September 2020 Newsletter
ASLA UTAH SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWSLETTER
UPCOMING EVENTS
LuckyDog Recreation presents Berliner Rope Play & 3-Dimensional Net Systems $10 gift card for each person attending. Tuesday, October 22th, 10:00am REGISTER HERE
Victor Stanley: Virtual LA CES™ Webinar Public and the Pandemic
Speakers: Gina Ford and Brie Hensold
Credits: 1.5 PDH-HSW On-Demand. REGISTER HERE
Save the Date: reVISION ASLA 2020. November 16th thru 18th Reimagined, virtual experience for an evolving profession where you will get the opportunity to learn, connect, and celebrate landscape architecture. More Info Here
Leadership Express
Lauren Smith, Chapter President
Happy Fall!
I hope everyone is holding up well and enjoying the cooler weather. As someone who loves the heat, I’m always sad for summer to end but I’m looking forward to these upcoming fall temperatures! Here’s a summary of what’s happening with ASLA this fall:
Top Left: Ricardo Austrich; Top Middle: Lina Maria Escobar Ocampo; Top Right: Ricardo Riveros Bottom Left: Maria Bellalta; Bottom Right: Saul Alcantara Onofre
ASLA Celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month! ASLA is excited to offer a multi-part webinar series in celebration of #HispanicHeritageMonth. Explore cultural diversity in #LandArch and ancient Mexico nature, learn about social urbanism and reframing spatial design in LATAM, and more.
The Spectacular Nature of the Ancient Mexico Thursday, October 1, 2020 at 3:00 pm ET Description: In this webinar, Saúl Alcántara Onofre—Professor, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, and President, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), México—will present the rich aspects of the Mesoamerican Pre-Hispanic people and their thoughts regarding the sacred vision of nature.
On Social Urbanism and Reframing Spatial Design in Latin America Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 3:00 pm ET Description: Through her upcoming publication, Social Urbanism: Reframing Spatial Design: Discourses from Latin America, María Bellalta, ASLA offers a comprehensive analysis of the foundational geography of Latin American landscapes as the instigator for urbanization processes that have impacted the continent over centuries. By tracing the historical patterns of colonization and modern planning strategies that have promoted a legacy of exploitation, Bellalta presents an alternative view that reveals the Latin American landscape as a potent “cultural space.”
Climate Change, Landscape, Cultural and Natural Heritage Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 3:00 pm ET Description: By reviewing a fire disaster caused by climate change in the context of a heritage port city (Valparaíso in Chile), Ricardo Riveros proposes ways to expose the current challenges of landscape architecture in processes of reconstruction of cities, regeneration of identity, and of mitigation strategies to prevent future natural disasters.
ASLA Mentorship Program! It’s not too late to get involved with the newly launched mentorship program! You can find more information and the sign-up link on the ASLA Mentorship webpage. The sign-up survey for mentors and mentees is the same.
Have you heard of Climate Positive Design’s Pathfinder? Pathfinder is a free online landscape carbon calculator that educates designers on how to reduce carbon footprints and sequester more carbon. New features of the updated Pathfinder include capability to compare design alternatives, analyze existing conditions, understand site impacts, and more customization. To learn more check out this upcoming webinar. Climate Positive Design’s Pathfinder 2.0 Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 2:00 pm ET.
Save the date! reVISION ASLA 2020 coming November 16-18. More information to come!
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to one of us, our contact information can be found on the Executive Committee page.
Stay safe and healthy. Cheers,
Lauren
CONGRATULATIONS!
To all the Awards Recipients of the 2020 ASLA Utah Annual Professional Awards Program!
We hope you enjoy the Annual Awards Video this year!
—JoEllen Grandy, VP of Membership and Member Services
ASLA Utah Annual Conference
Colin Olson, Past President
Do you hear that?
That's me still exhaling. It's with a long sigh of relief that I thank all of you who participated in this year's conference. Thank you to everyone who made the effort to get with the vendors during the maiden voyage of our virtual expo. I have much gratitude toward our executive director, Jenny Sonntag, for planning the expo out from scratch and for all the effort she put into its execution. Thanks to each of you for sticking with us through a tough year of unwanted improvisation. And thank you all for your patience and grace while we navigated our first ever conference via Zoom.
As I'm sure many of you do, I deeply regret we couldn't gather in person and socialize and network as peers. It's crazy to think that the wind storm leaving much of downtown SLC without power could have actually left us scrambling to somehow salvage pieces of an in-person conference.
Planning the conference was a daunting task for me. Knowing that landscape architecture is a far reaching discipline and that we have members covering all of those bases made it hard to choose where or how to focus the content. Considering that a lot of my background and passion lie in urban design and city planning, a lot of it ended up aiming in that direction. I regret that we didn't have the time to touch on other areas of specialization. As a reminder, ASLA National provides us with a lot of specialized continuing education resources. If you're interested, go to the Professional Practice Resource Guides where you can spend some time on any of the below topic areas:
I have read most of the survey responses and wanted to respond to one of the sentiments that came through in a few comments. As we all know, community building is a web of complex processes. One component in that web is accounting for the needs and situations of the many people who are impacted by the results of our work. Our speakers discussed the very real social, economic and environmental challenges that various individuals in our communities face. Many of these challenges relate to - or are - issues that come up in political discourse. I felt the speakers did well at addressing these topics through their individual professional and personal lenses while keeping specific political views out of it as much as that is possible. If we desire to work on projects that affect the public, we must be willing to have such discussions and do so with open minds. The human experience is vast and varied and we need this type of discourse in order to better serve the citizens whose quality of life we are impacting with our work.
Thanks to all of you who filled out the survey. We really appreciate both the compliments and the constructive criticism. I know Lauren and the conference planning committee (email Lauren if you want to be part of that - laurenksmith.asla@gmail.com) will take all of it into consideration while planning a valuable conference for next year. I hope to see you all there in person.
Sincerely,
Colin Olson
ASLA Utah Past President
VENDOR EXPO RAFFLE WINNERS
GRAND PRIZE: Mike McClellan, Kristina Ainsworth, Dan Sonntag
Victor Stanley - Bruce Brown
BioGrass - Alison Gowan
RainBird - Nathan Jaramillo
Live Earth - Cable Jones
Anova - Ladd Scheiss
Hunter/FX Lumiere - Eric Lyman, Cody Brazell, Kris Kvarfordt
Landscape Forms - Bronson Tatton
LuckyDog Recreation -
Amiad - Hailey Wall
Confluence Products - Bronson Tatton, Dan Sonntag, Hailey Wall, Brandon Ruiz
Contech - Hailey Wall
Downs & Assoc - Brandon Ruiz
Forms+Surfaces - Alison Gowan
Garrett & Company - Jon Ruedas
Omega II - JoEllen Grandy, Tyler Smithson, Julian Rosario
Playspace Designs - Troy Sanders
StoneCover - Liz Best
LARE Prep
Kyle Funk, Emerging Professionals Chair
Need to prepare for the LARE exams in your state? Help is here!
Register for SGLA Technical Training’s popular LARE Preparatory Courses, now available as live, online classes for candidates across the US and Canada.
SGLA Technical Training is pleased to be able to continue offering Freeman & Jewell’s preparatory courses for candidates taking the Landscape Architect Registration Examination. These courses have historically been in-person, on-site bootcamps over several weekends in Berkeley, CA. Ray Freeman’s courses attracted students from 46 states, five Canadian provinces, Puerto Rico and DC.
SGLA Technical Training has now evolved and can deliver Ray’s content through live, online classes, open to the entire US and Canada. This meets the challenge of the current worldwide pandemic --- while also giving students across the country greater flexibility and access to this powerful learning community.
October round of prep courses will provide a review of the content for Sections 1 and 2 combined in one weekend, and a grading and drainage intensive for Section 4.
The courses are taught by Sarah Gronquest, licensed Landscape Architect with decades of experience. Sarah Gronquist has taught exam preparation and university level courses at UC Berkeley and Merritt College for 15 years, including grading and drainage, construction detailing, planting design, business practices, and professional practice.
For complete information on the upcoming course offering and to register, CLICK HERE.
Special Thanks to ASLA Utah Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
BioGrass | Rain Bird | Victor Stanley
Gold Sponsors
Live Earth Products
Silver Sponsors
Amcor/Belgard | Ameristar | Anova | Chanshare Farms
Hunter/FX Luminaire | Landscape Forms | LuckyDog Recreation | Utelite
Bronze Sponsors
AMIAD | CES&R | Confluence Products | Contech | Forms + Surfaces | GPH Irrigation
Garrett & Company | Graber Manufacturing | Hess Pumice | Inman Interwest | IRONSMITH Maglin | Miller Companies | Omega II Fence System | PlaySpace Designs | Sonntag Recreation Starker Parson | TORO | Vortex Aquatic Structures Intl.
Learn More About Our Sponsors
**Click Here to become a 2021 Sponsor
August 2020 Newsletter
ASLA UTAH AUGUST 2020 NEWSLETTER
UPCOMING EVENTS
ASLA Utah VIRTUAL Conference on Landscape Architecture - Sept. 10th to 11th *Green Infrastructure Sessions September 10th, 1:00pm to 3:30pm *Adaptable Communities Sessions September 11th, 8:30am to 12:00pm Sketch Tour September 11th, 1:30pm to 3:00pm REGISTER HERE!
