American Society of Landscape Architects

Landscape architects help heal historic patterns of disinvestment. Designed by Sasaki, the master plan for the 660-acre Greenwood Park in Baton Rouge includes cultural and recreational programs that connect into a network of preserved and restored ecologies. The plan provides community value through flood protection, improved air quality, increased habitat, and reduced maintenance demands. The process brought together over 5,000 citizens, the most outreach in Baton Rouge history, to discuss race and disinvestment in this historically underserved low-income neighborhood. A community impact plan focusing on equitable development complements the implementation-minded proposal. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4dj0yu0 Image Credit: ASLA 2023 Professional Analysis and Planning Honor Award. Nature, Culture + Justice: The Greenwood Park Master Plan. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sasaki / Sasaki

“Landscape architects are uniquely positioned to bring equitable heat mitigation to our communities. Our ability to communicate the value of landscape strategies to reduce urban heat is critical for the success of broader heat initiatives.” -- Wes Michaels, ASLA, Principal, Spackman Mossop Michaels. The ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee has organized a new 9-part webinar series: Biodiversity and Climate Action 101 for Landscape Architects. Register for the sixth webinar -- Cooler Communities for All: Designing Equitable Heat Solutions -- on July 29 at 1 PM EST. Join Wes; Salvador Lindquist, ASLA, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Daniella Hirschfeld, PhD, ASLA, Utah State University; and Vivek Shandas, PhD, Portland State University. This webinar is free for ASLA members and $50 for non-members. It offers 1.0 PDH (LACES/HSW). The webinar series is underwritten by Landscape Forms. Register today: https://bit.ly/4fcAQZT Image Credit: Wes Michaels / Spackman Mossop Michaels; Surface temperatures in New Orleans (2019-2021) / Spackman Mossop Michaels; Restoration of a vacant lot as part of New Orleans Redevelopment Authority’s alternative strategies for vacant lots program / Spackman Mossop Michaels; Tree planting, 2022 / Spackman Mossop Michaels

The latest class of Landscape Architecture Foundation Leadership and Innovation Fellows represents the “future of disruption," said Lucinda Sanders, FASLA, CEO of OLIN. During their fellowship, they investigated seemingly intractable problems and found fresh solutions. “They have profound messages to offer us.” In ASLA's THE DIRT, learn more about the work of LAF Fellows Betsy Peterson, Assoc. ASLA, Johnny Macon, ASLA, and Meg Calkins, FASLA: https://bit.ly/4cYi9aM Image Credit: The Bee Palette, Biodiversity Victory Gardens / Betsy Peterson, Assoc. ASLA; Reimagining the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas with materials that have lower embodied carbon / Meg Calkins, rendering by Kathleen Elliot; Baltimore Basketball Court Cultural Landscape / Still from film by Johnny Macon, ASLA

Meet the Authors of ASLA’s STEM Literacy by Design Initiative! Join ASLA members as they share how they blend their passion for landscape architecture with children's literature, inspiring the next generation of landscape architects. Register Here: https://bit.ly/46svqWD #ASLACareerDiscovery

Vote now for the #ASLAGameChangers finalists! Help decide who takes the stage at the #ASLA2024 Conference on Landscape Architecture in Washington, D.C. 👍 “Like” the submissions you think showcase innovative approaches to biodiversity and climate action. Voting closes July 26. Vote now: https://bit.ly/46jUD5r 2024 Game Changers Finalists: - Hasibe Akın Demir, Student Intl ASLA - Chitali Biswas, Associate ASLA - Nathanael Card, Affiliate ASLA - Saba Farmand - MaFe Gonzalez, Associate ASLA - Steven Handel, Honorary ASLA - Brandon Herman, ASLA - D'Arcy Hutton and Amanda Passero - Paul Josey, ASLA, and James Urban, FASLA - Olivia Langford, Student ASLA - Lance Legel - Jared Edgar McKnight, ASLA - Emma Podietz, ASLA - Roger Socha, ASLA - Valeriia Tolkacheva, Associate ASLA - Charles Ware ASLA - Julia Wilson, Associate ASLA Game Changers is sponsored by Tournesol Siteworks

