It’s only been two months since the annual conference in Boston, but ASLA is already gearing up for the 2014 Conference in Denver. If you live in The Mile High City, there are many ways to get involved and I highly recommend it. As a Landscape Architect in Boston, I found it to be very rewarding and a great experience to be involved in ASLA 2013. The following are just a few ways to contribute.
Image Courtesy of the Author
Submit a proposal for a Field Session
Denver Landscape Architects, you know your city the best. So take the time to share what you know with the rest of us and put together a Field Session! For ASLA Boston I took the lead to round up a great team of designers, planners, and non-profits involved with the design and construction of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Copley Wolff Design Group, the office I currently work for, was partnered with EDAW, to make one of three design teams responsible for one of the major nodes of the Greenway, the Wharf District Parks.
I started working with the Principals at CWDG as well as the local Boston ASLA Education Session coordinators in early 2013 in order to pull in the critical speakers and craft a succinct and thoughtful Field Session. The session was titled ‘The Rose Kennedy Greenway: A Harmonious Composition Shaped by Distinct Parcels’ (Handout Link). Remember Denver! Education & Field Session proposals are due January 30.
Video Courtesy of BSLA
Volunteer to work on the ACE Mentor Legacy Project
Not everyone may be aware, but in 2008 ASLA introduced the Legacy Project, a program that selects a local project in the hosting city in need of assistance from ASLA and the EXPO Vendors to make critical landscape improvements. The Legacy Project was established as a way for ASLA to thank the hosting city. In Boston, the Patrick J. Kennedy School located in East Boston was selected to receive a new schoolyard.
A team of volunteers from the Boston ASLA chapter and the ACE Mentor Program were assembled to coordinate a charrette, develop a final design, prepare cost estimates, solicit donations and ultimately pull together a team to implement the design in the spring.
The above three-minute video that premiered at the General Session was a critical piece to the Legacy Project’s success. The video is a way to describe the project and act as a thank you to ASLA and the EXPO Vendors for their support. Early in last fall, I volunteered my time to help produce a video about the P.J. Kennedy project by assembling the necessary video equipment and camera operators. I also prepared the footage and helped edit the final video.
To keep up to date on the Boston ACE Mentoring Legacy Project, please visit their blog.
Image Courtesy of Kero Photography
Contribute to the Landscape Architects Guide to Denver
In 2012, ASLA put together The Landscape Architect’s Guide to D.C., initiating a new tradition to showcase all the amazing landscape architecture sites in the convention hosting city. I had the opportunity to contribute to the The Landscape Architect’s Guide to Boston for the Dorchester neighborhood, which includes The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Archive designed by Dan Kiley. Contact Jared Green at ASLA for more information.
Image Courtesy of Land8
Write for Land8
Give Land8 readers your take on the Convention. Write about your favorite Education Sessions, how you got involved with ASLA, or how the conference inspired you. See Land8’s post on how to become a writer.
The 2014 Convention will be here in no time, so Denver, get to work!
This concludes Cortney Kirk’s ASLA 2013 Recap Series. Check out her previous blog posts here.
Lead image via StoneWolfPhoto
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