ASLA UT Virtual Vendor Expo
September 8th-11th, Hours Vary See Vendor Booth Schedule HERE
Victor Stanley: Virtual LA CES™ Webinars Utilizing Site Furnishings to Enhance Open Spaces.Credits: Thursdays, 12:00PM REGISTER HERE
Hunter: Open the Flood Gates: A Deep Dive into Irrigation Control Valves. This webinar will teach customers essential information about irrigation control valves, & tips for choosing the right valve to ensure top performance. Wed. Sept. 2nd, 1:00 p.m. REGISTER HERE
Leadership Express
Lauren Smith, Chapter President
Happy Summer!
I hope everyone is holding up well. Let's been a busy summer and here are the key takeaways for ASLA news:
ASLA Utah 2020 Conference on Landscape Architecture is coming up quick! You can read more about the excellent program that Colin Olson, Past President, has put together for everyone below. We're for this event to take place and can't wait to get the Virtual Vendor Expo kicked off.
ASLA Utah is looking for volunteers to work on our Fellows Committee. It's nomination time, and we're looking for volunteers to start working on applications and selection for our state's Fellows. If you think this might be something you're interested in, contact anyone on the Executive Committee. You can find more information regarding ALSA Fellows here: https://www.asla.org/fellows.aspx
You may have heard that ASLA National is now offering free membership for all students! In conjunction with free student membership, ASLA has launched a new mentorship program. This is one of the most beneficial relationships for both mentor and mentee. It sets the mentee up for life-long success in their chosen profession and offers the mentor new perspectives. We don't want you to miss out in becoming a mentor. You can find more information and the sign-up link on the ASLA Mentorship webpage. The sign-up survey for mentors and mentees is the same. Sign up by August 31! so new student members can get paired with a mentor.
ASLA National is shifting from the planned in-person conference in Miami Beach to virtual education programming, governance events and ceremonies in the fall. As planning efforts continue for the virtual platform, it has become evident for the need to push back the schedule to later in the year to accommodate production. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
The ASLA Climate Action Committee is organizing teams of chapter and university program leaders to host a series of regional conversations aimed at addressing climate change issues most pressing to specific regions of the country. The committee is looking for subject matter experts in each region to develop a broad Climate Action Network and local action plans. Join in these conversations and help develop a climate action network within ASLA membership and beyond. If you’d like to be apart of these discussion, please let us know so we can get you involved!
As most of you probably are, ASLA Utah is eager to ramp up in-person events again! We still have our members health and safety as a top priority and will continue to monitor current case counts, guidelines from our local health departments, as well as national guidelines. We will use this information to determine when it is safe to hold in-person meetings and conferences. In the meantime, take advantage of the webinars offered by ASLA Utah and ASLA National! They have really shaped up to be good events. AS always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to one of us, our contact information can be found on the Executive Committee page.
Stay safe and healthy. Cheers,
Lauren
ASLA Utah Annual Conference
Colin Olson, Past President
Support Your Chapter - Earn CEU’s - Win Prizes!
Education Sessions
Green Infrastructure
Thursday, Sept. 10th, 1:00pm - 4:30pm
Adaptable Communities
Friday, Sept. 11th, 8:30am - 12:00pm
Keynote by Kevin Burke
Lunch gift card sponsored by BioGrass
Downtown SLC Sketch Crawl (w/masks)
Friday, Sept. 11th, 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Virtual Vendor Expo with Killer RAFFLE
Tuesday thru Friday, Sept. 8th -11th
Vendor virtual “booth” hours vary
CLICK HERE FOR CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
RAFFLE ITEMS INCLUDE: products, gift certificates, gift items. Most Vendors are offering their own raffle items that you could win when you visit their virtual booths!!
IN ADDITION: For each Vendor you visit you get an entry for the GRAND PRIZE RAFFLE! The more Vendors you visit, the more entries you get to win one of three $200 Gift Certificates -- WOOT WOOT!!
If you have questions don’t hesitate to contact: Jenny Sonntag, ASLA Utah Executive Director at: 801.971.5007, uaslaexecutivedirector@gmail.com
***Use this link to register for the Annual Conference and earn up to 7 CEU’s before the end of the year!
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
ASLA Utah Election Results
Seth Bockholt, President Elect
We are happy to announce the results of our 2020 election and incoming Executive Committee Members:
President- Elect - Adam Castor
Secretary- Boyd Reschke
Treasurer- John Gottfredson
VP of Visibility & Public Affairs- Aaron Johnson
It is exciting to welcome these amazing people aboard the Executive Committee. We are pleased that they have taken this opportunity to contribute their skills and knowledge to the betterment of our chapter and the Society.
At this time, we would also like to thank the outgoing committee members for their exemplary service:
Thank you Colin Olsen our outgoing President
Thank you Brady Pitcher our outgoing Treasurer
Thank you Nate Jaramillo our outgoing VP of Visibility and Public Affairs
And thank you Boyd Reschke for another term as Secretary!
