ASLA UTAH NOVEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER

UPCOMING EVENTS

ASLA Utah Sponsor Thank You Dinner Thursday, January 27th, 6:30pm-9:00pm ASLA Utah Offices 280 S 400 W, Salt Lake City **Space is limited so RSVP ASAP HERE

The LAEP Charrette January 24-28 Location: South Salt Lake City To participate please take this short survey by January 12th

Leadership Express

Adam Castor, Chapter President

Greetings ASLA Utah!

This is my first newsletter as president of the Utah chapter and I am super excited about things that are currently happening within the chapter, and things that we can look forward to as we close out 2021 and roll into 2022.

For those of you who may not know who I am, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. For those of you that do know me, cheers! I graduated from Utah State University with a BLA in 2002 following two years at the University of Utah in the pre-professional architecture program and two years at Snow College on a football scholarship. My career in Landscape Architecture has taken my family and me through multi-disciplinary offices in Carbondale, CO and Park City, UT; an engineering firm in Spanish Fork, UT; an architecture firm in Salt Lake City and now currently with Langvardt Design Group’s office in Salt Lake City. There may have also been a few years of nursery management and landscape construction mixed in as well.

This almost 20-year journey has provided me with opportunities to work with so many great landscape architects and planners, as well as other allied professionals, contractors, and owners on a multitude of public- and private-sector projects. It has also reinforced my belief that landscape architects can, and should, play a vital role in the design process for projects of all kinds, particularly those that have significant community and climate implications. We deserve a seat at the table.

As we transition into our new chapter committee roles for the upcoming year, it was an honor to represent the Utah Chapter with Seth Bockholt at the Chapter President’s Council (CPC) meetings ahead of the annual ASLA conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

The CPC meetings were attended by upwards of 85 chapter presidents and presidents-elect from across the country, and it was great to meet and network with many of them. Over the course of a full day and a half, some of the notable topics presented included uniform licensure standards by CLARB, the recently unveiled ASLA strategic plan by Tom Mroz (ASLA President) and Torey Carter-Conneen (ASLA CEO), government affairs updates, the process of creating each month’s Landscape Architecture Magazine by Jennifer Reut (Editor-In-Chief), and the Climate Action Committee. It was an exciting time in Nashville and I am looking forward to seeing the ASLA Utah chapter align itself with some of the endeavors and issues that ASLA is taking on at the national level.

I would also like to take this opportunity to give a special thank you to our executive director and our out-going committee members for all that they have done for the chapter and the time that they have been willing to put in for the benefit of our profession, and to our new in-coming committee members for their willingness to join and help serve our chapter members. We have a really great executive committee and there are a variety of subcommittee positions needing to be filled. If you are interested in participating as a subcommittee chair or as part of a subcommittee, I would encourage you to reach out to me or anyone on the executive committee for more information.

Thank you all for your help in advancing the LA profession! — Adam Castor

New Executive Committee Member

**JAKE POWELL, PRESIDENT ELECT**

UASLA: Why did you choose Landscape Architecture as your profession?

JAKE: My connection to the profession of landscape architecture began with a realization that the world around me was a product of intentional and unintentional decisions, designs, plans, and systems. A second, similar related realization was that future decisions, designs, plans, and systems would further shape the future of the environment I would live in and rely on. I decided that I wanted a career where I had a part in making the decisions, developing the plans, and envisioning the systems for a better world, no matter the scale. I felt then, and still feel now, that the legacy, training, and skills developed within the profession of landscape architecture makes the profession uniquely poised to tackle the challenges facing our species. Throughout my life I was taught and felt an obligation to leave the places I interact with better than I found them. The profession of landscape architecture has allowed me the opportunity to make that ethos my daily work, and I have considered myself lucky every day since.

UASLA: Tell us about your educational background and any past professional experience.

JAKE: I graduated with a BLA from Utah State University and worked at Jack Johnson Company before going back to graduate school at Penn State. While at Penn State I studied in the Center for Watershed Stewardship and eventually graduated with a Master’s of Science in Landscape Architecture. I returned to Utah ready to tackle the west’s water issues and worked as a watershed coordinator on the Weber River. In that position I developed watershed plans, designed and implemented stream restoration projects, and worked across disciplines to try to improve the Weber River watershed. While working on the Weber, I had a crazy idea that I wanted to help young people gain experience working on public lands. So I changed jobs and took a position as the intermountain west director of a youth conservation corp. The experience was powerful and introduced me to the world of collaborative land management, recreation infrastructure design and planning, and partnership building. I currently work as a Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) Extension Specialist at Utah State University. It is literally my dream job and I wake up every day overwhelmed that I get to do what I do!

UASLA: How do you presently practice Landscape Architecture?

JAKE: The LAEP Extension Specialist position entails both teaching within the department as well as working across the state to develop programs, assist in projects, and help share the great work happening in the LAEP Department with the state. I have an opportunity to work with students in our studio courses and graduate students to help communities and organizations develop conceptual ideas and designs for a variety of different projects. I tend to spend most of my time working on projects that focus on water conservation and recreational infrastructure which is a fun way to utilize my previous career experience. I also developed and maintain several online educational programs that provide community members access to information about construction site storm water management, residential design, and trail stewardship.

