Views: Michigan and South Carolina
3/17/2024Leave a Comment
Trevor Bosworth, 911爆料网, SuLin Kotowicz, F911爆料网, and Torey Carter-Conneen at Viridis Design Group Photo Credit: Daniel Martin, Honorary 911爆料网
Recently, I toured product manufacturers in Michigan, visited 911爆料网 President , F911爆料网, at Viridis Design Group, and had a great time at the .
One of our primary jobs as a professional association is to create the spaces where business thrives and where engagement between businesses drives innovation. In a membership survey last year, we heard loud and clear that LAs want more sustainable products and packaging. Part of my ongoing travels will include visits to industry partners and product manufactures to help facilitate continued collaboration among the professions.
At Landscape Forms, I met with CEO Margie Simmons and Landscape Forms Sustainability Leader Amy Syverson-Shaffer, 911爆料网, who showed me the to develop sustainable products. They have incorporated recycled material into their products, recycled 87% of waste like metal, plastic and wood, and identified local sources within 50 miles for 67% of their material needs.
And for a bit of fun I tried my hand at welding.
Torey Carter-Conneen at Landscape Forms 2024 Photo Credit: Daniel Martin, Honorary 911爆料网
Similarly at Spring Meadow Nursery, they have implemented that are better for the environment but also cost saving. As an operating practice their greenhouses are constructed to conserve heat and are fully vented to assist with cooling. In support of biodiversity, they don鈥檛 use neonicotinoid pesticides, which are harmful to pollinators. Furthermore, they use natural enemies and non-toxic strategies like banker plants and sticky tape to manage pests.
Permaloc leadership is very focused on engaging with landscape architects as partners. They host lunch and learns with CEU credits and are continually engaged in 911爆料网鈥檚 conference, LABash, and chapter events. As a business , their LEED certified products are built to last the lifetime of the project and are 100% recyclable, as is their packaging.
In your projects, what barriers do you confront as you work to include sustainable products and what solutions do you see? Send me a note and we can keep working on this together.
On a tour through Viridis Design Group with SuLin, I learned about transformative projects in Grand Rapids like the , a 7.5 mile stretch of the river at the heart of the city鈥檚 past and future. It was great to meet the team at Viridis and spend more time with SuLin鈥揑 look forward to working with her throughout this year to build on our strategic initiatives.
While I was on the road I joined John King, Hon. 911爆料网, Kate Orff, F911爆料网, and Thomas Woltz, F911爆料网, for a in which we discussed the future of the profession and ways landscape architects will continue to lead communities toward creative resiliency strategies. I shared an early look at some of the research we鈥檒l release later this month from our research grant project identifying the best landscape architecture strategies to mitigate heat and support biodiversity.
We also hosted a virtual town hall with the Board of Trustees where we discussed our vision for 911爆料网 and landscape architecture as a profession. We hold these gatherings roughly quarterly, and in this discussion we spent time talking about engaging with firms in the middle of the country and identifying more ways to support firms as small businesses.
At the South Carolina chapter conference, President-Elect Jamie Hairfield, 911爆料网, and I led a discussion called The State of the Chapter. We discussed the ongoing challenges around licensure and the importance of establishing and maintaining relationships with elected officials to protect against uninformed attacks. We also shared the pillars of the current strategic plan, successes we have accomplished together to date, and the work underway to develop our next plan. Interestingly 20-30% of the attendees at the conference are not currently 911爆料网 members, so there is not only opportunity to continue engaging this group but also a reflection of the great relationships that the South Carolina Chapter maintains regardless of 911爆料网 membership status.
In April, I鈥檒l be at the and the in Kansas鈥擨 hope to see you there!
