ASLA UTAH FEBRUARY 2024 NEWSLETTER

UPCOMING EVENTS

**2024 ASLA Utah Annual Conference & Expo**

**NEXT MONTH —** **REGISTER NOW!**
***Cultivating the Profession of Landscape Architecture***
**Thursday March 28th & March 29th** **Riverwoods Conference Center, Logan Utah**
**CONFERENCE SCHEDULE: CLICK HERE**
**REGISTER: CLICK HERE**
**Conference Title Sponsor:** **BIOGRASS SOD FARMS**

**RainBird’s 3rd Annual Girls Night Out Thursday, April 25, 5:00pm-7:00pm** Cactus & Tropicals, Draper Utah **RSVP HERE** **(seating limited)**

**VICTOR STANLEY LACES WEBINAR** **March 14, 2024 |** **12:00PM MST** **REGISTER HERE**

Leadership Express

Paul Stead, ASLA Utah President

My Friends,

Hope you are enjoying February. We have made some progress on the Design Professionals bill, HB343. Thanks to Dave Kallas our lobbyist and to Lars and Bryce for attending the committee meeting and providing comment. Through their efforts the bill has passed the committee with unanimous approval, and subsequently passed both the house and the senate and will go into effect May 1st pending the governor’s signature.

Bill HB354 gives us a combined Landscape Architect/Architect board moving forward. As it stands, we have 2 landscape architects, 4 architects, and 1 member of the public on the board. We will be able to form a subcommittee with the 2 landscape architects and pursue any landscape architecture specific items through that. While this doesn’t give us everything we hoped for it is a huge improvement on the initial proposal. We would have been on the list of boards dissolved if we hadn’t been proactive in this effort.

Lastly, with leap year we have an extra day this year! How often do you find yourself wishing you had an extra day, or even an extra hour?

This year it’s an easy choice, save up that extra day and come to the Utah ASLA conference in Logan. Jake has some pretty great things planned, and I am excited to stomp around Cache Valley and see some old friends and visit some of the trails from my university days.

2024 Conference Keynote Speaker: Craig Johnson

Reflections: The Legacy & Future of Landscape Architecture

Craig Johnson:

“Our discipline is practical and applied. We put things into practice. We need a lot of information — the best and most useful often generated by other disciplines — then combine everything into real-world applications.” (Utah State Today - May 15, 2008)

Craig Johnson, Professor Emeritus joined USU’s LAEP faculty in 1966, fresh out of graduate school where he’d just earned a master’s of landscape architecture at the University of Illinois after earning his bachelor’s in landscape architecture from Michigan State University.

Over the years Johnson has shared his passion, experience and expertise with countless students. It is estimated that he has touched the lives of nearly 1,400 LAEP program graduates. His work in habitat restoration and sustainable landscape design had a profound impact in communities, but also through the students who have spread his valuable teaching throughout the country and around the world. Never one to stop learning, Johnson returned to graduate school, and in 1984 he earned a master’s of science in fisheries and wildlife biology from South Dakota State University.

Don’t miss out on your chance to hear from and reconnect with this admired professor, mentor, and expert storyteller that needs no introduction. Others who may not know Craig will get to know him through this presentation as he shares lessons learned from his life, his personal design work, and his 40+ years as an educator inspiring generations of landscape architecture students. REGISTER HERE

2024 ASLA UT ANNUAL CONFERENCE SPEAKER LINEUP

Thursday, March 28th - Speaker Line Up

Keynote Speaker: Craig Johnson Reflections: The Legacy & Future of Landscape Architecture, (1 PDH)

Supporting Emerging Professionals Panel: (1 PDH) Panel Sponsor: Victor Stanley Josh Quigley, Dave Nicholas, Nate Jaramillo, Corinne Bahr

Concurrent Sessions (1 PDH) Session One: Todd Johnson: Cultivating Studio Culture in Training & Practice Speaker. Session Two: Dave Kallas: Utah 2024 Legislative Debrief: Policies, Legislation & Decisions Affecting the LA Profession

Concurrent Sessions (1 PDH) Session One: Effective Strategies for Transitioning a Business with a Legacy Panel: Mathew Winward, Mark Vlasic, Sam Taylor, Jay Bolwinkel Session Two: Awards, Accolades, and Lessons Learned Panel: Mike Budge, Mike Wonenberg, Jon Ruedas, Mark Goble

Ben George: Design by Algorithm: AI Insights for Landscape Architects (1 PDH)

Student ASLA/LAEP Department Open House - Sponsored by Great Western Recreation

Many LAEP alumni may still wonder what your old desk looks like today, or if that plant you nurtured is still alive? For those without a connection to Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) program, do you wonder what advanced technologies students are being exposed to that you might want to leverage?

The USU student chapter of the ASLA is teaming up with the LAEP Department to host a department open house. Come enjoy a light meal and ice cream while you mingle with current and emeritus faculty, meet current students, wander the studios, look at samples of student work, and let students introduce you to, and get some hands-on experience with some of the new technologies being used in the LAEP department such as virtual reality design. This event is being generously sponsored by Great Western Recreation based in Cache Valley.

Friday, March 29th - Site Visit Details

Utah State University's Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification (ASPIRE) Research Center - Utah State University’s ASPIRE center is an National Science Foundation funded research center that brings together researchers from across the nation to explore the future of electrified transportation and the related infrastructure. From the design, location, and charging stations to realizing parking lots and roads that charge vehicles, this center is the tip of the spear when it comes to advancing thinking, programs, and policies that will change the way you think about and design electrified transportation in the future. Join us to see, touch, and learn about autonomous vehicles, charging station examples and electrified roads.

USU Research Greenhouses - Utah State University’s Plant Soils and Climate (PSC) Department is a national leader in horticulture research specifically drought tolerance and native plant adaptation for the commercial nursery industry.. This site visit will allow participants to visit the USU research greenhouses and hear from PSC researchers on how their research impacts the nursery industry and what research is currently happening in the research greenhouses related to plants and drought stress.

ADVOCACY DAYS - Utah State Capitol

Thomas Eddington, VP of Advocacy

Efforts to advocate for licensure and then Landscape Architect profession is well underway with a multi pronged strategy. One prong is the work of Dave Kallas from Lobby Utah, using his connections and influence and our efforts as ASLA Utah Members by showing up and informing our state representatives and others about how important our profession is to the the State of Utah.

If you are interested in participating in ASLA Utah Advocacy work and events, contact Thomas Eddington

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Capitol Rotunda Tabling January 24th: Tyler Smithson, VP of Membership & Lars Erickson, President Elect

Capitol Rotunda Tabling February 21st: Thomas Eddington, VP of Advocacy & Ladd Schiess, Secretary

Special Thanks to ASLA Utah 2024 Sponsors & Corporate Partners for their Support!

It’s not too late! Click here to become a 2024 ASLA Utah Sponsor or Partner!

Platinum Sponsors
BioGrass | Great Western Recreation | Rain Bird | Victor Stanley

Corporate Partners
Bockholt Designs | Calsense | Denton House | Io LandArch

ASLA UTAH FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER