offices in New York City, San Francisco, and New Orleans, and five partners: Kate Orff, Gena Wirth, John Donnelly, Alexis Landes, and Pippa Brashear. 

The Medal of Excellence

Image Credit: Stuart Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania  

Frederick Steiner, FASLA

"Someone once observed that jazz and landscape architecture are the two truly American art forms. Even though there are important precedents outside the Western Hemisphere, our inheritance is something to be proud of—and not something to take for granted.

Indeed, for those of us who care about landscape architecture, we have a huge responsibility to help the field advance. Landscape architecture’s immense potential inspires me. As an interface between nature and culture, landscape architecture can truly change the world for the better through ecological design and planning."

 

Frederick Steiner is Dean and Paley Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design and faculty co-director of its Ian L. McHarg Center for Urbanism and Ecology. Previously, he served for 15 years as Dean of the School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin. Before that, he taught at Penn and the following institutions, Arizona State University, Washington State University, and the University of Colorado at Denver. He was a visiting professor of landscape architecture at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China; a Fulbright-Hays scholar at Wageningen University, The Netherlands; and a Rome Prize Fellow in Historic Preservation at the American Academy in Rome. A fellow of both the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture, he has written, edited, or co-edited 22 books. He helped establish the SITES rating system.

He earned a Master of Community Planning and a B.S. in Design from the University of Cincinnati, and his Ph.D. and M.A. in city and regional planning and a Master of Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. He also received an honorary M.Phil. in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic. 

The Olmsted Medal

Image Credit: The Morton Arboretum  

Chicago Region Trees Initiative

"As part of the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, I’m continually inspired by how landscape architecture brings together science, design, and community to shape spaces that are both beautiful, resilient, and culturally significant. It’s a field that not only transforms the physical environment but also builds connections between people and nature—something that’s essential for the health of our urban forests and the communities they serve." - Zach Wirtz, Director of CRTI.

 

The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) is The Morton Arboretum’s urban and community forestry program, working to improve the health, diversity, and equitable distribution of trees in the Chicago region and throughout Illinois. CRTI partners with and facilitates collaboration among more than 500 organizations in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to inspire tree stewards and build municipal capacity and support for trees with a focus on environmental equity and disadvantaged communities.

CRTI works to inspire tree stewards through workshops and local events such as tree plantings; build municipal capacity and support for tree management; strengthen the Arboretum’s efforts to conserve oak trees, which are keystone species in Illinois; and create robust and diverse urban forests that mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The program leverages the Arboretum’s tree science expertise and vital community perspectives to guide decision-making and maximize impact. CRTI’s data-driven approach helps improve tree canopy where it is needed most. Community, civic, nonprofit, and green industry organizations and businesses collaborate through CRTI and share information and resources. Since the program was established in 2014, CRTI has engaged partners throughout Illinois, including municipalities, businesses, nonprofit organizations, forest preserves, park districts, private landowners and managers, and other stakeholders. 

Emerging Professional Medal

Image Credit: Marc-Eddy Loriston  

Maria Fernanda "MaFe" Gonzalez, Associate ASLA

"Landscape architecture is my way of joining my mind and my heart, becoming creative and innovative in a multidisciplinary way, taking part in the making of my surroundings, being who I am and creating my own practice. What inspires me about this profession is its complexity, its invitation to take a stand and be an advocate, and its enormous potential to transform the way we relate to each other and the environment."

 

MaFe Gonzalez is a landscape designer and botanist with a strong interest in ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of plants. Her journey into landscape architecture was inspired by her studies in botany where she saw a need to participate in world-making—especially to create spaces that re-establish reciprocal relationships between people and the environment. Currently a landscape designer at BASE Landscape Architecture in San Francisco, CA. MaFe is a passionate and purposeful practitioner that initiates or supports a variety of projects and visions. She is also a lecturer in the United States and Colombia, and is a leader and researcher of academic and pro-bono initiatives. 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit: Rod Smith  

Staci L. Catron

"Landscape architecture is crucial to our intricate understanding of the past and the natural world. Landscapes are living archives reflecting past societies, their interactions with nature, and the evolution of cultural practices. Studying cultural landscapes is invaluable to creating sustainable and resilient designs in the twenty-first century."

 

Staci L. Catron is a public historian, landscape preservationist, author, community collaborator, and passionate advocate for documenting and preserving the diverse and meaningful stories of the people and plants that have shaped the world. In her role as the Cherokee Garden Library Senior Director for the Kenan Research Center of the Atlanta History Center, Catron performs professional library and archival work, plans and implements programs and exhibitions, supervises conservation work, directs all fundraising, and promotes the collection through curatorial tours and public speaking. Founded in 1975 by the Cherokee Garden Club, the Cherokee Garden Library is a free public resource containing an ever-growing collection of over 40,000 objects, including rare and contemporary books, periodicals, landscape architectural drawings, photographs, manuscripts, seed catalogs, postcards, and ephemera, all of which tell the fascinating stories of garden, horticultural, and botanical history in the Southeastern United States and areas of influence throughout the world. Catron has worked with community partners for over two decades to document and preserve historic landscapes through the Georgia Historic Landscape Initiative. She has curated numerous exhibitions at the Atlanta History Center, including Edward L. Daugherty, A Southern Landscape Architect. Her most recent book is Seeking Eden: A Collection of Georgia’s Historic Gardens with co-author Mary Ann Eaddy (University of Georgia Press, 2018). 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit: Andrew Cate  

Devin Colman

"Working in a field that focuses primarily on buildings, I think it’s essential to also consider the cultural landscapes within which those buildings exist. Only by doing so can we begin to fully understand the significance and integrity of the subject property."

 

Devin Colman is the Director of the University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program, and teaches courses on American architectural history, cultural landscapes, historic site research and documentation, and historic preservation policy and planning. Prior to his current position, Colman worked for 18 years at the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, most recently as State Architectural Historian. He earned a M.S. in Historic Preservation at the University of Vermont, and a B.A. in Art History at Colby College. His primary research focuses on modernist design, inclusive of both buildings and landscapes, and the preservation of significant examples of 20th century modern sites. More broadly, he is interested in exploring the overlap of historic, cultural, and natural resources in the built environment. His short format historical report on the Justin Smith Morrill Homestead in Strafford, Vermont, earned an Honorable Mention in the 2016 HALS Challenge.

Honorary Membership

Image Credit: Courtesy Alan Harwood
 

Alan Harwood, AICP

Alan Harwood, AICP, has helped shape Washington, D.C., as both a vibrant city and a powerful national symbol. At EDAW and now AECOM, he has been a driving force behind some of the nation’s most significant commemorative landscapes and public works, including the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

Harwood’s collaborative leadership and strategic vision have guided major planning efforts such as the National Mall’s Monumental Core Framework Plan and the Memorials and Museums Master Plan. In every project, he has ensured that landscape architects are central to the design process, elevating their voices in complex federal review settings and mentoring emerging professionals.

Through his work with the National Park Service, NCPC, and the Commission of Fine Arts, Harwood has advanced landscape-led solutions that honor the past while preparing for a more inclusive and resilient future. His legacy is built into the physical landscape of the capital and carried forward by the landscape architects he has championed throughout his career. 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit: PORT Urbanism  

Christopher Marcinkoski, Affiliate ASLA, AIA, FAAR

"My work is motivated by both an intellectual and professional commitment to the urban public realm. Landscape architecture as a medium, and as discipline, offers powerful tools to elevate public realm literacy as a meaningful framework for engaging with our most urgent urban, societal, and environmental concerns."

 

Christopher Marcinkoski is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. The author of The City That Never Was (Princeton Architectural Press, 2016) and the forthcoming Constructing the American Public Realm (2026), his research and writing critically explores the under-considered economic and political complexities shaping contemporary urban built environments. In addition to his appointment at PENN, Christopher is founding partner at PORT Urbanism, an award-winning Philadelphia and Chicago-based public realm planning and design practice. He serves as PORT’s creative director, overseeing the office’s urban design, landscape architecture, and planning projects—delivering charismatic, place-rooted public spaces that balance compelling human experience with long-term environmental resilience for communities across the United States. Current projects include a new 50-acre urban park under construction along the Boise River; a new 100-acre central park for Bentonville, AR, supported by the Walton Family Foundation Design Excellence Program; multiple projects in and around Knoxville, TN, including planning work that supported the securing of a major Reconnecting Communities implementation grant; planning for an 800-acre regional park along 7-miles of the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, UT; and urban design for a 70-acre mixed-use district in Maryland. Christopher and PORT are recipients of the Emerging Voices Prize from The Architectural League of New York, as well as the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize from Landmark Columbus Foundation. 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit: Zangrando  

Danielle Pieranunzi

"Landscape architecture can shape our experiences, deepen our connection to place, reconnect us with nature, and remind us to be responsible stewards of this world. It can translate and reveal a hopeful future we sometimes cannot quite see ourselves. This has continually inspired me, and I have been so honored to collaborate with the incredible people in this community."

 

Danielle Pieranunzi is committed to ensuring that nature has a voice at the table, that advocates are heard and leaders recognized, and nature-based solutions are better understood and valued as an essential component of the built environment and our daily lives. Since 2006, Danielle has been working on the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) collaborating with a group of practitioners, scientists, academics, and policymakers and partners like ASLA to research and develop the criteria and metrics for high performance landscapes. This led to the publication of the SITES v2 Rating System and Reference Guide in 2014 while working at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Today, Danielle continues this work as SITES Director at the U.S. Green Business Council and Green Business Certification Inc., shaping product strategy, technical development and leading the long-term development of the SITES program while driving impact on biodiversity, resilience, water, decarbonization, health and equity. She engages with stakeholders and industry partners globally supporting a variety of education and advocacy efforts, such as serving as a delegate at Biodiversity COP16 (Colombia), as a designated reviewer on the Sustainable Sites Working Group for ASHRAE Standard 189.1 and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Roadmaps to Nature Positive. 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit: Courtesy of Virginia Small  

Virginia Small

"I fell in love with specific parks, plazas and parkways long before I knew anything about landscape architecture. When I began learning what goes into designing dynamic and beautiful places that serve intersecting goals, I felt deep gratitude for how well-designed landscape architecture, especially in public spaces, nourish and connect us while sustaining ecoystems and the Earth."

 

A lifelong communications professional, poet, gardener, explorer and environmentalist, Virginia Small engages with landscapes on many levels. As a former editor of Fine Gardening, and in writing for other publications, she has collaborated with landscape architects and other professionals to make design concepts accessible. She studied the history of landscape design to better understand how aesthetics, culture, ecology, and human experience have been thoughtfully interwoven to shape land and make enduring places. Her passion for designed landscapes led her to advocate for their appreciation, care and preservation.

Virginia authored Great Gardens of the Berkshires, which showcases both public and private gardens, and has contributed to other books. Since returning to her hometown in 2011, she has celebrated Milwaukee’s historic landscape legacies and shared her expertise through writing, speaking and leading tours, including for ASLA’s Wisconsin Chapter. She volunteered to bring a touring exhibition about Dan Kiley’s legacies to Milwaukee, and helped plan The Olmsted Network’s annual conference there. She consulted on an exhibition about Frederick Law Olmsted for his bicentennial in 2022.

Her everyday thoughtful stewardship focuses on taking care of places we care about, both individually and collectively. Above all, she loves to walk and dance — especially in parks.

Outstanding Service Award

Image Credit: Courtesy Christopher Hardy  

Christopher Hardy, ASLA, PLA

Chris Hardy, ASLA, PLA, has emerged as a national leader in climate action through his work on the ASLA Biodiversity & Climate Action Committee. As co-chair of the Carbon Drawdown & Biodiversity Subcommittee, Chris helped shape ASLA’s survey on low-carbon products, co-authored a key guide for collaborating with manufacturers, and helped organize a nine-part webinar series viewed by thousands of members.

Chris was a lead author of Decarbonizing Specifications, a 120-page guide for landscape architects, specifiers, and industry partners. He contributed to two other ASLA publications on climate-smart design and advocated for stronger embodied carbon standards in public comment letters to EPA and ASHRAE.

A trusted voice at major events, Chris has presented at ASLA and Greenbuild conferences on topics including low-carbon material selection and soil-based carbon strategies. His input helped shape ASLA’s 2024 carbon offset partnership with the National Indian Carbon Coalition. 

Through all of this, Chris brings technical expertise, humility, and a generous spirit. He shares his research and resources openly, including the Carbon Conscience tool he helped develop, to ensure landscape architects are leading in the global effort to decarbonize the built environment. 

Outstanding Service Award

Image Credit: Courtesy Lauren Patterson  

Lauren Patterson, ASLA, PLA

Lauren Patterson, ASLA, PLA, has brought remarkable energy, creativity, and commitment to her leadership of the Urban Design Professional Practice Network (PPN), one of ASLA’s largest PPNs with more than 1,500 members. Since joining the leadership team in 2020 and serving as co-chair from 2021 to 2024, Lauren has helped redefine what sustained and engaging volunteer leadership looks like.

During her time as co-chair, Lauren guided the PPN through a seamless leadership transition, staying an extra year beyond her term to ensure strong succession planning and support for new co-chairs. She brought fresh energy to the PPN by organizing a yearlong series of programs around suburban retail landscapes, including virtual coffee chats and companion articles for The Field blog. This series expanded the PPN’s reach and spotlighted project types and settings beyond major cities.

Lauren also initiated and led a successful collaboration with the Transportation PPN, resulting in a popular joint event at the ASLA Conference, a follow-up webinar, and published content. Her leadership turned an idea into a lasting, cross-disciplinary partnership.

Throughout her service, Lauren has been a tireless advocate for the PPN, promoting events on social media, moderating webinars on short notice, and consistently finding ways to connect and engage members. Her positivity and dedication have made a lasting impression on both her peers and ASLA’s broader professional community.

Outstanding Service Award

Image Credit: Courtesy Adrian Smith  

Adrian Smith, FASLA

Adrian Smith, FASLA, has dedicated more than 40 years to advancing landscape architecture through service, advocacy, and mentorship. His work on behalf of ASLA at the local, state, and national levels has helped elevate the profession, expand its reach, and inspire the next generation of landscape architects.

A longtime leader within ASLA, Adrian has served on the Public Relations, Membership Services, Government Services Advisory, Emerging Professionals, and Climate Action committees. He played a key role in the creation of the ASLA Climate Action Plan and continues to lead climate-focused programming. He also served as Vice President of Professional Practice and is a 2025 juror for the ASLA Professional Awards.

In New York, Adrian successfully advocated for a change to the NYC Building Code that allows landscape architects to submit plans, correcting a major regulatory barrier. He led efforts to protect public landscapes like the Russell Page Garden at the Frick Museum and expanded career discovery programming for high school students across the city.

At his alma mater, Penn State, Adrian has served on the Landscape Architecture Alumni Program Group board since 2011, helping to grow enrollment through student recruitment and mentorship.

Through it all, Adrian has remained a generous and tireless advocate for the profession, encouraging others to lead, pushing for visibility and inclusion, and demonstrating how service can shape lasting change.

Outstanding Service Award

Image Credit: Courtesy Amy Syverson-Shaffer  

Amy Syverson-Shaffer, ASLA, PLA, SITES AP

Amy Syverson-Shaffer, ASLA, SITES AP, has made an exceptional impact as a volunteer leader with the ASLA Biodiversity & Climate Action Committee. Her efforts have advanced ASLA's climate action goals and bridged gaps between landscape architects and industry partners to promote low-carbon, high-impact materials and strategies.

Amy co-authored ASLA’s first survey on landscape product decarbonization and co-developed the resulting guide, Collaborating with Industry Partners on Climate Action and Biodiversity, to help landscape architects ask better questions and drive change in the materials supply chain. She also co-authored Navigating Environmental Product Data, a new ASLA educational guide on EPDs, LCAs, and embodied carbon that has reached thousands of readers.

In 2024, Amy invested time and resources to support ASLA’s nine-part Biodiversity & Climate Action 101 webinar series, which has been viewed more than 6,000 times. She hosted and moderated many of the sessions, helping landscape architects and product manufacturers alike turn knowledge into action.

Amy regularly shares insights at the ASLA Conference and in the EXPO hall, advancing circular design practices and promoting climate-smart manufacturing aligned with the ASLA Climate Action Plan. Her leadership, generosity, and commitment to collaboration continue to strengthen ASLA and the future of the profession.

As landscape architects, we care deeply about the people and places that shape our communities. The recent floods in Central Texas and New Mexico have brought heartbreaking loss and upheaval to families, neighborhoods, and cherished landscapes. Our hearts go out to everyone affected—those mourning loved ones, searching for safety, and working around the clock to help their neighbors.

We encourage ASLA members and friends to support recovery efforts. In Texas, the Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT), a trusted, Platinum GuideStar charity, has gathered a list of vetted organizations providing direct assistance to those in need. In New Mexico the Community Foundation of Lincoln County operates The Shelter Fund to provide financial assistance to county residents who have experienced hardship due to natural disasters.

Your generosity will help provide emergency supplies, shelter, rescue operations, and care as Central Texas begins to heal and rebuild.

We will continue to share updates and ways to help as the situation evolves.

Thank you for showing up for our communities in this time of need.

 

ASLA 2024 Honors Recipients / ASLA

 

ASLA announced its 2024 Honors Recipients, highlighting some of the most noteworthy landscape architecture practitioners and firms nationwide. Selected by ASLA’s board of trustees, the honors represent the highest recognition ASLA bestows each year.

The ASLA Medal

Image Credit:
Shelli Craig  

Perry Howard, FASLA

"What I love most about landscape architecture is that it is still an art form while still generating these wonderfully comprehensive collective works, actions, and ideas for the betterment of the planet and its inhabitants."

 

Perry Howard, FASLA, has actively participated in the landscape architecture community for five decades, contributing to various capacities. Most importantly, Perry has participated in and nurtured the growth of African Americans in the profession, which has been a major concern for the profession since the late 1960s. He has been designing and planning projects across different scales, spanning from rural to urban settings, for 15 years. He has held positions at multiple firms, including a vice presidency at EDSA. Perry has led a small Historically Black College or University (HBCU) landscape architectural educational program through its development for 25 years, earning initial and multiple accreditations. He has also managed 25 years of community service projects, offering much-needed access to landscape architecture services. Furthermore, Perry Howard has accumulated over four decades of service and leadership experience in ASLA and its chapters, having served as the 2006 NCASLA and 2008 ASLA President. Additionally, he has been involved with all ASLA sister agencies and proposed and obtained approval for the Landscape Architects Without Borders program as the ASLA delegate to IFLA.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The ASLA Design Medal

Image Credit:
Tolga Kavut Photography  

Raymond Jungles, FASLA

"What inspires me in landscape architecture is witnessing the remarkable creations of other talented designers. Their exceptional work raises the bar and continuously motivates me to do better."

 

Raymond Jungles, FASLA, is the founder of the Miami-based Landscape Architecture firm, Raymond Jungles, Inc. (RJI), recognized for excellence in the design and implementation of public and private sector projects.

As a landscape architect and in his practice, he strives to preserve and protect existing ecosystems while also evoking human interaction and improving the lives of others. Raymond pursued this passion through his adolescence and developed it into his career after graduating with a degree in Landscape Architecture, with honors, from the University of Florida in 1981. He established his award-winning firm in 1982, which became incorporated as Raymond Jungles, Inc. in 1985. In 2006, Raymond was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Raymond leads all of RJI's projects, from their conceptual onset to final completion. Raymond enjoys mentoring his staff and passionately promoting the profession of Landscape Architecture and the appreciation of natural environments and gardens.

Widely published, his four monographs; Ten Landscapes, The Colors of Nature, The Cultivated Wild, and his 2021 monograph, titled Beyond Wild, feature more than seventy of his completed gardens.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Community Service Award - Individual

Image Credit:
Courtesy of Design Workshop Foundation  

Design Workshop Foundation

"Landscape architecture has the ability to enhance public well-being promote mental and physical health, support ecosystems and mitigate climate change for a more resilient world. I'm inspired by the power of our profession and the communities that we are invited to partner with to work together towards a more just and sustainable future." - Sarah Konradi, Executive Director

 

Design Workshop Foundation was established in 2002 by Design Workshop Inc. with the vision to leverage the firm's resources in service to communities. Today, Design Workshop Foundation continues that legacy by working closely with communities to expand the reach of design, planning, and placemaking services and catalyze transformative change.

What started as a volunteer-focused endeavor has transformed into an organization with a vision to utilize landscape architecture, planning, and design to create a more equitable future. Design Workshop Foundation's mission, vision, values, and strategic plan focus on equity, justice, and community-led action. In 2022, the Foundation launched the Community Capacity Building Initiative, a technical assistance effort to support under-resourced communities in overcoming built environment challenges. Designed to address the systemic lack of funding of public projects in historically under-represented communities, the Foundation provides no-cost support for community teams across the U.S.

Design Workshop Foundation's goal is to bridge the gap between vision and implementation for communities, with efforts rooted in the principles of collective impact. The Foundation aims to drive systemic change by empowering partners to transform projects into advocacy initiatives, as well as policy and funding changes.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal

Image Credit:
John C. Peters - College of Architecture Texas A&M University  

William "Chip" Winslow III, FASLA

"I have always been curious about how things work – from natural processes to mechanical devices- the materials, the components, the assembly, systems, and interactions that contribute to form and use. Equally, I have also been interested in the creative design and problem-solving process. Landscape architecture wraps the right amount of art, science, and social relevance that I am curious about into a discipline in which fulfills my desire to keep learning and practice applying that knowledge."

 

William P. "Chip" Winslow, III began his commitment to landscape architecture as an undergraduate student teaching assistant over 40 years ago at Kansas State University. Upon completing his MLA at the University of Michigan, he returned to Kansas to accomplish a twofold mission as educator and advocate for the profession. His teaching focuses on landscape architecture construction and its integral role in designing meaningful spaces with attention to craft and constructability. At Kansas State, Winslow became a tenured Professor and Emeritus Professor before joining the Texas A&M University landscape architecture and urban planning program as Professor of Practice in 2018. At TAMU, he integrated landscape design and construction principles throughout the curriculum and into allied disciplines. His advocacy for the profession is evidenced by leadership roles in CLARB and LAAB to elevate the profession through increasing licensure standards and obtainment standards. A licensed landscape architect since 1981, Winslow became ASLA Fellow in 2003, and was awarded the CLARB President's Award in 2007. His professional and academic accomplishments are a culmination of a career dedicated to landscape architecture education for students, emerging professionals, and allied disciplines on multiple levels.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The LaGasse Medal - Landscape Architect Professional

Image Credit:
Jeff and Mimi Caster  

Jeff Caster, FASLA

"Landscape Architecture serves our Earth, all that lives, and all that will be, … and it gives me the same privilege and responsibility."

 

In 2020, Jeff Caster, FASLA began what's expected to be an eventful, enjoyable, and… very long retirement. Mostly volunteer, Jeff is an advocate and activist for conservation of Florida's natural resources and scenic beauty, and against bullying and bigotry everywhere. Decades of professional and leadership experience at the Florida Department of Transportation, at Florida A&M University, at the Florida Wildflower Foundation, in his community, and with ASLA readied Jeff to remain impactful.

Jeff is best known for his 20+ years as Florida's State Transportation Landscape Architect. Trusted and challenged to direct a $50 million annual investment in transportation landscape architecture; Jeff crafted proposed legislation, rules, policies, procedures, standard plans, standard specifications, research reports, manuals, and training to improve the quality and efficiency of planning, design, construction, and maintenance of 217,341 acres of public land, highway right-of-way, his state's most visible and visited landscape. Areas of specialization included highway beautification, scenic byways, outdoor advertising, wildflowers, urban forestry, greenways and trails, ponds, and aesthetics.

Licensed in 1997, Jeff earned degrees at Purdue University and Florida A&M University, and a Master of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University. New Jersey natives, Mimi and Jeff have been home in Tallahassee since 1977.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The LaGasse Medal - Non-Landscape Architect Professional

Image Credit:
John Montgomery  

Carol Coletta

"Landscape architecture is complex but experienced viscerally, without the need to understand or analyze. Landscape is always changing, always surprising. The joy it delivers is universal."

 

Carol Coletta is a national figure in the revitalization of cities and public spaces. Since 2017, she has served as president and CEO of Memphis River Parks Partnership, a public-private partnership responsible for six miles along the Mississippi River in downtown Memphis.

Last fall, the Partnership celebrated the opening of Tom Lee Park, transforming 31acres of flat monoculture into a lush, sustainable park. Designed by Studio Gang and SCAPE, the park is the centerpiece of the Memphis riverfront and a national model for welcoming and ecologically restorative urban parks.

Carol previously served as senior fellow in the American Cities Practice at The Kresge Foundation where she led a $50+ million national collaboration to Reimagine the Civic Commons.

She was vice president of Community and National Initiatives for the Knight Foundation, managing grantmaking in 26 communities.

Carol led the start-up of ArtPlace, a public-private collaboration to accelerate creative placemaking nationally and was president and CEO of CEOs for Cities for seven years. She was executive director of the Mayors' Institute on City Design, a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Conference of Mayors and American Architectural Foundation.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The Landscape Architecture Firm Award

Image Credit:
LandDesign  

LandDesign, Inc.

"For 45 years, LandDesign has remained true to how we are unique in this industry–you can do great design as a multi-disciplinary firm. Our integrated approach–landscape architects and civil engineers working together as designers–is what makes us unique and why we continue to operate nearly five decades later." - Rhett Crocker, President

 

From its inception in 1978, LandDesign has been a firm focused on doing 'great design, with great people.' When Larry Best started LandDesign, he was determined to create a firm whose rigor was grounded in honoring the land and working without ego to create implementable plans for his clients. This is why he called it ""LandDesign."" Today the firm has evolved into a 300-person integrated practice that leverages the creative tension between planning, design, and engineering to 'Create Places That Matter' around the world. This mission keeps the firm focused on celebrating the unique opportunities presented in each project to 'listen to the land,' 'listen to the client,' and 'listen to the community' – and use that to inform a unique value proposition, to which the design plans respond. The core values that Larry embodied in the beginning remain present in the leadership of the firm today, five generations later. This is a testament to the enduring culture that has been fostered throughout the history of the firm, and the generational belief that when you do great design, with great people, you can run a great practice.

LandDesign is unique; as a mid-size firm integrating landscape architecture, planning, and civil engineering, leadership has worked hard and intentionally to keep great design and client service at the center of the practice during growth.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The Medal of Excellence

Image Credit:
Courtesy of Open Land Trust  

Open Land Trust of Beaufort County

"The Open Land Trust is honored to receive this prestigious award. Landscape architecture inspires us through its harmonious blend of art and science, shaping spaces that not only preserve the natural beauty but also foster community, resilience, and sustainability. This award reaffirms our shared commitment to protecting open spaces and enhancing the quality of life for generations to come."

 

The Open Land Trust is South Carolina's first and oldest land trust working to conserve open spaces, natural habitats and rural communities throughout the Southern Lowcountry.

We conserve many types of land: iconic vistas providing windows to the rivers and marsh; parks and greenspace that form the foundation of community; working farms that define our rural and cultural heritage; and large properties that play host to exceptional hunting or timbering operations. We recognize that land speaks to us in different ways, and we tailor our conservation efforts to honor the resources and the landowners vision.

We also recognize that protecting land is about water quality, wetlands, wildlife, and forests. And in protecting the resource, our job at the Open Land Trust goes one step further, to nurture the human's need for sense of place, providing access to land, water and wilderness. Our universal charge is to make sure our environmental treasure remain available for future generations.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The Olmsted Medal

Image Credit:
Jeremy Amar  

Gowanus Canal Conservancy

"Landscape architecture is a way of seeing systems, of understanding how the world works, and how it is changing. It provides the tools we need to adapt to the world's most pressing problems, including the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. But in order to do this work equitably and effectively, these tools need to be accessible to all, from students to community members to local governments. By embedding landscape architecture in public education and community process, we will prepare the next generation to understand and adaptively manage the dynamic systems we rely on."

 

Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC) is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit founded in 2006 with a mission to advocate and care for ecologically sustainable parks and public spaces in the Gowanus lowlands while empowering a community of stewards.

For almost two decades, GCC has been working toward a vision of the Gowanus Canal and surrounding urban environment that is clean, resilient, diverse and alive. We care for rain gardens, street trees, and green spaces throughout the neighborhood, and empower stakeholders in stewardship of their local landscapes through in-person events and resource sharing. We equip K-12 students with place-based science, ecology and design skills and knowledge so that they can be advocates and stewards for the local environment. We hire, train and inspire BIPOC youth, especially those living in public housing, to lead change in the environmental sector and their own communities. At our mission-driven Lowlands Nursery, we propagate, grow, and distribute urban-adapted native plants to local gardens, schools and community members. We are the stewards of the Gowanus Lowlands Masterplan, a community-based vision for the public realm, and are developing an innovative Improvement District for maintenance and programming of the emerging 20-acre network of parks and public spaces centered on the Gowanus Canal.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Emerging Professional Medal

Image Credit:
Courtesy of ASLA  

Stephanie Onwenu, ASLA

"What inspires me about landscape architecture is how interesting and interconnected the skills gained can be applied in diverse ways outside the profession."

 

Stephanie Onwenu is a visual artist and landscape designer based in Detroit, MI. She is the creator and founder of Ijeomalandartscapes LLC, a landscape art experience that explores the intersections between art, design, history and culture. As an alumna of Michigan State University, Stephanie graduated with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and a Master of Arts in Environmental Design. Her work explores the intersections of human needs and the roles they play in the natural and built environment, while also connecting spaces and places to the people who define it. Stephanie's commitment and drive not only demonstrate her capabilities, but reflect her outspoken personality, which seeks for the advancements of others. Inspired by human relationships, interactions, and the influence of social change, Stephanie works with communities to challenge and transform cultural and social institutions.

In 2021, Stephanie was awarded the Emerging Professional of the Year award from the Michigan ASLA Chapter for her significant contributions to the profession. Currently, Stephanie sits as the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Michigan ASLA Chapter, a co-founding Board Member of the newly established Michigan Chapter ASLA Foundation, and the Emerging Leader on the Michigan State University Landscape Architecture Alumni & Advisory Board.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
Courtesy of Matt Alcide  

Matt Alcide

"Behind the remarkable designs and impactful work of landscape architects are some of the nicest and kindest people I have ever met. I am honored to work with landscape architects every day in my professional career."

 

Matt Alcide was first introduced to landscape architecture through the Landscape Architecture Foundation when he was hired as their development manager in 2011. During his time, LAF more than doubled its funding. In 2015, Matt acquired Land8, a website and community platform for landscape architects, and serves as its editor. Land8's reach includes over 1 million social media followers and has obtained over 100 million pageviews over the years. Land8 has introduced landscape architecture to people all over the world. Matt has also supported the profession during his time with Anova, sponsoring events and serving on committees with the Potomac and Maryland Chapters. In 2019, Matt created an independent nonprofit to secure the student-run LABash Conference to assist universities and provide a framework for the students. He continues to serve as a professional advisor for the students leading the conference. In 2021, Matt founded Division 32, a national manufacturer's rep group focused on products for landscape architects. Also in 2021, he partnered with ASLA to bring Land8 and LABash into the family of organizations managed by ASLA, creating a mutually beneficial relationship between the three entities. Matt continues to be active, serving on the New York Chapter programs committee.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
Courtesy of Jan Campbell  

Jan Campbell

"You can always implement laws/code, but it is very difficult to change attitude."

 

In 1970, I graduated with a degree in elementary education and was denied the right to teach because of my disability. Undeterred, I pursued a career in civil and human rights: For 23 years I served as the Disability Project Coordinator for the City of Portland and Multnomah County. In that position I reviewed plans for building permits and made recommendations to the Bureau of Buildings at that time, regarding accessibility. I also worked with the Parks Bureau in setting up an advisory committee. comprised of persons with disabilities to review and provide comments to projects they were considering for accessibility. That committee is still functioning today Currently as the Director of Disability Awareness Resource Team (DART). a team of peers, we advocate for survivors with disabilities in the area of domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes. I have chaired and been a member of local, state and regional commissions, councils, boards and committees that advise police makers of changes that improve the lives of persons with disabilities and older adults. I currently Chair's TriMet's Committee on Accessible Transportation, Co-Chair the Special Transportation Fund Advisory Committee in the Metro area, and a member and past president of Disability Rights Oregon. Awards I have received are the local, state and national level for achievements in the area of disability for promoting independence, empowerment and well being of persons with disabilities.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
Courtesy of ASLA  

Torey Carter-Conneen

"Becoming an Honorary Member of ASLA symbolizes not only my professional journey and dedication to advancing landscape architecture but also the deep connections and collaborations I've had the privilege to foster within this remarkable community,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO. “Design, at its core, is about hope and the belief that through design and placemaking we can change lives, communities and the planet for the better. This recognition inspires me to continue advocating for the transformative power of landscape architecture and to support our members in their vital work of shaping resilient, sustainable, and beautiful environments. And I’m excited to move forward in this work as an honorary ASLA member.”

