August 2019

Events

Visit the WASLA Event Calendar for more information on events.


In This Issue...

  1. President's Remarks
  2. 2019 WASLA Professional Awards - Call for Entries Open
  3. 2019 WASLA New Student Award Winners Announced
  4. Time to Sign Up for the UW/WASLA Mentorship Program 2019/2020
  5. NPS and WASLA Touchet Valley Trail Design Charrette, October 2019
  6. Whatcom & Skagit County Landscape Architects
  7. Membership Minutes
  8. Welcome New Members!
  9. WASLA Jobs
  10. Job Portals
  11. Support Endowed Scholarships

Newsletter Editor

Coreen Schmidt


WASLA Board of Directors

President
Tim Slazinik, ASLA

Past President
Laura Thompson, ASLA

Trustee
Marieke Lacasse, ASLA

Treasurer
Dean Koonts, ASLA

Secretary
Maren McBride, ASLA

Member at Large
Rebecca Wahlstrom, ASLA

Member at Large, W. WA
Lucas Vannice, ASLA

Member at Large, E. WA
Steele Fitzloff, ASLA


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President's Remarks
Tim Slazinik

Greetings Chapter Members!

Summer is in full swing and so is WASLA! Chapter Elections have closed and we have a great new group of leaders coming on board in November. Thank you all for participating in the elections process. We hope that in the future we will have continued interest in our board positions. If you missed the deadline this year and would still like to stay involved, we would love to have more creative minds on any of our committees. Take a look at our website for descriptions and contact info.

The call for entries for our 2019 WASLA Awards is out and we are looking forward to all the incredible submissions! The submission period closed at the end of the month, so be sure to get your projects submitted as soon as possible. Our Awards Event is in Early November and will be a fantastic event that you won’t want to miss. Our award committee is hard at work preparing the details for a night of celebration of Washington Landscape Architecture.

 


2019 WASLA Professional Awards - Call for Entries Open

The 2019 WASLA Professional Awards Call for Entries is here! This year’s Call will be all digital, so see attached and visit the WASLA website for all the details, including awards categories, submission guidelines, and information about the reception. Submissions will be accepted through September 6, 2019, and winners will be announced at the reception on November 7, 2019 at the Georgetown Ballroom.


2019 WASLA Student Award Winners Announced!

A jury of WASLA members reviewed the work of six students (2 BLA and 4 MLA) selected by the Department of Landscape Architecture at UW using ASLA's selection criteria on May 18, 2019.

Congratulations to these exemplary students!

First, congratulations go to our National ASLA Student Award nominees:  Rich Desanto, MLA; Laura Durgerian, MLA Merit Award; Fatema Maswood, MLA Merit Award; Nina Mross, MLA; Katie Zhangchi Wu, BLA; and Nick Zurlini, BLA Honor Award.

For a complete listing of 2019 WASLA Student Design Awards, click here. And be sure to check out our Instagram @uw_landscape_architecture students' award-winning work. 

Also, many thanks go to our jurors for contributing their time and expertise to the jurying process: 

  • Shawn Stankewich, Laura Enman, Tristan Fields, Sandy Fischer, Brandon Peters, and Kara Weaver for the Thesis Awards
  • Maureen Colaizzi, Jerry Coburn, Dean Koonts, Alfredo Rosas for the Design Awards
  • Maureen Colaizzi, Mario Campos, Duane Dietz, Rikerrious Geter, and Dean Koonts for the ASLA National Student Awards

Congratulations, and keep up the incredible work!



Time to Sign Up for the US/WASLA Mentorship Program 2019-2020

It's that time of year again! UWASLA is putting out the call for professionals to take part in the 2019-2020 Mentorship Program. Please fill out the following form if you would like to sign up for another great year of relationship building with UW landscape architecture students: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfV4uFEAHd7m5EARNaIz1AOuXHqhYh_7UjRF061JNe_KxX0Bw/viewform?usp=sf_link

Your participation in this program helps students to gain professional knowledge and feedback that they may not otherwise receive.  Your estimated participation through the school year is 1-4 hours per month.  Please sign up today!



NPS and WASLA Touchet Valley Trail Design Charrette, October 2019

Long standing partners WASLA and the NPS’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program are collaborating to create a concept plan for the Touchet Valley Trail, a 9.7-mile rails- with- trails project connecting the main streets of Dayton and Waitsburg along an existing active rail corridor. 

The Touchet Valley, nestled in Columbia County and northern Walla Walla County in southeast Washington, is home to just over 5,000 residents. The proposed rails-with-trails project will connect two rural communities along the historic Lewis and Clark Trail, encouraging rural economic development, improving community health, and promoting outdoor recreation. This rural area has a vibrant agricultural history and is committed to honoring its past as it moves into the future.