UASLA: What project have you been involved in that you take great accomplishment in and why?

JAKE: One project that was transformative for me was my leadership role in developing a watershed plan for the Weber River. I was lucky to work for almost two years with an amazing team of biologists, planners, agricultural producers, and other stakeholders to identify watershed scale issues and the developing a strategic approach to addressing them. I learned so much about what my skills could bring to such a process and the potential that planners and designers can add to addressing complicated geo-spatial, ecological issues. Seeing the transformative power of a process on a group of stakeholders and the subsequent relationships, understanding, and direction the plan provided was so fulfilling and exciting.

**UASLA: What is a project outside your design influence that impacted you greatly and inspires you?**

JAKE: I have always loved spaces that adjust our perception through the experiential qualities of the site. When I was a teen my family made a pilgrimage to Washington DC. I will never forget my experience at the Vietnam Memorial. The simple, solemn representation of that event in history stood in stark contrast to other monuments I had experienced that day. I was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of names etched into the stone and I remember watching my father and mother seek for names of acquaintances and friends they personally lost as a result of the war. I didn’t know much about the Vietnam war, but I could feel the tremendous weight of a nation’s grief as the black granite slabs towered over me. The feelings that space created were powerful enough to move even an obnoxious teenage kid. In graduate school I was able to study the symbolism and design strategies and techniques that inspired such powerful feelings. My study culminated with a visit to the space again, now with new eyes and understanding. I was further impressed as I stood in that memorial over 15 years later and observed how such a complicated and powerful story could be conveyed through the physical design of a space. The Vietnam memorial remains one of the spaces that impacted my appreciation for the power of a space to teach, inspire, and communicate meaning in subtle and elegant ways.

UASLA: What are your top three goals that you would like to accomplish while serving on the ExCom Board?

JAKE: Expand the relevance and benefits of the ASLA to partner organizations as well as current and potential members not currently affiliated with the ASLA Enhance the capacity for the ASLA to advocate for the profession within the state’s legislative and legal frameworks. Connect the needs of the Utah’s landscape architecture professionals back to the resources and efforts of the landscape architecture program at Utah State University

Live to Cycle - Cycle to Live

Boyd Reschke, Secretary

There are events and choices we make in life that truly change the course of our lives for the better. Two of mine were more processes than events. First was my decision to make a career change and get a degree in Landscape Architecture from Utah State University. The other happened while attending USU when, in 2008, I decided to enroll in a cycling class, which consisted of weekly bike rides. I had a mountain bike, but one week decided to go with the road bike group, not realizing how much faster road bikes were and that there was no way I could keep up with them. Finally admitting defeat, I waved them on and told them I would ride back to campus on my own. Once I tried out a road bike, I was hooked and was able to buy a barely used Orbea Orca (brand and model). Since then, I have put thousands of miles on that bike, riding several Century (100 mile) rides and a couple of 140-mile rides from Delta, Utah to the University of Utah. I can state unequivocally that cycling has made my life better, both physically and mentally.

I suspect there are many of you who have already discovered the joy of riding, but for those who have not, a great thing about cycling is that just about anyone can do it. Don’t worry about how far or fast you can or cannot ride, or if you have the latest and greatest gear, just get out and try it. I remember when I first started riding, I came home exhausted and proudly announced to my wife that I had just ridden twelve miles and being the great sport that she is, she acted impressed. As I continued to ride, I found that I could ride farther, faster, and longer. I have come to truly love the sport and how it has improved my life over the years. I remember an acquaintance scoffed at my exercising, stating that we are all going to die sometime, and I told him that I’m not afraid of dying, but of living a miserable, unhealthy existence if I didn’t exercise.

The value of exercise is undisputed, but most important is that it be done consistently. 30 minutes daily is of greater benefit than 3 hours once a week. It is good to vary exercise, and if we find it fun and enjoyable, it is more likely that we will continue to do it. That is what I love about cycling, I find it fun, exhilarating and enjoy being outside, passing through the many beautiful places around us. I remember many years ago reading an article outlining a vision for miles and miles of connected bike and walking trails throughout the Wasatch Front. It was exciting to think about the possibility, but I wondered if I would ever live long enough to see it come to pass. Now here we are some 30+ years later living that dream, thanks in large part to many Landscape Architects.

I live right by the Jordan River Parkway in Riverton. In the summer, I ride on it nearly every day, amazed at how far it allows me to go without the conflict and risk of vehicular traffic. I work in Kaysville and have ridden the 43 miles numerous times almost completely on a trail. I can ride from my house to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon on the Jordan River Parkway, crossing over I-15 to the Murdock Canal trail, then to the Provo River Trail, 36 miles each way, completely on trails…it truly is incredible! I am grateful to all those who have made this possible and I hope that someone in the know, will write an article on how it all came to be.

“Just do it!”

There are many online articles listing the benefits of cycling, so if you need encouragement to take up the sport, look them up, but more importantly, just DO IT. It doesn’t matter if it is road cycling, mountain biking, or gravel riding, just DO IT and see for yourself how it can change your life.

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