 

Torey Carter-Conneen is the Chief Executive Officer of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the 15,000-member professional association which represents landscape architects in the U.S. Founded in 1899, Washington, DC-based ASLA promotes landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship. Torey was appointed ASLA’s CEO in 2020, and in 2021 led the development of ASLA’s “2030 Vision,” which affirms ASLA’s focus on raising awareness of the interaction of people, planet, and space, thereby better positioning the organization to take on such challenges as climate change. In fact, ASLA has committed to cut greenhouse emissions by slashing the carbon footprint of its annual conference. During his tenure, Torey has also forged new partnerships that strengthen ASLA’s future through cultivation and development of a talent pipeline for the landscape architecture profession. In addition, because of focused advocacy efforts, the 2021 Infrastructure & Jobs Act signed by President Biden included thirteen provisions recommended by ASLA.

Prior to joining ASLA, Torey served as Chief Operating Officer of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and previously he was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Center for American Progress (CAP), COO and later Acting President and CEO at the LGBTQ Victory Fund and Institute. Torey received degrees in economics and accounting from George Mason University, and an MBA from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Torey and his husband Mike are fathers to two amazing children, Drew, and Aiden.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
Courtesy of Denis Galvin  

Denis Galvin

"As a young civil engineer serving at the park level, I quickly learned that landscape architecture was the dominant profession when making decisions about park infrastructure. Visitors' experience is largely shaped by landscape decisions about location, scale and site."

 

After serving as a surveyor in the first Peace Corps group in Tanganyika, Mr. Galvin joined the National Park Service at Sequoia National Park in 1963 as a Civil Engineer. In a 38 year career he worked in parks, regional offices, training centers, and service centers, ending with 16 years in the Washington office. He was Deputy Director for parts of the Reagan, Clinton, and Bush administrations. He represented the NPS in over 200 Congressional hearings. In 1991 he was awarded the Pugsley medal for outstanding service to parks and recreation. In 2001 he received the Presidential Rank Award for exceptional achievement in the career senior executive service.

Since retiring in 2002 he has continued doing conservation work. He was a member of the Second Century Commission. He consulted on the Ken Burn's film, ""The National Parks: America's Best Idea"". In 2011 he was elected to the National Academy of Public Administrators. In 2013 he received the George Melendez Wright award for his, ""distinguished lifetime record...on behalf of America's national parks"". He currently serves on the board of the National Parks Conservation Association.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
Eve Pollak  

Linda Pollak

"My work, in design, teaching, writing and photography, is about bringing diverse things–existing and new, constructed and natural–into conversation with each other, enabling them to coexist in productive terms, acknowledging tensions. What could be called a hyper relational aesthetic is also an ethic."

 

Linda Pollak collaborates with clients and communities to transform existing spaces and structures in ways that support and enhance the interplay between environmental and human health and well-being. Her commitment to public interest design includes the James Baldwin Outdoor Learning Center, Outdoor Classrooms in NYC Parks, and library Learning Gardens.

Linda's contributions to Landscape Architecture are manifest in both her tangible works and through the countless students she has inspired to think beyond the boundaries of their disciplines. She is Adjunct Professor at The Cooper Union since 2017, and has taught at Harvard GSD, Rhode Island School of Design, Penn Landscape and Cornell.

Linda is co-author, with Anita Berrizbeitia, of Inside Outside: Between Architecture and Landscape. Her essays have been featured in books--Case: Downsview, Landscape Urbanism Reader, Large Parks, Imperfect Health, and Reconstructing Urban Landscapes, and journals, including Praxis, Daidalos, Lotus, Public Art Issues, and Surface. She has received awards and grants from NEA, NYSCA, ASLA, AIA, and EDRA, and is a Wheelwright Fellow, and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, and the Design Trust for Public Space. She serves on the boards of the Storefront for Art and Architecture and the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
National Park Service  

Ray Todd

"The National Park Service stewards some of our nation's most treasured places, telling stories about who we are and what we value. Landscape architecture shapes our experience of those places. My work continued the Service's tradition of collaboration among design professionals, and the essential contribution of landscape architecture to visitor use, enjoyment, and preservation of the parks."

 

Ray Todd furthered the highest standards of planning, design and construction of many of our nation's most significant and iconic symbols. For eight years as Director of the Denver Service Center (DSC), a project management office responsible for the National Park Service's large-scale planning, design, and construction projects, Todd oversaw a multidisciplinary staff of more than 300 professional landscape architects, engineers, architects, contracting officers, and community planners. In 2024, DSC's portfolio includes 1,400 projects affecting many of the 427 units of the National Park System. This year, construction projects are valued at more than $5.4 billion, $8 million in planning projects, $2.2 billion in transportation projects, resulting in $1.3 billion in contracts. During his tenure, Todd led DSC's involvement in major projects such as the $380 million CityArchRiver project to restore the National Historic Landmark arch and grounds at Gateway National Park in St. Louis; the Giant Forest sequoia grove restoration in Sequoia National Park; the $208 million Trans-canyon Waterline replacement in Grand Canyon National Park; the $227 million Arlington Memorial Bridge rehabilitation in Washington, DC; the $325 million Elwha River and ecosystem restoration at Olympic National Park; and visitor use planning for protected areas in Brazil, Tanzania, and Palau. Todd is a licensed architect and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional. He earned a master's degree in architecture from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Michigan.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
David Chilewich  

Deborah Weintraub

"I am inspired by the multi-dimensional focus of landscape architecture: the interdependence of animals, nature, and cities; the profound connections city dwellers have to nature; the sounds, smells and micro-climates that are nurtured; and the sheer exuberance of the profession. It is crucial eco-centric systems thinking of the upmost importance."

 

Deborah Weintraub, AIA, LEED AP is a committed student of landscape architecture. Over the last 23 years, she has had the extraordinary opportunity to collaborate with many talented landscape professionals on large and small City of Los Angeles projects in her capacity as the Chief Deputy City Engineer and the ranking architect. Projects have included the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan, Sunnynook River Park, the Sixth Street Viaduct PARC, Paseo del Rio at Taylor Yard, the Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan, the Sepulveda Basin Vision Plan, and landscape interventions at many Los Angeles City parks and public facilities. Her work for the City of LA followed private architectural practice, work as a sustainability expert at an electric utility, and early professional training as a modern dancer. She currently is the Chair of the Scientific Committee for the Nature, Art and Habitat Residency. She is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of California at Berkeley, and devoted to the intellectual perspective that views the living flora and fauna of the land, the water, and the sky as ecological co-equals.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
Katherine Hui @kat.hui  

Claire Weisz

"Landscape Architecture teaches us that we share everything that is important, soil, water, air and light, I take great inspiration in this in every aspect of my work."

 

Claire Weisz FAIA, FRAIC is a founding partner of WXY, whose work as an architect and urbanist focuses on innovative approaches to public space, structures, and cities. Her focus on the urban environments has led to a practice WXY sees their work through planning and design projects as the creation of opportunities for other design practices. Her firm, WXY, is globally recognized for its place and community centered approach to architecture, urban design, and planning, and has played a vital role in design thinking around resiliency and placemaking. WXY's award-winning projects focus on generational change in New York at The Battery, the vision for Governor's Island as a Climate Solution center, Rebuild by Design's Blue Dunes and the Bronx's Hunt's Point Peninsula. Claire was awarded the Medal of Honor from AIANY in 2018 and was honored with the Women in Architecture Award by Architectural Record in 2019. Claire was a co-founder and co-executive director of The Design Trust for Public Space, New York's premier urban design think tank, which won a National Design Award in 2017. WXY is listed as one of Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies for 2019 and Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in Urban Development and Real Estate for 2023.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Today the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced the elevation of 50 members as ASLA Fellows for their exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large. Election to the ASLA Council of Fellows is among the highest honors ASLA bestows on members and is based on their works, leadership/management, knowledge and service. 

“The 2025 Class of ASLA Fellows reflects the very best of landscape architecture—visionary leaders whose work uplifts communities, restores ecosystems, and advances climate-ready design,” said ASLA President Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA. “Their careers are defined by excellence, service, and a deep commitment to shaping a more inclusive, resilient, and beautiful world. On behalf of the profession, I congratulate this year’s Fellows and thank them for raising the bar for what landscape architects can achieve.”

“Each year, the announcement of a new class of ASLA Fellows is a powerful celebration of impact, innovation, and leadership in landscape architecture,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “The 2025 Class of Fellows has transformed places and policies, inspired future leaders, and advanced equity, resilience, and beauty in the built and natural world. We are honored to recognize their extraordinary contributions to the profession and to society.”

ASLA Fellows will be elevated during a special investiture ceremony at the 2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture, which will be held in New Orleans Oct. 10-13. Read biographies of the 2025 Fellows. 

2025 ASLA Fellows

• Rodrigo Abela, ASLA, GGN, Seattle, WA, and Washington, DC
• Ricardo Austrich, ASLA, BSC Group, Boston
• Kenneth Bahlinger, ASLA, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, State of Louisiana, Baton Rouge
• Tiffany Beamer, ASLA, OLIN, Los Angeles
• Deena Ruth Bell, ASLA, City of Coral Gables and Bell Landscape Architecture, Coral Gables, Florida
• W. Shannon Blakeman, ASLA, CARBO Landscape Architecture, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• David Yuezhong Chen, ASLA, ECOLAND Planning and Design Corporation, Beijing
• Wm. Christopher Cline, ASLA, Confluence, Kansas City, Missouri
• Sally Coyle, ASLA, Coyle & Caron, Orlando, Florida
• Matthew Cunningham, ASLA, Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design, Stoneham, Massachusetts
• Stephen Drown, ASLA, University of Idaho, Moscow
• Liz Einwiller, ASLA, EinwillerKuehl Landscape Architecture, Oakland, California
• Ann English, ASLA, Department of Environmental Protection, Montgomery County, Maryland
• Alexander Fenech, ASLA, Hitchcock Design Group, Coral Springs, Florida
• Louis Fusco, ASLA, Louis Fusco Landscape Architects, Pound Ridge, New York
• Jack Goodnoe, ASLA, Land Planning and Design Associates, Detroit, Michigan
• Gary Hawkins, ASLA, Hawkins Partners, Nashville, Tennessee
• Gail Henderson-King, ASLA, Henderson-King Consulting, Burlington, Vermont
• Todd Hill, ASLA, DTJ Design, Atlanta
• Joan Honeyman, ASLA, Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architecture, Washington, DC
• Robert Hruby, ASLA, Campion Hruby Landscape Architects, Annapolis, Maryland
• Frederick Huffman, ASLA, Earth Design, Pickens, South Carolina
• Elaine Kearney, ASLA, TBG Partners, San Antonio, Texas
• Chad Kennedy, ASLA, Westwood Professional Services, Modesto, California
• Christopher Kent, ASLA, PGAdesign, Oakland, California
• Jeff Klein, ASLA, City of Detroit, Michigan
• Sarah Kuehl, ASLA, EinwillerKuehl Landscape Architecture, Oakland, California
• José de Jesús Leal Loera, ASLA, Native Nation Building Studio, MIG, Sacramento, California
• Carisa McMullen, ASLA, Landworks Studio, Olathe, Kansas
• Lauren Meier, ASLA, Landscape Preservation Consultant, Concord, Massachusetts
• Curt Millay, ASLA, American Society of Landscape Architects, Washington, DC
• Kaia Nesbitt, ASLA, HDR, Denver
• Lynne Nischwitz, ASLA, The Kleingers Group, Cincinnati
• Richard Roark, ASLA, OLIN, Philadelphia
• Margaret Robinson, ASLA, Asakura Robinson Company, Austin, Texas
• Carmine Russo Jr., ASLA, REALM Collaborative, Columbus, Ohio
• Byron W. Sampson, ASLA, Arizona State University, Tempe
• Dolores Silkworth, ASLA, Confluence, Omaha, Nebraska
• Lee R. Skabelund, ASLA, Kansas State University, Manhattan
• Lauren Todd Stimson, ASLA, STIMSON, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Lisa Switkin, ASLA, Field Operations, New York City
• William C. Sullivan, ASLA, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
• Patricia Trauth, ASLA, RICK, San Diego
• Steven Tupu, ASLA, terrain-nyc landscape architecture, New York City
• Tara Mahon Vincenta, ASLA, Artemis Landscape Architects, Sandy Hook, Connecticut
• David Watts, ASLA, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
• Stephen Whitehouse, ASLA, Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners, New York City
• Gena Wirth, ASLA, SCAPE Landscape Architecture, New York City
• Jon Wreschinsky, ASLA, Cuyamaca College, San Diego
• Tao Zhang, ASLA, Sasaki, Boston

ASLA will partner with the National Indian Carbon Coalition (NICC) to offset greenhouse gas emissions from its ASLA 2025 Conference on Landscape Architecture in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 10-13. This is the second year ASLA has partnered with NICC.

While it pursues its goal of achieving zero emissions by 2040, ASLA has committed to purchasing up to 3,750 metric tons of positive climate contributions from NICC this year (equivalent to 3,750 carbon credits). This partnership will also advance the cultural empowerment and climate equity goals of the ASLA Climate Action Plan, which was released in 2022, and ASLA’s Call to Action: Co-creating a Future that Heals Land and Culture, which was released at the ASLA 2024 Conference.

The carbon offsets NICC will provide have been generated in the Tribal Forests of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Mississippi. The band’s forest carbon project is a natural climate solution that generates carbon credits through Improved Forest Management.

“Landscape architects support the climate goals of Indigenous communities – and, this year, the self-determination of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in achieving their ambitious forest carbon goals. We applaud the band’s efforts to protect their native forests, enhance resilience and biodiversity, and educate the next generation,” said ASLA President Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA.

"By conserving these woodlands and enhancing forest stewardship, we honor the enduring connection the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians holds with this land. Reinvesting carbon revenues into a modernized K–12 education system ensures that this connection not only endures but thrives, empowering future generations to carry it forward,” said Bryan Van Stippen, Program Director, NICC.
 
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians will use the income generated from carbon offset sales, which would otherwise come from harvesting trees, to:

• Build a new 35-acre K-12 school campus  
• Steward a native, growing forest
• Enhance biodiversity and protect habitat
• Support long-term carbon storage
• Create measurable climate benefits

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has a Climate Action Plan that guides its investment in forest and wetland management, solar energy, electric school buses, biofuels, building energy efficiency, and sustainable waste management. The Tribe has created climate benefits by enrolling more than 25,000 acres into a forest carbon project in 2020. The project will protect 12 million trees from harvesting for 40 years.

The lands of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians span 35,000 acres and include more than 26,000 acres of forest. The forest carbon project will protect lowland cypress swamps and diverse ecosystems that support the growth of gum, hickory, oak, pine, and other tree species. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ land is home to a range of water birds, including herons and egrets; white-tailed deer; and alligators. Some trees are harvested to create culturally significant objects, such as drums, stickball sticks, and blowguns.

Funds from the forest carbon project will go to constructing a new 35-acre educational campus. The campus will include new middle and high school buildings, a gymnasium, a basketball arena, a Career and Technical facility, and a renovated football and track field.

"Land stewardship has always been important to our Tribe, and the emerging [carbon] market gives us an invaluable opportunity to continue to protect and preserve our forested tribal lands and address our children’s educational needs,” said Cyrus Ben, Chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

The lead sponsor of ASLA 2025 conference carbon offsets is KOMPAN.

In 2024, ASLA partnered with the National Indian Carbon Coalition on carbon offsets. ASLA’s members and sponsors contributed more than $53,000 to purchase more than 3,500 credits, a 23 percent increase over 2023.

ASLA is announcing the experts that will develop its new Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan for the landscape architecture community. The five-member Task Force and 33-member Advisory Group of climate and biodiversity leaders from the landscape architecture profession will guide this effort. The new plan will be released at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture, October 10-13, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The new plan will be an update to the ASLA Climate Action Plan, which was released in 2022, and offer new goals and actions for 2026-2030. The scope of the new plan has been expanded – the climate and biodiversity crises will be treated as equal priorities, and the focus will be on actions that tackle both crises in an equitable way.

The ambitious plan seeks to transform the practice of landscape architecture by 2040 through actions taken by ASLA and its members focused on biodiversity and ecological restoration, climate mitigation and adaptation, equity, and economic development.

Meg Calkins, FASLA, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, NC State University, has been named Chair of the Task Force.

“Landscape architects know that nature-based solutions can help address both the climate and biodiversity crises while also providing multiple economic, environmental, social, and health benefits. This incredible Task Force and Advisory Group, made up of biodiversity, climate, equity, and advocacy leaders, will show us the way and guide our collective action over the next five years,” said ASLA President Kona Gray, FASLA.

“ASLA believes that landscape architects’ climate and biodiversity work provides significant benefits to communities in the U.S. and around the world. This new plan will act as a roadmap for strengthening communities’ economic well-being while also conserving and restoring ecosystems, reducing emissions, and enhancing resilience over the long-term,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA.

Task Force members include:

• Chair: Meg Calkins, FASLA, Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, NC State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Equity Lead: Diane Jones Allen, FASLA, D. Eng., PLA, Director and Professor, Program in Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and Principal Landscape Architect, DesignJones, LLC, Arlington, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana
• Biodiversity Lead: Jennifer A. Dowdell, ASLA, Practice Leader: Landscape Ecology, Planning & Design, Biohabitats, Baltimore, Maryland
• Climate Lead: Mariana Ricker, ASLA, PLA, Associate Principal, SWA Group, San Francisco, California
• Advocacy Lead: Andrew Wickham, ASLA, PLA, Project Leader, Landscape Architecture, LPA Design Studios, Sacramento, California

The goals and actions of the new plan are also shaped by a Climate and Biodiversity Action Plan Advisory Group of 34 diverse leaders, who hail from 16 U.S. states and three countries and are in private, public, non-profit practice, and academia. The Advisory Group consists of 20 women and 14 men; and three Black, four Asian and Asian American, seven Latino/a, and two Indigenous members.

Advisory Group members include:

• José Almiñana, FASLA, PLA, SITES AP, LEED AP, Principal, Andropogon Associates, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Megan Barnes, ASLA, Senior Program Manager, Landscape Architecture Foundation, Washington, D.C.  
• Lisa Beyer, ASLA, PLA, Senior Manager, Nature for Urban Resilience, World Resources Institute, San Francisco, California  
• Roxanne Blackwell, Hon. ASLA, Managing Director, Government Affairs, ASLA
• Jean Senechal Biggs, FASLA, Resource Development Manager, Metro, and Vice President, Professional Practice, ASLA, Portland, Oregon  
• Keith Bowers, FASLA, PLA, PWS, Advocate and Practice Leader, Biohabitats, Charleston, South Carolina
• Chingwen Cheng, ASLA, PLA, Director and Professor, Stuckeman School, Penn State University and Past President, Council of Educators on Landscape Architecture (CELA), States College, Pennsylvania  
• Aida Curtis, FASLA, PLA, Principal, Curtis + Rogers Design Studio and Chair, ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, Miami, Florida
• Dr. Jennifer Egan, PhD, PG, Program Manager, Environmental Economics and Conservation Finance, Environmental Finance Center, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
• Grant Fahlgren, Indigenous Design Lead, PFS Studio and Co-Chair, Canadian Society Landscape Architects Reconciliation Advisory Committee, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Sarah Fitzgerald, ASLA, PLA, Climate and Sustainability Lead and Associate, SWA Group, Dallas, Texas   
• MaFe Gonzalez, ASLA, Landscape designer and botanist, BASE Landscape Architecture, San Francisco, California
• Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA, Principal, EDSA and President, ASLA, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Deb Guenther, FASLA, PLA, LEED AP, SITES AP, Partner, Mithun, Seattle, Washington
• Steven Handel, Hon. ASLA, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey
• Chris Hardy, ASLA, PLA, CA, Senior Associate, Sasaki and Founder, Carbon Conscience, Boston, Massachusetts
• Daniella Hirschfeld, PhD, Assistant Professor, Climate Adaptation Planning, Urban Ecology, Environmental Justice, Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University, Logan, Utah
• José de Jesús Leal, ASLA, PLA, APA, Principal and Studio Director, Native Nation Building Studio, MIG, Sacramento, California
• Mia Lehrer, FASLA, President, Studio-MLA, Los Angeles, California  
• Nina-Marie Lister, Hon. ASLA, MCIP, RPP, Professor, School of Urban & Regional Planning and Director, Ecological Design Lab, Toronto Metropolitan University (renamed), Toronto, Canada
• Vincent Martinez, Hon. AIA, President and COO, Architecture 2030, Seattle, Washington  
• Anna McCorvey, RA, LEED AP BD+C, Senior Equitable Development Manager, 11th Street Bridge Park, and Founder and Executive Director, The River East Design Center, Washington, D.C.  
• Hitesh Mehta, FASLA, FRIBA, FAAK, Assoc. AIA, President, HM Design, and Executive in Residence and Courtesy Professor at Chaplain School of Hospitality, Florida International University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Gabriel Díaz Montemayor, ASLA, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Fay Jones School of Architecture + Design, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Chelina Odbert, Hon. ASLA, CEO and Founding Principal, Kounkuey Design Initiative, Los Angeles, California
• Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, PhD, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut
• Betsy Peterson, ASLA, Director, August Design Collaborative, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
• April Phillips, FASLA, PLA, Landscape architect, artist, and past Chair, ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, Talent, Oregon
• Catherine Seavitt, FASLA, Chair of Landscape Architecture and Meyerson Professor of Urbanism; Faculty Co-Director, McHarg Center; Department of Landscape Architecture, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Steven Spears, FASLA, PLA, AICP, Principal, Groundwork Development and Momark Development, Austin, Texas
• Amy Syverson-Shaffer, ASLA, Sustainability Leader, Landscape Forms, Inc., Kalamazoo, Michigan  
• Jerry Smith, FASLA, PLA, EDAC, LEED AP, Founding Principal, SMITH GreenHealth Consulting, Columbus, Ohio  
• Julia Watson, Author, Lo—TEK Design by Radical Indigenism; Principal, Julia Watson llc; and Co-founder, Lo—TEK Institute, Brooklyn, New York  
• Jonathan Williams, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Outdoor Practice, Houston, Texas
• Dr. Kongjian Yu, FASLA, PhD, Founder, Turenscape and Professor and Dean, College of Architecture and Landscape, Peking University, and Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize Winner, Beijing, China

Extreme heat, flooding, drought, sea level rise, wildfire, air and water pollution, and ecosystem loss and degradation transcend state and national borders and demand collective solutions.

ASLA and its 16,000 members will remain a leader in shaping science-based climate and biodiversity solutions that protect American and global health and well-being.

• At the local and state levels: ASLA will continue to lead efforts to make our communities and ecosystems healthier and more resilient through nature-based solutions. ASLA will remain a member of the America Is All In movement, which is dedicated to achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
• At the global level: ASLA will continue to advance our members’ climate and biodiversity goals as an observer to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – and participation in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), and other international organizations.

ASLA is committed to increasing investment in nature-based solutions locally, nationally, and internationally – action that is required to ensure the health of future generations and ecosystems.

The Value of Nature-Based Solutions

Nature-based solutions are infrastructure that use, restore, or emulate natural ecological processes and can be created through a design process.

Examples include:

• Floodplains
• Living shorelines
• Beaches
• Dunes
• Wetlands
• Reefs
• Islands
• Green roofs
• Tree canopies
• Rain gardens
• Bioswales
• Retention basins
• Permeable and pervious pavements

Their construction costs can be up to 30 percent less and their maintenance costs up to 25 percent less than conventional gray infrastructure. They are crucial to creating healthy communities that are better prepared for long-term heat, flooding, and other challenges and natural disasters.

Landscape architects are the only design professionals specifically educated and trained to develop nature-based solutions that address a range of community health, biodiversity, and economic challenges.

ASLA has produced important research – Landscape Architecture: Maximizing Economic Benefits of Nature-Based Solutions – that documents the economic effectiveness of designing with nature.

These solutions have been proven time and again to strengthen local economies, encourage new development, increase property values, reduce insurance risks and costs, and create good paying jobs that can’t be outsourced – in all communities across the nation.

ASLA research has found that in the United States:

• Sustainable design can create nearly 20 million jobs in grounds maintenance, sustainable urban planning development, renewable energy, construction, and green technology.
• Investments in parks and green space can generate between $4 and $11 for every dollar invested, due to increased tourism, improved property values, and enhanced community health.
• Every dollar invested in ecosystem restoration returns $5 to $28 in benefits.
• Ecosystem services from urban green spaces provide value — from $500 to $1,600 per acre per year.

ASLA will advance nature-based approaches that increase our collective resilience, create economic benefits, and protect public health, safety, and welfare:

Community Resilience: Landscape architects play a critical role in mitigating the effects of storm severity, implementing nature-based solutions in communities to reduce billions of dollars in damages annually. These proactive measures lessen the financial burden on federal disaster aid programs while safeguarding communities.

Thriving Economies: Landscape architects design nature-based solutions that generate substantial economic returns for rural, suburban, and urban communities. These solutions also reduce risk and therefore insurance costs.

Public Health, Safety, and Welfare: Landscape architects design safe solutions that improve public health by protecting our air, water, and natural resources; cool our communities; and provide access to nature and recreation.

The Library of Congress and the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced today a collaboration to archive the society’s Professional Award winning projects, the first time that collections representing the international landscape architecture profession will be archived by a U.S. federal institution.

While the Library of Congress has archived collections representing the professions of architecture, design and engineering since the 1800s, this collaboration reflects the Library’s recognition of the growing significance of landscape architecture in society today. New designs will be added to the collection each year.

“This is a step forward in strengthening the connection between landscape architecture and the built environment. The chosen winners are a snapshot of the issues we face in our society each year and how landscape architects are addressing them, which also demonstrates the increasing relevance of landscape architecture to global communities,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of ASLA.  

The national library’s significant collections documenting the history of landscape architecture include the papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, considered the founder of American landscape architecture, as well as a collection from the landscape architecture firm he founded. Olmsted is known for his work on New York’s Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds and many other landmarks. The Library also holds the original records of the American Society of Landscape Architects, dating from 1899-1966. The Historic American Landscapes Survey, begun in 2000, offers drawings and photographs for more than 900 heritage sites. A new research guide, Architecture, Design, and Engineering Collections in the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, makes it possible to explore landscape design work that is within the records of many architects and photographers.

“The Library is very grateful for this annual gift of award winning digital designs from the American Society of Landscape Architects, because contemporary coverage of the creative landscape world will now be an integral part of the inspiring collections that we can offer to both researchers and the general public,” said Helena Zinkham, chief of the Library’s Prints & Photographs Division.

For more than 30 years, ASLA has been granting awards to professional members in a number of categories including General Design, Urban Design, Residential Design, Analysis & Planning, Communications, and Research, as well as a single Landmark Award, granted to distinguished landscape architecture projects completed between 15 and 50 years ago. Juries representing a cross-section of landscape architecture in practice, research and academics judge hundreds of submissions in these categories — covering issues such as climate action, racial equity and urban planning.

Adding materials from ASLA to the national library will not only establish a significant position for landscape architecture, it will also distinguish the work of landscape architects from architects.

“By preserving our profession’s most important work, the Library of Congress will enable the public to understand the enormous role our professionals play today in improving lives throughout the nation, from protecting our environment from climate change, to providing racially equitable and nature-based solutions to our aging urban communities,” said ASLA President Eugenia Martin, fellow of ASLA.
 
The theme of history is very present for the landscape architecture community in 2022 with this collaboration and Olmsted200, the 200th birthday celebration of Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture and avid advocate for open and accessible green spaces and communities. A schedule of educational events will lead to the celebration this April, which is also World Landscape Architecture Month, highlighting Olmsted’s influence on the profession today. The partnership with the Library further demonstrates the need to learn and share the history of a profession that is entirely dedicated to keeping the planet and its communities healthy and thriving.  
 
About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.  Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.
 
About ASLA
Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the professional association for landscape architects in the United States, representing more than 15,000 members. The Society’s mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund has launched the Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program to support women of color in their pursuit of landscape architecture licensure and increase racial and gender diversity within the profession.

In its inaugural year, the program will provide 10 women of color with a two-year, personalized experience that includes approximately $3,500 to cover the cost of the four sections of the Landscape Architectural Registration Exam (LARE), along with exam preparation courses, resources, and mentorship from a licensed landscape architect.

According to U.S. Census and ASLA data, approximately 18.5 percent of the U.S. population identifies as Hispanic or Latino, while only 6 percent of ASLA members do. 13.4 percent of the U.S. population identifies as African American, but only 2.14 percent of ASLA members do. 1.3 percent of the U.S. population identifies as American Indian or Alaska Natives, but only 0.45 percent of ASLA members do. And 6.3 percent of the U.S. population identifies as Asian and Pacific Islander while 13.5 percent of ASLA members do, but ASLA doesn’t separate Asian from Asian American and Pacific Islander members in its data.  

A recent report by The Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing found that among highly complex, technical fields, such as landscape architecture, a license narrows the gender-driven wage gap by about a third and the race-driven wage gap by about half.
 
The Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Board (CLARB)’s Council Record data shows that women and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are highly underrepresented among the profession: Only 7 percent of landscape architects are non-white and only 30 percent of landscape architects are women.
 
“The statistics are telling, and it is important we make major strides to ensure the makeup of the profession closely mirrors the communities they serve,” said ASLA President Eugenia Martin, FASLA. “We need to address these gaps, and women of color achieving licensure is a part of the solution.”

“As stated in ASLA’s Racial Equity Plan of Action released in 2021, we are committed to fostering equity and inclusion within the profession There is much more work to be done, but we believe this program is an important step towards meeting those goals,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen.
 
ASLA believes licensure is vital to protecting public health, safety, and welfare. Licensure also signifies a level of professional competency and can lead to greater career and business success. However, there can be significant barriers to licensure. Aside from the cost of a landscape architecture education, candidates must also pass the rigorous, four-part LARE.  
 
The ASLA Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program was initiated with a generous $100,000 donation by former ASLA President Wendy Miller, FASLA, and James Barefoot; Marq Truscott, FASLA; Rachel Ragatz Truscott, ASLA; and CLARB.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund announced today the inaugural class of the Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program.

The program, which launched in February 2022, is designed to support women of color in their pursuit of landscape architecture licensure and provide mentorship opportunities that position women for success. The program aims to increase racial and gender diversity within the profession and was inspired by ASLA’s Racial Equity Plan of Action, which was released in 2020.
 
The first class of the program includes 10 women who identify as African American, Latin, Asian, and Native Hawai‘ian – groups that are among the most statistically underrepresented in the profession of landscape architecture.

The class includes women based in Hawai‘i, California, Washington, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, and Florida who are involved in private and public practice and landscape architectural education.

“ASLA is committed to achieving a diverse profession which is welcoming and accessible to all. We are proud to take this first step to lift up women of color in our landscape architecture community, by providing them with the support network they need to achieve licensure,” said Eugenia Martin, FASLA, President of ASLA.   

“We are honored to partner with these 10 dynamic women who seek to overcome obstacles, advance their own careers, and contribute to the communities they serve,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO. “We also look forward to learning from them how to best grow our equity programs and resources and make our community even more inclusive.”
 
The program will provide each of the women with a personalized experience that provides up to $3,500 to cover the cost of sections of the Landscape Architectural Registration Exam (LARE), along with exam preparation courses, resources, and mentorship from a licensed landscape architect.
 
ASLA supports and defends licensure for several important reasons. Licensure protects public health, safety, and welfare and signifies a level of professional competency that oftentimes leads to achieving greater career and business success.  
 
A recent report by The Alliance for Responsible Professional Licensing found that among highly complex, technical fields, such as landscape architecture, a license narrows the gender-driven wage gap by about a third and the race-driven wage gap by about half.

The ASLA Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program was initiated with a generous $100,000 donation by former ASLA President Wendy Miller, FASLA, and James Barefoot; Marq Truscott, FASLA; Rachel Ragatz Truscott, ASLA; and Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB).

ASLA announced today that it has been awarded WELL Certification at the Gold level for its Center for Landscape Architecture in Washington, becoming the first WELL Certified Gold-rated project in Washington and the largest WELL Certified project to date in the nation’s capital. The prestigious WELL Certification is awarded by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) through IWBI’s WELL Building Standard (WELL), which is the premier building standard to focus on enhancing people’s health and well-being through the buildings where we live, work and play.

“ASLA pursued WELL Certification because of our commitment to our members, our staff and our community, and we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen (@toreycarter). “ASLA is founded on the premise that good design leads to healthier, more sustainable and equitable environments, and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner and lead in advancing initiatives like the WELL Building Standard.”

Media may request a tour of the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture by emailing press@asla.org. Photos for media use are available.  

Created through seven years of rigorous research and development working with leading physicians, scientists, and industry professionals, the WELL Building Standard is a performance-based certification system that marries best practices in design and construction with evidence-based scientific research. The ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture earned the distinction based on seven categories of building performance: Air, Water, Light, Nourishment, Fitness, Comfort and Mind.

ASLA worked with architecture firm Gensler and landscape architecture firm Oehme van Sweden to build a new Center that embodies the values of the profession and the organization. The project integrates new construction into the existing space and footprint; captures and reuses stormwater runoff; maximizes daylight within the space; increases occupant comfort and wellness; provides flexible, collaborative work spaces; and models environmental values, with a focus on improving indoor air quality, lighting, nourishment, and promoting active lifestyles. To ensure opportunities for interaction with living things and natural surroundings, a biophilia plan describes how the Center incorporates nature through environmental elements, lighting, and space layout.

Project features that helped ASLA achieve its WELL Certified Gold rating include:

• A range of air-quality steps, including filtration, increased ventilation, and volatile organic compound reduction;
• Optimal water quality through the use of filtration techniques and periodic water quality testing;
• Enhanced natural lighting for all occupants through the creation of an atrium, circadian lighting design and low-glare workstation design;
• Fitness opportunities that promote active lifestyles; and
• Materials and furnishings selections that optimize comfort and cognitive and mental health and that evoke nature in their design.

WELL is grounded in a body of evidence-based research that explores the connection between the buildings where we spend approximately 90 percent of our time, and the health and well-being impacts on the people inside these buildings. To be awarded WELL Certification by IWBI, the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture underwent rigorous testing and a final evaluation carried out by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), which is the third-party certification body for WELL, to ensure it met all WELL Certified Gold performance requirements.

The ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture has long been committed to innovative design features that promote health and wellness and environmental sustainability. The Center features a green roof, one of the first of its kind built in 2005; a green canopy; a side garden designed by Oehme van Sweden, which includes a 700-gallon rainwater cistern used for irrigation. Numerous lines of research demonstrate the mental and physical benefits of green space for people, which is one of the reasons landscape architects seek to integrate high-quality green space into office environments.

Media may request a tour of the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture by emailing press@asla.org. Photos for media use are available.

About ASLA and the ASLA Fund

Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the professional association for landscape architects in the United States, representing more than 15,000 members. ASLA Mission: Empowering our members to design a sustainable and equitable world through landscape architecture. ASLA Fund Mission: Investing in global, social, and environmental change through the art and science of landscape architecture.

About IWBI

International WELL Building Institute pbc is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delos Living LLC. International WELL Building Institute, IWBI, the WELL Building Standard, WELL v2, WELL Certified, WELL AP, WELL Portfolio, WELL Portfolio Score, The WELL Conference, We Are WELL, the WELL Community Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rating, WELL Health-Safety Rated, WELL Health-Equity, WELL and others, and their related logos are trademarks or certification marks of International WELL Building Institute in the United States and other countries.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced today it will join a global coalition of 70,000 landscape architects in 77 countries in committing to limiting planetary warming to 1.5°C (2.7 °F). This is the largest coalition of landscape architecture professionals ever assembled to advance climate action.

IFLA’s Climate Action Commitment will be issued to sovereign nations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), which will be held in Scotland, October 31 - November 12.   

ASLA has committed to the six goals outlined in the IFLA Climate Action Commitment:

1) Advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)  
ASLA and its member landscape architects and designers will accelerate efforts to protect and repair ecosystems.

2) Attaining Global Net Zero Emissions by 2040
ASLA and its members will dramatically reduce operational and embodied carbon emissions produced by projects, increasingly harness the unique capacity of landscapes to draw down carbon dioxide, and continue to advocate for low-carbon multi-modal transport systems.  

3) Enhancing Capacity and Resilience of Livable Cities and Communities
Implementing green infrastructure approaches, ASLA and its members will increase efforts to mitigate the urban heat island effect and reduce climate impacts associated with fire, drought, and flooding.

4) Advocating for Climate Justice and Social Well-Being
ASLA and its members will maintain our priority on equity and equality and ensure the right to nearby green spaces and clean water and air.

5) Learning from Cultural Knowledge Systems
ASLA and its members commit to respecting and working with indigenous communities and honoring cultural land management practices to mitigate climate change impacts and continue work towards reconciliation.

6) Galvanizing Climate Leadership
Landscape architects are uniquely positioned to lead the built environment community’s response to the climate crisis. ASLA will continue to collaborate with clients, suppliers, and allied professions to champion climate positive landscapes, which involves planning and designing landscapes that sequester more greenhouse gas emissions than they emit.
 
“ASLA is proud to be joining forces with IFLA and the global community of landscape architects in advancing our climate action goals,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO, ASLA. “We speak as one voice, globally, when it comes to advancing climate action.”

“As landscape architects we can make a tremendous difference to climate change and to climate action through our work, so thinking globally but acting locally is critical,” said IFLA President James Hayter.

“In a year marked by historic flooding in Europe and China and deadly wildfires and heat waves in the United States, it’s clear we’re running out of time to start healing a century’s worth of harm done to our Earth and its atmosphere,” said Tom Mroz, FASLA, ASLA President.

“I am gratified that Climate Positive Design has been incorporated into the global Commitment,” said Pamela Conrad, ASLA, Founder of Climate Positive Design, Principal at CMG Landscape Architecture in San Francisco, and IFLA Climate Change Working Group Vice Chair. “All landscape architects must rapidly scale up their work transforming designed landscapes into natural carbon sinks.”

The IFLA Climate Action Commitment is the second major coalition ASLA has joined this year. ASLA also signed on to Architecture 2030’s 1.5°C COP26 Communiqué, calling for built environment industries to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Landscape architects plan and design with nature to help all communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a changing climate. Landscape architects use climate positive design approaches that transform parks and open spaces into natural carbon sinks. They develop resilient nature-based solutions that reduce the impacts of extreme heat; coastal, ground, and inland flooding; sea level rise; pollution; and wildfires. They also increase biodiversity and protect and restore ecosystems, which underpin life on Earth.

“Landscape architects are already helping communities adapt to climate impacts. We are having a particularly big impact on reducing dangerous urban temperatures, saving many lives in the process,” said Vaughn Rinner, FASLA, former ASLA President and ASLA representative to the IFLA Climate Change Working Group.

About ASLA

Founded in 1899, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is the professional association for landscape architects in the United States, representing more than 15,000 members. The Society’s mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship.

About IFLA

A truly global federation, IFLA currently represents 77 national associations from Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Our mission as landscape architects is to create globally sustainable and balanced living environments for the benefit of humanity worldwide. IFLA officially represents the world body of landscape architects through its member associations and regions and in both governmental and non-governmental organizations, such as the UN, UNESCO, UIA, etc. We are a not-for-profit, non-political, non-governmental organization.

The American Society for Landscape Architects (ASLA), the nation’s largest association of landscape architects, has joined with Architecture 2030 to call for all sovereign governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2040, which would accelerate the current timeline to achieve emission reductions outlined in the Paris Climate Accord by a decade.

The call, the most ambitious climate challenge ever issued by the built environment professions, is detailed within Architecture 2030’s 1.5°C COP26 Communiqué submitted to the Biden-Harris administration and world leaders attending the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Scotland.

According to Architecture 2030, the built environment is the world’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for at least 40 percent, not including the carbon already embodied within the structures and materials of buildings and landscapes.

Signatories of the Communiqué, which include global organizations representing the landscape architecture, planning, and architecture professions and 60 of the world’s largest international design firms, have committed to taking specific actions to achieve the same levels of greenhouse gas emission reductions, as outlined in the call to sovereign governments.

“We have a responsibility to take whatever actions are necessary to more rapidly reduce greenhouse gases emitted by the built environment,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of ASLA. “As the leading organization of landscape architects, we can play a significant role in encouraging the expansion of Climate Positive Design strategies and natural carbon sinks in our projects, as well as reducing the impacts of climate change, such as increasingly dangerous urban temperatures, on underserved communities.”

“Landscape architects are committed to this interdisciplinary coalition, joining with allied professionals on climate action. Together, we need to scale up the new inclusive, climate-smart planning and design practices required to achieve zero emissions in the built environment by 2040,” said Scott Bishop, ASLA, Chair of the ASLA Climate Action Committee and Founder of Bishop Land Design.

ASLA has been a long-time leader among built environment organizations in calling for more ambitious climate action. According to a review of associations by the Kresge Foundation, ASLA is just one of nine associations taking a holistic approach to educating their members and the public about climate change “that includes adaptation, mitigation, and the explicit consideration of social justice.” Since 2018, ASLA has been a member of the We Are Still In movement, a national coalition of 3,500 states, cities, companies, and organizations that remain committed to achieving US greenhouse gas emission reduction targets as part of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Landscape architects plan and design nature-based solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and communities’ risks from climate impacts, such as flooding, extreme heat, drought, and sea level rise. Learn more about landscape architects’ work.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced today that it has set new goals for the profession. Together the ASLA Climate Action Plan and the Climate Action Field Guide for ASLA Members chart a pathway for landscape architects to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in their projects and operations and increase carbon sequestration by 2040.

The Climate Action Plan was developed by a high-profile Task Force of five landscape architects chaired by Pamela Conrad, ASLA, founder of Climate Positive Design, and a 17-member Advisory Group. It outlines a bold vision for 2040 and a set of 71 actions to be taken by 2025.

By 2040, all landscape architecture projects will simultaneously:

• Achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and increase carbon sequestration
• Provide significant economic benefits in the form of measurable ecosystem services, health co-benefits, sequestration, and green jobs
• Address climate injustices, empower communities, and increase equitable distribution of climate investments
• Restore ecosystems and increase and protect biodiversity

“Landscape architects are already helping communities achieve this vision. As we increasingly experience the impacts of the climate and biodiversity crises, we know we need to act faster. We are the only design professionals who bring all the pieces together to plan and design what communities need to prepare themselves for a changing world,” said ASLA President Eugenia Martin, FASLA.

“ASLA has developed its first Climate Action Plan in the spirit of great optimism. We envision communities becoming healthier and economically stronger because they have committed to drawing down carbon, restoring ecosystems and increasing biodiversity, and reducing reliance on vehicles – all while ensuring everyone in their community has equitable access to these benefits,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen.

The ASLA Climate Action Plan is based in science. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found humanity can only put a maximum of 340 more gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere if we want a good chance of only increasing temperatures by 1.5° C (2.7° Fahrenheit), instead of 2° C (3.6° Fahrenheit). To advance the goal of keeping warming to 1.5° C, ASLA signed on to the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Climate Action Commitment in 2021. The commitment was presented at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland and is supported by 70,000 landscape architects in 77 countries.

The ASLA Climate Action Plan is rooted in the three goals (practice, equity, and advocacy) and six initiatives of IFLA Climate Action Commitment.

The ASLA plan will direct all ASLA programs and investments through 2025. Goals will be advanced through 21 objectives and 71 actions. Goals and actions will be revisited and updated in 2025 and every five years until 2040 and beyond.

To accomplish the plan, ASLA, as a non-profit association, has also committed to achieving zero emissions in its operations by 2040. ASLA is calculating baseline Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions for its 2022 Conference on Landscape Architecture in San Francisco and headquarters operations in Washington, D.C. and has committed to reducing its overall emissions by 20% by 2024. ASLA will use its own journey to zero as a learning opportunity for its members, EXPO exhibitors, and partner organizations.

A companion to the plan – the Climate Action Field Guide for ASLA Members – provides best practice guidance, toolkits, and resources for ASLA members and their firms and organizations, along with corporate partners, to achieve the 2040 vision.

The Field Guide features six toolkits covering 18 strategies, with guidance on how to: 

• Design Climate Positive Landscapes
• Design Pedestrian, Cyclist, and Public Transit-Centric Communities
• Reduce Energy Use and Support Renewables
• Help Communities Adapt to Climate Impacts
• Explore Pathways to Financial Sustainability with Communities
• Protect and Increase Biodiversity
• Learn from Indigenous Communities Through Collaboration
• Build Climate Coalitions

“Landscape architects are uniquely qualified to understand and manage complex, multi-disciplinary challenges and design sustainable, world-changing solutions. We are committed to following the science, and through this Climate Action Plan we will rapidly scale up Climate- and Biodiversity-positive solutions in the U.S. and, through our partnership with IFLA, the world,” said Pamela Conrad, ASLA, Chair of the Climate Action Plan Task Force.

Conrad will represent ASLA and highlight the vision and goals of the ASLA Climate Action Plan at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

ASLA is closely monitoring the ongoing response to wildfires impacting California. Many of our members have been affected, and we want to extend our support to those facing these difficult challenges.

Vicki Phillipy, Hon. ASLA, Executive Director, and Scott Rice, ASLA, Chapter President of the Southern California Chapter, have shared several ways you can help:

• California Fire Foundation: Your donation to the Wildfire & Disaster Relief Fund directly supports victims of wildfires across California. Donate here
• American Red Cross: To support those affected by the recent wildfires, write “California Wildfires 2025” in the memo line of your donation and send it to your local Red Cross chapter or by completing the donation form at redcross.org/donate.
• LAFD Foundation Emergency Fund: Funds from this foundation go to essential firefighting equipment, including emergency fire shelters and hydration packs. Donate here
• Southern California Salvation Army: Help those affected by the wildfires by donating to the Salvation Army’s efforts in Southern California. Donate here
• Southern California Disaster Assistance: If you are in need of assistance, visit disasterassistance.gov/
• FEMA Assistance: Available for individuals affected by the wildfires in California. vVisit www.fema.gov/press-release/20250109/fema-assistance-available-individuals-affected-wildfires-california
• SBA’s low-interest Disaster Loans: To help homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes recover from declared disasters. Visit www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance
• CA Executive Order related to licensees: On January 29, California Governor Newsome announced a new executive order to help business owners and workers recover from the LA firestorms. The executive order extends the deadline to pay for renewing licenses, certificates, and permits for one year for licenses with a renewal date occurring between January 1, 2025, and July 1, 2025; waves fees for businesses and workers requesting duplicate or replacement of a license certificate that was burned or destroyed; and extends deadlines for businesses to appeal license-related proceedings. For more information, visit https://www.ca.gov/LAFires.

We will continue to share additional ways to help as we stay in touch with members in affected regions.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) released its first assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions generated by its business operations. This report sets the baseline for ASLA as it strives toward its goal of achieving zero emissions by 2040.

The assessment details the amounts and sources of greenhouse gas emissions generated in 2023 by ASLA operations. This total includes electricity use, magazine printing and shipping, business travel, employee commuting, waste produced, and more. These emissions add up to 320.5 metric tonnes.
 
To put that in perspective, the average U.S. home produces approximately one metric tonne of emissions monthly via its electricity use in regions where coal or gas generates power.
 
“We are demonstrating our climate leadership by being transparent about our impacts. We want to show our members and partners where we are in our journey to zero emissions by 2040. Cutting emissions makes great economic and environmental sense. Let’s learn from each other and move faster together,” said ASLA President Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA.

2023 Operations Baseline

This 2023 assessment was developed in partnership with Honeycomb Strategies, a sustainability consulting company.

The company and ASLA team cooperated to collect extensive and complete data:

• business travel and commuting data,
• energy used and waste generated from the ASLA Center for Landscape Architecture, the organization’s LEED Platinum- and Well Gold-certified headquarters, and
• printing, shipping, and online use data for Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM).

Of the total 320.5 metric tonnes, ASLA headquarters emitted 124.5 tonnes, or 38 percent, and LAM emitted 196 tonnes, or 61 percent.

The assessment for LAM covered the creation and online use of the magazine. By requesting extensive emissions data, ASLA introduced new carbon estimation and measurement practices to its partners. These kinds of requests encourage greater transparency and efficiency in the printing supply chain.

The calculations for the Center’s emissions included such factors as electricity use, employee commuting, and business travel.
 
The Center used 170,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity or 13.4 kWh per square foot – substantially below the 16.9 kWh average annual electricity consumption per square foot for administrative office space, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

• ASLA employees commuted to the office 3,882 times, covering 105,000 miles.
  • 69 percent of trips by car
  • 27 percent by public transit (train, subway, bus)
  • 4 percent by foot or bike
   
• ASLA employees traveled 228,000 miles on business trips
  •  96 percent of trips by plane
   
• ASLA produced an estimated 7,280 pounds of waste
  • 71 percent of waste went to the landfill and 29 percent was recycled
   

Reduction Actions

As the 2023 data was collected, ASLA implemented new strategies to reduce emissions in 2024 and beyond. To reduce its emissions this year, ASLA implemented these strategies:

• Purchased renewable energy credits for 100 percent of the ASLA Center’s energy use.
• Promoted benefits and incentives for low-carbon commuting.
• Issued new policies to lessen the effect of business travel.
• Updated procurement policies to encourage locally sourced and 75 percent vegetarian meals for staff and member events hosted by ASLA at the Center.

“These policies help us decarbonize our operations and serve as an example for other organizations,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA. “This assessment caused us to look into all aspects of our operations to see where we can lower our footprint and save money in the process. We share our impacts so other organizations  can see what to track to cut their emissions.”  

To empower other organizations and companies to make these changes, ASLA published Towards Zero Emission Business Operations. The guide is designed to help landscape architecture firms of all sizes navigate the transition to zero-emission offices more easily.
 
It outlines more than 110 strategies landscape architecture firms can implement to reduce their business and project greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50 to 65 percent by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2040.

Next steps

In the first quarter of 2025, ASLA will release its 2024 business operations impact assessment with a list of actions to be taken in 2025 to further reduce emissions.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, has released a new brief on the economic benefits of landscape architecture and nature-based solutions.

The brief is developed for global and U.S. economic policymakers meeting at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. ASLA is an official observer of the COP process, and its representatives have attended COPs for the past three years. Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Climate Positive Design, is ASLA’s delegate this year.  
 
Dr. Jennifer Egan, PhD, program manager, University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (EFC) in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation developed the summary and economic benefit estimates. The EFC received a grant from the ASLA Fund to develop these analyses, which summarize findings from research literature, national and international reports, and 175 case studies.

The brief finds that landscape architects increase economic value through their approach to planning and designing nature-based solutions.
 
Their work on nature-based solutions creates economic benefits in five key areas:

• Improved Human Health and Livability
• Expanded Investment and Sustainable Jobs
• Increased Biodiversity
• Going Beyond Net-Zero
• Strengthened Resilience

The Environmental Finance Center created the brief and a supplementary analysis:

Landscape Architecture: Maximizing the Economic Benefits of Nature-based Solutions Through Design: A 10-page brief that summarizes estimates of economic benefits for global and U.S. policymakers.
 
An Analysis of Benefit Values: 175 Landscape Architecture Case Studies in the U.S.: A 12-page supplementary analysis for economic and landscape architecture researchers and educators that explores economic benefits found in the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF)’s Landscape Performance Series Case Study Briefs.

“We listened to global policymakers last year at COP28 in Dubai. They seek to scale up investment in nature-based solutions but need to know how much these solutions cost and their economic benefits,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA.
 
“We now have some solid numbers that show landscape architects generate significant economic value through the way they design these solutions. But we’ll also start an ambitious research agenda to calculate the economic benefits we currently can’t measure.”

Highlights include:

• Nature-based solutions such as rain gardens, bioswales, and green roofs effectively manage stormwater. These features can be constructed for 5-30 percent less and maintained for 25 percent less than conventional gray infrastructure.
• Every dollar invested in ecosystem restoration returns $5 to $28 in benefits, depending on the ecosystem.
• Urban trees provide approximately $88 billion (US$ 2024) in carbon sequestration annually.
• Every dollar invested in parks and green space can generate between $4 and $11, due to increased tourism, improved property values, and enhanced community health.

ASLA’s Climate Action Plan identified the need for this economic benefits work.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) invites K-12 educators across the United States to apply for the Teaching Environmental Humanities through Landscape Architecture program.

The program will host two immersive, week-long workshops in Washington, D.C., during the summer of 2025. Educators will explore the intersection of history, storytelling, and ecological awareness through expert-led sessions, hands-on design experiences, and visits to urban landscapes and cultural landmarks.

This grant-funded initiative, supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, offers an unparalleled opportunity for teachers to transform their classrooms and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.

“This program empowers teachers to transform their classrooms by connecting students to the rich histories and environmental stories that surround them,” said Lisa Jennings, Senior Manager of ASLA’s Career Discovery and Diversity Program. “Educators will leave inspired and prepared to make a lasting impact on their students.”

Key benefits for teachers and their students include:

• Innovative curriculum development where teachers will gain strategies to incorporate sustainability, cultural heritage, and environmental ethics into humanities education. 
• Hands-on learning experiences via exploring iconic sites like the National World War I Memorial and Howard University to understand the role of landscape architecture in shaping history and culture. 
• Insights into the power of landscape architecture all around us to inspire students to see the world through a lens of history, ecology, and design, fostering a deeper appreciation for their communities and environments. 

Participating teachers will leave equipped with the tools to integrate environmental humanities into their curricula, empowering students to understand and appreciate the stories and values embedded in the landscapes around them.

Apply by March 5
Applications are open now through March 5, 2025, with a stipend provided for travel, accommodations, and program participation. 

The application process is straightforward and open to K-12 educators interested in integrating landscape architecture and humanities into their teaching. Applicants will need to complete a short online form, providing information about their teaching background and a brief statement of interest. Selections will be based on demonstrated enthusiasm for place-based education and a commitment to incorporating workshop insights into their curricula. Key dates, eligibility criteria, and application deadlines are available on the workshop website, ensuring applicants have all the information needed to join this unique educational experience. 

To learn more and apply, visit https://humanities.asla.org. Questions about the program or applications? Contact toolsforteachers@asla.org.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) will be represented by two delegates at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. This is the third year ASLA has been an NGO observer to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) process.

ASLA’s delegate:

• Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, Founder, Climate Positive Design; Fellow, ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action; Senior Fellow, Architecture 2030; Faculty Design Critic, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Vice Chair, Climate and Biodiversity Group Working Group, International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA)

And the landscape architect delegate of the Government of Thailand:

• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA, Founder, Landprocess; Chair, Climate and Biodiversity Group Working Group, IFLA

At COP29, Conrad and Voraakhom will host Working with Nature: Landscape Action in National Adaptation Plans, a workshop for global policymakers in the blue zone, the delegate area of the conference. The event is organized by the UNFCCC, Climate Positive Design, ASLA, Landprocess, and IFLA.

“Every member nation of the UN has committed to creating National Adaptation Plans by 2025. These plans can either continue business-as-usual – or advance smart nature-based solutions. Pamela and Kotch will show policymakers how to design with nature, so communities can adapt to climate impacts but also reduce emissions and restore ecosystems at the same time. It’s the start of such important global work,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA.  

“This is the first major blue zone workshop on landscape solutions hosted by the UN and guided by landscape architects. We’re excited to lead an event where notable country leaders and technical experts will present success stories and lessons learned throughout the world. Together, we will explore pathways to scaling up nature-based solutions,” Conrad said.
 
At the event, Conrad will introduce WORKS with NATURE, a new guide being developed by Climate Positive Design in collaboration with Landprocess. The guide has been spearheaded by Conrad as part of her two-year ASLA
Biodiversity and Climate Action Fellowship.

The guide highlights 100 low-carbon nature-based techniques that help communities adapt to extreme heat, flooding, wildfire, and drought while supporting health and biodiversity.

Half of the techniques are found in developing countries and half in developed countries, with 38 countries represented. There is also an even mix of rural and urban techniques.

Date and time: November 18, 14:00-16:00, Azerbaijan
Event location: UN COP 29 Blue Zone, Thailand Pavilion

Media interested in attending this event can contact press@asla.org. 
 
Landscape architecture delegates will also present at these blue zone sessions:
 
Rethinking Our Cities: Leveraging Urban Planning and Design Solutions for Sustainable Buildings, Neighborhoods, and Lifestyles

Buildings and Cooling Pavilion, Blue Zone, International Code Council (ICC) Pavilion, Number G10, 20 November 20, 17:00-18:00, Azerbaijan
 
Organizers: UN-Habitat, Laudes Foundation, ASLA, IFLA, Climate Positive Design, Architecture 2030, and Harvard University Graduate School of Design

At COP29, our member leaders will explain how landscape architects design nature-based solutions that create real benefits for people and communities:

1) Increased Biodiversity
Nature-positive landscapes are the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems and efforts to achieve the goals of protecting 30 percent of ecosystems by 2030 (30 x 2030) and 10% net biodiversity, restoring global ecosystems, and increasing and protecting biodiversity.
 
2) Improved Human Health and Livability
Accessible public landscapes, such as parks and recreation areas, provide proven physical and mental health benefits that reduce healthcare costs and increase community cohesion.

3) Going Beyond Net-Zero
Landscapes are the most efficient way to store carbon and achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and double carbon sequestration by 2040.

4) Strengthened Resilience
Healthy, biodiverse landscapes that store carbon in trees, plants, and soils also increase people’s resilience to climate impacts, such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and sea level rise.

5) Expanded Investment and Sustainable Livelihoods
When woven into communities, nature-based solutions become resilient assets that lead to increased investment in housing, infrastructure, and public amenities, and create sustainable local livelihoods.

ASLA announced that Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, PhD, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut, and MaFe Gonzalez, ASLA, Landscape Designer and Botanist, BASE Landscape Architecture, will represent ASLA at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Cali, Colombia, October 21-November 1.

ASLA and its 16,000 member landscape architects, designers, and educators support the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and its key goals and targets. Landscape architects are committed to achieving the 2030 goals and targets, including protecting and restoring at least 30 percent of terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems by 2030 (30 x 30). They also stand behind the Vision for 2050.

“We are advancing 30 x 30 through our projects, research, and advocacy. In our Climate Action Plan, we called for restoring ecosystems and increasing biodiversity on a global scale. This year in Colombia, we will show policymakers how to do it through the latest planning and design strategies,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen, Hon. ASLA.

“Landscape architects are key to translating policy into action and realizing real biodiversity gains in landscapes, particularly in cities,” said ASLA President Kona Gray, FASLA, PLA. “We are uniquely positioned to lead multidisciplinary teams of ecologists, biologists, engineers, and other disciplines to protect, restore, and enhance ecosystems worldwide.”

Landscape architects advance global biodiversity goals by:

• Protecting and restoring ecosystems
• Conserving habitat for species
• Planting native trees and plants
• Protecting and restoring soil health
• Managing invasive species
• Creating ecological corridors
• Mitigating and adapting to climate change

They plan and design projects and conduct research at all scales in urban, suburban, and rural areas.

At the convention, Dr. Sohyun Park will present landscape architecture strategies to increase biodiversity at these events:

Biopolis 2024: Living Landscapes and Infrastructure for Healthy Communities, October 22-23, Green Zone. A keynote – Landscape Architecture Solutions to “Halt and Reverse” Biodiversity Loss – on October 22 at 8:50 AM COT.

Every Construction Project Is an Opportunity to Protect Biodiversity, October 26, 4-5 PM COT, Green Zone, Universidad ECCI Cali (Floor 7, Room 3). A session focused on “proven solutions to support nature that can be adopted at various scales of the built environment.”

MaFe Gonzalez will present these strategies at this event:

Cities to Blossom, October 25, 1 - 2.30 PM COT, Green Zone, Universidad ECCI Cali (Floor 1, Room 8). A workshop focused on “reconnecting children with urban biodiversity through the design of public spaces and educational institutions.”   

Last month, ASLA released the results of its first national survey on landscape architects’ planning and design work focused on biodiversity. The survey found that 45 percent of landscape architects have prioritized biodiversity conservation and another 41 percent consider biodiversity part of their organization’s environmental ethos.

Earlier this year, the ASLA Fund released peer-reviewed research on landscape architecture solutions to the biodiversity crisis. The research, which Dr. Sohyun Park developed, reviewed nearly 70 peer-reviewed studies focused on planning and designing nature-based solutions to biodiversity loss published from 2000 to 2023. Explore the findings in an executive summary, which includes case studies and project examples, and a research study.

In 2022, ASLA urged world leaders to commit to ambitious global conservation and biodiversity goals, including 30 x 30. ASLA also joined 340 organizations worldwide in signing the Global Goal for Nature: Nature Positive by 2030.

ASLA continues to reach out to chapters impacted by recent hurricanes. Many ASLA members and chapters have been significantly affected. If you are a member or chapter leader in the storm’s path, please send updates as you are able to membership@asla.org.

Our hearts are with everyone navigating the ongoing challenges and the long recovery efforts from these terrible disasters.

Nancy Haywood, Executive Director of ASLA North Carolina, urges ASLA members who are able to consider donating blood and making a donation to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund.

From our Georgia members: Please consider supporting Second Harvest of South Georgia, the Red Cross (which relies on regional volunteers for disaster recovery), and World Central Kitchen, which is currently providing meals in both Florida and North Carolina.

We will continue to share additional ways to help as we stay in touch with ASLA chapters and members in affected regions.

ASLA has released a set of freely-available guides designed to help landscape architects, specifiers, and industry partners achieve the goals of the ASLA Climate Action Plan, which includes making the profession zero-emission by 2040.

The resources were developed by the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, a group of landscape architects charged with implementing key aspects of the plan, including how to decarbonize projects while increasing biodiversity. Landscape architects play an important role in designing nature-based solutions to climate change that also help communities become more resilient.

“These guides are the practical tools landscape architects have been asking for. They help turn every project into an opportunity to get on a path to zero emissions,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “They take our high-level goals and break it down for everyone – showing landscape architects and industry partners how to get there, step by step.”

“With climate impacts only worsening, we know we need to change how we design – and make that shift faster,” said April Phillips, FASLA, Chair of the ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee. “So we got to work, creating substantive how-to’s any landscape architect, specifier, or industry partner can pick up and start using today.”

New resources include:

Decarbonizing Specifications
Guidelines for Landscape Architects, Specifiers, and Contractors

Developed by:
Chris Hardy, ASLA, PLA, Sasaki
Alejandra Hinojosa, Affil. ASLA, LPA Design Studios
Elizabeth Moskalenko, ASLA, PLA, ASLA NY Chapter
Bryce Carnehl, Corporate ASLA, Hunter Industries

These guidelines make it easier for landscape architects to more effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions from project design and construction. Sections cover seven key design principles and 18 areas of specification.

They are for landscape architects and designers, specifiers, contractors, and manufacturers who want to cut emissions and increase carbon storage and sequestration faster.

Decarbonizing the Design Process
A Phase by Phase Approach for Landscape Architects

Developed by:
Alejandra Hinojosa, Affil. ASLA, LPA Design Studios
Mariana Ricker, ASLA, SWA

This guide offers a phase-by-phase structure to decarbonize design through big ideas, strategies, and best practices. It is high-level, offering approaches that can be implemented regardless of project type, scope, and scale.

The guide offers decarbonization opportunities for:

• Project kickoff
• Schematic design
• Design development
• Construction documents
• Construction administration
• Operations and maintenance

Navigating Environmental Product Data
A Guide for Landscape Architects, Specifiers, and Industry Partners

Developed by:
Amy Syverson-Shaffer, ASLA, Landscape Forms
Sasha Anemone, ASLA, Salt Landscape Architects

The products and materials that landscape architects specify for their projects play a significant role in the overall global warming potential (GWP) of a project. They can also impact biodiversity, air and water quality.

The guide outlines how environmental product declarations (EPDs) and other environmental reporting can be used to understand the environmental impacts of landscape materials and products and make decisions to reduce those impacts.

These new resources are what ASLA members and industry partners stated they needed in survey responses gathered over the past two years.

The guides are designed for the broad landscape architecture community, including:

• Landscape architects
• Landscape designers
• Other specifiers
• Industry partners that develop the products and services used in landscape architecture projects 

The best practices in the guides can also inform the work of planners, architects, engineers, and urban designers.

The ASLA Climate Action Plan calls for all landscape architecture projects to achieve these goals by 2040:

• Achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and increase carbon sequestration
• Provide significant economic  benefits in the form of measurable ecosystem services, health co-benefits, sequestration, and green jobs
• Address climate injustices, empower communities, and increase equitable distribution of climate investments
• Restore ecosystems and increase and protect biodiversity

26 CEOs of landscape architecture firms recently released a letter committing to the goals of the plan. 

The ASLA Fund announced today the 2024 class of the Licensure Advancement Program.