NPS and WASLA volunteers will participate in a two-day charrette October 25-26, 2019 in Dayton. WASLA will assemble a team of 10-12 professionals as well as landscape architecture students from WSU, and possibly, UW.

The work will include site visits along the project area and an evening with community members on Friday, followed by a day-long charrette on Saturday with key stakeholders to develop designs for the trail. The event will end with a presentation to the community on Saturday evening to share proposed designs.

This charrette is being coordinated with WSU faculty and offers a unique mentorship and professional development opportunity for landscape architecture students from WSU as a part of their junior level design coursework. These students will work alongside landscape architecture professionals and design teams and help produce the final trail master plan. UW students are also invited to participate.

A trail connecting the two communities has long been a dream in the region. In 2015, it was listed as a top economic development priority in the annual Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy meeting. The trail was then included in the Blue Mountain Region Trails Plan as one of the top priority projects in a bi-state area. The project is led by the Port of Columbia, which owns the rail corridor in which the trail will be located. A steering committee comprised of 15 stakeholders is guiding the development of a concept plan. The Port of Columbia has received a technical assistance grant from the National Park Service to aid in developing a concept plan and a planning grant from WSDOT for engineering and design.

We are seeking volunteers with a diversity of knowledge, skills and abilities at all stages of their careers. Emerging professionals, mid-career and experienced professionals are all encouraged to apply. Meals for both days and overnight accommodations on Friday and Saturday nights, October 25th and 26th, will be provided through the generosity of the Port of Columbia and the Dayton and Waitsburg communities.

For questions and to volunteer, please contact Don Benson, ASLA AICP at [email protected], (206) 297-1259. Please respond by August 30, 2019.

A partnership was established between WASLA and the National Park Service in 1998 to facilitate cooperation on community –driven projects. Since then, WASLA and the NPS Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance (RTCA) program have assisted recreation and conservation projects throughout Washington for over 20 years. The WASLA/NPS partnership strengthens and increases the visibility of the profession of landscape architecture and brings WASLA members and NPS staff together for professional development and to mentor students and new professionals. The partnership also provides opportunities, such as this charrette, for combining RTCA technical assistance projects with WASLA’s community service and member participation goals.

This partnership began in Washington State and has been so successful that it served as the model for a national level partnership agreement between the NPS and ASLA to offer similar assistance on projects throughout the United States.


Whatcom & Skagit County Landscape Architects

Whatcom & Skagit County professionals meet to network, tour built projects, discuss ongoing designs, and to learn about local Landscape Architectural firms and how they stay successful in our local economy. We encourage our group to socialize, get involved with advocacy, and to connect with WASLA. We have demonstrated success in local hiring and increased licensure as a result of our network.

Organizer Susan Willhoft started this group in recognition of the talent we have in our 2-county area. Some of the broader topics we focus on are Archaeology, Historic Preservation, Trails, Shoreline Restoration, Artworks, and Waterfront Redevelopment. Design topics include Site Programming, Permitting, Grant Work, Community Involvement, Planting, Irrigation, and Constructability. Landscape Architects across Washington State want to advance our profession and access continuing education. Knowing and sharing the expertise between our local firms helps us achieve these goals.


Membership Minutes

Job salaries are one of the most important aspects of professional life, but discussions about salaries can be an uncomfortable topic for most.  It's a topic that we are taught not to raise between friends and colleagues.  Although when the time comes to make the case for a raise or judge the wisdom of change in venue, it is helpful to have hard numbers on which to make decisions.  Using the ASLA Salary Survey, not only can one procure information regarding salaries, there is also information about bonuses, compensation and benefits. Explore more detail here: https://my.asla.org/My-ASLA/Store/StoreLayouts/Shop-Salary-Survey.aspx

Essential information for an essential part of day-to-day life.   Regular price is $444, members for $99. Another great reason to join ASLA today.  https://www.asla.org/Membership.aspx


Welcome New Members!

WASLA would like to welcome new members Kristi Evans, Scott Evans, Shannon Leslie, and Brenda Snyder! If you are interested in becoming a WASLA member, please click here.


WASLA Jobs

Contracts Administrator - The Watershed Company
Landscape Architect - Core Design
Landscape Architect/Landscape Designer - Hatton Godat Pantier
Landscape Architect - Hewitt


Job Portals

WSU Job Board


Support Endowed Scholarships

Ken Struckmeyer Student Scholarship Endowment Fund
Kenichi Nakano Endowed Scholarship Fund for Landscape Architecture

Washington Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects 
[email protected] | (360) 867-8820 | www.wasla.org

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