ASLA UTAH APRIL 2024 NEWSLETTER

UPCOMING EVENTS

**SPORTSWEST -** **Lunch** & **Learn** **May 8th, 2024 |** **12:00PM MST** ASLA UT Offices 280 S 400 W **REGISTER HERE**

**ASLA National Conference 2024 October 6-9, Washington DC.** **MORE INFO HERE**

Leadership Express

Paul Stead, ASLA Utah President

Happy Arbor Day!

I hope you get to plant some trees this year!

I ran into someone recently who learned I was a landscape architect and immediately wanted to talk about their yard, and how much grass should be installed in the unfinished backyard, if any. I asked a question that I thought was pretty typical, what do you plan to use the space for? They were surprised by the question and responded, ‘I’ve talked to a bunch of landscapers and no one has asked me that, they’ve just give me options!’

This highlights the perspective we bring to the table. Surrounded by other designers who I look up to, sometimes I forget how lucky we are to have such a culture of collaboration. You all are an inspiration to me, let’s keep finding beautiful solutions to the problems in this world.

Also, thank you to Jake Powell, ASLA UT Past President, for putting on a fantastic and well attended Annual Conference last month! It was great to have the energy of the LAEP Students and faculty as well as the support of our generous vendors and presenters. We hope those attended had a great experience and those who couldn’t make it to Logan, we hope to see you at the 2025 Annual Conference in St. George!

2024 ASLA UT Annual Conference Recap

Jake Powell, Past President

The 2024 Utah ASLA Chapter Annual Conference was held on March 28-29 th in Logan, Utah. The theme of the conference was “Cultivating the Profession of Landscape Architecture” and brought over 100 practitioners, 40 students, 5 university faculty, and 49 vendors together to explore how we can collectively support a profession that is growing in need, breadth, and dimension. Although the weather was temperamental, the presentations, vendors, and attendees were fantastic. For anyone unable to attend or who wants to remember, below is a quick recap.

The conference’s keynote speaker, Craig Johnson - an emeritus professor with over four decades of experience growing generations of new landscape architect students was unable to attend due to unexpected medical issues and had his address read by a current landscape architecture undergraduate student, Dallin Clark. The conference also featured panels discussing best practices for assisting emerging professionals, ensuring the legacy of an organization through ownership transitions, and lessons learned from award-winning projects. These panels provided an opportunity for participants to learn from colleagues and were informative thanks to the transparency of the panelists and their willingness to have honest, and often difficult conversations.

Concurrent sessions provided participants with an in-depth exploration of a range of topics from legislative developments related to the profession, to the potential impact of artificial intelligence and cutting-edge technologies on the profession. The information provided an exciting opportunity to hear, think, and then talk with colleagues about how the profession will grow amid these opportunities and challenges.

Participants also had the opportunity to mingle with each other and learn about the latest technologies, products, and resources from a network of some of the best vendors in the nation. The conference was capped off with an intense raffle session with prizes ranging from gift cards to a 250-pound, concrete site planter set.

Thursday evening, LAEP, ASLA UT & Great Western Recreation combined forces to host an Open House at the LAEP Studios.

Friday morning, participants were invited on two site visits to see, touch, and learn from research facilities pushing the boundaries of landscape architecture design and planning. First, participants were welcomed to Utah State University’s Sustainable Electrified Transportation Center. This center researches, develops, and tests technology that is at the conceptual cusp of electrified transportation. Participants were able to learn about in-motion wireless vehicle charging technology advancements, and large, grid-scale technologies under development that may change the face of electrified transportation as we know it.

Finally, participants toured Utah State University’s Research Greenhouses. Faculty and graduate students from the Plant Soils and Climate Department shared how their research on plants is creating a new foundational understanding of how plants can be bred, modified, or enhanced to adapt to drought, heat, and stress.

A huge thanks to all those presenters, vendors, participants, and the Utah ASLA Executive Committee and Jenny Sonntag, Utah ASLA Executive Director for making the event a success! Get excited for the 2025 conference that will be held in the St. George area spring of 2025!

ASLA USU Student Chapter 2023-24 Re-cap

Mary Claire Jennings, ASLA UT Student Chapter President

As the semester is wrapping up, I have been able to reflect on my time as part of USU's student chapter president. Two years fly by! I could not have predicted how much I would grow as a leader and team member in this position. Now, I understand the amount of behind-the-scenes work involved in organizing events. I would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the student ASLA leaders who inspired studio culture in the "unprecedented times" that was fall 2020.