The program is designed to support professionals who face systemic challenges in their pursuit of landscape architecture licensure and provide mentorship opportunities that position them for success. The program aims to increase racial and gender diversity within the profession and was inspired by ASLA's Racial Equity Plan of Action, which was released in 2020.

“Landscape architects protect the health, safety and welfare of communities, so it’s important that we not only champion licensure at the state level but also support professionals in pursuit of licensure,” said ASLA President SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA, PLA. “Now in its third year, I am proud of ASLA for creating a program that is helping to provide participants with opportunities for professional growth and increasing the diversity of the profession. This cohort is extraordinary, and I’m excited to see where their professional journeys take them.”

Several members of the first two cohorts are now licensed in California, Washington, and Tennessee, two are in the process of applying for their state license, and many more are continuing to work their way through the LARE exams.

The 2024 class includes 10 women from groups that are among the most statistically underrepresented in the profession of landscape architecture.

Among the selection committee for the 2024 class is Ana Cristina Garcia, ASLA, PLA, who was part of the inaugural class from 2022 to 2024 and through the program became a newly licensed landscape architect in 2023.

"Being part of this program went beyond licensure support for me and became an opportunity to create community among women with shared stories. Although the financial assistance and material support were helpful in my licensure journey, it is the network of women and generosity of support from this group that was invaluable and will continue to be instrumental in my career," said Ana Cristina Garcia. “Reading the stories of the applicants and helping select the newest members of this growing network was so inspirational and I can't wait to see the successes of each of them and how that ripples through our profession.”

The class includes women based in California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New York, and Washington, D.C. who are involved in private practice and landscape architectural education.

• Natalia Bezerra, ASLA, Landscape Designer,  Lee and Associates, Inc., Washington, D.C.
• Zeynep Göksel, ASLA, Project Designer, Landscape Architecture, Snøhetta, New York, NY
• MaFe Gonzalez, Assoc. ASLA, Botanist and Landscape Designer, BASE Landscape Architecture, San Francisco, CA
• Linda Heckenkamp, ASLA, Owner/ Operator, LZH Consulting LLC, Tampa Bay, FL
• Jessica Jerez, ASLA, President, Jerez Design Group, Miami, FL
• Rutusha Nagaraj Kapini, ASLA, Landscape Designer, Cotleur & Hearing, West Palm Beach, FL
• Lauren Luck, Assoc. ASLA, Landscape Designer, Thomas & Hutton, Savannah, GA
• Stephanie Onwenu, ASLA, Visual Artist + Landscape Designer, ljeomalandartscapes LLC, Detroit, MI
• Malda Takieddine, ASLA, Founder, Ubuntu Landscape Architecture, Bellevue, WA
• Ailsa Thai, Assoc. ASLA, Landscape Designer, Studio-MLA, Los Angeles, CA

The program will provide each of the women with a personalized experience that provides more than $3,500 to cover the cost of sections of the Landscape Architectural Registration Exam (LARE), along with exam preparation courses, resources, and mentorship from a licensed landscape architect.

The new class was selected by a committee:

• Misa Chen, ASLA, PLA, Studio Director and Founder STUDIO EDITION
• Ana Cristina Garcia, ASLA, PLA, Mithun
• Elizabeth Kennedy, FASLA, PLA founder of Elizabeth Kennedy Landscape Architect, PLLC (EKLA)

The ASLA Licensure Advancement Program was initiated with a generous $100,000 donation by former ASLA President Wendy Miller, FASLA, and James Barefoot; Marq Truscott, FASLA; Rachel Ragatz Truscott, ASLA; and Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB).

The ASLA Fund announced today the second class of the Licensure Advancement Program.

The program aims to increase racial and gender diversity within the profession and was inspired by ASLA’s Racial Equity Plan of Action, which was released in 2020.
 
The new class of the program includes 10 women who identify as Black, Latine, Indigenous, South Asian, and East Asian – groups that are the most statistically underrepresented among licensed landscape architects.

The class includes women based in Florida, Washington, California, Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. who are involved in private practice and landscape architectural education.

• Patricia Matamoros Araujo, ASLA, Senior Associate, Savino & Miller Design Studio, Miami, Florida
• Shaunta Butler, Adjunct Instructor, Boston Architectural College; Lecturer, University of Washington; Designer and Partner, 6B Workshop, Seattle, WA
• Elizabeth Luc Clowes, ASLA, Principal, Luc Clowes Landscape Design, Boston, MA
• Patricia Fonseca Flores, ASLA, Owner and Founder, San Francisco, CA
• Kendra Hyson, ASLA, Associate Urban Designer and Planner, SmithGroup, Washington D.C.
• Clementine Jang, Co-founder, SOFT STUDIO, Oakland, CA
• Miloni Mody, ASLA, Job Captain, Gates + Associates, Fremont, CA
• Kontessa Roebuck, Landscape Designer, Rodgers Consulting, Baltimore, MD
• Fatema Ali Tushi, ASLA, Civil Designer, Civilitude Engineers & Planners, San Antonio, TX
• Allyssa Williams, ASLA, Designer, DHM Design, Durango, CO

“ASLA is committed to growing a more diverse profession – and that means improving access to licensure,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA. “These 10 amazing women contribute to their communities, have overcome obstacles, and are committed to the profession of landscape architecture.”

“ASLA has steadfastly supported and defended licensure across the country, and the Woman of Color Licensure Advancement Program is a natural extension of this commitment,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO. “The program not only reaffirms the profession’s role in protecting the public’s health and safety, but also advances the economic benefits of licensure to more people. As The Alliance for Responsible Licensing concluded in its 2021 report, among technical fields like landscape architecture, a license narrows the gender-driven wage gap by about a third and the race-driven gap by about half.”
 
The program will provide each of the women with a personalized experience that provides more than $3,500 to cover the cost of sections of the Landscape Architectural Registration Exam (LARE), along with exam preparation courses, resources, and mentorship from a licensed landscape architect.

The new class was selected by a committee:

• Valerie Aymer, ASLA, Associate Professor of Practice, Landscape Architecture, Department of Landscape Architecture, Cornell University
• Aida Curtis, ASLA, Principal, Curtis + Rogers Design, Inc.
• Alexandra Mei, ASLA, Director of Landscape Architecture, Christner Architects

The ASLA Licensure Advancement Program was initiated with a generous $100,000 donation by former ASLA President Wendy Miller, FASLA, and James Barefoot; Marq Truscott, FASLA; Rachel Ragatz Truscott; and Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB).

ASLA has released its first Sustainable Event Impact Assessment, a comprehensive gap analysis of its 2022 Conference on Landscape Architecture, which brought more than 6,000 attendees to the LEED® Platinum Moscone Center in San Francisco, November 11-14, 2022.

The assessment provides a baseline accounting of energy used and greenhouse gas emissions and waste generated, which ASLA will use to measure and further improve its environmental and social impacts on an annual basis. It also outlines the many positive actions ASLA has taken to make access to the conference more equitable, donate EXPO products, reuse waste materials, and support the communities that host the conference.

Based on these findings, ASLA has committed to event sustainability strategies that will improve the outcomes of its 2023 Conference, which will be held October 27-30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

“With our Strategic Plan, released in 2021, we committed to reducing the emissions from our conference and headquarters operations by 20 percent by 2024. And through our ambitious ASLA Climate Action Plan, released in November 2022, we made the additional commitment to achieve zero emissions in our conference and operations by 2040. We are now moving forward to achieve our goals,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Coneen.

“Landscape architects are climate leaders, and we are committed to identifying and reducing our negative impacts on the climate and increasing the benefits for our host communities. We think it's important to be transparent about both the positive and negative impacts of our annual convening and where we are in our learning journey. We are sharing lessons learned from our journey with our members and partners, so we can move faster together,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA.

2022 Conference Baseline

The assessment, which was developed in partnership with Honeycomb Strategies, a sustainability consulting company, includes key findings.

Over four days and per attendee, the conference:

• Released 0.51 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which is approximately equivalent to driving 1,250 miles in a gasoline-powered car.
• Generated 6.2 pounds of waste, which is significantly less than the 19.6 pounds of waste Americans produce on average over a four day period.
• Used 12.75 kilowatt hours of electricity, which is significantly less than the 118 kilowatt hours of electricity the average American residence consumes on average during a four day period. 

Due to procurement decisions made by ASLA and sustainability measures adopted by the organization:

• The ASLA 2022 Conference was hosted at the Moscone Center conference facility, which is 100% powered by renewable hydropower and rooftop solar.
• 49,500 pounds of EXPO materials were donated to Habitat for Humanity.
• More than 900 students attended the conference for free in return for volunteering.

Greenhouse Gas Emission Offsets

While it pursues its near-term goal of reducing emissions 20 percent by 2024, ASLA has committed to purchasing 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide emission offsets in 2023. For the ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture, ASLA announces a new partnership with Green Minneapolis, an innovator in urban tree carbon offsets, to scale up those efforts. The lead sponsor of ASLA 2023 Conference carbon offsets is Bartlett Tree Experts.

Green Minneapolis collaborated with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to complete the first urban tree carbon offset project in Minnesota. The project is part of the Twin Cities Climate Resiliency Initiative, a public private partnership. According to Green Minneapolis offset funds collected by ASLA and its members will “support a 20-year vision to increase the metro area’s tree canopy through planting and maintaining five million trees on public and private lands, with a focus on addressing environmental inequities in the most disadvantaged communities.”

ASLA has released the results of its first national survey on landscape architects’ planning and design work focused on biodiversity. Nearly 300 landscape architects, designers, and landscape architecture educators in the U.S. responded to the survey in July 2024.

The survey found that 96 percent of landscape architects are familiar with the impacts of the biodiversity crisis. 45 percent have made biodiversity conservation a top priority of their practice and another 41 percent consider biodiversity as part of their organization’s environmental ethos.

Landscape architects also identified a number of barriers limiting their ability to increase biodiversity. Top challenges include:

• A lack of:
  • Client demand
  • Public awareness
  • Financial resources
  • Native plant supply
  • Training for maintenance teams
• Policy and regulatory obstacles
• Increased development in natural areas

“This survey shows that a growing share of landscape architects are taking action on global biodiversity loss,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “A majority of landscape architects are now designing nature-based solutions and incorporating native trees and plants with the goal of restoring ecosystems.”

According to the survey, many landscape architects are leveraging projects to increase biodiversity and restore ecosystems. The five most common types of projects they plan and design to achieve biodiversity goals are:

• Green infrastructure - 49%
• Neighborhood parks - 41%
• Corridors, buffers, and greenways - 36%
• Conservation or ecological restoration - 36%
• Residential gardens and landscapes - 32%

The survey also found that landscape architects use a range of planning and design strategies to increase biodiversity, regardless of project type. The survey found the top five strategies are:

• Integrate nature-based design strategies into projects - 63%
• Use a large percentage of native plants - 62%
• Educate clients, partners, and stakeholders - 47%
• Identify eco-region, plant communities, and target species to tailor solutions through site analysis - 47%
• Use a rich and layered approach to planting - 38%

A minority of landscape architects are setting specific biodiversity net gain (BNG) targets in their projects. For example, a landscape architect can design a site to achieve a 10 percent net gain in biodiversity in comparison to existing conditions.  

The survey found:

• 17 percent are setting targets to enhance ecosystem services, such as pollination, carbon sequestration, water purification, and flood regulation
• 16 percent are establishing targets for the creation or restoration of specific habitat types
• 13 percent aim to achieve a certain percentage increase in biodiversity compared to the pre-development baseline
• 11 percent set targets to improve ecological connectivity between habitats to facilitate wildlife movement and gene flow
• 9 percent set targets to enhance populations of specific species of conservation concern

See the full results of the survey

Upcoming:

• ASLA has organized a biodiversity track at the ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C., October 6-9. Media interested in registering can contact press@asla.org.
• Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, associate professor, University of Connecticut, will represent ASLA at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali, Colombia, October 21 - November 1. In 2024, Dr. Park published a study supported by the ASLA Fund: Landscape Architecture Solutions to Biodiversity Loss. Contact press@asla.org to interview Dr. Park.

ASLA has announced its 2024 Professional Awards. Thirty-nine Professional Award winners showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession. All winners are listed below.

Jury panels representing a broad cross-section of the profession, from the public and private sectors, and academia, select winners each year and are listed below. The 39 winners were chosen out of 465 entries.

For the second year, the ASLA / International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Global Impact Award is presented to a project in the Analysis and Planning category. The award is given to a work of landscape architecture that demonstrates excellence in addressing climate impacts through transformative action and scalable solutions, and adherence to ASLA’s and IFLA’s climate action commitments. The 2024 award goes to the Puente Hills Landfill Park Plan in Los Angeles, by the landscape architecture firm Studio-MLA and their client the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation. Puente Hills Landfill Park, re-purposes what was once the nation’s second-largest landfill into a park for all. The plan identified extreme heat and drought as the most likely climate impacts over time.

The Professional Awards jury also selects a Landmark Award each year; this year’s Landmark Award celebrates Xochimilco Ecological Park by Grupo de Diseño Urbano, S.C. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, the 3000-hectare cultural landscape of the Chinampas region is home to a sustainable agriculture system that is prehispanic in origin. The park includes a plant and flower market, a sports complex, and wetlands that are home to more than 200 species of birds and host 2.5 million visitors annually.

“These award-winning projects are transformative and inspiring,” said ASLA President SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA, PLA. “The project leaders clearly demonstrated technical excellence, elegant design and a deep connection to human experiences in nature. Congratulations to you all.”

“These winners showcase landscape architecture as the profession that’s leading the way in helping communities thrive,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “These projects successfully address multiple challenges and have set a high bar for excellence. Equitable design, economic growth, capturing more carbon and increasing the health, safety, and well-being of communities all at the same time is a stunning display of leadership and innovation.

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the Student and Professional Awards Ceremony at the ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C., October 6-9. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

Award Categories

General Design

Honor Award
EcoCommons – Social and Ecological Resilience in the Campus Landscape
Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects

Honor Award
Alpine Garden and Amphitheater
Z'scape

Honor Award
Benjakitti Forest Park: Transforming a Brown Field into an Urban Nature
Turenscape + Arsomsilp

Honor Award
Tom Lee Park: "Come to the River"
SCAPE Landscape Architecture PLLC; Studio Gang

Honor Award
The Bay: “One Park for All” in Sarasota
Agency Landscape + Planning

Honor Award
Sandy Hook Memorial: The Clearing
SWA Group

Honor Award
African Ancestors Memorial Garden
Hood Design Studio

Honor Award
Louisiana Children’s Museum: A Joyous Landscape in City Park
Mithun

Honor Award
St. John’s Terminal: An Ecology for Technology and Innovation
Future Green Studio

Urban Design

Award of Excellence
Atlanta BeltLine
Perkins & Will

Honor Award
Urban Balcony Embracing Rewilded Nature
Turenscape

Honor Award
Celebrating Community Resiliency: An Equitable Garden Transformation
MKSK Studios

Honor Award
Wild Mile: Transforming an Urban River into a Floating Eco-Park
Omni Workshop; Skidmore Owings & Merrill

Honor Award
The Wharf’s 7th Street Park and Recreation Pier
Michael Vergason Landscape Architects

Residential Design

Honor Award
Nurturing Nature in the Mile High City
Design Workshop

Honor Award
La Fénix at 1950
GLS Landscape | Architecture

Honor Award
House on the Bluff
LaGuardia Design

Honor Award
Highbank: The Restoration of a Lost Prairie
Design Workshop

Honor Award
Uliveto
SurfaceDesign, Inc.

Honor Award
Trinity Road
SurfaceDesign, Inc.

Analysis & Planning

Award of Excellence
A Green Ring for the Ancient City of Pompeii
Studio Bellesi Giuntoli

Honor Award
Sojourner Truth State Park for Scenic Hudson
OLIN

Honor Award
The Resilient Campus: Historic Ecology and Water Conservation at UCLA
Design Workshop

Honor Award
A Cultural Approach: The Fort Peck Tribes Hazard Mitigation Plan
Spackman Mossop Michaels

Honor Award
Seven Greenways: A Cooperative Vision for Water in the Arid West
Design Workshop

Honor Award
Ellinikon Park: Planning for Climate Action and Carbon Positivity
Sasaki Associates, Inc.

Honor Award
University of California, Berkeley Accessible Paths and Places Plan
Sasaki Associates, Inc.

Communications

Award of Excellence
The Topography of Wellness
Sara Jensen Carr

Honor Award
What’s Out There Guide to African American Cultural Landscapes
The Cultural Landscape Foundation

Honor Award
Connecting to Our Indigenous Histories at Machicomoco State Park
Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects

Honor Award
The Community First Toolkit: A Framework for Equitable Public Spaces
Grayscale Collaborative

Honor Award
2023 Coastal Master Plan: A Plan for Louisiana's Coastal Communities
SCAPE Landscape Architecture PLLC

Honor Award
Design By Fire
Brett Millligan, ASLA; Emily Schlickman, ASLA

Research

Award of Excellence
Designing with a Carbon Conscience
Sasaki Associates, Inc.

Honor Award
Assessing Public Space DEI: Tempe Study
Design Workshop

Honor Award
Landscape Architecture for Sea Level Rise: Innovative Global Solutions
Texas A&M University

Honor Award
Race and the Control of Public Parks
Isaac Cohen, ASLA; buildingcommunity WORKSHOP

Jury 1: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Landmark Award

Chair Jury 1: Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, Studio HIP

Members:

Jury 2: Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research,  Communications & Landmark Award

Chair Jury 2: Glenn LaRue Smith, FASLA, PUSH Studio LLC

Members:

IFLA Representative: Monica Pallares, IFLA America Region

CELA Representative: Dongying Li, Texas A&M University

LAF Representative: Austin Allen, ASLA, University of Texas at Arlington

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) have announced the Puente Hills Landfill Park in the City of Industry (San Gabriel Valley), California, by the landscape architecture firm Studio-MLA and their client the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation has won the ASLA/IFLA 2024 Global Impact Award.

The ASLA/IFLA Global Impact Award is presented to a project in the Analysis and Planning category of the annual ASLA Awards. The award is given to a work of landscape architecture that demonstrates excellence in addressing climate impacts through transformative action, scalable solutions, and adherence to ASLA’s and IFLA’s climate action commitments.

Puente Hills Landfill is taking on new life as the future Puente Hills Landfill Park, a visionary project by the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation that is re-purposing what was once the nation’s second-largest landfill into a park for all. The plan identified extreme heat and drought as the most likely climate impacts over time.

Situated just 18 miles from the LA downtown skyline along the Pomona Freeway with breathtaking views of the San Gabriel Mountains, this 142-acre park features multi-use trails, an accessible elevated walk, nature play, a bike skills course, stair climbs, outdoor classrooms, native plantings, and flexible spaces for ceremony and performance.

“This award-winning vision is meeting multiple needs by providing green space to local communities that helps lower temperatures, conserves water, increases well-being and supports biodiversity,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of ASLA. “Studio-MLA has once again set a high bar for creating iconic future-proof landscapes that bring people together.

“Puente Hills Landfill Park is a shining example of landscape architecture's capacity to heal, transform, and empower. Reclaiming a once-blighted site and co-creating a vibrant park with the community allows for this project to showcase the unique ability the profession has to weave together social, ecological, and aesthetic threads into a tapestry of resilience and hope. These are very important principles for the profession and both to the International Federation of Landscape Architects and the American Society of Landscape Architects.” Dr. Bruno Marques, President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects. “This park is more than just a green space; it's a testament to the power of community-driven design and the enduring impact of landscape architects as agents of positive change. In a world grappling with environmental challenges and social inequities, Puente Hills Landfill Park offers a beacon of possibility, reminding us that even the most scarred landscapes can be reborn as places of beauty, connection, and joy.”

“This project is a good example of how we must face the new realities resulting from the development of cities, as landfills are. Through sustainable landscape design they can be reconverted to mitigate the negative impacts they generate,” said Monica Pallares, President IFLA AMERICAS Region. “The approach of recovering the site through a plan with sustainable landscape design contributes to improving the environment and to enhancing healthy environments and communities."

"Puente Hills stands as a testament to the power of audacity and innovation. We didn’t just design a park; we engineered a movement—one that empowers our youth and redefines how we connect with our environment," said Mia Lehrer, FASLA, founder of the LA-based Studio-MLA. "This is more than a park - it’s a legacy of rebirth. We’ve turned a mountain of refuse into a landscape of possibility and hope, powered by the relentless energy of community voices and the trust of forward-thinking leadership, and a very collaborative delivery team."

"In the heart of LA County, which serves 25% of California’s population, we’ve carved out a space where history, community, and nature collide with a brave vision for social and environmental impact,” said Megan Horn, Principal-in-Charge, Studio-MLA. “The project’s commitment to an unprecedented years-long community engagement process ensures that the park’s design captures the dynamism and diversity of the community. This project underscores the profound impact of collective effort. The Youth at Work program brought 50 young people into the heart of the design process, giving them the unique opportunity to shape a park that reflects their community’s spirit."

The Global Impact Award was announced as part of the ASLA 2024 Professional Awards. This year, thirty-nine winners in multiple categories showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession. Read more about all of the award winners here.

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the Awards Ceremony at the ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C., October 6-9. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images

The 2024 Professional Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Landmark Award

Chair Jury 1: Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, Studio HIP

Members:

Jury 2: Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research,  Communications & Landmark Award

Chair Jury 2: Glenn LaRue Smith, FASLA, PUSH Studio LLC

Members:

IFLA Representative: Monica Pallares, IFLA America Region

CELA Representative: Dongying Li, Texas A&M University

LAF Representative: Austin Allen, ASLA, University of Texas at Arlington

Today the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced its 2024 Student Awards. Winners showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement among the future of the profession. All project winners and their schools are listed below. 

Jury panels representing a broad cross-section of the profession, from the public and private sectors, and academia, select winners each year and are listed below. The 38 winners were chosen out of 382 entries. 

“The passion and creativity demonstrated by these student award winners is inspiring,” said ASLA President SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA, PLA. “I’m so proud of the excellence on display and excited for the future of the profession. Our student-leaders are dedicated not only to advancing the field of landscape architecture but bringing people and nature together.”

“What an incredible display of talent,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “I’m so proud of the talent and advocacy at the heart of these projects because they reflect a deep commitment to tackle the thorny issues communities face."

Award recipients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony during the ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C. on Monday, October 7th. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials. For more information visit: www.aslaconference.com.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

Award Categories

General Design

Award of Excellence
Restoring Elba's Pea River Through Dam Revitalization
Auburn University

Honor Award
Longleaf Pine, Fire, Prospect Bluff
University of Virginia

Honor Award
Just Land
Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Honor Award
Rebirth of Bald Cypress: Uniting Restoration & Community Rejuvenation
Soochow University

Honor Award
The Long Marsh Forward: Adaptive Regeneration of Belville's Riverfront
North Carolina State University

Honor Award
The Inner Coast
Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Residential Design

Honor Award
Eco-booster: Sustainable Solutions for Ibagué’s Vulnerable Communities
The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Honor Award
Mitigating Extreme Urban Heat in the Neighborhoods of Jeddah
The Ohio State University

Urban Design

Award of Excellence
Siaya Eco-Park: A Vision for a Green, Inclusive Hub in Siaya’s Heart
The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Honor Award
Unity Oasis: Promoting Equality, Nurturing Racial Healing in Cape Town
Soochow University

Honor Award
Fluid Fiesta: Blending Rainfall and Terrain Dynamics with Landscapes
Soochow University

Honor Award
From Remnants to Resonance: Reimagine Coastal Fishing Villages
National University of Singapore

Honor Award
Stitching Kingston, Community to Coast
The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Honor Award
Riverside Revival: Urban Design Strategies for Coastal Development
North Carolina State University

Analysis & Planning

Award of Excellence
The Embers of the Rainbow
Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology

Honor Award
Sprouting from the Scar: Seed - Biochar - Reforestation
The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Honor Award
Migratory bird networks & urban networks: From conflict to coexistence
Gachon University

Honor Award
Hops Rescue Plan: Nature-based Solutions response to Climate Change
Beijing Forestry University, Harvard University, Beijing University Of Civil Engineering And Architecture

Honor Award
Community Cycle: a solution to dike-pond landscape simplification
South China University of Technology

Student Collaboration

Award of Excellence
Revitalization of Life
University of Tehran

Honor Award
Post-carceral Justice: Reclaiming the Bronx’s Transitional Margins
Harvard Graduate School of Design

Honor Award
Fifty-one Miles: Walking the Los Angeles River
University of Southern California

Honor Award
Bird Sanctuary
Texas A&M University

Communications

Award of Excellence
Where the Street Ends
University of Washington

Honor Award
Designing a Green New Deal at Greenland’s Resource Frontier
The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Honor Award
Olmsted’s Crown Jewel: An Exhibition Celebrating Franklin Park
Kansas State University

Honor Award
Tracing the Contour of Song Dynasty West Lake
China Academy of Art

Honor Award
Wonderland of Weeds
Harvard Graduate School of Design

Honor Award
Forest Futures: A Collaborative Game for Forest Health
The University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Research

Award of Excellence
Textile Landscapes: The Material Future of Tulare Lake
University of Southern California School of Architecture

Honor Award
Leveraging the Potential of Spontaneous Pavement Vegetation
University of Guelph

Honor Award
Smart Tree Watering in Southern Arizona’s Urban Environment
University of Arizona

Honor Award
Blight to Benefit: Vacant Lot Greening to Support Ecosystem Services
Kansas State University College of Architecture, Planning & Design

Honor Award
Dynamic Symbiosis: Avian Response to Rapid Urbanization
Southwest University

Student Community Service

Award of Excellence
Co-creating urban gardens: enhancing the community wellbeing
School of Design and Innovation, Shenzhen Technology University

Honor Award
The Allensworth Agricultural Experiment Station
University of Southern California

Honor Award
Circulating Rainwater:Multi-party Rural Landscape Creation
Beijing Jiaotong University

Honor Award
Letitia Carson's Legacy: Healing Ourselves, Our Community, & Our Land
University of Oregon School of Architecture & Environment

The 2024 Student Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1–General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Student Collaboration

Chair: Aida Curtis, FASLA, Curtis+Rogers Design Studio

Members:

Charles Anderson, FASLA, Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture
Bill Estes, ASLA, MIG, Inc.
David Ferguson, ASLA, Ball State University
Drake Fowler, ASLA, The North Carolina Arboretum
Pamela Palmer, ASLA, ARTECHO Architecture & Landscape Architecture
May So, Intl Associate AIA, Mithun
Lauren Stimson, ASLA, Stimson

Jury 2–Analysis & Planning, Communications, Research & Student Community Service

Chair: Dalton LaVoie, ASLA, Stantec

Members:

Ignacio Lòpez Busòn, ASLA, University of Oregon
Thomas Balsley, FASLA, SWA/Balsley
Travis Brooks, ASLA, Brooks Landscape Architecture
Ashley Clark, Associate AIA, LandDesign
Seth Hendler-Voss, ASLA, Prince William County
Raymond Senes, ASLA, Cal Poly, Pomona
Kate Tooke, ASLA, Agency Landscape + Planning

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has announced that Xochimilco Ecological Park in Mexico City, Mexico, designed by the landscape architecture firm Grupo de Diseño Urbano S.C., has won the ASLA 2024 Landmark Award.

The Landmark Award is bestowed upon a distinguished landscape architecture project completed between 15 and 50 years ago that retains its original design integrity and contributes many benefits to the surrounding community.

Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, the 3000 hectare cultural landscape of the Chinampas region is home to a sustainable agriculture system that is prehispanic in origin. The original park project in 1993 and the 2021 rehabilitation was completed in partnership with the city government of Mexico City.

The 277 hectare park is crossed by Anillo Periférico Sur road, bifurcating it into two sections: The northern section with the Plant and Flower Market and the Cuemanco Sports Park, and the southern section where the Xochimilco Ecological Park including the Huetzalin and Acitlalin lakes are connected to the broader Xochimilco chinampa area. The park is home to more than 200 species of native and migratory birds and hosts 2.5 million visitors annually.

Since 2004, the wetlands of Xochimilco have been part of the RAMSAR sites list, a designation established by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.

"In the midst of the prehispanic "Chinampa" agricultural district, Xochimilco Ecological Park resurges and revitalizes the marvelous biodiversity of the ancestral lacustrian landscape," said Mario Schjetnan, Founder, Grupo de Diseño Urbano S.C.

“In landscape architecture we talk a lot about honoring the history and cultural significance of the land–and this project is an exceptional example of that principle in action,” said ASLA President SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA, PLA. “Congratulations to Mario and Grupo de Diseño Urbano S.C. and thank you for your dedication and commitment to this iconic landscape.”

The Landmark Award was announced as part of the ASLA 2024 Professional Awards. This year, thirty-nine winners in multiple categories showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession. Read more about all of the award winners here.

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the Awards Ceremony at the ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C., October 6-9. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images

The 2024 Professional Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Landmark Award

Chair Jury 1: Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, Studio HIP

Members:

Jury 2: Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research,  Communications & Landmark Award

Chair Jury 2: Glenn LaRue Smith, FASLA, PUSH Studio LLC

Members:

IFLA Representative: Monica Pallares, IFLA America Region

CELA Representative: Dongying Li, Texas A&M University

LAF Representative: Austin Allen, ASLA, University of Texas at Arlington

ASLA announced a two-year fellowship with Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP, founder of Climate Positive Design. As ASLA’s inaugural Biodiversity and Climate Action Fellow, Conrad will research landscape architecture strategies that are most effective in addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis, with a specific focus on underserved communities in the U.S. and worldwide.

“With Pamela’s expertise, we will be able to provide more in depth guidance and examples of successful nature-based solutions designed by landscape architects around the globe,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of ASLA. “To make the strongest case to decision-makers, it’s important we have the research to back up the solutions we know have a positive impact. Landscape architects have a vital role to play in addressing the twinned climate and biodiversity crises, because of their work with plants, land, water, and construction materials.”  

“I am honored to participate in ASLA’s inaugural Biodiversity and Climate Action Fellowship. This builds upon our strong working relationship over the past several years. I am eager to advance more accessible nature-based guidance for all, particularly for underserved communities. It is my hope that this work elevates the awareness of the profession globally and scales-up our positive impacts around the world,” said Conrad.

Conrad is an internationally celebrated landscape architect. She founded Climate Positive Design to improve the carbon impacts of the exterior and natural environment projects while increasing social and ecological benefits. She is a faculty lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Design, an Architecture 2030 Senior Fellow, the vice-chair of the IFLA Climate and Biodiversity Working Group, a member of the World Economic Forum Nature-Positive Cities Task Force, a 2023 Harvard Loeb Fellow and was a Landscape Architecture Foundation Fellow for Innovation and Leadership. In addition, Conrad was principal at CMG Landscape Architecture in San Francisco, where her work included helping the Port of San Francisco plan for sea level rise along its downtown waterfront.

ASLA’s Climate Action Plan advances calls for all landscape architecture projects to accomplish the following goals by 2040:

• Achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and increase carbon sequestration
• Provide significant economic benefits in the form of measurable ecosystem services, health co-benefits, sequestration, and green jobs
• Address climate injustices, empower communities, and increase equitable distribution of climate investments
• Restore ecosystems and increase and protect biodiversity

Conrad will work in partnership with ASLA’s Senior Manager of Climate Action, a newly dedicated role for Jared Green, Hon. ASLA, a veteran of the profession with deep knowledge of nature-based solutions.

Conrad’s fellowship will build on the ASLA Fund’s research into landscape architecture solutions to extreme heat with Dr. Daniella Hirschfeld, ASLA, PhD, Assistant Professor of Climate Adaptation Planning in the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Department at Utah State University; and landscape architecture strategies to reduce biodiversity loss with Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut.

Today the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) announced that the Caño Martín Peña Comprehensive Infrastructure Master Plan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, by the landscape architecture firm OLIN and their client Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña has won the ASLA/IFLA 2023 Global Impact Award.

The ASLA/IFLA Global Impact Award is presented to a project in the Analysis and Planning category of the annual ASLA Awards. The award is given to a work of landscape architecture that demonstrates excellence in addressing climate impacts through transformative action, scalable solutions, and adherence to ASLA’s and IFLA’s climate action commitments.

“This project is so deserving of the inaugural ASLA/IFLA Global Impact Award because it showcases the full range of expertise in landscape architecture,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA. “Community engagement and data-driven decision-making inform a design that will address chronic flooding in a way that creates healthy green spaces, improving both mental and physical wellbeing of the neighborhood.”

