Nicole Helbling

Matt – From what I understand, the U.S. Botanic Garden does not support the lawsuit.  I believe this to be true because out of the three organizations, the U.S. Botanic Garden has the greatest legal resources and influence.   If the USBG was unhappy with the trademark request as filed by UT, they would have joined the legal battle to stop it and w…[Read more]

Thanks for your insights.   Having worked on a Pilot Project for some time I have a great deal of respect for SITES and the comprehensive approach it brings.   I can’t believe that there is some kind of a power struggle going on over what is essentially the bookkeeping.  However, stepping back I don’t think that any one of the partners should ha…[Read more]

Matt – Currently, SITES is not a separate entity.  The Executive Committee is made up of the ASLA, the Wildflower Center which is a part of UT and the US Botanic Garden.  SITES staff who work with the various committees and lead the development of the metric and educational materials are located in Austin at the Wildflower Center.  Liz Guthrie, Ma…[Read more]

Since the petition from ASLA and press release from UT are contradictory, please help me understand what’s going on with the following questions:

• UT States: “UT has never had a formal partnership or any legal agreement with ASLA, despite our efforts over the past two years to develop one.”    ASLA states : ” The SITES trademarks were developed th…

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In regards to the ASLA SITES Petition update,  publicly airing dirty laundry is rarely a good idea.  Particularly when it is smattered with childish comments and obviously intended to discredit a former partner.  Landscape Architects and many others in the site design industry have worked tirelessly to prove our value to the green building in…[Read more]

The legal petition from ASLA and the formal response from UT definitely tell two different sides of the story.  Regardless of which side you fall, we should all agree that litigation is not good for SITES or the profession as a whole.  SITES v2 and the reference guide are scheduled to be released in the next couple months and projects will f…[Read more]

Charles – you obviously have not read SITES closely or either don’t understand it.  It is a performance base metric – the opposite of prescriptive design.  Also, I challenge you to certify a project.  In my work, I have found that those who believe they have been “doing it for 40 years” have great difficulty meeting the minimum criteria.  

Interesting.  Two entities fighting over who will make money selling another guide to prescriptive design.  There is nothing new in the SITES project except adding points up to get to some magical level so you can pin a gold star on your wall.  We really don’t need another entity telling us how to design sustainable projects.  We have been doi…[Read more]

Hi Heather – definitely disappointing to see. Just saw the announcements; have read both press statements that describe very different points of view. What do you think the key disagreement is and what will take to resolve?

A large number of credits under the Sustainable Sites Initiative pertain to vegetation. Check out my latest article “Green Math” in Landscape Architecture Magazine to find out what you should know to earn as many as possible.

Land8 online has invited me to provide a free webinar on sustainable sites, small scale sites and residential landscapes on November 7th. What type of information you would find most useful?

I am all for sustainability, but we can still need to make it blend into  the enviroment …………………………………..Dome What dome

What is LAbash?
LAbash (landscape architecture bash) is a student run conference that serves as a platform for students from various universities to converge, exchange ideas and celebrate their passion for landscape architecture.
LAbash was conceptualized in 1970 by three students from the University of Guelph looking for an opportunity to…[Read more]

Early registration for FIU LABASH 2012 has been extended for 1 week, don’t miss out register today!

How is the increasing demand for performance metrics and measures of sustainability for landscape architecture and numerous other rating systems changing the practice? What are the challenges in terms of need for additional research associated with this paradigm and what are the sourced used for research and knowledge? What are most pressing…[Read more]