The new Committee members officially begin November 1, 2020.
LARE Prep
Kyle Funk, Emerging Professionals Chair
Need to prepare for the LARE exams in your state? Help is here!
Register for SGLA Technical Training’s popular LARE Preparatory Courses, now available as live, online classes for candidates across the US and Canada.
SGLA Technical Training is pleased to be able to continue offering Freeman & Jewell’s preparatory courses for candidates taking the Landscape Architect Registration Examination. These courses have historically been in-person, on-site bootcamps over several weekends in Berkeley, CA. Ray Freeman’s courses attracted students from 46 states, five Canadian provinces, Puerto Rico and DC.
SGLA Technical Training has now evolved and can deliver Ray’s content through live, online classes, open to the entire US and Canada. This meets the challenge of the current worldwide pandemic --- while also giving students across the country greater flexibility and access to this powerful learning community.
October round of prep courses will provide a review of the content for Sections 1 and 2 combined in one weekend, and a grading and drainage intensive for Section 4.
The courses are taught by Sarah Gronquest, licensed Landscape Architect with decades of experience. Sarah Gronquist has taught exam preparation and university level courses at UC Berkeley and Merritt College for 15 years, including grading and drainage, construction detailing, planting design, business practices, and professional practice.
For complete information on the upcoming course offering and to register, CLICK HERE.
Special Thanks to ASLA Utah Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
BioGrass | Rain Bird | Victor Stanley
Gold Sponsors
Live Earth Products
Silver Sponsors
Amcor/Belgard | Ameristar | Anova | Chanshare Farms
Hunter/FX Luminaire | Landscape Forms | LuckyDog Recreation | Utelite
Bronze Sponsors
AMIAD | CES&R | Confluence Products | Contech | Forms + Surfaces | GPH Irrigation
Garrett & Company | Graber Manufacturing | Hess Pumice | Inman Interwest | IRONSMITH Maglin | Miller Companies | Omega II Fence System | PlaySpace Designs | Sonntag Recreation Starker Parson | TORO | Vortex Aquatic Structures Intl.
Learn More About Our Sponsors
**Click Here to become a 2021 Sponsor
Support your Chapter! Education, Expo and Prizes
VIRTUAL ASLA Utah 2020 Conference on Landscape Architecture & Vendor Expo
Click Here for CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
Education Sessions
Green Infrastructure Thursday, Sept. 10th, 1:00pm - 4:30pm
Adaptable Communities Friday, Sept. 11th, 8:30am - 12:00pm
Keynote by Kevin Burke sponsored by Victor Stanley
Lunch gift card sponsored by BioGrass
Downtown SLC Sketch Crawl (w/masks) Friday, Sept. 11th, 1:30pm - 2:00pm
Virtual Vendor Expo with Killer RAFFLE Tuesday thru Friday, Sept. 8th -11th Vendor virtual “booth” hours vary
CLICK HERE FOR CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
RAFFLE ITEMS INCLUDE: products, gift certificates, gift items. Most Vendors are offering their own raffle items that you could win when you visit their virtual booths.
IN ADDITION: For each Vendor you visit you get an entry into the GRAND PRIZE RAFFLE! The more Vendors you visit, the more entries you get to win one of three $200 Gift Certificates -- WOOT WOOT!!
If you have questions don’t hesitate to contact: Jenny Sonntag, ASLA Utah Executive Director at: 801.971.5007, uaslaexecutivedirector@gmail.com
**Click link above & register for the Annual Conference & earn up to 7 CEU’s before 2020 ends!
Congratulations to our 2020 ASLA Student Award Winners!
Due to COVID-19 ASLA Utah was unable to present the Annual ASLA Student Awards at the USU Spring Awards Banquet. We’d like to congratulate and honor the 2020 Award Winners this year by spotlighting them on our website.
Please take a moment to read about each award winner and join us in congratulating them!
Undergraduate Student Award Winners
Ethan Balls, Honor Award
Travis Lindberg, Honor Award
Survier Castillo, Merit Award
Madison Pong, Honor Award
Patricia Beckert, Merit Award
Graduate Student Award Winners
Nicholas LeSchofs, Honor Award
Jim Anglesey, Merit Award
Congratulations to the 2020 Student ASLA Award Winners from the entire ASLA Utah Executive Committee!
We wish you luck on your future endeavors and hope you continue your involvement with ASLA in the future.
2020 ASLA Utah Executive Committee Candidates
PRESIDENT ELECT
TREASURER
SECRETARY
VP MEMBERSHIP & MEMBERSHIP SERVICES
VP VISIBILITY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
June/July 2020 Newsletter
ASLA UTAH JUNE/JULY 2020 NEWSLETTER
UPCOMING EVENTS
ASLA Utah Conference on Landscape Architecture,
Friday, 11th of September
Gateway Mall, SLC
REGISTER HERE!