“As the impacts of climate change increase, so does the importance of the work of landscape architects,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of ASLA. “The residents of Caño Martín Peña have a long history of taking action to address needs in their community. For this plan, they knew they needed a visionary problem-solving partner and they found that in OLIN.”

“This project stands as an inspiring statement to the pivotal role of landscape architecture as the profession of the 21st century – a profession adeptly poised to navigate the challenges that will define new ways of living and designing for future generations,” said Dr. Bruno Marques, President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects. “Anchored in a profound comprehension of the natural environment, the built environment, and the interface between them, this project not only protects the only tropical estuary in the United States but also provides a comprehensive infrastructure master plan that caters for the community’s health and well-being. Within this myriad of complexities, design solutions that address climate resilience, biodiversity, flooding, housing and nature-based solutions are meticulously explored. Projects like this one call upon landscape architects to raise their voices and share their insights so we keep raising the profile of the profession.”

"OLIN is delighted to see the Caño Martín Peña Comprehensive Infrastructure Master Plan recognized! If we are to respond to climate change justly, it has to be led by the voice of the community,” said Richard Roark, ASLA, Partner at OLIN. “The plan reimagines traditional infrastructure systems as a force for rebuilding social capital and environmental equity. Everything we planned for comes from understanding a community's relationship to their neighbors, to the estuary they live beside and the shared resources between them."

Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña’s reaction to the award news:

"This award is a recognition of the ongoing participatory planning process that for many years has been led and implemented by the G-8 Inc. in collaboration with the Proyecto ENLACE Corporation and the Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust as a social and environmental justice project, addressing the community’s needs and aspirations as well as climate change challenges in a sustainable, inclusive and innovative manner," said Mario Núñez Mercado, Executive Director of ENLACE.

Grupo de las Ocho Comunidades Aledañas al Caño Martín Peña or G-8 Inc.’s reaction to the award news:

"The creation and implementation of the plan culminates the hard work of a team who fought to transform this great community for current and future residents. Showing the country that when there's passion, anything is possible. This award shows us we have done things right and we hope to be a beacon for other communities in pursuit of accomplishing their goals,” said Lucy Cruz Rivera, President of G-8 Inc.

The Global Impact Award was announced as part of the ASLA 2023 Professional Awards. This year, thirty-four winners in multiple categories showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession.

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony during the ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Minneapolis, MN., October 27-30. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

The 2023 Professional Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1-  General Design, Residential Design, & Urban Design

Chair: Kimberly Garza, ASLA, ATLAS Lab Inc.    

Michel Borg, AIA, Page Think
Shuyi Chang, ASLA, SWA                                    
Chingwen Cheng, PhD, ASLA, Arizona State University                
Jamie Maslyn Larson,FASLA, Tohono Chul                    
Garry Meus,  National Capital Commission
Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, Studio HIP                                

Jury 2 - Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research & Communications

Chair: Maura Rockcastle, ASLA, Ten x Ten

Camille Applewhite, ASLA, Site Design Group    
Stephanie Grigsby, ASLA, Design Workshop, Inc
Mitchell Silver, Hon. ASLA, McAdams
Michael Stanley, FASLA, Dream Design International, Inc.
Michael Todoran, The Landscape Architecture Podcast
Yujia Wang, ASLA, University of Nebraska

Joining the professional awards jury for the selection of the Analysis & Planning – ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award category will be a representative on behalf of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

Monica Pallares, IFLA Americas

Also, joining the professional jury for the selection of the Research Category will be representatives on behalf of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).
 
Jenn Engelke, ASLA, University of Washington,  LAF Representative
Sohyun Park, ASLA, University of Connecticut, CELA Representative

ASLA announced a new partnership with the National Indian Carbon Coalition (NICC) to offset greenhouse gas emissions from its ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C., October 6-9.

While it pursues its goal of reducing emissions by 20 percent by the end of 2024, ASLA has committed to purchasing up to 3,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide emission offsets from NICC this year (equivalent to 3,500 carbon credits). This partnership will also advance the cultural empowerment and climate equity goals of the ASLA Climate Action Plan, which was released in 2022.

The carbon offsets NICC will provide have been generated in the Tribal Forests of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Minnesota. The Fond du Lac Band’s forest carbon project is a natural climate solution that generates carbon credits through Improved Forest Management.

“With this partnership, we can support Indigenous communities in their efforts to protect the land and native forests, increase resilience to climate impacts, generate income, and enhance biodiversity,” said SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA, ASLA President.

“We are pleased to work with ASLA to provide access to forestry professionals and financial resources for Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities. This project reduces the rate of deforestation while supporting healthy ecosystems,” said Bryan Van Stippen, Program Director, NICC.

The Fond du Lac Band will use the income generated from carbon sales, which would otherwise come from harvesting trees, to:

• Strengthen community infrastructure
• Steward a native, growing forest
• Support long-term carbon storage
• Enhance biodiversity and protect habitat
• Create measurable climate benefits

The Fond du Lac Band has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by developing and promoting projects and policies that advance sustainability and energy efficiency. After successfully reducing emissions by 20 percent in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol, the Fond du Lac Band Reservation Business Committee continued its mission to create climate benefits by enrolling nearly 8,200 acres of forestland into a forest carbon project in 2020.

The forest carbon project aims to generate 480,000 carbon credits by 2030 while supporting the climate goals of carbon offset buyers. The project will protect 5.3 million trees from harvesting for 40 years. In total, an estimated 1,920,000 tons of carbon will be sequestered.

The lands of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa span 101,000 acres and include more than 44,000 acres of forest. The Band grows a culturally important food source – manoomin (wild rice) – across five wild rice lakes covering more than 800 acres. The Fond Du Lac Band’s land is also home to black bears, timber wolves, fishers, marten, bald eagles, owls, moose, and white-tailed deer.

“We can’t assume that we manage the forest and trees. We’re in a relationship with them,” said Kevin DuPuis, Chairman of the Fond du Lac Band. In an interview with NICC and The Nature Conservancy, DuPuis explained: “This land is part of my being. Every part of my being. It’s a birthright, and it’s part of the natural world. If we don’t have woods, fish, wildlife, and rice, we cease to exist as a people. It’s about our culture and identity. It’s hard for people to understand that, but where our rice beds are—the plants, the animals, the medicines, the trees themselves—that’s us as a people.”

The lead sponsor of ASLA 2024 conference carbon offsets is Bartlett Tree Experts. 

In 2023, ASLA partnered with Green Minneapolis on carbon offsets and its members and sponsors contributed more than $43,000 to purchase 1,225 offset credits.

ASLA has released the results of its second national survey on client demand for landscape architecture solutions to climate change. Over 500 landscape architects, designers, and landscape architecture educators in the U.S. responded to the survey in March 2024. The survey asked many of the same questions as in the first national survey issued in 2021.

Nationwide, demand for nature-based solutions to climate change has increased over the past year.

• 70 percent of landscape architects and designers who responded to the survey experienced at least a 10 percent increase in client demand for these solutions over the prior year.
• And 52 percent saw more than a 25 percent increase in demand.

“The survey shows that the impacts of the climate and biodiversity crisis only continue to worsen. But amid the growing damages, it is heartening that more communities are looking to smart, nature-based solutions that increase resilience, improve health and well-being, and provide economic benefits,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO.

More key findings:

• City and local governments are the top drivers of demand for climate solutions, the same as in 2021.    
• Client concerns about climate impacts have increased since 2021. The top three concerns are:  
  • Increased intensity of storms
  • Increased duration and intensity of heat waves
  • Loss of pollinators, such as bees and bats
• More clients are seeking to increase resilience to climate impacts faster, in comparison with 2021.
• Two-thirds of landscape architects and designers surveyed are recommending the integration of climate solutions to “all or most” of their clients, approximately the same as in 2021.
• Nature-based solutions to a range of climate impacts are in demand. Public, non-profit, community, and private clients are looking to landscape architects to plan and design solutions to impacts such as wildfires, sea level rise, flooding, drought, extreme heat, and biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.
• Stormwater management is the top community-wide solution demanded.
• Since 2021, these specific solutions have seen significant increases in demand:
  • Street trees as a heat solution (6% increase)
  • Bioswales as a flooding solution (10% increase)
  • Rain gardens as a flooding solution (9% increase)
  • Native, drought tolerant plants as a drought solution (12% increase)
  • Biodiversity loss solutions (5-10% increase)
• Landscape architecture solutions to climate impacts provide significant economic benefits:
  • 44 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed said the top economic benefit of their climate projects is they “avoided expected long-term climate damages.”
  • 42 percent estimate their climate projects have a construction value of more than $1 million; and 29 percent say the value of this work is more than $10 million.
  • 75 percent estimated their climate projects created local planning, design, construction, management, or maintenance jobs in the past year.
  • 27 percent said their projects catalyzed more than $1 million in additional residential or commercial development; 11 percent said the development impact was more than $25 million.

Read a comprehensive analysis of the results and explore all survey results.

Today, ASLA announced the elevation of 40 members as ASLA Fellows for their exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large. Election to the ASLA Council of Fellows is among the highest honors ASLA bestows on members and is based on their works, leadership/management, knowledge and service.

“Landscape architecture makes the world a better place, and ASLA Fellows represent the most accomplished and admired leaders in the entire field,” said ASLA President SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA. “The professionals recognized in this year's class of ASLA Fellows have made consistent and exceptional contributions to resilience and sustainability, stronger and more beautiful communities, and human health, safety, and welfare. Congratulations to the 2024 class of ASLA Fellows!”

“Naming a new class of distinguished ASLA fellows is a reminder of how much landscape architects do to make our communities more connected, more enjoyable, and more resilient,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “We extend our warmest thanks to the new class of ASLA Fellows for their exemplary work and accomplishments.”

ASLA Fellows will be elevated during a special investiture ceremony at the 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture, which will be held in Washington, D.C., Oct. 6-9, 2024. Explore fellow biographies.

2024 ASLA Fellows:

• Patricia Algara, ASLA, BASE Landscape Architecture, San Francisco
• Matthew Arnn, ASLA, U.S. Forest Service, Washington, DC
• Claire Bedat, ASLA, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC
• Catherine Berris, ASLA, Urban Systems, Vancouver, BC
• Anita Berrizbeitia, ASLA, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
• Molly Bourne, ASLA, MNLA, New York City
• Jules Bruck, ASLA, University of Florida, Gainesville
• Karen Cesare, ASLA, Novak Environmental, Tucson
• Lisa Cowan, ASLA, StudioVerde, Cumberland, ME
• Lynn Crump, ASLA, Scenic Virginia, Richmond, VA
• Chris Della Vedova, ASLA, Confluence, Des Moines, IA
• Scott Emmelkamp, ASLA, Planning Design Studio, St. Louis
• Grace Fielder, ASLA, G.E. Fielder & Associates, Laurel, MD
• David Fletcher, ASLA, Fletcher Studio, San Francisco
• Pamela Galera, ASLA, City of Riverside, CA
• Cory Gallo, ASLA, Mississippi State University, Starkville
• Aan Garrett-Coleman, ASLA, Coleman & Associates, Austin
• Adriaan Geuze, ASLA, West 8, Rotterdam
• Kim Hartley Hawkins, ASLA, Hawkins Partners, Nashville
• Joseph Imamura, ASLA, Architect of the Capitol, Washington, DC
• Jerany Jackson, ASLA, Great River Engineering, Springfield, MO
• Joni Janecki, ASLA, Joni L. Janecki & Associates, Santa Cruz, CA
• Paul Kelsch, ASLA, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
• Cody Klein, ASLA, OJB Landscape Architecture, Boston
• J. Rebecca Leonard, ASLA, Lionheart Places, Austin
• Bradley McCauley, ASLA, site design group, Chicago
• Charles Grant Meacci, ASLA, Bolton & Menk, Charlotte, NC
• Cleve Larry Mizell, ASLA, Lebanon, TN
• Michael Murphy, ASLA, Texas A&M University, College Station
• Faith Okuma, ASLA, Surroundings Studio, Santa Fe
• Patsy Eubanks Owens, ASLA, University of California, Davis
• Laurel Raines, ASLA, Dig Studio, Denver
• Jane Reed Ross, ASLA, Goodwyn Mills Cawood, Birmingham, AL
• Dale Schafer, ASLA, Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture, Hudson, NY
• Christopher Schein, ASLA, Hord Coplan Macht, Baltimore
• Jean Senechal Biggs, ASLA, City of Beaverton, OR
• Michele Shelor, ASLA, Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture, Phoenix
• Judith Stilgenbauer, ASLA, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Manoa
• Leo Urban, ASLA, Urban Associates, Delray Beach, FL
• Glen Valentine, ASLA, Stimson, Cambridge, MA

The ASLA Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, has announced a new grant to the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (EFC) in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation to create two new resource guides on the economic benefits of landscape architecture and nature-based solutions. The lead developer of the guides is Dr. Jennifer Egan, PhD, program manager, EFC.

Landscape architects maximize the benefits of nature-based solutions through design. Their work on nature-based solutions creates economic benefits in five key areas:

• Improved Human Health and Livability
• Expanded Investment and Sustainable Jobs
• Increased Biodiversity
• Going Beyond Net-Zero
• Strengthened Resilience

Dr. Egan will develop guides that outline the economic benefits of landscape architecture and nature-based solutions across these areas:

• One guide will make the economic case for nature-based solutions and the added value of landscape architects’ planning and design work to broad public audiences.
• Another guide will introduce the tools landscape architects can use to make the economic case for their climate and biodiversity projects to clients.

ASLA’s Climate Action Plan identified the need for these guides, which will be published on ASLA.org in advance of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. ASLA is an official observer of the COP process and its representatives will attend COP29. Last year at COP28, five delegates represented the landscape architecture community.

“Landscape architects bring nature-based solutions to where people live – to their streets, parks, plazas, and recreational areas. With Dr. Egan’s research, we will be able to show the economic benefits of this important work to policymakers and the public,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO.

“We know that landscape architects design nature-based solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises. But how they do that is key: they design them to be even more effective and inclusive and to provide even greater benefits.”

Dr. Egan has completed project reports for the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture, with the University of Washington and American Planning Association; Pew Charitable Trust and National Coastal Resilience Fund; and the Trust for Public Land.

Her doctorate is in water science and policy from the University of Delaware Department of Applied Economics and Statistics in the College of Agricultural and Natural Resources. Her doctoral research involved a legal and economic analysis of policy interventions for nutrient pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

She also teaches sustainable development and agricultural and natural resource economics at the University of Delaware Department of Applied Economics and Statistics.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund has released new peer-reviewed research on landscape architecture solutions to extreme heat, the deadliest climate impact.

The research was developed by Dr. Daniella Hirschfeld, ASLA, PhD, Assistant Professor of Climate Adaptation Planning in the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Department at Utah State University. Dr. Hirschfeld won a competitive national grant from the ASLA Fund in 2023 to conduct the research.  

“Extreme heat is expected to impact more people and places in the U.S. and across the globe in coming decades, with the greatest impacts to marginalized and underserved communities. An estimated 250,000 excess deaths are expected per year by 2050. Our research demonstrates the importance of maximizing the benefits of nature-based solutions to extreme heat. And landscape architects do that every day through their critically important planning and design work,” Dr. Hirschfeld said.

“While we were developing our Climate Action Plan, landscape architects told us what they needed most was authoritative evidence that demonstrates all the great benefits of their work. We are thrilled Daniella brought the research together to make the strongest case to policymakers, community groups, allied professionals, and the public,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “We now have the best science on landscape architecture strategies for extreme heat on hand.”

Dr. Hirschfeld and her team reviewed more than 100 peer-reviewed studies, looking at planning and designing nature-based solutions that reduce the impacts of extreme heat published from 2007 to 2022. They synthesized the findings in an executive summary, which includes case studies and project examples, and a research study.  

Hirschfeld and her team found from the research that:

• Increasing the number of nature-based solutions within a community, the size of these solutions, and the amount of greenery or trees will decrease temperatures. While there is not a direct relationship between every tree and degree of temperature reduction, it’s clear from the literature that more greenery produces greater temperature benefits.
• The way nature-based solutions are distributed throughout a neighborhood or city makes a difference. Research shows that the more green spaces are connected to one another the greater temperature reductions benefits they provide.

Hirschfeld also found that four key landscape architecture strategies reduce heat impacts:

• Increase tree percentage in parks and green spaces
• Provide shade on sites
• Use plant materials and water instead of hardscape
• Switch to green ground cover, including grasses and shrubs

Access Executive Summary (PDF)
Access Research Study (PDF)

The Outdoors for All Act unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives as a part of the EXPLORE Act package. The American Society of Landscape Architects and its members successfully advocated for the measure and now urges the Senate to swiftly pass its version of the bill.

This program will help fund project expenses for new parks, the renovation of existing recreation facilities, and development of infrastructure supporting outdoor education and public land volunteerism. Priority will be given to projects that take place within underserved communities, empower the youth in these communities, and significantly enhance access to parks and recreational opportunities.

“Research confirms what our bodies and nature already understand–more time in outdoor spaces increases well-being,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO, American Society of Landscape Architects. “Communities across the country need investment in welcoming, dynamic, and safe outdoor spaces. Landscape architects have deep experience in bringing people and nature closer together. ASLA urges the Senate to pass this bipartisan bill.”

ASLA Award winning park and recreation examples:

Barrier Island Resiliency Planning for Galveston Island State Park: Barrier islands are dynamic ecosystems in constant evolution. While wind and tide shape the landscape, tropical storms and sea level rise accelerate inland habitat migration. In 2008, Hurricane Ike completely ravaged Galveston Island State Park. The redevelopment master plan is a new precedent for coastal recreation planning built on a foundation of predictive models. Based on site specific ecologies and elevations, the plan must literally anticipate what of the site will remain in 50 years and what its ecology will be. The restored park opened in 2023.

On World Water Day, the American Society of Landscape Architects urges Congress to pass the Water Infrastructure Sustainability and Efficiency (WISE) Act which was introduced by Representative Nikema Williams (GA). The bill would increase the amount of nature-based solutions under the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. 

Specifically, this measure would increase the minimum requirement of all Clean Water State Revolving Fund dollars to 20 percent for projects that develop nature-based infrastructure, enhance water and energy efficiency, or facilitate other environmentally innovative activities.

“With strategic investment we can address water quality, stormwater management, flood mitigation and drought planning with proven strategies designed by landscape architects,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO, American Society of Landscape Architects. “Our members are leading projects around the country and engaging with decision-makers at all levels in order to address critical water concerns in the communities we serve.” 

In its budget request letter to the Biden-Harris Administration ASLA urged among other things water infrastructure funding in the following areas:

Clean Water State Revolving Funds (CWSRF): ASLA recommends the FY2025 budget include full funding of $3.25 billion for the Drinking and Clean Water State Revolving Funds. In particular, ASLA urges that the Clean Water State Revolving Fund be fully funded and that steps are taken to increase the set-aside for the Green Project Reserve (GPR) from 10 percent to 20 percent. Increasing the percentage of funding for the GPR will allow more communities to use green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency, and other innovative projects to address and manage their water and stormwater issues. The CWSRF is one of the largest federal funding sources for landscape architects to plan and design water infrastructure projects. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) programs: ASLA suggests the FY2025 budget include increased investments of $9.57 billion for USACE to implement nature-based solutions in public water infrastructure projects that address stormwater runoff, flood control, sea-level rise, damaged shorelines, natural landscape protections, ecosystem restoration, and more. Landscape architects collaborate with USACE on these and other water management projects to provide community-wide benefits, including improved human, environmental, and economic health. 

Chesapeake Bay: ASLA urges $1.1 billion for the Chesapeake Bay budget. This funding would allow continued restoration efforts for the largest estuary in the United States and in North America, covering 64,000 square miles and including more than 150 rivers and streams that drain into the Bay. This funding is critical to improving water quality and the overall health of the bay. Funding will help address non-point source pollution, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for sediments, open space activities, and other innovative strategies to preserve the bay. 

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: ASLA urges the FY2025 budget to include $500 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). The GLRI is the leading federal program designed to clean up legacy pollution, restore habitats, combat invasive species, and address shoreline erosion across the basin. The Great Lakes serve as a vital source of economic activity, recreation, and drinking water for millions of Americans.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund has released new peer-reviewed research on landscape architecture solutions to the biodiversity crisis.

The research was developed by Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut. Dr. Park and her team won a competitive national grant from the ASLA Fund in 2023 to conduct the research.

“The biodiversity crisis is on par with the climate crisis. An estimated one million out of eight million species on the planet are threatened with extinction. Our research demonstrates that landscape architects play a significant role in designing and preserving green spaces that enhance and restore biodiversity and promote human well-being,” Dr. Park said.

“ASLA supports the global 30 x 2030 goals, which calls for preserving and restoring 30 percent of the world’s ecosystems by 2030. Sohyun’s research shows that landscape architects’ planning and design work is central to this global effort,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “The research demonstrates that we can design for biodiversity and start to restore the planet.”

Dr. Park and her team reviewed nearly 70 peer-reviewed studies focused on planning and designing nature-based solutions to biodiversity loss published from 2000 to 2023. They synthesized the findings in an executive summary, which includes case studies and project examples, and a research study.

Park and her team found that:

• Heterogeneity and diversity are critical components of healthy ecosystems.This  goes beyond the diversity of animal and plant species to include built forms, landscapes, and water bodies.
• Landscape architects can design diverse landscapes and restore plant communities that mimic nature in both functional diversity and complexity of structure.
• These design strategies enhance insect, bird, reptile, and mammal biodiversity and improve the water retention capabilities of soils and green infrastructure.
• It is critical that stakeholders appreciate how everything connects within a socio-ecological system.
• Planners and policymakers should take a holistic view when setting biodiversity objectives and planning local or national initiatives.

Park and her team found that empirical research points to the success of these strategies in increasing and enhancing biodiversity:

Design for Biodiversity

• Incorporate Native Plants
• Support Pollinators
• Enable Integrated Pest Management
• Include Allelopathic and Companion Plants
• Incorporate Protected Areas

Transform Grey to Green

• Retrofit Grey Infrastructure to Be Green
• Design for Slope and Pitch
• Design for Building Height and Architecture
• Create Bio-solar Roofs

Build Strong Community Coalitions on Biodiversity

• Create community partnerships that build trust with stakeholders
• Use participatory design processes to build social-ecological communities
• defined by a shared sense of bio-cultural heritage
• Include Indigenous groups and other community stakeholders in the design, biodiversity monitoring and stewardship, and decision-making processes

Access Executive Summary (PDF)
Access Research Study (PDF)

Today, ASLA released the following statement by CEO Torey Carter-Conneen after the State of the Union urging the Administration to continue deep investment in nature-based infrastructure solutions as part of its forthcoming budget priorities:

“Last night, President Biden hit key themes in addressing the climate and biodiversity crisis and investing in America’s infrastructure. Innovative projects led by landscape architects can address all three of those needs–at the same time. Take for example The Solar Strand at the University at Buffalo or the New Orleans Reforestation Program–these projects directly address climate, biodiversity and infrastructure development. Not surprisingly, investment in water infrastructure is increasingly important in every corner of the country—sea level rise, stormwater management, drought planning, and water contamination are all things natural solutions can help manage like the West Pond: Living Shoreline in Brooklyn and Queens New York and the water-harvesting project in Tucson.  

“ASLA urges the Administration to continue to ‘invest in America’ and prioritize conservation and nature-based programs that we know get results.”

In its letter to the Biden-Harris Administration, ASLA urged agency level funding for climate change, biodiversity as well as programs level funding for:

• Justice40
• Clean Water State Revolving Funds
• Land and Water Conservation Fund
• Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
• National Park Service
• Historic American Landscape Survey
• African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act
• Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grants
• Surface Transportation Block Grants
• Thriving Communities Program
• Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Program
• Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program
• National Scenic Byways Program
• Urban and Community Forestry Program
• Community Development Block Grants

See ASLA’s full budget request letter.

ASLA is now accepting submissions for its 2024 Professional Award Program.

Registration deadline: March 8
Submission deadline: March 22
 
The ASLA Awards Program is the oldest and most prestigious in the landscape architecture profession. They honor the most innovative landscape architecture projects and the brightest ideas from up-and-coming landscape architecture students.

ASLA bestows Professional Awards in General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design, Analysis & Planning, Communications, and Research categories. In each of these categories, juries select a number of Honor Awards and may select one Award of Excellence.

The ASLA / International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Global Impact Award is presented to a project in the Analysis and Planning category that demonstrates excellence in landscape architecture by addressing climate impacts through transformative action, scalable solutions, and adherence to ASLA’s and IFLA’s climate action commitments.
 
In addition, the Landmark Award is bestowed upon a distinguished landscape architecture project completed between 15 and 50 years ago that retains its original design integrity and contributes many benefits to the surrounding community.

The 2024 Professional Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Landmark Award

Chair Jury 1: Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, Studio HIP

Members:

• Michelle Delk, FASLA, Snohetta
• Kyle Fiddelke, FASLA, OJB
• John Gendall, Chapter Agency               
• Devon Henry, Hon ASLA, Team Henry Enterprises, LLC
• Marc Miller, ASLA, Penn State
• Chelina Odbert, Hon. ASLA, Kounkuey Design Initiative
• Michele Shelor, ASLA, Colwell Shelor LA
• Lance Thies, ASLA, City of Lockport

Jury 2: Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research,  Communications & Landmark Award

Chair Jury 2: Glenn LaRue Smith, FASLA, PUSH Studio LLC

Members:

• Luis Gonzalez, ASLA, EYA, LLC
• Anyeley Hallova, Adre
• Rebecca Leonard, ASLA, Lionheart Studio
• Frank Edgerton Martin, Frank Edgerton Martin
• Mary Pat McGuire, ASLA, University of Illinois
• Ramon Murray, FASLA, Murray Design Group
• Marion Pressley, FASLA, Pressley Associates
• Darneka Waters, ASLA, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation

IFLA Representative: Monica Pallares, IFLA America Region

CELA Representative: Dongying Li, Texas A&M University

LAF Representative: Austin Allen, ASLA, University of Texas at Arlington

Student Awards information will be released by early February.

ASLA is now accepting submissions for its 2024 Student Award Program.

Registration deadline: Friday, May 3, 2024
Submission deadline: Friday, May 24, 2024
 
The ASLA Awards Program is the oldest and most prestigious in the landscape architecture profession. They honor the most innovative landscape architecture projects and the brightest ideas from up-and-coming landscape architecture students.

ASLA bestows Student Awards in General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design, Analysis and Planning, Communications, Research, Student Community Service, and Student Collaboration.

The 2024 Student Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1: General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design
& Student Collaboration

Chair Jury 1: Aida Curtis, FASLA, Curtis+Rogers Design Studio

Members:

• Charles Anderson, FASLA, Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture
• Bill Estes, ASLA, MIG, Inc.
• David Ferguson, ASLA, Ball State University
• Drake Fowler, ASLA, The North Carolina Arboretum
• Brentin Mock, Bloomberg CityLab
• Pamela Palmer, ASLA, ARTECHO Architecture & Landscape Architecture
• May So, Intl Associate AIA, Mithun
• Lauren Stimson, ASLA, Stimson

Jury 2: Analysis & Planning, Research, Communications,
& Student Community Service   

Chair Jury 2: Dalton LaVoie, ASLA, Stantec

Members:

• Ignacio Lòpez Busòn, ASLA, University of Oregon
• Thomas Balsley, FASLA, SWA/Balsley
• Travis Brooks, ASLA Brooks Landscape Architecture
• Ashley Clark, Associate AIA, LandDesign
• Seth Hendler-Voss, ASLA, Prince William County
• Brentin Mock, Bloomberg CityLab
• Raymond Senes, ASLA, Cal Poly, Pomona
• Kate Tooke, ASLA, Agency Landscape + Planning

ASLA has opened the Call for Presentations for the ASLA 2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture, which will be held October 6-9 in Washington, DC.
 
The ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture is the largest gathering of landscape architects and allied professionals in the world.

In 2024, ASLA marks its 125th anniversary. As part of our celebration, ASLA seeks education proposals that not only reflect on the rich history of the profession, but also shape the future of landscape architecture.  

Educational tracks include:

• Biodiversity
• Changing the Culture in Practice
• Climate Action
• Design and the Creative Process
• Design Implementation
• Leadership, Career Development, and Business
• Planning, Urban Design, and Infrastructure

ASLA is committed to providing a diverse educational program and encourages all submissions. The deadline for submissions is Thursday, February 22, 2024, at Noon PST.

To learn more about the planned education tracks, submission criteria, review process, and key dates, visit the 2024 Call for Presentations landing page.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has sent two delegates to COP28 in Dubai, where they are joining two other global landscape architecture leaders. This is the second year ASLA has been an NGO observer to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) process.

Landscape architect delegates available for media interviews during and after COP:

• Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO, American Society of Landscape Architects (COP28 Dates: December 5-9)
• Pamela Conrad, ASLA, LEED AP, Founder, Climate Positive Design; Senior Fellow, Architecture 2030;  Faculty Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Design; and Vice-Chair, Climate and Biodiversity Group Working Group, International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) (COP28 Dates: December 2-11)
• Kongjian Yu, FASLA, Founder, Turenscape, and Professor and Dean, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University, and winner of the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize. (COP Dates: December 7-10)
• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA, Founder, Landprocess; Chair, Climate and Biodiversity Group Working Group, International Federation of Landscape Architects; Faculty Design Critic, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Visiting Fellow, University of Pennsylvania. (COP Dates: November 30-December 18)

These delegates are experts on:

• Nature-based solutions
• Ecosystem-based adaptation
• Landscape and regional planning
• Landscape architecture
• Biodiversity
• Climate equity and justice 

These speakers will present in these blue zone sessions:

Nature-based Solutions and the Built Environment: Designing for Resilience, Drawdown and Biodiversity
Friday, December 8
7.45 AM – 9.15 AM EST / 4.45 PM – 6.15 PM GST
Official COP28 Side Event, SE Room 9, Blue Zone
 
“Nature-based solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises provide carbon benefits and economic, equity, biodiversity, and public health co-benefits. Planning and designing with ecosystems can help global communities reduce GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 and protect and conserve 30% of ecosystems by 2030.”
 
Speakers:

• Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO
• Pamela Conrad, ASLA
• Dr. Siddharth Narayan, Assistant Professor, Integrated Coastal Programs, East Carolina University (American Society of Civil Engineers [ASCE])
• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA
• Moderator: Lisa Richmond, Senior Fellow, Architecture 2030

Investing in Nature
Saturday, December 9
2:00 AM – 3:00 AM EST / 11:00 AM – 12:00 AM GST
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Pavilion, Blue Zone
 
“Well-functioning and diverse ecosystems regulate the Earth’s climate, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, and enhance the sustainable management of water and land. Forests, wetlands, coral reefs can effectively provide infrastructure functions while delivering additional climate and biodiversity co-benefits.”

Speaker:

• Kongjian Yu, FASLA

 
Accelerating Finance for Nature-based Solutions: Unlocking Opportunities for Sustainable Development
Saturday, December 9
5:30 AM – 6:45 AM EST / 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM GST
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pavilion, Blue Zone
Co-hosted by the French Development Agency (AFD) and The International Development Finance Club (IDFC)
Livestream
 
“Despite increasing global interest in nature-based solutions, lack of financing remains a major barrier to implementing these solutions at scale. This event will bring together development partners and government officials at the ministerial level alongside IUCN to discuss and launch initiatives that could potentially accelerate financing for nature-based
solutions to implement plans at national and sub-national levels.”

Keynote speaker:

• Kongjian Yu, FASLA

ASLA is sending two delegates to COP28 in Dubai, UAE and eight virtual delegates will join online. This is the second year ASLA has been an NGO observer to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP) process.