As a freshman, ASLA not only helped me understand what the heck Landscape Architecture is but also gave me a sense of belonging in the studios. That's what it's all about. In our last meeting, we passed the baton to next year's presidency, sharing what could be improved, what was successful, etc. Something that Zach Sannar said stuck with me after the meeting ended. Zach is our V.P. of Outreach and was in the presidency last year as well. He jokingly said that sure, we may complain a bit about how much effort really goes into ASLA, but at the end of the day, it's because we care so much about giving the next cohorts what we got. So, thank you to all USU ASLA presidency cohorts, Utah ASLA, and the members. We appreciate you, and your eagerness to make ASLA the best it can be. Each year we build a stronger foundation for the next year.

This year with ASLA has been incredibly special to me. We began the fall semester with a lively welcome meeting to encourage ASLA membership, surpassing 100 members! Our calendar was packed with engaging events like "tech or treat," where seniors generously shared their expertise in unique software and tools like the glow forge, morpholio trace, V-R headsets, and drones.

We continued to emphasize the growth and development of new members this semester, hosting a peer portfolio review, and shared software knowledge in Photoshop, InDesign, and Blender. These sessions not only enhanced our technical skills but also engaged members across classes. Speaking of engagement, Kennedy Perry increased social media engagement and marketed events leading to these high turnouts.

Amidst our busy studio schedules, we made time to celebrate! Our holiday party hosted families to decorate gingerbread houses in the common studio. It may have been the best holiday party yet, although I may be biased. Kate Van der Zalm contributed greatly to this success, jumping into various tasks and supporting other presidency members. In the spring, a cereal bar and crafts event with the Interior Architecture program allowed some cross pollination of creatives. Our annual ASLA week at the beginning of Landscape Architecture Month extended these opportunities for community building with a "park[ing] day charrette."

To broaden networking opportunities, we set up free headshots for members, drove them down to the Utah ASLA Awards, and sent 26 to the National ASLA Conference in Minneapolis. Corinne Barr facilitated two firm visits while we were at the conference, too! Additionally, we volunteered for the Logan Ranger District and built a new fence in Providence Canyon under the eclipse in October and cleaned up trash in the Logan Canal this April. Both of these were organized by Tanner Wyatt.

Students were also spoiled with a local ASLA Utah conference which they did not take for granted. It was an awesome day full of inspiring conversations, seeing old friends, and ended with an after party in the studios hosted by Great Western Recreation. After that, who couldn't be proud to be an LAEP Aggie? I want to thank all of the sponsors for their help in making that day a success. Furthermore, I want to thank Hunter Industries and Vortex Aquatic Structures International for hosting lunch-and-learns for our members - we always learn so much from you.

Finally, I want to congratulate the 2024-2025 USU ASLA president, Kate Van der Zalm! Her passion for LAEP, brilliant leadership abilities, and innovation will take her far. I'm excited to see the incredible things she and the rest of the presidency will do. Eli Woodward is adding his knowledge from this year's Treasurer to V.P. of Events. He contributes some of the best ideas to shake things up and increase inclusivity in the activities we host. Shout out to the new officers:

USU ASLA president, Kate Van der Zalm
President-Elect: Ryder McClaugherty
Vice President of Professional Development: Galen Kohlbrecher
Vice President of Outreach: Sara Harris
Vice President of Public Relations: Kayli Shepherd
Vice President of Events: Eli Woodward
Secretary: Hallie Schumacher
Treasurer: Alex Rasmussen
WiLA: Lauren Heaton

I encourage you, professionals, to support and collaborate with this new presidency as they begin to plan next year's activities. They are an outstanding bunch! I encourage current students to be involved with what the USU presidency has to offer, and graduating students to work with the local ASLA chapters in areas you land in. You surely won't regret it. Thank you for an unforgettable journey, here's to all of our next chapters of our ASLA adventure!

All the best, Mary Claire Jennings

Girls Night Out 2024

Thank you RainBird & Tiffany Haveron for another fun event!

WELCOME NEW SPONSORS IN 2024

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

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

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

ASLA UTAH APRIL NEWSLETTER