Séfora Chavarria

Hi All, I’m beginning my studies for the L.A.R.E.  Anyone doing the same?  Or has recently taken any of the sections?

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Tips of the Week: Drawing a Tree
A simple 5 mins tree with Chartpak markers:  First outlined it with red or 6B pencil and render leaves with Grass Green and Nile Green; trunk with Buff, Suntan and Mocha.  Finally outlined it with black Sharpie and hit it with Prismacolor pencils – Poppy Red and True Blue.  Always apply markers from lighter to da…[Read more]

Hey CSU, If any of you are going to the ASLA Expo this year its in my home city and my company will have a booth down on the expo floor. Send me a message if you want to stop and say hi or need any suggestions for anything.

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?

“The Columbus Botanical Garden seeks an Executive Director to lead and direct the organization. The Executive Director reports to and is governed by the Board of Directors. The successful candidate must have a horticultural background, be able to direct fundraising, solicit funds and sponsorships for the Garden and coordinate fundraising events, a…[Read more]

Downtown Athens master planner resumes work

Better attitude can affect your drawing skills immensely Ever since I have changed my attitude to be better and looser, my drawing skills improved drastically. These are what I have changed: * I will no longer want to compete with my peers, just want to draw better than my wife, that is all. * I begin to realize that the more mistakes I have made…[Read more]