In-person delegates available for media interviews before, during, and after COP:

• Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO, American Society of Landscape Architects (COP28 Dates: December 5-10)
• Pamela Conrad, ASLA, LEED AP, Founder, Climate Positive Design; Senior Fellow, Architecture 2030;  Faculty Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Design; and Vice-Chair, Climate and Biodiversity Group Working Group, International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) (COP28 Dates: December 2-11)

Additional in-person landscape architect delegate of the Government of Thailand:

• Kotchakorn Voraakhom, International ASLA, Founder, Landprocess; Chair, Climate and Biodiversity Group Working Group, IFLA; Faculty Design Critic, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Visiting Fellow, University of Pennsylvania. (COP Dates: November 30-December 18)

These delegates are experts on:

• Nature-based solutions
• Landscape architecture
• Ecosystem services
• Health benefits of nature
• Biodiversity
• Climate equity and justice  

All three speakers will be presenting in these blue zone sessions:

Scaling Up Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Environments
Wednesday, December 6, 4.15 AM - 5.15 AM EST / 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM GST
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pavilion
Livestream

Nature-based Solutions & the Built Environment: Designing for Resilience, Drawdown & Biodiversity
Friday, December 8, 7.45 AM - 9.15 AM EST / 4.45 PM - 6.15 PM GST
Official COP28 Blue Zone Side Event, SE Room 9

ASLA virtual delegates joining online include:

• Diane Jones Allen, FASLA, Director, Program in Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), Principal Landscape Architect, DesignJones, LLC, and Member, ASLA Climate Action Plan Task Force
• Scott Bishop, ASLA, Founding Principal, Bishop Land Design; Member, ASLA Climate Action Plan Advisory Group; and Immediate Past Chair, ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee
• Aida Curtis, FASLA, Founding Principal, Curtis + Rogers Design Studio; and Co-Chair ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee Subcommittee on Climate Leadership and Communications
• Sarah Fitzgerald, ASLA, Associate, SWA, and Member, ASLA Climate Action Plan Task Force
• SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA, ASLA President
• Mia Lehrer, FASLA, Founder, Studio-MLA, and Member, ASLA Climate Action Plan Advisory Group
• April Phillips, FASLA, Founder, April Phillips Design Works, and Chair, ASLA National Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee
• Kongjian Yu, FASLA, Founder, Turenscape, and Professor and Dean, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Peking University, and winner of the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize.

For interview requests: please contact press@asla.org.

ASLA delegates will be advancing these goals at COP28:

Maximizing the Benefits of Nature-Based Solutions–Through Design

Nature-based solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss are more than mangroves, forests, and grasslands. Using landscape architecture strategies, they can be woven into places where people live. They can take the form of parks, recreation areas, streets, coastal infrastructure, and more. Through inclusive design, they can provide even greater benefits to people and support the healthy urban ecosystems people rely on.

While more communities are integrating nature-based solutions, those advances are not widespread. All communities need equitable access to best practices, project financing, and the landscape architecture, planning, ecology, and engineering professionals who make these projects a reality.
 
Landscape architects design nature-based solutions to create real benefits for people and communities:
 
1) Increased Biodiversity
Nature-positive landscapes are the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems and efforts to achieve 30 x 2030 and 10% net biodiversity goals, restore global ecosystems, and increase and protect biodiversity.
 
2) Improved Human Health and Livability  
Accessible public landscapes, such as parks and recreation areas, provide proven physical and mental health benefits that reduce healthcare costs and increase community cohesion.
 
3) Going Beyond Net-Zero
Landscapes are the most efficient way to store carbon and achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and double carbon sequestration by 2040.

4) Strengthened Resilience  
Healthy, biodiverse landscapes that store carbon in trees, plants, and soils also increase people’s resilience to climate impacts, such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and sea level rise.
 
5) Expanded Investment and Sustainable Livelihoods
When woven into communities, nature-based solutions become resilient assets that lead to increased investment in housing, infrastructure, and public amenities, and create sustainable local livelihoods.

For interview requests: please contact press@asla.org.

ASLA and the ASLA Fund have released a comprehensive, freely-available guide: Towards Zero Emission Business Operations: A Landscape Architect’s Guide to Reducing the Climate Impacts of Offices.
 
The guide is designed to help landscape architecture firms of all sizes navigate the transition to zero emission offices more easily.

It outlines more than 110 strategies landscape architecture firms can implement to reduce their business and project greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50-65% by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2040.

The guide provides best practice strategies relevant for firms that rent or own their offices. It offers firms ways to:

• Measure their carbon footprint
• Develop a climate action plan to reduce emissions
• Take actions to reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions

The ASLA Climate Action Committee produced Towards Zero Emission Business Operations to support landscape architecture firms in achieving the goals of the ASLA Climate Action Plan.

The guide is authored by landscape architect Ronnie Siegel, ASLA, founder, Swire Siegel, Landscape Architects and ASLA Climate Action Committee Member, who interviewed 19 landscape architecture, architecture, and sustainability consulting companies to develop the resource.

“Towards Zero Emission Business Operations is a must-read for any landscape architecture firm serious about decarbonizing their businesses. These smart strategies can help firms not only reduce their emissions but also save money and increase the health and well-being of their employees,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen.

“Decarbonization, electrification, and the transition to renewable energy create new opportunities for landscape architecture firms. By measuring emissions, making a plan, and taking action, any firm can get on a path to zero emissions,” said Ronnie Siegel, ASLA.

The guide builds on the ASLA Climate Action Plan and the Climate Action Field Guide for ASLA Members, which chart a pathway for landscape architects to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in their projects and operations and increase carbon sequestration by 2040.

In 2022, the Climate Action Plan was developed by a high-profile Task Force of five landscape architects chaired by Pamela Conrad, ASLA, founder of Climate Positive Design, and a 17-member Advisory Group. It outlines a bold vision for 2040 and 71 actions to be taken by 2025.

Our Vision for 2040:

All landscape architecture projects will simultaneously:

• Achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and increase carbon sequestration
• Provide significant economic benefits in the form of measurable ecosystem services, health co-benefits, sequestration, and green jobs
• Address climate injustices, empower communities, and increase equitable distribution of climate investments
• Restore ecosystems and increase and protect biodiversity

To make progress on the Climate Action Plan, ASLA and the ASLA Fund also recently released Collaborating with Industry Partners on Climate Action and Biodiversity: A Guide to Conversations Among Landscape Architects, Vendors, and Product Manufacturers.
 
The ASLA Climate Action Committee and Corporate Member Committee curated more than 70 questions landscape architects can ask vendors and product manufacturers to advance climate and biodiversity goals. 

ASLA and the ASLA Fund have released Collaborating with Industry Partners on Climate Action and Biodiversity: A Guide to Conversations Among Landscape Architects, Vendors, and Product Manufacturers.
 
The ASLA Climate Action Committee and Corporate Member Committee curated more than 70 questions landscape architects can ask vendors and product manufacturers about:

• Product:
  
  • Carbon data
  • Low-carbon material content
  • Recycled material content
  • Hazardous material content
  • Biodiversity protections
• Use of products in landscapes
• Location of product manufacturing
• Manufacturing facilities
• Company operations
• Equity programs
• Advocacy efforts

There are also additional questions for plant and tree nurseries.

The guide was jointly authored by landscape architects, vendors, and product manufacturers. It incorporates goals outlined in the ASLA Climate Action Plan and Field Guide, the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES), and by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI).

“With this guide in hand, landscape architects can ask industry partners the right questions and move the conversation forward. Getting on the same page will lead to deeper collaboration on how to reduce our collective impacts and improve benefits,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen.

“The guide will enable us to expand the dialogue on embodied carbon in materials, the sustainable use of products in landscapes, and supporting equity goals in communities,” said April Phillips, FASLA, Chair, ASLA Climate Action Committee.

The guide builds on the ASLA Climate Action Plan and the Climate Action Field Guide for ASLA Members, which chart a pathway for landscape architects to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in their projects and operations and increase carbon sequestration by 2040.

In 2022, the Climate Action Plan was developed by a high-profile Task Force of five landscape architects chaired by Pamela Conrad, ASLA, founder of Climate Positive Design, and a 17-member Advisory Group. It outlines a bold vision for 2040 and 71 actions to be taken by 2025.

Our Vision for 2040:

All landscape architecture projects will simultaneously:

• Achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and increase carbon sequestration
• Provide significant economic benefits in the form of measurable ecosystem services, health co-benefits, sequestration, and green jobs
• Address climate injustices, empower communities, and increase equitable distribution of climate investments
• Restore ecosystems and increase and protect biodiversity

ASLA also has clear goals for global biodiversity. ASLA has committed to advancing the global movement to protect and restore at least 30 percent of terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems by 2030 (30 x 2030).

ASLA is hosting a virtual Climate Week NYC panel that illustrates how nature-based solutions are helping communities along the Hudson River anticipate and address flooding as sea levels rise.

What: Because the Hudson River is connected to the ocean, river water levels are projected to substantially increase because of sea level rise. Many Hudson River communities face growing flood and inundation risks due to sea level rise and other climate impacts.

Like many small cities, Kingston and Hudson in the Hudson River Valley of New York have limited budgets and resources to address these challenges. But they are seeking to adapt to a rising river through smart waterfront planning and resilient infrastructure.

Through a community-driven approach, landscape architects at Supermass Studio and Assemblage Landscape Architecture designed nature-based climate-adaptive solutions to river rise.

Who: Wendy Andringa, ASLA, Founder and Principal, Assemblage Landscape Architecture; Joshua Cerra, ASLA, Department Chair, Associate Professor, Landscape Architecture, Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Taewook Cha, ASLA, Founder and Principal, Supermass Studio. Adrian Smith, FASLA, Team Leader, Staten Island Capital Projects, NYC Parks, is moderating the discussion.

When: Thursday, September 21 at 2 PM EST

Where: Register for the virtual panel.

Today, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced its 2023 Professional Awards. Thirty-four Professional Award winners showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession. All winners and their locations are listed below.

Jury panels representing a broad cross-section of the profession, from the public and private sectors, and academia, select winners each year and are listed below. The 34 winners were chosen out of 435 entries.

New this year, the ASLA / International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) Global Impact Award is presented to a project in the Analysis and Planning category. The award is given to a work of landscape architecture that demonstrates excellence in  addressing climate impacts through transformative action and scalable solutions, and adherence to ASLA’s and IFLA’s climate action commitments. The inaugural award goes to the Caño Martín Peña Comprehensive Infrastructure Master Plan by OLIN for Corporación del Proyecto ENLACE del Caño Martín Peña. Led by a coalition of residents in the Caño Martín Peña District, the plan will increase access to safe drinking water, flood protection, economic opportunities, and safe housing and open space.

The Professional Awards jury also selects a Landmark Award each year; this year’s Landmark Award celebrates Vista Hermosa Natural Park by Studio-MLA. Previously an oil field located in an urban area without much green space, the park provides residents of a dense, primarily working-class Latine neighborhood with "a window to the Mountains," opportunities for recreation, access to nature, and quiet reprieve.

“The ASLA Professional Awards are the highest achievement in our profession,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA. “This year’s winners are preeminent leaders and have set a high bar for standards of excellence. We congratulate the winners and their clients and thank them for their contributions to the health and well-being of their communities.”

“These award-winning projects showcase how landscape architecture transforms the daily experiences of local communities,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “Cutting-edge design solutions help address increasing climate impacts, capture more carbon, and contribute to the health and well-being of neighborhoods. Congratulations to the winners—thank you for your leadership.”

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony during the ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Minneapolis, Minn., October 27-30. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

Award Categories

General Design

Honor Award
Qianhai's Guiwan Park
New York, New York
Field Operations

Honor Award
Grand Junction Park and Plaza
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
David Rubin Land Collective

Honor Award
Hood Bike Park: Pollution Purging Plants
Charleston, Massachusetts
Offshoots, Inc.

Honor Award
Remaking a 1970’s Downtown Park into a New Public Realm
Houston, Texas
OJB Landscape Architecture

Honor Award
Peavey Plaza: Preserving History, Expanding Access
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coen+Partners

Honor Award
The Meadow at the Old Chicago Post Office
Chicago, Illinois
Hoerr Schaudt

Honor Award
University of Arizona Environment + Natural Resource II
Phoenix, Arizona
Coldwell Shelor Landscape Architecture

Honor Award
Cloud Song: SCC Business School + Indigenous Cultural Center
Phoenix, Arizona
Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture

Honor Award
The University of Texas at El Paso Transformation
Austin, Texas
Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Inc.

Urban Design

Award of Excellence
Heart of the City: Art and Equity in Process and Place
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coen+Partners  

Honor Award
St Pete Pier, Revitalization of Waterfront and Historic Pier Site
New York, New York
Ken Smith Workshop

Honor Award
Town Branch Commons: An Urban Transformation in Lexington, Kentucky
New York, New York
SCAPE and Gresham Smith

Honor Award
PopCourts! - A Small Plaza That Turned into a Movement
Chicago, Illinois
The Lamar Johnson Collaborative

Residential Design

Award of Excellence
The Rain Gardens at 900 Block
Nashville, Tennessee
Gresham Smith  

Honor Award
Andesite Ridge
Aspen, Colorado
Design Workshop, Inc.

Honor Award
Dry Garden Poetry
San Francisco, California
Arterra Landscape Architects

Honor Award
Collected Works, Restored Land: Northeast Ohio Residence
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Reed Hilderbrand LLC Landscape Architecture

Honor Award
Black Fox Ranch: Extending the Legacy of the West to a New Generation
Aspen, Colorado
Design Workshop, Inc.

Honor Award
Sister Lillian Murphy Community
San Francisco, California
GLS Landscape | Architecture

Analysis & Planning

Award of Excellence
Re-investing in a Legacy Landscape: The Franklin Park Action Plan
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Reed Hilderbrand with Agency Landscape and Planning and MASS Design

Honor Award
The New Orleans Reforestation Plan: Equity in the Urban Forest
New Orleans, Louisiana
Spackman Mossop Michaels

Honor Award
Reimagine Middle Branch Plan
New York, New York
Field Operations

Honor Award
Iona Beach / xwəyeyət Regional Park and WWTP
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
space2place design inc.

Honor Award
Joe Louis Greenway Framework Plan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
SmithGroup

Honor Award
The Chattahoochee RiverLands
Metro Atlanta Region, Georgia
SCAPE

Honor Award
Nature, Culture + Justice: The Greenwood Park Master Plan
Watertown, Massachusetts
SASAKI

Honor Award
Nicks Creek Longleaf Reserve Conservation & Management Plan
Raleigh, North Carolina
North Carolina State University Coastal Dynamics Design Lab

Communications

Honor Award
Sakura Orihon
Newport, Rhode Island
Ron Henderson / LIRIO Landscape Architecture

Honor Award
The Historic Bruce Street School: A Community-Centered Design Approach
Atlanta, Georgia
Martin Rickles Studio

Honor Award
Landslide: Race and Space
Washington, D.C.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation

Honor Award
Los Angeles River Master Plan Update
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
OLIN

Research

Honor Award
The Cobble Bell: Research through Geology-Inspired Coastal Management
Charlottesville, Virgina
Proof Projects, LLC

The 2023 Professional Awards Jury includes:
 
Jury 1 -  General Design, Residential Design, & Urban Design

Chair: Kimberly Garza, ASLA, ATLAS Lab Inc.    

Michel Borg, AIA, Page Think
Shuyi Chang, ASLA, SWA                                    
Chingwen Cheng, PhD, ASLA, Arizona State University            
Claude Cormier, FASLA, Claude Cormier & Associates    
Jamie Maslyn Larson, FASLA, Tohono Chul                    
Garry Meus,  National Capital Commission
Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, Studio HIP                                

Jury 2 - Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research & Communications
 
Chair: Maura Rockcastle, ASLA, Ten x Ten

Camille Applewhite, ASLA, Site Design Group    
Stephanie Grigsby, ASLA, Design Workshop, Inc
Mitchell Silver, Hon. ASLA, McAdams
Michael Stanley, FASLA, Dream Design International, Inc.
Michael Todoran, The Landscape Architecture Podcast
Yujia Wang, ASLA, University of Nebraska

Joining the professional awards jury for the selection of the Analysis & Planning – ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award category will be a representative on behalf of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

Monica Pallares, IFLA Americas

Also, joining the professional jury for the selection of the Research Category will be representatives on behalf of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).
 
Jenn Engelke, ASLA, University of Washington,  LAF Representative
Sohyun Park, ASLA, University of Connecticut, CELA Representative

Today the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced that Vista Hermosa Natural Park in Los Angeles, designed by the landscape architecture firm Studio-MLA, has won the ASLA 2023 Landmark Award.

The Landmark Award is bestowed upon a distinguished landscape architecture project completed between 15 and 50 years ago that retains its original design integrity and contributes many benefits to the surrounding community.

Completed in 2008, Vista Hermosa was the first public park built in downtown Los Angeles in over 100 years. Previously an oil field located in an urban area without much green space, the park provides residents of a dense, primarily working-class Latine neighborhood with "a window to the Mountains," opportunities for recreation, access to nature, and quiet reprieve. The project was a partnership between Studio-MLA and their clients Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

“Mia Lehrer and Studio-MLA have always been on the leading edge of landscape architecture,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA. “Fifteen years ago, Vista Hermosa Natural Park was ahead of its time in both community social benefits and environmental benefits. Those contributions continue today.”

“Vista Hermosa Natural Park is a perfect example of the impact landscape architects can have for a community—transforming a toxic brownfield to a beautiful community asset.” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “This park is indeed a landmark of significance.”

“From an environmental perspective, the park is far ahead of its time and full of firsts for Los Angeles. We have a water collection system under the meadow, a cistern beneath a permeable pavement parking lot, green roofs on the restrooms and offices, a synthetic turf soccer field, and drought-tolerant native species throughout the site, organized into three specific habitat areas,” said Mia Lehrer, FASLA, founder of Studio-MLA. “There is a sense of place here, ‘a window to the mountains’ for community and families, quinceañeras, yoga classes, weddings, and a vista of downtown that’s really beloved and featured in films and photos. It was a forgotten oil field in a park-deficient neighborhood, and it has been reimagined into a thriving 10-acre wonderland. In every way, Vista Hermosa is a landmark that has changed the city and the experiences of people who live here.”

The Landmark Award was announced as part of the ASLA 2023 Professional Awards. Thirty-four winners in multiple categories showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement in the landscape architecture profession.

Award recipients and their clients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony during the ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Minneapolis, MN., October 27-30. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

The 2023 Professional Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1-  General Design, Residential Design, & Urban Design

Chair: Kimberly Garza, ASLA, ATLAS Lab Inc.    

Michel Borg, AIA, Page Think
Shuyi Chang, ASLA, SWA                                    
Chingwen Cheng, PhD, ASLA, Arizona State University                
Jamie Maslyn Larson,FASLA, Tohono Chul                    
Garry Meus,  National Capital Commission
Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, Studio HIP                                

Jury 2 - Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research & Communications
 
Chair: Maura Rockcastle, ASLA, Ten x Ten

Camille Applewhite, ASLA, Site Design Group    
Stephanie Grigsby, ASLA, Design Workshop, Inc
Mitchell Silver, Hon. ASLA, McAdams
Michael Stanley, FASLA, Dream Design International, Inc.
Michael Todoran, The Landscape Architecture Podcast
Yujia Wang, ASLA, University of Nebraska

Joining the professional awards jury for the selection of the Analysis & Planning – ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award category will be a representative on behalf of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

Monica Pallares, IFLA Americas

Also, joining the professional jury for the selection of the Research Category will be representatives on behalf of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).

Sohyun Park, ASLA, University of Connecticut, CELA Representative
Jenn Engelke, ASLA, University of Washington, LAF Representative

Today the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced its 2023 Student Awards. Winners showcase innovation and represent the highest level of achievement among the future of the profession. All winners and their schools are listed below.

Jury panels representing a broad cross-section of the profession, from the public and private sectors, and academia, select winners each year and are listed below. The 30 winners were chosen out of 372 entries.

“I’m always excited to see the winners of the student awards because of the range of creativity, especially in the area of  community engagement which is the future of our profession,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA. “This year’s winners are dedicated to making landscapes more accessible to more people and helping communities grapple with the climate and biodiversity crises.”

“These award winners are the brightest stars in landscape architecture programs around the country and internationally,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen. “When I visit campuses, I’m so impressed and energized by the way our students are committed to helping communities solve some of the biggest challenges. The projects represented in these awards speak to that commitment.”

Award recipients will be honored in person at the awards presentation ceremony during the ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Minneapolis, MN., October 27-30. Media are invited to attend; please email press@asla.org for credentials.

Members of the media please contact press@asla.org to request hi-res images.

Award Categories

General Design

Award of Excellence
Reviving Yanomami Rights: Plant Matrix for Mercury Management
Shanghai Jiao Tong University；Sichuan University；Southeast University；China Architecture Design & Research Group

Honor Award
A Self-Help Plan Based on Productive Green Space Systems
Huazhong Agricultural University

Honor Award
Re(de)fining Decomposition
University of Virginia

Honor Award
The Oasis of Baer's Pochard : Humanity in Harmony with Wetlands
Wuhan University/ Huazhong Agricultural University

Residential Design

Honor Award
Gentrification Vaccine: a pioneering housing paradigm for Long Beach
Sichuan Agricultural University

Honor Award
From Shelter to Home
University of Oregon

Urban Design

Honor Award
Harvest the Wind: Reshaping Urban Heat Island Through Urban Farming
Soochow University & Louisiana State University

Honor Award
The Gift of Volcanoes
Chongqing University; Milan Polytechnic University; University College London

Analysis & Planning

Honor Award
Hydrological Enclave: Adaptive Management of Non-water Supply Reservoir
University of Hong Kong

Honor Award
Retrieve the Lost Treasure: Forest Rehabilitation in Madagascar
Southeast University

Honor Award
Confrontation or Symbiosis
Northeast Forestry University, Tongji University

Honor Award
Designing Healthy Places in the American South: Montezuma, Georgia
University of Georgia

Honor Award
Design Tactics for Climate-Based Migration in Biodiversity Corridors
North Carolina State University

Student Collaboration

Award of Excellence
On the Edge: a Climate Adaptive Park for the Battleship NC Memorial
North Carolina State University

Honor Award
Dynamic Roots
North Carolina State University

Honor Award
Caretakers + Placemakers of New Orleans
Louisiana State University

Communications

Honor Award
Art (that) Worlds: Design Guidelines for Equitable Public Art
Kansas State University

Honor Award
Walk to Learn: Exploratory Children's Field Journal for Epping Way
Mississippi State University

Honor Award
Point of Confluence: Re-thinking Large Landscape Infrastructure Design
University of Southern California

Honor Award
Children's Book and Learning Games on Indiana Native Plants & Habitats
Purdue University

Honor Award
The UC Davis Sheepmowers Project
University of California, Davis

Research

Award of Excellence
The Play Value of Plants
Texas Tech University

Honor Award
Advancing Trauma-Informed Landscape Architecture
North Carolina State University

Honor Award
Designing Spectrums
Cornell University

Honor Award
Equity in Landscape Architecture: Black Students’ Perspectives
Kansas State University

Honor Award
Built on Thawing Ice: Socio-Ecological Design in a Warming Arctic City
University of Virginia

Honor Award
Toward Dynamic Optimization: Combining AI and EBHDL for the Elderly
South China Agricultural University

Honor Award
Unearthing Water Efficiency: Clay Pot Irrigation Design & Fabrication
University of Oregon

Student Community Service

Award of Excellence
Rooted in Resiliency
Iowa State University

Honor Award
Collaboration & Sharing: Promoting Healthy Life in a Low-Income Community
Anhui University

The 2023 Student Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1 - General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Student Collaboration    
                
Chair: Michael Grove, FASLA, Sasaki

Haley Blakeman, FASLA, LSU
David Jung, FASLA, AECOM
Adriana Hernández Aguirre, ASLA,  Coleman & Associates
Christina Hite, ASLA, Dix-Hite
Ellen Stewart, ASLA, City of St Paul
Mark Yoes, FAIA, W X Y architecture + urban design

Jury 2–Analysis & Planning, Communications, Research & Student Community Service

Chair: Kofi Boone, FASLA, NC State University

Keven Graham, FASLA, Terra Engineering
Dalton LaVoie, ASLA, Stantec
Stephanie Onwenu, ASLA, Detroit Collaborative Design
Naomi Sachs, ASLA, University Maryland / Therapeutic Landscape Network
Andrew Sargeant, ASLA, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress

• Climate solutions
• Parks and recreation
• Twin Cities, the Mississippi River, and the Great Lakes
• Affordable housing
• Cities and communities
• Racial equity
• Post-disaster resilience
• Water management
• Transportation infrastructure
• Biodiversity and green infrastructure

ASLA Legacy Project: The Minnesota Chapter of the ASLA has teamed up with the local affiliate of the ACE Mentor Program to recruit local area high school students for a landscape architecture design project as a gift back to the host region. Work on this year’s project has already begun and will be completed and installed after the conference. Maxfield Elementary School, located in the heart of the historically Black community of Rondo in St. Paul, Minn., is the focus of the 2023 ASLA Legacy Project. This school, which was moved for the construction of Interstate Highway 94, serves students from diverse cultural backgrounds in pre-K through grade 5. The project will update Maxfield’s schoolyard, in partnership with the community, Trust for Public Land (TPL), Urban Farm, Garden Alliance, and Gordon Parks High School. The upgrading of the playground will improve the functionality and safety of the space. In addition, by enhancing the green space the playground will create a healthier environment so that the community and Maxfield teachers will be able to tap into students’ curiosity, enthusiasm, and imagination to engage them fully in learning.

Credentialed media are invited to participate in a variety of opportunities throughout the conference, including the general session, the EXPO floor, all educational sessions, and field sessions and special events as availability permits.

To submit media credential requests, indicate topics of particular interest to you, or ask questions, please email press@asla.org. Go to the conference website.

ASLA has released its first national survey on the role of landscape architecture products in achieving decarbonization and biodiversity goals. A cross-section of ASLA members, including landscape architects, designers, and landscape architecture educators in the U.S., responded to the survey in June 2023.

According to the survey results, landscape architects seek:

• Increased collaboration with product manufacturers, universities, and allied organizations to research, analyze, and reduce climate and biodiversity impacts of products.
• New product data to better measure carbon in projects, including:
  • Embodied carbon factors for materials
  • Projected carbon sequestration of tree species
  • Greenhouse gas emissions of products' entire lifecycle
• New local options for 14 product categories to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transporting products.
• A new open-source landscape architecture product data library and carbon factor dataset.
• And to address potential biodiversity impacts, they seek new research and knowledge sharing.

“Our ambitious Climate Action Plan, released last year, called for all landscape architecture projects to achieve zero embodied and operational emissions and increase carbon sequestration by 2040. It also called for all projects to restore ecosystems and increase and protect biodiversity. The products used in projects are absolutely central to landscape architects achieving these goals,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen.

"The survey clearly shows that landscape architects and product manufacturers must deepen their collaboration to reduce the climate and biodiversity impacts of materials in built landscapes. We can only achieve our goals by working together, being more transparent about materials, and increasing our collective performance," said ASLA National Climate Action Committee Chair April Phillips, FASLA.  

Key findings:

24% of landscape architects surveyed state that clients are setting greenhouse gas emission budgets for one or more of their projects. 2% stated an emissions budget is in place for all their projects.

56% of landscape architects surveyed ask for third party-verified environmental product data, including Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), at some stage in the design process.

There is significant demand for specifying local products to reduce transportation emissions. A majority of landscape architects would specify local products from 14 product categories if they were available.

To reduce embodied carbon from products and also increase the use of products that sequester carbon, landscape architects see the need for additional industry-wide product data.

The product data most in demand: 

• Embodied carbon factors of materials, which measures the embodied greenhouse gas emissions per mass of a given material
• Projected carbon sequestration by species of trees
• Greenhouse gas emissions of products' entire lifecycle
• Greenhouse gas emissions for transporting products to project sites
• Greenhouse gas emissions savings from the use of innovative materials

Read the complete analysis and see the full results of the member survey and a poll of product manufacturers.
  

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, has announced $25,000 in national competitive grants.

The grant awardees will produce research that outlines evidence of the benefits of landscape architecture solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises. The research will be published on ASLA.org and openly accessible in spring 2024.

The grant awardees are:

Landscape Architecture Solutions to Extreme Heat

Dr. Daniella Hirschfeld, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, Utah State University

Dr. Hirshfeld will explore landscape architecture- and nature-based solutions that are effective at reducing temperatures. Dr. Hirshfeld will identify design strategies that have demonstrated temperature reduction benefits while also sequestering carbon, protecting and increasing biodiversity, and reducing climate risks.  

Landscape Architecture Solutions to Biodiversity Loss

Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, PhD, SITES AP, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut

Dr. Park will explore landscape architecture- and nature-based solutions that address the biodiversity crisis. Dr. Park will identify design strategies that offer proven biodiversity and ecological gains while also sequestering carbon, improving water quality and management, and reducing climate risks.

“While we were developing our Climate Action Plan, landscape architects told us what they needed most was authoritative evidence that demonstrates all the great benefits of their work. We are thrilled to work with Sohyun and Daniella on moving this critically important research forward,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen.  

“This research will help all of us in the landscape architecture community make the strongest case possible with policymakers, community groups, allied professionals, and the public,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA. “We’ll have the best science and performance data on hand.”

The goals of the research reviews are to:

• Understand and summarize the current state of knowledge.
• Synthesize the research literature and provide insights, leveraging key data- and science-based evidence.
• Create accessible executive summaries for policymakers, community advocates, and practicing landscape architects.

About the Grant Awardees

Dr. Daniella Hirschfeld

“Well-designed places, such as parks with large shade trees, can alleviate the experience of extreme heat caused by the climate crisis. To make these designs a reality, we need to understand their effectiveness and the multiple benefits they can provide,” Dr. Hirshfeld said.

Dr. Daniella Hirschfeld, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at Utah State University. Daniella received her PhD in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning from University of California, Berkeley. Her PhD was funded by the McQuown Fellowship at UC Berkeley and the State of California’s Ocean Protection Council. She received her master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and her bachelor's degree in psychology and philosophy at Dartmouth College. Daniella also has professional experience in coastal zone management, sustainability planning, and urban planning.

Daniella is currently working with teams of collaborators on projects related to urban heat islands. She is working on an urban heat island mapping campaign funded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Urban Heat Island Mapping Program, focused on understanding the inequities in the distribution of urban heat experiences in Salt Lake City. She is collaborating with climate scientists at Utah State University; non-profits; departments in Salt Lake City’s government; and science groups, including the Utah Climate Center, the Tracy Aviary, and the Natural History Museum of Utah.

Daniella is also working on “the injustice in the void spaces,” which surfaces the hidden inequities of poorly distributed climate science services. Her team has investigated the information and resources needed to design cities resilient to urban heat. She is collaborating with a team at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – Applied Science Program and the Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI) on this research.

Dr. Sohyun Park

“As stewards of the land, we have the ability and privilege to restore and revitalize spaces that benefit both humans and non-human species. The biodiversity crisis is often not readily perceptible in our daily lives, so I hope the results of this research will provoke deep contemplation about the alarming state of biodiversity loss, foster a sense of global interconnectedness, and inspire greater action,” said Dr. Sohyun Park.

Dr. Sohyun Park, ASLA, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Connecticut. She earned her Ph.D. degree in Environmental Design and Planning from Arizona State University, a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Seoul National University, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Sookmyung Women's University. She is a SITES Accredited Professional.

Sohyun’s research focuses on the intricate interplay between natural and human systems, with a particular focus on sustainability, resilience, and the health of ecosystems and communities. Her research aims to advance our understanding of how urban morphology, functions, and changes influence ecosystem services, as well as their interactions with human well-being. A central aspect of her research centers around urban biodiversity, seeking solutions to address the biodiversity crisis.

Sohyun has secured grants from the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Her work has been featured in the journals Nature Scientific Report, Landscape and Urban Planning, and Applied Geography. She has delivered plenary presentations at major international conferences, including the 2022 International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) World Congress, the 2022 International Symposium of Landscape Architecture, and the 2022 International Garden Symposium.

Sohyun holds several leadership roles, including Co-Chair of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture NE1962 National Multi-State Research Group; Chair of the ASLA Ecology and Restoration Professional Practice Network; and Vice President of the Global Landscape Architecture Network. She was Chair of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) conference tracks (2016-2022).

About the Grant Process

The national competitive grant for biodiversity loss received seven research proposals from academics at U.S. universities. The national competitive grant for extreme heat received nine proposals.

ASLA wishes to thank the selection and review panels for their contributions selecting the grant awardees and peer-reviewing the research:

Biodiversity Loss 

• Dr. James A. LaGro, Jr., PhD, Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, College of Letters & Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Madison, and Editor-in-Chief, Landscape Journal
• Nina-Marie Lister, Hon. ASLA, Professor, Director, Ecological Design Lab, School of Urban and Regional Planning, Toronto Metropolitan University; Founding Principal, PLANDFORM.
• Ebru Özer, ASLA, Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design, Florida International University, and ASLA Vice President of Education
• Dr. Susan Sherrod, PhD, Senior Ecologist, Professional Wetland Scientist, and Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner, Biohabitats 

Extreme Heat

• Dr. Wenwen Cheng, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, College of Letters & Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Dr. James A. LaGro, Jr., PhD, Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, College of Letters & Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Madison, and Editor, Landscape Journal
• Ebru Özer, ASLA, Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design, Florida International University, and ASLA Vice President of Education

Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated landscape architecture a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) degree program. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) advocated for the designation.
 
“Landscape architecture applies science, technology, cutting edge research, and engineering principles, to design healthy communities, active transportation projects, campuses and parks. We help communities adapt to climate driven extreme weather and support biodiversity,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of ASLA. “The infrastructure challenges in municipalities across the country are enormous —landscape architects bring transformative solutions. Today’s decision will advance landscape architecture education and practice, and that is great for America and the global community.”

Landscape architecture programs are pioneering some of the most innovative research and developing new technologies - from using artificial intelligence for urban agriculture, to urban planning for autonomous vehicles; to hydraulic modeling, robotic fabrication, and augmented reality for water bodies, and more.

"The STEM designation finally reflects the reality of the discipline of landscape architecture. Our work is fully dependent on science and technology, from understanding soils at the level of microbial interactions and nutrient exchanges, which keep our urban canopy alive, to coastal adaptations informed by continuously evolving climate data," said Gary Hilderbrand, FASLA, the Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice and Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design. "This new designation brings with it greater opportunities for students and graduates throughout the United States and beyond to become leaders in the field."

“Landscape architects have incredible responsibility for the health, safety and well-being of communities which is why it’s imperative for landscape architects to continue to be licensed to practice,” said Emily O'Mahoney, FASLA, President of ASLA. “The STEM designation will be an additional tool in helping decision-makers understand the rigor this discipline demands.”

View the application materials ASLA submitted

Today the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced the election of 48 members as ASLA Fellows for their exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large. Election to the ASLA Council of Fellows is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and is based on their works, leadership/management, knowledge and service.

“Landscape architects help build a better world for all of us, and ASLA Fellows represent the most respected and accomplished professionals in the entire field,” said ASLA President Emily O'Mahoney, FASLA. “This year's class of ASLA Fellows has made outstanding contributions to people's health, safety, and welfare; environmental sustainability and climate resilience; and stronger communities. Congratulations to the 2023 class of ASLA Fellows!”

“Naming a new class of ASLA Fellows is a joyful reminder of everything that landscape architects do to make our communities more equitable, more beautiful, and more resilient,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen (@toreycarter). “We extend our warmest thanks to the new class of ASLA Fellows for all of their accomplishments and contributions to human flourishing.”

ASLA Fellows will be elevated during a special investiture ceremony at the 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture, which will be held in Minneapolis, October 27-30, 2023.

2023 ASLA Fellows:

• Patrick Jay Beam, ASLA, Beam Designs LLC, Powell, Ohio
• Robb Berg, ASLA, Design Workshop, Denver, Colorado
• Tina Bishop, ASLA, Mundus Bishop, Denver, Colorado
• C.L. Bohannon, ASLA, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
• Renée Byers, ASLA, Renée Byers Landscape Architect, Bronxville, New York
• Taewook Cha, ASLA, Supermass Studio, New York, New York
• Nancy Beth Clark, ASLA, Clark Condon Associates, Houston, Texas
• Allison Kirkpatrick Colwell, ASLA, Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture, Phoenix, Arizona
• Aida Curtis, ASLA, Curtis + Rogers Design Studio, Miami, Florida
• M. Eric Davis, ASLA, Surface 678, Durham, North Carolina
• Sharon Deep-Nelson, ASLA, Landscape Architect, Birmingham, Alabama
• Michelle Delk, ASLA, Snohetta, New York, New York
• Nord Eriksson, ASLA, EPT Design, Pasadena, California
• Yunhui (Connie) Fan, ASLA, LSG Landscape Architecture, Tysons, Virginia
• Craig Farnsworth, ASLA, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
• Kelleann Foster, ASLA, Pennsylvania State University, State College
• Kenneth Francis, ASLA, Surroundings Studio, Sante Fe, New Mexico
• Jay Gehler, ASLA, Coleman Company, Savannah, Georgia
• Robert J. Gunderson, ASLA, SGA Group, Buffalo, Minnesota
• Bryan Hanes, ASLA, Studio Bryan Hanes, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Jeffrey Hou, ASLA, University of Washington, Seattle
• Dorothée Imbert, ASLA, The Ohio State University, Columbus
• Manisha Kaul, ASLA, Design Workshop, Chicago, Illinois
• Kate Kennen, ASLA, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
• John Kett, ASLA, Reed Hilderbrand, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• David Koga, ASLA, The Land Group, Eagle, Idaho
• Joy Marie Kuebler, ASLA, Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect, North Tonawanda, New York
• Marieke Lacasse, ASLA, GGLO, Seattle, Washington
• Theodore Lee, ASLA, HGA, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Robert Loftis, ASLA, MRWM Landscape Architects, Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Jeanne Lukenda, ASLA, Resilient Great Lakes, Dover, Massachusetts
• Laurie Matthews, ASLA, MIG, Portland, Oregon
• Emily McCoy, ASLA, Design Workshop, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Karen McCoy, ASLA, MKSK, Columbus, Ohio
• Guy Michaelsen, ASLA, Berger Partnership, Seattle, Washington
• Willett Moss, ASLA, CMG Landscape Architecture, San Francisco, California
• Galen D. Newman, ASLA, Texas A&M University, College Station
• Nancy Owens, ASLA, Nancy Owens Studio, New York, New York
• Ebru Ozer, ASLA, Florida International University, Miami
• Robert F. Poore, ASLA, Native Habitats, Inc., Flora, Mississippi
• Kenneth Prince, ASLA, City of Mishawaka, Indiana
• Robert Rennebohm, ASLA, Rennebohm & Associates, Clive, Iowa
• Kirt Rieder, ASLA, Hargreaves Jones, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Stephen Schrader, ASLA, Renta Urban Land Design, Birmingham, Alabama
• Kate Stickley, ASLA, Arterra Landscape Architects, San Francisco, California
• Jennifer Toole, ASLA, Toole Design Group, Silver Spring, Maryland
• Mauricio Villarreal, ASLA, PLACE, Portland, Oregon
• Bo Yang, ASLA, University of Arizona, Tucson

Learn more about the ASLA Council of Fellows and explore Fellow biographies.

ASLA 2023 Honors Recipients / ASLA

 

ASLA announced its 2023 Honors Recipients, highlighting some of the most noteworthy landscape architecture practitioners and firms nationwide. Selected by ASLA’s board of trustees, the honors represent the highest recognition ASLA bestows each year.

“The ASLA honorees are the best of the best and represent what is possible in the field of landscape architecture. This is the highest recognition ASLA bestows each year,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA. “This year’s recipients join a rarified group; we celebrate and congratulate another standout class of honorees on their well-earned recognition.”

The ASLA Medal

Image Credit:
Hitesh Mehta

Patricia O'Donnell, FASLA

“Landscape architecture training and skills empower me as an agent of action through diverse works and organizational collaborations. As a professional, I embrace life-long learning, creativity and integrated solutions for the benefit of people, planet and peace. It has been and is an honor to deepen worldwide understanding, respect for and action to uplift diverse cultural landscapes.”

 

Patricia O’Donnell, PLA, FASLA, possesses expertise, talent and a collaborative spirit that is widely recognized across the design and preservation professions and allied fields nationally and world-wide. Through four decades of work as a preservation landscape architect and of service as a thought leader, advocate, instigator, and innovator, she has advanced sustainable heritage. O’Donnell is widely respected as a pioneer in forging a path for landscape architects to be significant members of the preservation community.

Heritage Landscapes, her small firm, has received 99 awards for over 600 planning, design, construction, and communications projects, attesting to high-quality professional works. ASLA recognized this corpus with the prestigious 2019 ASLA Firm Award, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation bestowed the 2021 Crowninshield Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Wholly dedicated to heritage places, Patricia views cultural landscapes as shared commons intertwining nature and culture. Her works emphasize tackling current issues of planetary rights, biodiversity, cultural diversity, and inclusion aligned to global goals and local actions. With voice, knowledge and energy, O'Donnell has made a significant, transformative, and beneficial impact upon our profession, nation, heritage places, communities and hundreds of individuals, to a remarkable degree, as a passionate steward of our shared inheritance.

View nominating and supporting materials.  

 

The ASLA Design Medal

Image Credit:
Jake Chessum

James Corner, FASLA

“Landscape architecture has probably never had so much to offer society than it does today: the field's capacity to work creatively with complex natural systems combined with social experience, public space and community, places it squarely in the vanguard of today's built environment and urbanization. Landscape architects do not only resolve problems and create breathtaking beauty in cities, towns and places where people live - they also address the deeper cultural issues of our time: our shared relationship to nature, environment and to one another. Here, the pragmatic poetry of landscape is the art of milieu, the art of human being and becoming in worlds of geography, ecology, place and time.”

 

James Corner is the Founder of James Corner Field Operations, based in New York City, with offices in San Francisco, Philadelphia, London and Shenzhen. Important urban public realm projects include New York’s highly-acclaimed High Line; Seattle’s Central Waterfront; San Francisco’s Presidio Tunneltops; Chicago’s Navy Pier; London’s South Park Plaza at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park; Hong Kong’s Victoria Dockside; and Shenzhen’s new city of Qianhai.

James’s work has been recognized with numerous awards, most notably the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, the American Academy of Arts & Letters Award in Architecture, and the Richard Neutra Medal. He holds Honorary Doctorates in Design from the Technical University of Munich and Manchester Metropolitan University.

His work has been exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art; the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum; the National Building Museum; the Royal Academy of Art in London; and the Venice Biennale. Books include The High Line: Foreseen/Unforeseen (Phaidon, 2015); The Landscape Imagination (Princeton, 2014), and Taking Measures Across the American Landscape (Yale, 1996).

James is Emeritus Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, where served on the faculty since 1990, and as Professor and Chairman 2000-2013. He sits on the Board of the Urban Design Forum and the Government Advisory Board of Shenzhen, and is an Elected Member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Community Service Award - Individual

Image Credit:
Jim Donovan

Jim Donovan, FASLA

“Using my landscape architecture training in volunteer work has allowed me to engage and educate local, regional, and statewide leaders, committees and citizens in the many aspects of landscape architecture; it has been a deeply rewarding for me, educational and beneficial for the others, and a lot of fun for all of us (most of the time!).”

 

Jim Donovan, FASLA, PLA has practiced landscape architecture with purpose and joy for over 40 years. In 2008, Jim struck out on his own, founding Broadreach Planning & Design, a firm focusing on bicycle and pedestrian transportation and community planning & design. The firm worked across the country from its office Charlotte, Vermont. Recently, he shifted the focus of his work, which, as of now, he is still not calling retirement. His current position includes being an accidental land developer, a continually recycled ASLA Vermont Chapter officer, an ongoing pro bono Town consultant, a cheerful volunteer to the ICOMOS International Cultural Tourism Committee assisting World Heritage Sites around the world, an advocate for landscape architecture at the Vermont legislature, and an unappointed leader of rogue planting teams around his hometown. Though no longer working for pay, Jim still maintains his landscape architect license in his home state of Vermont and his AICP designation. Jim served as VTASLA Trustee for as long as possible, and is still serving on several national ASLA committees, as well as several other volunteer committees locally, regionally, and internationally.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The Jot D. Carpenter Teaching Medal

Image Credit:
Kelli Jacobs, MSU Extension Service

Sadik Artunç, FASLA

“Landscape architecture has the keys for sustainable and resilient future.”

 

Sadık C. Artunç, FASLA, FCELA has been the Head of Department of Landscape Architecture at Mississippi State University (MSU) since January 2007. Prior to his tenure at MSU, he taught in the Robert S. Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University between 2007 - 1981.

A native of Turkey, Sadık is a naturalized citizen of the U.S.A. He has earned BS and MS in forestry and forest engineering from the University of Istanbul and MLA from the University of Michigan. He is a registered landscape architect in the U.S.A. and a registered forester and forest engineer in Turkey. His teaching involves design implementation and construction, site planning and design, and regional planning and design. His professional consulting involves large-scale planning and design with a focus mostly on recreation and tourism, resource planning, and design implementation and construction. Sadık has been an active member of various professional organizations and societies since 1981. Always a tireless and enthusiastic promoter of the profession of landscape architecture and ASLA, CELA, LAAB, and IFLA. Sadık served at various leadership capacities and levels: the Louisiana Chapter president (1991); chapter trustee (1996–2001); and finally, as the national vice-president of membership (2002–2004). He has served as the President of CELA in 2020-2021. Sadık was inducted into the ASLA Council of Fellows in 2000, and CELA Academy of Fellows in 2023.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The LaGasse Medal - Landscape Architect Professional

Image Credit:
Marc Hall

Charles A. Flink II, FASLA

“Landscape architecture has inspired and empowered me to pursue my passion for conserving our planet’s precious natural resources and at the same time designing landscapes that improve daily life. Throughout my career, I also enjoyed building priceless long-term friendships that have enriched my personal and professional journey.”

 

Chuck Flink, FASLA, is an award-winning author and landscape architect who during his 40-year career has completed work in 250 communities, 35 states, and 7 foreign countries. He is the recipient of four dozen national, regional and local awards, and has served on governing boards for American Trails, East Coast Greenway and the 911 National Memorial Trail. Notable works include the Anne Springs Close Greenway, South Carolina; Charleston County Greenbelt Plan, South Carolina; Miami River Greenway, Florida; Grand Forks Greenway, North Dakota; Razorback Greenway in Arkansas; and Grand Canyon Greenway, Arizona. Chuck is the 2006 NC State University College of Design Distinguished Alumnus, and 2019 NC State University Watauga Medal recipient. Chuck has authored three books about greenways and trails: Greenways. A Guide to Planning, Design and Development, Trails for the Twenty First Century, and The Greenway Imperative: Connecting Communities and Landscapes for A Sustainable Future.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The LaGasse Medal - Non-Landscape Architect Professional

Image Credit:
Nick Romanenko, Rutgers University

Steven N. Handel PhD, Hon. ASLA

“We have learned much about the ecology of plant communities, but without scientists closely collaborating with landscape architects that knowledge will never be expressed on the ground. This transdisciplinary partnership is critical for a sustainable world that can serve us all.”

 

Steven Handel studies the restoration of native plant communities, adding sustainable ecological services, biodiversity, and amenities to the landscape. He explores problems of urban and other heavily degraded lands. He is a Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolution Emeritus at Rutgers University. Previously, he was a Visiting Professor of Ecology at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design for four years, a biology professor and director of the Marsh Botanic Garden at Yale University. Dr. Handel is a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is the Editor of the professional journal Ecological Restoration. In 2007, he was elected an Honorary Member ASLA. He received the Society for Ecological Restoration’s highest research honor, the Theodore M. Sperry Award, “…for pioneering work in the restoration of urban areas.” Handel received his B.A. from Columbia and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell in Ecology.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The Landscape Architecture Firm Award

Biohabitats

“Biohabitats is both honored and humbled to receive this prestigious award from ASLA. We hope this spotlight on our ecologically focused, cross disciplinary work will illuminate the power of all design firms to urgently address and act on climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental justice. We need to rewild the world.”

 

Biohabitats engages with communities throughout North America and the world to restore nature, protect fresh water, address climate change and right environmental injustices. Rooted in nature-based solutions, Biohabitats provides industry leading research, regional conservation planning, ecological design, and restoration construction services to an array of clients and organizations. Biohabitats’ success in restoring habitat, protecting biodiversity, managing freshwater, and helping people adapt to a changing climate is backed by over 40 years of hands-on experience. With offices organized by Bioregions, Biohabitats’ approach to solving complex ecological challenges is deeply engrained in the natural patterns and cultural forms of the land. It’s rooted in the way we practice - guided by sound science, directed by a profound understanding of the land, and framed by traditional ecological knowledge. Recognizing this interconnectedness between people and nature, Biohabitats purposely supports an interdisciplinary team of landscape architects, ecologists, scientists, conservation planners, ecological engineers, and construction specialists. As a certified B Corp, Biohabitats operates under the ownership of a Perpetual Purpose Trust, where nature is our primary shareholder. Inspiring love for wild places is our purpose, restoring the earth is our mission, creating an ecologically rich world is our vision for the future.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The Medal of Excellence

Image Credit:
Jack Dangermond

Jack Dangermond

“Landscape architecture and landscape architects have always immensely excited me. Landscape Architecture as a discipline is the only profession that integrates the sciences of our world with the power of design thinking. In many ways landscape architects are applied scientists. In their work they aspire to understand the context of a situation…considering all the factors; environmental, social, and economic, and then integrating this understanding into a creative design process to solve problems. Their work spans many scales; from local garden design to green infrastructure planning all the way to addressing global environmental challenges. In these challenging times, this discipline holds the promise of helping create a sustainable future. The role of Landscape Architects will become increasingly important and their impact on human behavior and the environment will be profound. From my perspective it is one of the most important professions of our time.”

 

A landscape architect by training, Jack Dangermond founded Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) in 1969 with a vision that computer mapping and analysis could help design a better future. Under Dangermond's leadership, that vision has continued to guide Esri in creating cutting- edge GIS and Geodesign technologies used in every industry to make a difference worldwide. Dangermond fostered the growth of Esri from a small research group to an organization recognized as the world leader in GIS software development. Esri employs more than 4,000 people worldwide; many who shared his passion for GIS in the early days are still with the company and remain dedicated to helping our users be successful.

Dangermond’s vision for Esri goes beyond building the leading GIS technology. He keeps the company mindful of global challenges and the needs of specific industries. The ongoing drive is to engineer ArcGIS to aggregate and integrate increasing quantities of data, to visualize and analyze the data to gain holistic understanding, and to help individuals and organizations make impactful evidence-based decisions.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

The Olmsted Medal

Image Credit:
The Cultural Landscape Foundation

The Cultural Landscape Foundation

“Landscape architecture provides an unrivaled stage for living in harmony with natural processes while revealing and interpreting significant historic fabric and cultural lifeways. What excites me most is that the profession is uniquely positioned to shape our futures by understanding our past.”

 

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is a Washington, D.C.-based education and advocacy non-profit founded in 1998 with a mission of “connecting people to places.”

During the past 25 years TCLF has created an extensive, carefully vetted, and profusely illustrated digital database of thousands of cultural landscapes (What’s Out There®), multiple books about and a digital database with biographies of more than 1,000 landscape architects and allied professionals (Pioneers of American Landscape Design®), along with eighteen video oral histories, and has advocated for threatened landscapes and landscape features (Landslide®), saving dozens from demolition. In addition, TCLF’s conferences, tours, traveling exhibitions, annual thematic reports and digital exhibition, more than 750 videos, and numerous other initiatives have raised the visibility of our shared landscape legacy and those who shape it. In 2019, TCLF announced the creation of a global award – the biennial Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize®, which like the Pritzker Prize in architecture, includes a $100,000 purse, along with public engagement activities about the winner’s career and the discipline’s relevance and importance.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Emerging Professional Medal

Image Credit:
Katrina Poggio

Abigail Reimel, ASLA

“I am inspired by the hopeful nature of landscape architecture. Working amongst some of our greatest global challenges, we persist as a small profession with an outsized capacity for good.”

 

Abigail is a Florida-based landscape architect licensed in both Florida and Washington State working at the multi-disciplinary firm WGI. Originally from Michigan, Abigail attended Michigan State University where she earned a degree in Landscape Architecture. During her time at Michigan State, Abigail forged a path to serve as a member of the inaugural National Student Advisory Committee. In her second year with the committee, she was elected as the National Student Representative to the ASLA Board of Trustees. In this role, Abigail coordinated with state chapters for the development of better engagement practices with student chapters through direct contact and support. These practices came with a focus on lending a voice to issues faced by students and emerging professionals on a national level, targeted recruitment for increasing diversity across young professional groups, and creating tangible value in membership. She has been involved with numerous ASLA national committees over the past six years leveraging her experiences to better serve her home chapter in Florida. Within the Florida Chapter, Abigail was selected for the 2022 Exceptional Emerging Professional award and elected to her current term serving as the ASLA Florida Member at Large for Leadership & Membership.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Honorary Membership

Image Credit:
Kira Derryberry

Diana Ferguson, Esq.

“I love the way that landscape architecture connects people to the world around them in so many ways that they often never even realize. Landscape architecture shapes and enhances the way people engage with their community. Holistic design approaches that include consideration of the landscape allow for innovative, effective and beautiful solutions that improve public safety, water quality, and so much more.”

 

Diana Ferguson has been an attorney and lobbyist with Rutledge Ecenia in Tallahassee, FL since 2011 and has represented ASLA FL since that time. Her work is concentrated in the areas of environmental and administrative law, regulated industries and government relations.

Diana previously served as the legislative staff attorney for the Florida Association of Counties. In that role, she lobbied water supply and water quality issues extensively as well as other environmental resource issues.

Diana graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City with a political science degree. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. She is a member in good standing of the Texas Bar Association and of the Florida Bar Association.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Image Credit:
Roxanne Blackwell

Jared Green

“Landscape architects are a creative force needed in the world today. Their optimism and passion, their ability to design with nature and build trust with communities, will help us solve some of our most difficult challenges.”

 

Jared Green is Senior Communications Manager and Editor of The Dirt blog at the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). He transformed The Dirt into a leading online design publication, with the goal of connecting landscape architects to broader media, policy, planning, and equity conversations.

He led communications for the ASLA Climate Action Plan and is a staff liaison to the ASLA Climate Action Committee. Working with ASLA members, he has developed numerous popular online resources, including case studies, resource guides, and virtual reality videos.

His writing on landscape architecture and design has appeared in Yale 360, ArchDaily, Metropolis, The Huffington Post, Grist, DesignBoom, Common Edge, and other environmental and design publications.

He is also author of Good Energy: Renewable Power and the Design of Everyday Life (Princeton Architectural Press, 2021) and editor of Designed for the Future: 80 Practical Ideas for a Sustainable World (Princeton Architectural Press, 2015).

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Image Credit:
Devon Henry

Devon Henry

“Landscape architects have a super power and ability to tell stories through one of one designs in public spaces and beyond.”

 

Devon Henry is a successful entrepreneur– managing a portfolio of companies in construction and logistics. With over 20 years leading and building organizations, he is currently the CEO & President of Team Henry Enterprises, LLC, a nationally recognized contracting enterprise based in Richmond, VA.

Devon has become the premier “go-to” professional for the removal and relocation of massive 19th century bronze sculptures. His company has successfully removed over 24 Confederate statues across the Southeastern U.S.

Devon’s team constructed the award winning Memorial to Enslaved Laborers on the grounds of the University of Virginia.

Devon has been the recipient of countless awards and recognition, to include Entrepreneur of the Year and Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities 2022 Humanitarian award.

Devon Henry has been featured in Fortune Magazine, Black Enterprise, Yahoo Business and most recently, on the cover of The New York Times and Washington Post. He has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, NBC Nightly News and several other national media outlets and podcasts as an expert on public space.

Devon received his BS in Biology from Norfolk State University, where he was named a Distinguished Alumni in 2013. Committed to giving back, Devon created an endowment at Norfolk State University that provides scholarships to in-bound NSU students majoring in STEM-related fields.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Image Credit:
Gilbert Holmes

Gilbert Holmes

“Prior to serving on LAAB, I had no idea that there was such a thing as a landscape architect. I loved learning about this profession and how vital it is to creating beauty and conservation of our vital resources.”

 

Gilbert A. Holmes is the Dean Emeritus at the University of La Verne College of Law and the University of Baltimore School of Law, the owner of ImPact Coaching, a professional and executive coaching company, the vice president of the Gamma Zeta Foundation and the Director of Curriculum and Development of the Foundation’s L.A.M.P. Mentor Program. He served as the Program Coordinator for the L.A.M.P. program from 2017-2022, during which enrollment in the Program increased 125%, and average scholarships and annual donations increased five-fold.

In addition to his service at the University of La Verne and the University of Baltimore, Dean Holmes served on the faculty and leadership of four other law schools – Seton Hall Law School, Southern Methodist Law School, Texas Wesleyan Law School, and Florida A&M College of Law.

Dean Holmes is a self-proclaimed accreditation junkie. He served on the Accreditation Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar and on the Membership Review Committee of the Association of American Law Schools. He also served as the Chair of numerous ABA Site Visit Teams as part of the sabbatical review process. He brought that experience to the Landscape Architecture Accreditation Board.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Image Credit:
Senator Patrick Leahy

Senator Patrick Leahy

“Landscape architects make the best of our world. During my years in the Senate, I looked out my window at the Washington Mall and could see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and ending at the Potomac. The landscape architects designed an image recognized throughout the world.”

 

A son of Vermont, born and raised in Montpelier, Patrick Leahy is an eight-time U.S. Senator. Never having lost a campaign, his name has appeared on the ballot in Vermont 24 times in runs for the U.S. Senate and for State’s Attorney. A 1961 graduate of St. Michael’s College in Winooski, and of the Georgetown University Law Center (1964), he has been married to Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy, a native of Newport, Vermont, and a Registered Surgical Nurse, for nearly 60 years. Together, they raised three children in both Vermont and Washington, and have throughout maintained the Leahy family home, a tree farm in Middlesex, Vermont. He is the longest serving U.S. Senator in Vermont history, the fourth longest serving U.S. Senator in American history, and has cast nearly 16,950 votes in the Senate. An avid and accomplished photographer, Leahy also has appeared in major motion pictures featuring his favorite superhero, Batman.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Image Credit:
Kounkuey Design Initiative

Chelina Odbert

“Landscape architecture works at the intersection of natural, built, and social systems, and thus has an uncommon power–and responsibility–to at once make cities and communities more environmentally just, culturally inclusive, and physically resilient.”

 

Chelina believes in the power of community-engaged design to advance racial, environmental, and economic equity in neighborhoods and cities. As Founding Principal and CEO of Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), she aims to bring good design to places where it is not often found and connect localized design interventions to large-scale policy change.

Chelina and the firm have been recognized widely for their work to build a more just public realm, including by the The Architectural League of New York, the Knight Foundation, and the Aspen Institute. In 2022, KDI received the National Design Award for Landscape Architecture from Cooper Hewitt. Chelina has held teaching appointments at Harvard Graduate School of Design and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She earned a BA with high honors from Claremont McKenna College and a Master of Urban Planning from Harvard University.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Image Credit:
EPANC

Kristopher Pritchard

“From the moment I Googled "landscape architecture" when applying for this job, I knew this profession sounded interesting and right up my alley. With a math background and an interest in art and creativity, I felt right at home. But it was the CELA 2019 conference where I came home having "drank the Kool-Aid" knowing these were my people. It's really the people for me, but also the work they do using nature and keeping all beings and the planet in mind while designing for a better future. Thank you landscape architects!”

 

Kristopher Pritchard is the Accreditation and Education Director at ASLA where he manages the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board (LAAB), the accrediting organization for professional landscape architecture degree programs, and LABash, the landscape architecture student conference. Pritchard has been at ASLA for nine years where he works with program administrators, faculty, and students from the more than 100 accredited academic programs to evaluate, advance, and advocate for the quality of professional landscape architecture education. Pritchard helped create a stronger partnership between ASLA and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), and he represents LAAB at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the Association of Specialized and Professional Accreditors (ASPA). Prior to joining ASLA, he worked at the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC) and was a high school mathematics teacher. Outside of work, Pritchard plays on the Washington DSeahorses Water Polo team, helps his husband Bernard Farley organize and run Black Techno Matters, and bikes around Washington, DC.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Image Credit:
Kevin Duffy

Alcibiades Tsolakis

“I came up to this quatrain in a garden by my house…

The kiss of the sun for pardon,: The song of the birds for mirth,--; One is nearer God's heart in a garden: Than anywhere else on earth.” ‑ Dorothy Frances Gurney, from God’s Garden, Country Life, 1913

 

Alkis Tsolakis is a professor of architecture and dean of the LSU College of Art & Design. He earned a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Architecture from the University of Oregon. Tsolakis was a founding faculty member of the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, where he held several administrative posts and was acting director of the art department. He has practiced architecture and sculpture in Greece, France, and the United States. He was a founder and director of the Drury University Center in Greece and the head of the Department of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

He is currently serving as the interim director of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture.

View nominating and supporting materials.

 

Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07) introduced the Public School Green Rooftop Program Act with support from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

“Energy savings, heat mitigation, and a nature-based learning environment that supports local wildlife makes the Public School Green Rooftop Program Act a victory for students and budget-conscious administrators alike. I can say from experience with ASLA’s Green Roof on our headquarters in Washington, D.C. that our roof is up to 59 degrees cooler than neighboring roofs in the summer, and we save on energy costs in the winter as well. For students living in dense urban environments, a green roof at school also provides access to nature, which research shows has a direct impact on well-being. The American Society of Landscape Architects supports the Public School Green Rooftop Program Act and urges Congress to pass it,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
 
ASLA has experienced numerous benefits from the green roof on its building in Washington D.C., for example: 

• The roof produced a 10 percent decrease in building energy use over the winter months.
• The temperature on the green roof on the hottest summer days can be as much as 59 degrees cooler than conventional roofs on neighboring buildings.
• During a 10–month monitoring period, ASLA’s green roof prevented 27,500 gallons of stormwater — nearly 78 percent of all precipitation hitting the roof — from flowing into D.C.’s overburdened sewer and stormwater system.
• Water quality testing shows that the green roof water runoff contains fewer pollutants than typical water runoff.  Most significantly, the roof is reducing the amount of nitrogen entering the watershed.  
• Except during repeated heavy rains, the roof only creates runoff during rainfalls of more than one inch.

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that weakens the Clean Water Act. The American Society of Landscape Architect’s CEO, Torey Carter-Conneen issued the following statement:

“At a time when we should be doing more to protect our nation’s water, the Court instead undermines the Clean Water Act that has been in place for more than 50 years. This short-sighted decision ignores science and the well-documented hydrological understanding of the interconnection of water sources. In a decade marked by both extreme drought in the West and severe soaking storms in the East, wetlands are important ecosystems that can help provide solutions in both extremes–now they are at risk.

“This decision will impact communities who can least afford to bear the burden while polluters leverage this new loophole for short term gains at the expense of water quality and biodiversity.

“Landscape architects will continue to lead in implementing nature-based solutions and other design techniques that protect water quality and create thriving communities and economies.”

Today, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) introduced the Living Schoolyards Act with support from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

“The Living Schoolyards Act is a multi-purpose policy that improves climate resilience, supports biodiversity, increases educational opportunities, and improves wellness for children as well as for the surrounding community. By creating spaces that inspire and connect children to nature, we can help shape the next generation of environmental leaders to tackle the complex challenges facing our planet. The American Society of Landscape Architects supports the Living Schoolyards Act and urges Congress to pass it,” said Torey Carter-Conneen.  

“Landscape architects are natural partners to work with local schools to create nature-based outdoor spaces that spark learning,” Carter-Conneen added.

Read more about award-winning and transformative school grounds:  
 
15 Weeks to Transform Colorado's Unique Ecosystem into a Learning Landscape

Seeding Resilience: Celebrating Community, Education, and the Environment at Princeville Elementary School

Landscape Architecture Magazine: The Schoolyard is Sick

• Moderated by Torey Carter-Conneen, Chief executive, American Society of Landscape Architects
• Peter Templeton, President and chief executive, US Green Building Council
• Gina Bocra, Chief sustainability officer, New York City Department of Buildings
• Joe Rozza, Chief sustainability officer, Ryan Companies
• Susan Uthayakumar, Chief energy and sustainability officer, Prologis

Learn more and register.

• ASLA’s Climate Action Plan calls for landscape architecture projects to achieve zero emissions by 2040 and increase carbon sequestration, while enhancing resilience, addressing climate injustices, increasing biodiversity, and creating economic opportunities for communities.
• ASLA’s Climate Action Field Guide compiles best practices for practicing landscape architects to achieve these ambitious goals.
• ASLA has joined a new group of industry leaders focused on rapidly reducing the carbon in the materials used in construction nationwide.

• Landscape Architect, Wright-Pierce
• Secretary, New Hampshire Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

Jennifer Martel, PLA, ASLA

• Senior Associate, Copley Wolff Design Group
• President, New Hampshire Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects

Randy Knowles, PLA, ASLA

• Vice President Planning, The Dubay Group
• New Hampshire Trustee for the American Society of Landscape Architects

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is now accepting submissions for its 2023 Professional and Student Awards Program including a new category– the ASLA / International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA)  Global Impact Award, which is focused on projects that address the climate crisis.
 
The ASLA Awards Program is the oldest and most prestigious in the landscape architecture profession. They honor the most innovative landscape architecture projects and the brightest ideas from up-and-coming landscape architecture students.

“Awards entries are highly competitive and showcase the projects that illustrate the highest achievement and creative solutions in the industry,” said Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA, PLA, President of ASLA. “I can’t wait to see what outstanding entries we will get for our new Award that honors the best climate action models!”