“It’s heating up and we can all feel it, but how much? Where? And who is most at risk? The reality is that vulnerable populations face a disproportionate burden of the impacts of heat in our cities. It starts with visualizing heat disparities as a form of recognition – a call to action.” -- Salvador Lindquist, ASLA, assistant professor of landscape architecture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln The ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee has organized a new 9-part webinar series: Biodiversity and Climate Action 101 for Landscape Architects. Register for the sixth webinar -- Cooler Communities for All: Designing Equitable Heat Solutions -- on July 29 at 1 PM EST. Join Salvador Lindquist, ASLA; Daniella Hirschfeld, PhD, ASLA, Utah State University; Wes Michaels, ASLA, Spackman Mossop Michaels; and Vivek Shandas, PhD, Portland State University. This webinar is free for ASLA members and $50 for non-members. It offers 1.0 PDH (LACES/HSW). The webinar series is underwritten by Landscape Forms. Register today: https://bit.ly/4fcAQZT Image Credit: Salvador Lindquist / University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Heat map of Omaha, Nebraska / Salvador Lindquist and Keenan Gibbons

"Heat is the deadliest natural hazard and unjustly impacts the most vulnerable people. We have a moral imperative to adapt our built environment and reduce urban heat." -- Daniella Hirschfeld, ASLA, PhD, Assistant Professor, Climate Adaptation Planning, Urban Ecology, Environmental Justice, Utah State University The ASLA Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee has organized a new 9-part webinar series: Biodiversity and Climate Action 101 for Landscape Architects. Register for the sixth webinar -- Cooler Communities for All: Designing Equitable Heat Solutions -- on July 29 at 1 PM EST. Join Daniella; Salvador Lindquist, ASLA, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Wes Michaels, ASLA, Spackman Mossop Michaels; and Vivek Shandas, PhD, Portland State University. This webinar is free for ASLA members and $50 for non-members. It offers 1.0 PDH (LACES/HSW). The webinar series is underwritten by Landscape Forms. Register today: https://bit.ly/4fcAQZT Image Credit: Daniella Hirschfeld / Bronson Teichert, Utah State University; Landscape architecture strategies for reducing heat / Daniella Hirschfeld, design by Erik Herter

“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," said Kevin DuPuis, Chairman of the Fond du Lac Band. ASLA is partnering with the National Indian Carbon Coalition (NICC) to offset greenhouse gas emissions from its #ASLA2024 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. Learn more about the offsets with NICC and the Fond Du Lac Band: https://bit.ly/3Xhovgt Make a contribution when you register for the ASLA Conference or through this form: https://bit.ly/3RrxgAZ Image Credit: Wild rice lakes on Fond Du Lac Band Tribal lands, Minnesota / © Stan Tekiela, courtesy of National Indian Carbon Coalition

Be an ASLA Game Changer – Apply by July 23! Pitch your innovative approach to climate action and biodiversity for a chance to present at #ASLA2024 and win $500 for professional development. 👉 Submit your idea: https://bit.ly/4bDRfUe #ASLAGameChangers is sponsored by Tournesol Siteworks #LandscapeArchitecture

“Landscape architects have unique skills that can change the world,” said Cindy Sanders, FASLA, CEO of OLIN, in her introduction of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) Leadership and Innovation Fellowship Program at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. The latest class of six fellows represents the “future of disruption.” During their fellowship, they investigated seemingly intractable problems and found fresh solutions. “They have profound messages to offer us.” In ASLA's THE DIRT, learn more about the work of LAF Fellows Kimberly Garza, ASLA, Douglas Williams, ASLA, and Kathryn Finnigan: https://bit.ly/4bWaQPE Image Credit: Talents All Around on Chicago Southside School / Douglas Williams; Neurodiversity / Kathryn Finnigan; Cool-Kit / Kimberly Garza, Atlas Lab