Victor Stanley: Virtual LA CES™ Webinars Completing Streets for Better Communities Credits: 1.0 PDH – July 7, August 18, 12:00pm MST
REGISTER HERE
Ameristar: Virtual Lunch & Learn How to Protect Property, Save Lives and Provide Peace of Mind. Credits: 1.0 CEU Tuesday, July 21st, 12:00PM MST REGISTER HERE
Victor Stanley: Virtual LA CES™ Webinars Utilizing Site Furnishings to Enhance Open Spaces.Credits: 1.0 PDH – HSW, Thursdays, 12:00PM MST REGISTER HERE
ASLA MIA2020
2020 Conference on Landscape Architecture
October 2-5, 2020; Miami, FL
Advanced Deadline Discount ends August 10, 2020
REGISTER HERE
Leadership Express
Lauren Smith, Chapter President
Happy Summer!
I hope everyone is holding up well with today’s current events. You’ll notice this is a June/July Newsletter, ASLA Utah Executive Committee will be taking their summer break in July. We will continue to work in the background but won’t have a newsletter next month. Here are a couple key takeaways from June:
A mural depicting George Floyd and Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, two individuals killed by police, located at the corner of 300 West and 800 South in Salt Lake City.
ASLA’s Black Lives Matter statement was published on June 5th. ASLA is developing a strategy led by partner, the Black Landscape Architects Network (BlackLAN), that will focus on how our organizations will take action together. This partnership is intended to result in lasting changes with positive impacts for the future of black communities and black landscape architects. This strategic plan is among ASLA’s top priorities. Multiple articles concerned racial indjustice were published on the Dirt. Two that stuck out to me can be found here:
ASLA Celebrated Pride Month! In honor of LGBTQIA Pride Month, ASLA celebrated the LGBTQIA community by hosting webinars focusing on the diverse narratives in landscape architecture and hosted a Pride Happy Hour.
ASLA’s President Wendy Miller’s op-ed on professional licensing was published, more information and link to that article is below.
ASLA is fully committed to holding the 2020 ASLA National Conference on Landscape Architecture in Miami Beach, with your health and safety in mind. ASLA will provide members and attendees with continuous updates and developments as we move forward. Should ASLA be forced to cancel the conference for any reason, we will fully refund registration, processing fees, and the cost of any special-event ticket purchases. Advanced Registration Discount ends August 1oth, 2020.
ASLA Utah approved our election ballot. You can see more information regarding that below. Look for those ballots in your inbox soon!
ASLA Utah is eager to ramp up in-person events again; however we have our members health and safety as a top priority. We are monitoring the current case counts and guidelines from our local health department as well as national guidelines. We will use this information to determine when it is safe to hold in-person meetings and conferences. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to one of us, our contact information can be found on the Executive Committee page.
Stay safe and healthy. Cheers,
Lauren
Elections & Committee Volunteers
Seth Bockholt, President Elect
Election Ballots are Coming Soon!
Be on the lookout for your ballot in your inbox in July and remember to Vote!
This year, we are featuring a “write-in” option for position that don’t have incumbents.
If you didn’t get your name in for the Executive Committee Election, but are interested in volunteering we would be happy get you involved in the following areas:
Membership Committee Member
Education Task Force Member
Annual Meeting Committee MemberAwards Committee Member
Contact: seth@bockholtla.com
Advocacy
Ali Lewis, VP of Advocacy
Click Here for Full Article
ASLA President, Wendy Miller’s op-ed was published in The Hill this month. She along with her co-authors explain what's at risk with today's current efforts by legislators to weaken professional licensing standards.
Free Friday Sketch Group
Free lunchtime on-location sketching group of artists, architects, designers, etc.
WHEN: Fridays at 12:30 pm
PURPOSE: Build a local community of sketchers who show the city, one drawing at a time.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED: Follow @location.sketch.ut on Instagram, post any of your sketches using #urbansketchutah or email them to urbansketchut@gmail.com, and sketch every Friday at lunch time
Special Thanks to ASLA Utah Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
BioGrass | Rain Bird | Victor Stanley
Gold Sponsors
Live Earth Products
Silver Sponsors
Amcor/Belgard | Ameristar | Anova | Chanshare Farms
Hunter/FX Luminaire | Landscape Forms | LuckyDog Recreation | Starker Parsons | Utelite
Bronze Sponsors
AMIAD | CES&R | Confluence Products | Contech | Delta Stone | Forms + Surfaces | GPH Irrigation Garrett & Company | Graber Manufacturing | Hess Pumice | Hydrotech | Inman Interwest | IRONSMITH Maglin | Miller Companies | MUSCO Lighting | Omega II Fence System | PlaySpace Designs Sonntag Recreation | Starker Parson | TORO | Vortex Aquatic Structures Intl
Learn More About Our Sponsors
**Click Here to become a Sponsor
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
ASLA Utah is putting out a call for volunteers to join a new Task Force Committee.