New this year, the ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award is presented to a project in the Analysis and Planning category that demonstrates excellence in landscape architecture by addressing climate impacts through transformative action, scalable solutions, and adherence to ASLA’s and IFLA’s climate action commitments.

ASLA bestows Professional Awards in General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design, Analysis & Planning, Communications, Research categories. In each of these categories, juries select a number of Honor Awards and may select one Award of Excellence. One Landmark Award is also presented each year.

The 2023 Professional Awards Jury includes:
 
Jury 1:  General Design, Residential Design, & Urban Design

Chair: Kimberly Garza, ASLA, ATLAS Lab Inc.   

Michel Borg, AIA, Page
Shuyi Chang, ASLA, SWA                                   
Chingwen Cheng, PhD, ASLA, Arizona State University           
Claude Cormier, FASLA, CCxA 
Jamie Maslyn Larson, FASLA, Tohono Chul                   
Garry Meus, National Capital Commission
Jennifer Nitzky, FASLA, Studio HIP                                           

Jury 2 - Analysis & Planning ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award, Research & Communications   

Chair: Maura Rockcastle, ASLA, Ten x Ten

Camille Applewhite, ASLA, Site Design Group   
Stephanie Grigsby, ASLA, Design Workshop, Inc
Mitchell Silver, Hon. ASLA, McAdams
Michael Stanley, FASLA, Dream Design International, Inc.
Michael Todoran, The Landscape Architecture Podcast
Yujia Wang, ASLA, University of Nebraska

Joining the professional awards jury for the selection of the Analysis & Planning – ASLA / IFLA Global Impact Award category will be a representative on behalf of the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA).

Monica Pallares, IFLA Americas

Also, joining the professional jury for the selection of the Research Category will be representatives on behalf of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA).

Dongying LI, Texas A&M, CELA Representative
Jenn Engelke, ASLA, University of Washington, LAF Representative

ASLA 2022 Student Community Service Award Honor Award. 15 Weeks to Transform Colorado's Unique Ecosystem into a Learning Landscape. Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Finley Sutton, Student ASLA; Charlotte Francisco, Student ASLA; Claire Bulik, Student ASLA; Anna Varella; Sylvia Pasquariello; Ari Solomon, Student ASLA; Alex Bullock, Associate ASLA; Eion Donelan, Associate ASLA; Miriam Hernandez Arroyo; Victoria Hancock, University of Colorado Denver

ASLA bestows Student Awards in General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design, Analysis and Planning, Communications, Research, Student Community Service, and Student Collaboration.

The 2023 Student Awards Jury includes:

Jury 1 - General Design, Residential Design, Urban Design & Student Collaboration

Chair: Michael Grove, FASLA, Sasaki

Haley Blakeman, FASLA, Louisiana State University
Adriana Hernández Aguirre, ASLA, Coleman & Associates   
David Jung, FASLA, AECOM               
Christina Hite, ASLA, Dix-Hite                               
Ellen Stewart, ASLA, City of St Paul                       
Mark Yoes, FAIA, W X Y architecture + urban design   

Jury 2 - Analysis & Planning, Research, Communications, & Student Community Service   
           
Chair: Kofi Boone, FASLA, NC State University   
                   
Keven Graham, FASLA, Terra Engineering
Dalton LaVoie, ASLA, Stantec
Stephanie Onwenu, ASLA, Detroit Collaborative Design Center
Naomi Sachs, ASLA, University Maryland                   
Andrew Sargeant, ASLA, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress               

Professional Awards: Registration fees must be received no later than 11:59 pm PST on Friday, February 24, 2023. Submissions are due no later than 11:59 PST on Friday, March 17, 2023.

Student Awards: Registration fees must be received no later than 11:59 pm PST on Friday, May 5, 2023. Submissions are due no later than 11:59 PST on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Award recipients receive featured coverage in Landscape Architecture Magazine and are honored at a special Awards Presentation ceremony at the ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture held October 27-30 in Minneapolis, MN.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) urges national governments at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15 in Montréal, Canada, to commit to far more ambitious global conservation and biodiversity goals, including protecting at least 30 percent of terrestrial, coastal, and marine ecosystems by 2030 (30 x 2030).

In advance of the CBD COP15, ASLA has also joined 340 organizations worldwide in signing the Global Goal for Nature: Nature Positive by 2030. The Call to Action calls for “improving the state of nature by 2030; ensuring rights-based approaches to nature-based solutions and to conserving effectively and equitably 30 percent of land, freshwater, and seas by 2030; and directly tackling the drivers of nature loss,” among other goals.

“In our recently released Climate Action Plan, ASLA identified the connections between climate change and biodiversity loss. We made a clear commitment to advance 30 x 2030. We also called on all landscape architecture projects to restore ecosystems and protect biodiversity on a global scale by 2040 – and we call on national governments to be equally as bold,” said ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen.

“In Montréal, now is the time for a global agreement to address the biodiversity crisis and increase protections for nature. Biodiversity underpins all natural systems on Earth. Protecting our remaining biodiversity and bolstering and restoring ecosystems are critical to our long-term survival,” said ASLA President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA.

According to the United Nations, one-million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, and seventy-five percent of the Earth’s ice-free land surface and two-thirds of the oceans have been significantly altered by humanity.

ASLA and its members understand there is both a biodiversity crisis and a climate crisis, and they are interconnected:

• A changing climate is resulting in sea level rise, extreme heat, increased flooding, and drought, which impacts both human communities and non-human species.
• Biodiversity loss is largely driven by unsustainable agricultural practices, sprawl, and habitat fragmentation, but climate change is accelerating the alteration of habitats and species migration, which increases extinction risks for species.
• Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation undermine the natural systems humanity relies on to provide a range of critical ecosystem services, including nature-based approaches to sequestering carbon and adapting to climate impacts.

“Landscape architects are uniquely qualified to plan denser communities and protect natural areas, combating the sprawl that threatens remaining ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots. We can also increase biodiversity through the incorporation of native tree and plant species, planning and designing habitat connections and corridors, and restoring degraded ecosystems – all of which have important climate benefits as well,” said O’Mahoney.

Given the failure of the global community to meet the 2020 Aichi biodiversity targets, ASLA calls on national governments to significantly increase investment and support for conservation, habitat defragmentation and connection, and ecosystem restoration over the next decade.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has opened the Call for Presentations for the ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture, which will be held October 27-30 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture is the largest gathering of landscape architects and allied professionals in the world.

ASLA seeks education proposals that will help to drive change in the field of landscape architecture and provide solutions to everyday challenges informed by research and practice.

Educational tracks include:

• Biodiversity
• Changing the Culture in Practice
• Climate Action
• Design and the Creative Process
• Design Implementation
• Leadership, Career Development, and Business
• Planning, Urban Design, and Infrastructure

ASLA is committed to providing a diverse educational program and encourages all submissions. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at Noon CST.

To learn more about the planned education tracks, submission criteria, review process, and key dates visit the 2023 Call for Presentations landing page.

• Accessible
• Comfortable
• Participatory
• Ecological
• Legible
• Multi-Sensory
• Predictable
• Walkable / Traversable

The guide was developed with the assistance of an advisory group that includes disabled landscape architects, designers, and experts: Danielle Arigoni, director of livable communities, AARP; Brian Bainnson, ASLA, founder, Quatrefoil Inc.; Melissa Erikson, ASLA, principal, director of community design services, MIG, Inc.; Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA, partner, Gentile Glas Holloway O’Mahoney & Associates; Clare Cooper Marcus, Hon. ASLA, professor emerita of architecture and landscape architecture and environmental planning, University of California, Berkeley; Danielle Toronyi, OLIN; and Alexa Vaughn, Associate ASLA, Deaf landscape designer at OLIN.

• Native plants – 83.3%
• Native/adapted drought tolerant plants – 83.0%
• Low-maintenance landscapes – 80.0%
• Flexible use space (for yoga classes, movie night, etc.) – 74.2%
• Permeable paving – 74.0%
• Drip/water-efficient irrigation – 72.4%
• Rain gardens – 71.2%
• Reduced lawn area – 70.8%
• Food/vegetable gardens (including orchards, vineyards, etc.) – 70.5%
• Charging stations (mobile devices) – 70.0%

This lineup is virtually unchanged from 2017 except for the additions of flexible-use space and charging stations.

The top three most popular outdoor design elements include fire pits/ fireplaces (66.0 percent), lighting (65.4 percent) and seating/dining areas (64.0 percent). Last year’s top three were fire pits/fireplaces (71.5 percent), wireless/internet connectivity (70.8 percent) and lighting (67.8 percent). Wireless/internet connectivity was grouped this year with movies, TV, and video theaters and stereo systems, a lineup that received 48.0 percent of the vote in the outdoor design elements category.

The top landscape and garden elements are expected to include native plants (83.3 percent), low-maintenance landscapes (80.0 percent) and rain gardens (71.2 percent). In 2017 the top three were native plants (81.6 percent), low-maintenance landscapes (79.3 percent) and food/vegetable gardens (76.5 percent).

Enhanced railing systems, which include those with cable or glass, is a new answer choice added to the outdoor structure category this year. It is ranked first in this category (51.0 percent), followed by pergolas (48.3 percent) and decks (42.8 percent). Last year, the top three were pergolas (50.3 percent), decks (41.4 percent) and fencing (39.8 percent).

The hottest sustainable design elements include native/adapted drought tolerant plants (83.0 percent), permeable paving (74.0 percent) and drip/water-efficient irrigation (72.4 percent). Last year’s top three in this category were almost the same: native/adapted drought tolerant plants (82.3 percent), permeable paving (76.3 percent) and reduced lawn area (72.7 percent).

The outdoor recreation amenities category has been revised this year to include amenity types for both single-family and multi-family residences. Sports courts were broken down into more specific types and labyrinths were removed. The top three types in 2018 include dog-related recreation areas (68.0 percent), designated areas for other outdoor recreation (61.5 percent) and bocce courts (42.5 percent). Last year’s top three in this category were sports courts (42.4 percent), spa features (39.7 percent) and swimming pools (39.2 percent).

ASLA added a new question about multi-family outdoor amenities this year. The top three trends for this category include flexible use space (for yoga classes, movie night, etc.) (74.2 percent), charging stations (mobile devices) (70.0 percent) and bike storage (69.9 percent).

For more landscape ideas for your home, and to find a professional in your area, visit www.asla.org/residentialinfo.

Outdoor Design Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2018

Fire pits/ fireplaces – 66.0%
Lighting – 65.4%
Seating/dining areas – 64.0%
Outdoor furniture – 59.1%
Outdoor kitchens – 58.8%
Decking (i.e., rooftop decking, etc.) – 53.6%
Grills – 50.0%
Movie/TV/video theaters, wireless/internet, stereo systems – 48.0%
Outdoor heaters – 40.5%
Stereo systems – 36.9%
Pools and spa features (hot tubs, Jacuzzis, whirlpools, indoor/outdoor saunas) – 36.9%
Utility Storage – 32.3%
Hammocks – 29.2%
Outdoor cooling systems (including fans) – 28.5%
Showers/baths – 22.9%

Outdoor Recreation Amenities (Single Family and Multi-Family Residences)

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2018

Dog-related recreation area – 68.0%
Designated area for other outdoor recreation – 61.5%
Bocce courts – 42.5%
Swimming pools – 36.8%
Pickleball courts – 30.0%
Hot tubs/whirlpools/Jacuzzis – 29.3%
Outdoor gym – 28.6
Lap pools – 27.2%
Basketball courts – 16.6%
Paddle tennis courts – 14.2%
Lawn croquet – 13.9%
Saunas – 11.8%
Tennis courts – 9.1%

Multi-Family Outdoor Amenities

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2018

Flexible use space (for yoga classes, movie night, etc.) – 74.2%
Charging stations (mobile devices) – 70.0%
Bike storage – 69.9%
Play area for children – 57.7%
Water feature (aesthetic feature, not pool) – 46.5%
Bike repair station – 45.9%
Transit screen (updates on public transit) – 39.1%
Pet spa – 32.1%
Plunge pool – 18.6%

Landscape/Garden Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2018

Native plants – 83.3%
Low-maintenance landscapes – 80.0%
Rain gardens – 71.2%
Food/vegetable gardens (including orchards, vineyards, etc.) – 70.6%
Water-saving xeriscape or dry gardens – 65.9
Organic gardens – 59.6%
Rooftop gardens – 53.4%
Plant walls/vertical gardens – 53.0%
Planters, sculptures, garden accessories – 48.4%
Decorative water elements (ornamental pools, fountains, splash pools, waterfalls, grottos, water runnels or bubblers) – 42.6%
Ponds/streams – 28.6%
Formal gardens – 15.2%

Outdoor Structures

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2018

Enhanced railing systems (cable, glass, etc.) – 51.0%
Pergolas – 48.3%
Decks – 42.8%
Fencing – 41.5%
ADA Accessible structures (ramps, bars, shelving, etc.) – 39.9%
Arbors – 37.4%
Play structures (tree houses, swing sets, etc.) – 34.1%
Porches – 32.6%
Pavilions – 32.6%
Utility sheds (tool sheds, garden sheds) – 30.0%
Gazebos – 21.0%

Sustainable Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2018

Native/adapted drought tolerant plants – 83.0%
Permeable paving – 74.0%
Drip/water-efficient irrigation – 72.4%
Reduced lawn area – 70.8%
Rainwater/graywater harvesting – 68.7%
Recycled materials – 63.6%
Solar-powered lights – 60.4%
Compost bins – 47.2%
Geothermal heated pools – 21.3%

• Native/adapted drought tolerant plants – 82.31%
• Native plants – 81.60%
• Low-maintenance landscapes – 79.25%
• Food/vegetable gardens (including orchards, vineyards, etc.) – 76.52%
• Permeable paving – 76.31%
• Reduced lawn area – 72.66%
• Fire pits/fireplaces – 71.51%
• Drip/water-efficient irrigation – 71.05%
• Wireless/internet connectivity – 70.77%
• Rainwater/graywater harvesting – 70.32%

“The fact that more consumers want outdoor wireless access shows that they want expanded options for remaining connected to their devices,” said Nancy C. Somerville, Hon. ASLA, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA.

“Well-designed residential landscapes provide social interaction, enjoyment of nature, and physical activity, while also reducing water use and stormwater runoff,” said Somerville. “Landscape architects are pros at creating sustainable outdoor spaces that reflect their clients’ dreams for relaxation and meaningful activity.”

The top three most popular outdoor design elements include fire pits/fireplaces (71.51 percent), wireless/internet connectivity (70.77 percent) and lighting (67.83 percent).

The top landscape and garden elements include native plants (81.60 percent), low-maintenance landscapes (79.25 percent) and food/vegetable gardens (including orchards, vineyards, etc.) (76.52 percent). Pergolas (50.33 percent), decks (41.35 percent), fencing (39.82 percent) and arbors (38.74 percent) are expected to be the most popular outdoor structures.

The hottest sustainable design elements include native/adapted drought tolerant plants (82.31 percent), permeable paving (76.31 percent) and reduced lawn area (72.66 percent).

The most popular outdoor recreation amenities for 2017 will include sports courts (42.38 percent), spa features (39.68 percent) and swimming pools (39.23 percent).

Outdoor Design Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2017

Fire pits/fireplaces – 71.51%
Wireless/internet connectivity – 70.77%
Lighting – 67.83%
Outdoor furniture – 62.69%
Seating/dining areas – 62.14%
Grills – 55.51%
Planters, sculptures, garden accessories – 52.95%
Counter space – 51.28%
Outdoor heaters – 46.69%
Stereo systems – 45.59%
Movie/TV/video theaters – 43.75%
Outdoor cooling systems (including fans) – 36.77%
Utility storage – 36.03%
Refrigerators – 34.19%
Sinks – 32.90%
Showers/baths – 29.78%
Hammocks – 27.94%
Bedrooms/sleeping spaces – 11.21%

Outdoor Recreation Amenities

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2017

Sports courts (tennis, bocce, etc.) – 42.38%
Spa features (hot tubs, Jacuzzis, whirlpools, indoor/outdoor saunas) – 39.68%
Swimming pools – 39.23%
Labyrinths – 10.99%

Landscape/Garden Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2017

Native plants – 81.60%
Low-maintenance landscapes – 79.25%
Food/vegetable gardens (including orchards, vineyards, etc.) – 76.52%
Rain gardens – 69.08%
Organic gardens – 66.93%
Water-saving xeriscape or dry gardens – 66.34%
Plant walls/vertical gardens – 56.36%
Rooftop gardens – 52.25%
Decorative water elements (ornamental pools, fountains, splash pools, waterfalls, grottos, water runnels or bubblers) – 43.05%
Ponds/streams – 26.81%

Outdoor Structures

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2017

Pergolas – 50.33%
Decks – 41.35%
Fencing – 39.82%
Arbors – 38.74%
ADA accessible structures (ramps, bars, shelving, etc.) – 35.88%
Pavilions – 35.45%
Porches – 32.38%
Play structures (treehouses, swing sets, etc.) – 31.72%
Utility sheds (tool sheds, garden sheds) – 27.36%
Gazebos – 22.31%

Sustainable Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2017

Native/adapted drought tolerant plants – 82.31%
Permeable paving – 76.31%
Reduced lawn area – 72.66%
Drip/water-efficient irrigation – 71.05%
Rainwater/graywater harvesting – 70.32%
Recycled materials – 64.91%
Solar-powered lights – 57.16%
Compost bins – 46.35%
Geothermal heated pools – 28.36%

• Rainwater/graywater harvesting – 88%
• Native plants – 86%
• Native/adapted drought tolerant plants – 85%
• Low-maintenance landscapes – 85%
• Permeable paving – 77%
• Fire pits/fireplaces – 75%
• Food/vegetable gardens (including orchards, vineyards, etc.) – 75%
• Rain gardens – 73%
• Drip/water-efficient irrigation – 72%
• Reduced lawn area – 72%

Water-focused design elements dominated this year’s top ten list and reflect consumers’ growing commitment to landscapes that reduce water use and stormwater runoff, says Nancy Somerville, Hon. ASLA, executive vice president and CEO of ASLA.
 
“Water issues are hot topics for many communities, and many people are turning to landscape architects for creative green infrastructure solutions,” said Somerville. “Sustainable residential landscape architecture, if part of a broader integrated site design, can dramatically reduce water usage and stormwater runoff over the long term while creating a healthy residential environment.”

The top three most popular outdoor design elements include fire pits/fireplaces (74.95 percent), lighting (66.67 percent) and wireless/internet connectivity (65.86 percent).

The top landscape and garden elements include native plants (86.02 percent), low-maintenance landscapes (84.55 percent) and food/vegetable gardens (74.95 percent). Pergolas (50.94 percent), decks (47.40 percent), arbors (44.32 percent) and fencing (44.07 percent) are expected to be the most popular outdoor structures.

The hottest sustainable design elements include rainwater/graywater harvesting (88 percent), native/adapted drought tolerant plants (85 percent) and permeable paving (77 percent).

The most popular outdoor recreation amenities for 2016 will include sports courts (41 percent), spa features (40 percent) and swimming pools (36 percent).

For more landscape ideas for your home, and to find a professional in your area, visit www.asla.org/residentialinfo.

Outdoor Design Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2016

Fire pits/fireplaces – 75%
Lighting – 67%
Wireless/internet connectivity – 66%
Seating/dining areas – 64%
Outdoor furniture – 63%
Planters, sculptures, garden accessories – 56%
Grills – 54%
Counter space – 50%
Outdoor heaters – 47%
Stereo systems – 40%
Movie/TV/video theaters – 38%
Utility storage – 35%
Sinks – 33%
Refrigerators – 31%
Outdoor cooling systems (including fans) – 29%
Showers/baths – 29%
Hammocks – 21%
Bedrooms/sleeping spaces – 11%

Outdoor Recreation Amenities

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2016

Sports courts (tennis, bocce, etc.) – 41%
Spa features (hot tubs, Jacuzzis, whirlpools, indoor/outdoor saunas) – 40%
Swimming pools – 36%
Labyrinths – 11%

Landscape/Garden Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2016

Native plants – 86%
Low-maintenance landscapes – 85%
Food/vegetable gardens (including orchards, vineyards, etc.) – 75%
Rain gardens – 73%
Water-saving xeriscape or dry gardens – 68%
Organic gardens – 64%
Plant walls/vertical gardens – 61%
Rooftop gardens – 55%
Decorative water elements (ornamental pools, fountains, splash pools, waterfalls, grottos, water runnels or bubblers) – 46%
Ponds/streams – 29%

Outdoor Structures

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2016

Pergolas – 51%
Decks – 47%
Arbors – 44%
Fencing – 44%
Porches – 40%
ADA accessible structures (ramps, bars, shelving, etc.) – 38%
Pavilions – 33%
Play structures (treehouses, swing sets, etc.) – 31%
Utility sheds (tool sheds, garden sheds) – 28%
Gazebos – 24%
 
Sustainable Elements

Ranked in expected order of popularity for 2016

Rainwater/graywater harvesting – 88%
Native/adapted drought tolerant plants – 85%
Permeable paving – 77%
Drip/water-efficient irrigation – 72%
Reduced lawn area – 72%
Recycled materials – 61%
Solar-powered lights – 56%
Compost bins – 45%
Geothermal heated pools – 28%

ASLA has announced it is developing its first Climate Action Plan for the U.S. landscape architecture community. The ambitious plan seeks to transform the practice of landscape architecture by 2040 through actions taken by ASLA and its members focused on climate mitigation and adaptation, ecological restoration, biodiversity, equity, and economic development. The plan will be released at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture, November 11-14, 2022, in San Francisco, CA.

The ASLA Climate Action Plan is led by a five-member Task Force and 17-member Advisory Group of climate leaders from the landscape architecture profession.

Pamela Conrad, ASLA, Founder of Climate Positive Design and Principal at CMG Landscape Architecture, has been named chair of the Task Force.

The diverse, intergenerational Task Force includes climate leaders at different stages of their professional life.

“Landscape architects are leaders in designing solutions to the climate and biodiversity crises that also provide multiple environmental, economic, social, and health co-benefits. ASLA purposefully included both established and emerging climate leaders in this critical Task Force, which will shape the profession far into the future,” said Eugenia Martin, FASLA, ASLA President.

Task Force members include:

• Chair: Pamela Conrad, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP, Principal, CMG Landscape Architecture, and Founder, Climate Positive Design, San Francisco, California
  
  Conrad built Climate Positive Design into a global movement with the goal of ensuring all designed landscapes store more carbon than they emit while providing environmental, social, cultural, and economic co-benefits. 
    
• Diane Jones Allen, FASLA, D. Eng., PLA, Director, Program in Landscape Architecture, University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), and Principal Landscape Architect, DesignJones, LLC, Arlington, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana
• José M. Almiñana, FASLA, SITES AP, LEED AP, Principal, Andropogon Associates, Ltd., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Sarah Fitzgerald, ASLA, Designer, SWA Group, Dallas, Texas
• Vaughn Rinner, FASLA, PLA, Former ASLA President, Seattle, Washington

The goals, objectives, and action items of the plan are also shaped by a Climate Action Plan Advisory Group of 16 diverse climate leaders, who are from 12 U.S. states and two countries and in private and public practice and academia. The Group consists of nine members who identify as women, seven as men, two as Black, four as Asian and Asian American, one as Latina, and one as Native American.

“ASLA believes equity needs to be at the center of climate action, because we know climate change will disproportionately impact underserved and historically marginalized communities. It is important that the group guiding the Climate Action Plan and the future of the profession mirrors the diversity of the landscape architecture community and its breadth of educational and practice areas,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO.  

Advisory Group members include:

• Monique Bassey, ASLA, Marie Bickham Chair, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Scott Bishop, ASLA, RLA, Principal, BLD | Bishop Land Design, Quincy, Massachusetts
• Keith Bowers, FASLA, RLA, PWS, Founding Principal, Biohabitats, Charleston, South Carolina
• Pippa Brashear, ASLA, RLA, Resilience Principal, SCAPE Landscape Architecture & Urban Design, New York, New York
• Meg Calkins, FASLA, FCELA, Professor of Landscape Architecture, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
• Chingwen Cheng, ASLA, PhD, PLA, LEED AP, Program Head and Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Urban Design, and Environmental Design, The Design School, Arizona State University, and President-Elect, Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA), Tempe, Arizona
• Lisa Cowan, ASLA, PLA, SITES AP, Principal, StudioVerde
• Jose de Jesus Leal, ASLA, PLA, IA, Native Nation Building Studio Director, MIG, Inc., Sacramento, California
• Manisha Kaul, ASLA, PLA, CDT, Principal, Design Workshop, Inc., Chicago, Illinois
• Greg Kochanowski, ASLA, AIA, Design Principal & Partner, GGA, and Founder, The Wild: A Research Lab, Los Angeles, CA
• Mia Lehrer, FASLA, President, Studio-MLA, Los Angeles, CA
• Hitesh Mehta, FASLA, FRIBA, FAAK, Associate AIA, President, HM Design, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
• Kate Orff, FASLA, Professor, Columbia University GSAPP & Columbia Climate School, and Founder, SCAPE Landscape Architecture & Urban Design, New York, New York
• Jean Senechal Biggs, ASLA, Transportation Planning Manager, City of Beaverton, Portland, Oregon
• Adrian Smith, FASLA, Staten Island Team Leader, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, New York, New York
• Matt Williams, ASLA, Planner, City of Detroit Planning & Development Department (PDD), Detroit, Michigan
• Dou Zhang, FASLA, SITES AP, LEED AP BD+C, Director of Shanghai Office, Sasaki, Shanghai, China

In 2021, ASLA joined with Architecture 2030 to call for the landscape architecture, planning, architecture, development, and construction professions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their projects and operations by 50-65 percent by 2030 and achieve zero emissions by 2040.

Also last year, ASLA ratified the International Federation of Landscape Architects’ Climate Action Commitment, which calls for limiting planetary warming to 1.5°C (2.7 °F). The commitment is supported by 70,000 landscape architects in 77 countries, the largest coalition of landscape architecture professionals ever assembled to advance climate action.

In 2020, ASLA and its members formed a Climate Action Committee, which has guided climate action priorities and laid the groundwork for the Climate Action Plan.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has released its first national survey on demand for landscape architecture planning and design solutions to climate change. 563 landscape architects, designers, and landscape architecture educators in the U.S. responded to the survey in October 2021.

Nationwide, demand for planning and design solutions to climate change has increased over the past year. 77 percent of landscape architects and designers responding to the survey experienced at least a 10 percent increase in client demand for these solutions in comparison with 2020. And, of these, 38 percent of landscape architects and designers experienced more than a 50 percent increase in demand over the past year.  

According to the survey results, city and local governments are the foremost drivers of demand for climate change-related planning and design projects. Non-profit organizations, state governments, and community groups, which may or may not be incorporated non-profit organizations, are also key drivers of demand.

Clients are concerned about a range of climate impacts, but are most concerned with:

• Increased duration and intensity of heat waves
• Increased intensity of storms
• Increased spread and intensity of inland flooding
• Loss of pollinators, such as bees and bats
• Changing / unreliable weather, or "weird weather.”

The survey finds that landscape architects are also actively educating public, commercial, and residential clients about the importance of investing in more climate-smart practices.

Nationwide, 65 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed are recommending the integration of climate solutions to “all or most” of their clients. They are creating demand for more sustainable and resilient landscape planning and design practices through “advocacy by design” approaches that persuade city, local government, and other clients to update policies and regulations.

To increase community resilience and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, landscape architects are planning and designing infrastructure at all scales – from the city and county to district, neighborhood, and site.

The top community-wide infrastructure solution clients are requesting is stormwater management to reduce flooding. Solutions that reduce reliance on fossil-fuel-powered vehicles and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, which account for approximately 30 percent of all U.S. emissions, take up the next top four in-demand solutions: walkability improvements, trails, bike infrastructure, and Complete Streets. Improved bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure also increase community resilience to climate impacts by providing additional layers of safe transportation.

The survey found that projects to increase the resilience of communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions may also be leading to positive economic impacts. 47 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed estimate their climate projects have a construction value of more than $1 million, with 29 percent saying the value of this work is more than $10 million.

Also, 45 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed estimated their climate projects created more than 10 local planning, design, construction, management, or maintenance jobs in the past year. Climate solutions are resulting in well-paying creative and green jobs.

“The survey data shows that communities are greatly concerned about a range of climate risks and impacts. They are looking to landscape architects to provide nature-based solutions that both store carbon and increase resilience to extreme heat, flooding, drought, sea level rise, and other climate impacts,” said Torey Carter-Conneen, ASLA CEO. “There is also concern about biodiversity loss, particularly the loss of pollinators and the native habitat they rely on, and landscape architects are providing solutions that address the twinned climate and biodiversity crises.”

More key findings:

Designing resilience to climate impacts is at the forefront. 48 percent of landscape architects and designers surveyed stated that “all, a majority, or about half” of clients are now requesting plans and designs to increase resilience to existing or projected climate impacts, such as extreme heat, flooding, sea level rise, storm surges, and wildfires.

Specifically, some 43 percent of clients seek to increase resilience to climate shocks projected for the next 2-5 years, while 39 percent seek to address immediate climate risks or impacts.

38 percent of clients seek to increase resilience over the next 5-10 years, while 32 percent of clients are planning now for the long-term and seeking solutions for expected climate risks and impacts 10-50 years out.

Nature-based planning and design solutions are in demand. Public, non-profit, community, and private clients are looking to landscape architects to plan and design nature-based solutions to impacts such as wildfires, sea level rise, flooding, drought, extreme heat, and biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.

According to landscape architects, designers, and educators surveyed, these are the top solutions requested by clients for each climate impact area. Note: Not all climate impacts are relevant to the respondents’ regions.

Extreme heat solutions:

• Street trees (64 percent)
• Shade structures / canopies (60 percent)                 
• Tree groves (35 percent)                        
• Parks (35 percent)                                 
• Green roofs (31 percent)

Flooding solutions: 

• Bioswales (62 percent)
• Rain Gardens (61 percent)     
• Permeable pavers (59 percent)
• Trees (54 percent)         
• Wetland restoration (45 percent)

Drought solutions:

• Native, drought-tolerant plants (67 percent)     
• Low-water, drought-tolerant plants (65 percent)         
• Irrigation systems (48 percent)                 
• Greywater reuse (36 percent) 
• Landscape solutions that increase groundwater recharge (35 percent)

Biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation solutions: 

• Increase diversity of native tree and plant species (58 percent)     
• Native plant gardens (57 percent)
• Increase use of plant species pollinators rely on (52 percent)     
• Ecological landscape design (41 percent)
• Ecological restoration (35 percent)    

Wildfire solutions:

• Firewise landscape design strategies (27 percent)
• Defensible spaces (22 percent)
• Land-use planning and design changes (19 percent)
• Forest management practices (17 percent)
• Wildfire risk or impact assessment (14 percent)

Sea level rise solutions:

• Nature-based solutions (33 percent)
• Erosion management (30 percent)
• Beach / dune restoration (25 percent)
• Other coastal ecosystem restoration (21 percent)
• Berms (19 percent)

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is also now a key focus. Landscape architecture projects can incorporate Climate Positive Design practices so that they absorb more carbon than they emit over their lifespans. Projects at all scales can act as natural and designed carbon sinks, storing carbon in trees, shrubs, and carbon-sequestering materials, such as wood and pavers. 27 percent of respondents stated that “all, a majority, or about half” of clients are requesting projects that reduce or store greenhouse gas emissions now.
 
The top five strategies sought by clients to reduce emissions include:

• Parks and open spaces, which include trees and grasses that sequester carbon.
• Tree and shrub placement to reduce building energy use.  
• Habitat creation / restoration, which increases the amount of trees and plants in a landscape, removes invasive species, and improves the overall health of natural systems, and the amount of carbon stored in landscapes.
• Elimination of high-maintenance lawns, which involves reducing the corresponding use of fossil-fuel-based fertilizers and fossil-fuel-powered lawn movers and leaf blowers.
• Minimizing soil disturbance, which helps keep intact carbon stored in soils.

Clients are also requesting materials that store carbon, such as woods and carbon-absorbing concrete.  

Top five solutions:

• Recycled materials, such as pavers that incorporate a high percentage of industrial byproducts.  
• Reused materials, such as wood or concrete, which eliminate the need to produce new materials.  
• Trees that absorb higher amounts of carbon than others, which include white oak, southern magnolia, London plane tree, and bald cypress trees.
• Carbon-sequestering shrubs, groundcover, and grasses, such as native grasses with deeper roots than turfgrass.
• Solar reflective materials that bounce back more sunlight and therefore reduce heat absorption and air conditioning energy use and expenses in adjacent buildings.

See full results of the survey