Charles A. Warsinske

I hear you Michael! I thankfully still have a job, but am afraid to think outside the box – since I might lose my job because of it.

Charles, This is probably easier to deal with in Phoenix as most people don’t really expect anything to live here without water. Even natives. I don’t know how you can expect a plant that is used to regular and frequent irrigation at the grower, to suddenly become a plant that thrives with irregular and infrequent feeding.

Ya Bill, all I know is when a local suburban city requires the planting of natives in parking lot islands that get hammered by not only the heated asphalt but also the vehicle exhaust, I tend to shake my head. With pedestrians tromping through and no irrigation, it is just tough sledding. What we need is to educate the planners who write the…[Read more]

Hi Noriko,

Thank you! What a great post. Many people are finding themselves out of work at this time, but I think that this economic downturn is going to foster incredible creativity in those that don’t find themselves gainfully employed by an established firm. The time is NOW to really get out there and think differently about our land and our…[Read more]

New York one:

http://www.urbanshed.org/index.html

I Navid, the pine like plant looks like a grevilia flower. I’m not sure but it’s similar.

I graduated in 2008 (last year) am working at EDAW in Seattle. I lost contact with most of my classmates and am wondering how they are doing. I am wondering what I can do to contribute for the community that is suffering gravely due to the poor economy.

Ya Charles, all the natives around here grow in balls and cubes. You never have to water them and they never grow past the 3′ dia. ball or cube. They even flower in colors that contrast well with the building they are planted next to. I love natives. They’re truely the answer to all your sustainable dreams. You just need more experience, buddy.

We are being asked more and more to do less and less irrigation on our projects here in and around Seattle. One might think, “so what, it is always raining in Seattle.” This is not quite true. We have had a very dry summer here but we are only about an inch below average for the year. Many native and non native plants are suffering, and will not…[Read more]

Great idea for a group!

I’m glad to see someone else interested in SSI! I’m working on a children’s garden project for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. We’re designing the project to the preliminary draft SSI credits in hopes to create a sustainable landscape project, test the credits and criteria and eventually hopefully become a pilot project.

I like to share this document on sustainable site design. SSI_Guidelines_Draft_2008.pdf

Here is another recent article from BuildingGreen.com regarding LEED changes : http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2009/7/28/New-LEED-AP-Exam-Writer-Tells-All.

intheleed.com also has some good explainations:
http://www.intheleed.com/what-exactly-is-the-credential-maintenance-program-for-leed/

Go to the link below to download the “Credentialing Maintenance Program Guide” valid for July 2009 from USGBC – this is the official document addressing credentialling maintenance.
http://www.gbci.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=3665

and more serious competition 🙂 then the last one, but it might be short notice.
DEADLINE 16.09.2009, for LA up to 36yrs( or 39- they have two figures in different location) old 🙂
In recognition of Otto Linne’s 140th birthday, Hamburg would like to encourage interested participants to investigate the water-bearing hillside located between the E…[Read more]

POP.Park
that people can use to reclaim public space each and everyday of the year. POP.Parks will be public spaces produced from readily available, reclaimed or post-consumer recycled materials that will emerge from a regular, cardboard box.
POP.Parks should be no larger than 8’x15′ – the size of a regular car parking spot. The cost of building a…[Read more]

Just got an e-mail regarding GBCI Credentialing Maintenance Program for those of us that have been accredited without specialization under the old system. Was wondering if anyone has dug deeper into what this really means for us and if upgrading to a specialization will pay off in the end?

Just slid into this group. Many of the Washington State funded building design projects require a LEED certification. I’ve been involved in the number of LEED workshops on projects for community colleges in the state. I am not up to speed on the newer landscape/site related LEED certification. I know from past projects, the landscape/site related…[Read more]

Hey Charles, Its good to have you in the group. How do you feel about this narrowing of role? Do you think that if we still had more of a role in related fields that there would be more work currently available for landscape architects? If you want you could start a discussion about it. I think it would be interesting to see what we could learn…[Read more]