The focus of this committee will be to work on a special Educational Campaign for our profession. ASLA Utah would like to come up with a state specific presentation and handout materials that can be shared with a wide variety of individuals (allied professionals, clients, students, etc.) to showcase the vast expertise our profession touches as well as the importance of landscape architects on all projects that have exterior improvements.
If this is something you think you might be interested or have questions, please contact me at laurenksmith.asla@gmail.com.
May 2020 Newsletter
ASLA UTAH MAY 2020 NEWSLETTER
UPCOMING EVENTS
Victor Stanley: Virtual LA CES™ Webinars
Utilizing Site Furnishings to Enhance Open Spaces.
Credits: 1.0 PDH – HSW, Thursdays, 12:00PM MST
REGISTER HERE
ASLA Utah Emerging Professionals Virtual Employment Panel Friday, June 6th, 12:00pm Zoom Registration email Kyle Funk at kyle@loftsixfour.com
ASLA Utah Conference on Landscape Architecture,
Friday, 11th of September
Gateway Mall, SLC
REGISTER HERE!
Leadership Express
Lauren Smith, Chapter President
Dear ASLA Utah Members,
I hope everyone has been able to get outside safely and enjoy some of the nice weather we’re experiencing. I know that I personally have been enjoying my small garden space even more this year with current social distancing and needing to limit my social interactions. As a reminder, ASLA is here for you during these times. Take a look at the National COVID-19 Resources Page which is being updated as more resources are available and please reach out to us if there’s anything we can do to assist during these unpredictable times.
First, I’d like to thanks everyone who filled out the 2021-2022 Federal & State Legislative Priorities Survey! ASLA Utah had a 29.7% response rate, which was an increase by 6 times from last year. We had a goal to triple our responses this year and you all knocked it out of the park! We really appreciate you taking the time to help National set the legislative priorities for the coming year.
In terms of ASLA Utah, we are putting out a call for volunteers to join a new Task Force Committee. The focus of this committee will be to work on a special Educational Campaign for our profession. ASLA Utah would like to come up with a state specific presentation and handout materials that can be shared with a wide variety of individuals (allied professionals, clients, students, etc.) to showcase the vast expertise our profession touches as well as the importance of landscape architects on all projects that have exterior improvements. If this is something you think you might be interested or have questions, please contact me at laurenksmith.asla@gmail.com.
Stay safe, stay healthy,
Lauren
Make a difference in your professional world -
Nominate someone or yourself for ASLA Utah Executive Committee!
OPEN POSITIONS: Treasurer, Secretary, VP of Membership, VP of Visibility, President Elect
**Nomination Deadline: FRIDAY, May 29th by 5 p.m.**
Please email nominee’s name to:
President Elect, Seth Bockholt at seth@bockholtla.com
CPC Spring Conference
Seth Bockholt, President Elect
One of the exciting benefits of serving with the chapter leadership is the opportunity to attend various events. Before becoming the incoming President I had never heard of the Spring CPC in DC but was pleasantly surprised when I was told in February I would have the opportunity to attend this event in April. I have not been to DC since the Mall was updated was stoked to see it. However, this year’s Spring Chapter Presidents Council was held virtually. Lauren Smith, Jenny Sonntag and I logged in to participate April 23rd, 24th and the 25th. Over the three days there was six webinars, and three workshops. While I was disappointed, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to go to DC, and meet all the other Chapter Presidents in person I was relieved I could keep up with my workload from home while I listened to all the Webinars. I tried my best to have an open mind as we approached this virtual meeting but have to admit I was skeptical.
It was not the same as an in-person meeting, but I was really surprised at how well it worked and how fun it was. I had not been on a zoom meeting with such a large group, and it was nice to see everybody there. While the break-out sessions were fun my favorite were the ‘Virtual Happy Hour’ at the end of the day Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s happy hour asked people to wear a wig, mask or glasses, and Fridays was ‘Fun Shirts’. These were hilarious. I had to turn my mic and camera off because my three kids had too much fun commenting on everyone’s attire.
On a more serious note we heard from the Government Affairs Team about all the great work being done at National. Sounds like they have their hands full advocating on the Living Shorelines Act, TREES Act, Green Roofs for Public School Act, Great American Outdoors Act, New National Environmental Policy Act Rules, and STEM Designation. That is a lot of Acts. There is also cause to celebrate. The Community Assistance Partnership is celebrating 20 years in 2020 woop woop! And coming up in 2022 it will be the bicentennial of Frederick Law Olmsted ASLA. The National Association for Olmsted Parks are planning to coordinate a celebration called Olmsted 200 Celebration this year. You can find out more about that Here.
The Webinar on Virtual Member engagement was very interesting. Colorado’s President Elect David Sprunt showed an inspiring example of how the Colorado/Wyoming Chapter with over 400 members spread across two States has been able to encourage more participation. Not just lunch and learns but more geographic diversity on the Excomm using Zoom for board meetings. They even did their awards Jury online in March. In fact, this webinar moved our own Executive Committee to adopt Zoom with an eye to duplicating Colorado/Wyoming’s results and connect our chapter members from the University in Northern to our too often but understandably absent friends in St. George.
Continuing the online trend LA CES is moving courses online. Sam Thorley our VP of Professional Development has been busy registering our Chapter with LA CES to be able to facilitate more CEU’s at our chapter events and hook up those future Zoom meetings with CEU’s too.
Other highlights included ASLA National President Wendy Miller’s Update. Students now can join ASLA without a financial commitment. National hopes to essentially double the number of Students members from 1500 to around 3000. They are also developing programs specific to students including mentoring to pave the path for growth. They are also clarifying how chapters can waiver dues in cases of hardship. Hardship shall include unemployment. An individual is eligible for a due’s waiver because of unemployment for a total of two years in their lifetime. A member may buy back this benefit by paying past dues. 2. Waivers are granted in six-month increments and renewable. 3. Process: Written request to national HQ detailing circumstances for waiver plus written support from chapter president.
Thanks to CPC Chair Jessica McWIlliams ASLA and Mellissa Gobrecht, Manager Chapter Relations for putting on such a well-executed online conference. I know it was a success because I didn’t get any work done while I listened. It was too much fun to participate!
The Utah Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects is pleased to issue a formal call for entries for the 2020 ASLA Utah Professional Awards Program!
Participation in the awards program helps to broaden professional boundaries, increase public awareness of the role of landscape architects, raise the standards of the discipline, and bring recognition to organizations and individuals who demonstrate superior skill in the practice or study of landscape architecture.
It is important for us all to take time to reflect and step back at all of the great work we have accomplished in the past and celebrate together those successes, whether small or great. Consider yourself eligible.
**Awards will be presented at Lunch during the ASLA Utah Conference on Friday, 11th of September as the Gateway Mall in downtown Salt Lake.
All submissions are due Friday, June 19, 2020 at 5PM. We look forward to seeing your entries submitted!
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April 2020 Newsletter
ASLA UTAH APRIL 2020 NEWSLETTER
UPCOMING EVENTS
Victor Stanley: Virtual LA CES™ Webinars
Utilizing Site Furnishings to Enhance Open Spaces.
Credits: 1.0 PDH – HSW, Thursdays, 12:00PM MST
REGISTER HERE
NEW DATE: ASLA Utah Conference on Landscape Architecture,
Friday, 11th of September
Gateway Mall, SLC
REGISTER HERE!
Leadership Express
Lauren Smith, Chapter President
Office Mate/Pet ‘Joey’ enjoying lunch in the lawn
Dear ASLA Utah Members,
Well, we’ve made it another month. I hope you and all of your families are holding up well and staying safe. Finally, the weather is getting warmer and blooming trees are in full effect, meaning it’s beginning to my my favorite time of year! Which also means: it’s election time! You should have all received a call for nominations, if you’re interested in volunteering or know someone who would be good for the job, reach out to Seth Bockholt, nominations are due May 29th by 5pm!
ASLA Utah is working in the background on getting more virtual resources available for your use during this time as well as in the future. Chapter President Elect, Seth Bockholt, Executive Direction, Jenny Sonntag and I participated in the first virtual Chapter Presidency Council meetings just last week. We missed being in the same room as all the other Chapter Presidents, in our nations capitol, however the meetings were extremely smooth and productive from afar. We were able to brainstorm ideas and get implementation advice from other chapters around the country on how they’ve implemented virtual continuing education sessions, socials, as well as resources that may be useful during this time.
As a reminder, ASLA National has a webpage set up with a lot of COVID-19 Resources (located here). Check it out, you might find something useful that you didn’t even know you were looking for. I, in particular, found the webinar “Out of Office: Tools, Teams, and Togetherness for WFH” to be interesting and helpful. As always, please reach out to me, or any of the Executive Committee Members if there’s something we can do for you. We’re here to help.
Stay safe, stay healthy,
Lauren K. Smith, PLA, ASLA
World Landscape Architecture Month - #WLAM
Bryce Ward, ASLA Strategic Plan Advisor - ASLA Utah Sub-Committee
Since April is WLAM where we try to enlighten those not familiar with what we do as Landscape Architects, I'd like to propose that we, ASLA members explain what is landscape architecture in two sentences. We invite you to share your definition during the WLAM Campaign (and beyond) showing your own professional experience. Since everything is virtual now, please post this to your social media accounts and don't forget to @ASLAUtah and #WLM2020. We look forward to seeing your definitions!
