ASLA UTAH JANUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER

UPCOMING EVENTS

SAVE THE DATE!! ASLA Utah Annual Conference
September 8th & 9th
More Detail Coming Soon!

LAEP Speaker Series
Friday, February 25th, 3:30pm
More Info: Click Here

Leadership Express

Adam Castor, Chapter President

I will admit that when two snowstorms in quick succession rolled through Utah in December and left deep snow across the Wasatch Front, I couldn’t help feeling hopeful that maybe it was the start of a series of winter storms that would help relieve the drought conditions in Utah and across the western United States. Unfortunately that hasn’t materialized yet, as we have just experienced another dry January here in Utah. But with our wettest months still to come I remain hopeful that our water conditions will improve over the coming months. In the meantime, I intend to continue pursuing ways to plan and design thoughtful communities and landscapes that reduce water consumption.

At the Chapter President’s Council meetings in Nashville last year, Seth Bockholt and I were able to connect with several chapter presidents from the other “four-corners” states. Over the past recent years Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico have all experienced similar drought conditions, record high summer temperatures, wild fires, population growth, and increasing demand on water resources. Naturally, these climate and population issues often became the topic of conversation at the CPC meetings and as a result, the four-corners chapter presidents are currently working on an opportunity for a virtual meet-and-greet and to organize discussions about the environmental issues we are facing, and what landscape architects are doing or what landscape architects can do to help address these issues through design and advocacy.

The idea of an annual intermountain region meeting/conference between the four corners chapters, as well as Idaho and Montana, has also been floated as a way to bring together members of these chapters around these critical issues. As these networking opportunities continue to evolve, it would be great to be able highlight projects and studies that Utah landscape architects have worked on, or are currently working on, that include climate positive design measures to address and mitigate climate change. If any of our members across the state have projects that could be shared and perhaps featured in a monthly newsletter, please reach out.

Stayed tuned for more details and updates on our collaboration with the four corners chapters, as well as our upcoming events: the winter social in March, World Landscape Architecture Month in April, and the 2022 annual conference.

Cheers!

Adam Castor, Chapter President

The Utah ASLA Memorial Scholarship

Aaron Johnson, VP of Visibility/Public Affairs & Geoff Ellis, Memorial Fund Chair

Over the past 50 years the Utah ASLA Memorial fund has been used to provide opportunities where previously there had been none. It has influenced landscape architecture in Utah, as well as helping to grow the profession on a national scale. Funds have been used in the construction of the ASLA National headquarters in Washington DC, and most recently it has provided a way for students to learn and grow in the profession.

Created in the memories of Happ Young and Karsten Hansen, pillars of the landscape architecture community in Utah, the purpose of the fund was defined as providing visibility for the profession and benefits to the general community in Utah. The Memorial Scholarship was established in 2012 for students in the LAEP Department at USU, with the first award granted in 2013.

Recent Scholarship Recipents:

2021/22 Logan Hall, MLA in prog.

2020/21 Saul Karamesines MsBRP in prog

Past Recipients:

2019-2020 - Survier Castillo 2018-2019 Patricia Beckert B+MLA in progress 2017-2018 Drew Hill - B+MLA 2016-2017 Emmeline Zenger - BLA '17 2015-2016 Hailey Wall - BLA '16 2014-2015 Sam Taylor - BLA '15 2013-2014 Kim Cloward Drown - MLA, '14

The Utah Chapter of ASLA recognizes the ever growing importance of the Memorial Scholarship within our community and is dedicated to helping it grow. Since 2012, the investments in the fund have done well, and we’ve been able to increase the scholarship amount from $1,000 to $1,500, making it one of the larger scholarships at LAEP. Even so, that amount does not go very far in today’s dollars, and we’d like to grow the fund to the point where it would provide a scholarship to cover an entire semester’s tuition.

To reach our goals we are excited to announce new opportunities for funding provided by our amazing sponsors and members, please reach out to Jenny Sonntag (uaslaexecutivedirector@gmail.com) to learn more! In addition, the Utah ASLA website will feature a brief history of the scholarship, highlight the past winners of the scholarship, and provide information on how members and sponsors can donate to the Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Go to: (utahasla.org/memorial-fund) for more information.

This fund has been touching the lives of students and the community for over 50 years! 2018 scholarship recipient Patricia Beckert said it best, “Since I was younger, I have the dream of getting higher education, but I did not have opportunities after finishing high school. In Peru, quality education is a privilege for the rich and powerful. Coming from another country, growing up in a single family household, and becoming the first generation in my family to go to college, I value educational opportunities because higher education is expensive, and this scholarship is helping me pay for part of my tuition this year.”

ASLA Utah Member Spotlight

Tyler Smithson, Membership Committee Chair

Brenda Wadsworth

Langvardt Design Group

ASLA UT: Why did you choose Landscape Architecture as your profession?

Brenda: I love being outside and I love design. When I was about 10 years old I drew up a design for our family farm in Hurricane, Utah; I created a ‘Vacation Village!’ I try not to think about what it would be worth today if it had been built.

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

Brenda: I majored in Urban Planning at the University of Utah, at the time it was the closest program to ‘pre-architecture’. I didn’t know Landscape Architecture was a thing. As a planning intern I worked for a private economic analysis firm who teamed up with Landmark Design on a project in Flaming Gorge. Meeting Jan Striefel was absolutely inspiring. From talking to her and seeing her work I knew I wanted to be a landscape architect. But I was already on the ‘Planner Track.’ I worked for the state of Utah in the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget on rural land use issues—federal and state land coordination policies— for a few years. It’s pretty divisive stuff. I have a few good stories about the old ‘Sagebrush Rebellion Ranchers’ and what was happening at the time the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was designated. I wanted to get as far away as I could from western land use planning and policy, so I went to grad school in Syracuse, New York. SUNY college of Environmental Science and Forestry has a great Landscape Architecture program. Before starting, I spent a year in AmeriCorps working on a neighborhood revitalization initiative. I also had a baby! Attending grad school in landscape architecture with an infant is not a choice I’d recommend to a friend.

ASLA UT: How do you currently practice Landscape Architecture?

Brenda: HAHA! Probably like everyone else right now, I careen from deadline to deadline, hope I don’t make too many mistakes, and hope at least some of what we are doing turns out ok. That’s why it’s so important to have scheduled moments—like our conferences—to connect, learn, and remind ourselves that what we do is powerful and important.

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

Brenda: One of the first residential projects I did on my own was super fulfilling. It was on the ‘urban-wildland interface’ in California. It was early in the ‘green design’ movement (which was ridiculous—it’s what we do anyway, right?) So the client was on board with harvesting water, planting native, attracting wildlife, and preserving the native oaks. Visiting the site a year later and seeing everything functioning, filling in, blooming, (although native plants are a challenge!) and best of all: birds, insects, and critters showing up! was a proud parent moment.

The Church of the Holy Family image was sourced from http://www.pamelaburtonco.com/projects/church-of-the-holy-f amily/.

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

Brenda: There are so many. I love ‘vernacular’ spaces like the warm urbanism of East Los Angeles. I aspire to create flexible and engaging public spaces where good things can happen. I had the chance to tour Pamela Burton’s Church of the Holy Family in Agoura Hills, California and hear her speak about it. SUBLIME.

Special Thanks to ASLA Utah Sponsors & Corporate Partners for their Support in 2021 and look forward to working with you in 2022!! Renew your Sponsorship Here

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