Advocacy Update — Ali Lewis, Vice President Advocacy
EXCITING NEWS! Please read & take action!
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is currently accepting nominations, for the first time in over a decade, to the National Scenic Byway program. This exciting development is a result of your successful advocacy for this important national status.
Under the National Scenic Byways Program, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation recognizes certain roads as National Scenic Byways or All-American Roads based on their intrinsic qualities. FHWA promotes the collection as America's Byways. To be designated a National Scenic Byway, a road must possess characteristics of regional significance within at least one of the intrinsic qualities, including archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, or scenic.
As you know landscape architects help to preserve and enhance many of our community’s public spaces, including special roadways, but public officials are often not aware of it. So in an effort to celebrate World Landscape Architecture Month we urge you to contact your governor to support your state’s efforts to nominate a roadway to the National Scenic Byways Program.
All nominations must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Transportation by May 15, 2020.
When Pittsburgh’s city leaders sought a more efficient waste collection process, they turned to the Victor Stanley Relay™ smart waste management system. This data-driven solution fit hand-in-glove with their ambitious goals in the fight against climate change – to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gases, increase renewable energy use, and attempt to achieve Zero Waste.
With no way of knowing when each of the city’s 2,000 litter receptacles needed collection, crews had to drive the full collection routes every day. Inevitably, some would already be overflowing by the time they arrived, while others might still be almost empty.
Relay data showed that, on any given day, only about 13% of the city’s containers would reach the 90%-full threshold representing critical need for collection.
With Relay, sensors embedded in litter receptacles measure how full they are. This dramatically reduces unnecessary collection runs, which saves fuel, time, and lowers emissions. Thanks to Relay’s data, 16 of Pittsburgh’s 25 public works employees previously assigned solely to trash collection have been reassigned to higher priority tasks. This more efficient system helps the city reduce its carbon footprint and re-engage with deferred public works responsibilities, while saving millions of dollars in the process.
With the Relay system’s data, Pittsburgh is well positioned to lead the way on two fronts – the global, ongoing battle against climate change, and improving the seemingly simple task of collecting the trash.
Read the full report online at http://www.victorstanley.com/pittcasestudy.
Read Utah’s Landscape Architect JAN STREIFEL’s article in Devour Magazine!
In Memoriam:
Brent Morris
“Life is too serios to be taken seriously” --- words often spoken by Brent D. Morris who peacefully passed away April 5, 2020.
As a Landscape Architect, graduating from Utah StateUniversity in 1973, his philosophy was “the best time to plant a tree was yesterday.”
Brent had a passion for making the environment more inviting, creating beautiful and functional designs throughout his long and successful career. Brent had the opportunity to work on various projects which included university campus Master Plans, designing the first skateboard park within the state of Utah, projects for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, collaborations with UDOT, parks in southern Utah, numerous projects with the State of Utah, and working with teams to create LEED driven projects. With Zero Scaping, he became a maven of rock placement, using he favorite Utah red sandstone. His talent resulted in several awards for his firm, Brent Morris Associates which he directed for over 40 years, leaving a legacy of design excellence in the field of Landscape Architecture.
Brent was a world traveler, always ready for a new port-of-call and loved experiencing new cuisines. Other actives which brought him joy, were a day on the water or skiing in the mountains and later a quick game of pickleball with family and friends. In his spare time, he was a perpetual builder, always looking forward to the next opportunity to improve his home or yard.
Brent will be remembered for his vibrant personality, his enthusiasm, integrity, commitment to do what’s right, dedication and leadership as a husband, father, friend and professional. He and his wife, Shauna, were always active with family, friends, church, youth, scouts, and community. Brent was very enthusiastic about being a Landscape Architect and he will be deeply missed.
Thank you to our Newsletter Sponsors for their continued support!
Special Thanks to ASLA Utah Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors
BioGrass | Rain Bird | Victor Stanley
Gold Sponsors
Live Earth Products
Silver Sponsors
Amcor/Belgard | Ameristar | Anova | Chanshare Farms
Hunter/FX Luminaire | Landscape Forms | LuckyDog Recreation | Utelite
Bronze Sponsors
AMIAD | CES&R | Confluence Products | Contech | Delta Stone | Forms + Surfaces | GPH Irrigation Garrett & Company | Graber Manufacturing | Hess Pumice | Hydrotech | Inman Interwest | IRONSMITH Maglin | Miller Companies | MUSCO Lighting | Omega II Fence System | PlaySpace Designs Sonntag Recreation | Starker Parson | TORO | Vortex Aquatic Structures Intl