Boston Society of Landscape Architects Spring Fieldbook Volume 14.1 | Page 6

Letter from the President

Table of Contents

Tim Nickerson, ASLA

Whenever a wildly successful event such as having the ASLA
Annual Meeting in your hometown occurs, it is always followed
by a significant challenge: how do you maintain member and
volunteer enthusiasm and engagement? We are fortunate to
have dedicated members within the BSLA, new and continuing,
who contribute their time, energy, and expertise in building a
stronger organization.
Our improved profile has allowed us to solidify existing
relationships and forge new ones with other like-minded
organizations. We continue to build our partnership with
the Boston Society of Architects by co-sponsoring events and
lectures. In early March, our Programs Committee chaired by
Elena Saporta established a partnership with Grow Native
Massachusetts by collaborating to bring Darrel Morrison to town
to share his expertise in using native plant communities. Expect
more partnerships like this in the future to better serve our members.
BSLA is fortunate to have several strong landscape architecture
programs in our chapter area. Through the work of Nina Chase,
our Emerging Professionals Committee Chair and her talented
team, we increased our collaboration with our area programs.
Northeastern University, with support from the BSLA, is in the
process of establishing a Student Chapter of its own. They will
join the Boston Architectural College, Harvard Graduate School
of Design, and University of Massachusetts – Amherst as our
Student Chapters. By further establishing connections with our
Student Chapters, we’ll be able to tap into their enthusiasm and
grow our own chapter.
The start of this year added several new members to the
Executive Committee. Jon Pate has joined as our ASLA Public
Awareness Liaison. Jon is developing initiatives to raise the
profile of landscape architects. Joe Strayer is the chair of our
newly created Scholarship Committee, which will administer the

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BSLA

1 Frank Waugh: LA Education Pioneer
4 Letter from the President
6 2013 ASLA Conference Epilogue
9 Letter from the Trustee
10 The Good Neighbors Program
14 The New LARE Process
16 Interoperability
18 Refining the Internship Experience
20 Talking Resilience

BSLA Area Programs: ast, Present and Future
P

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Boston Architectural College

28
Harvard Graduate School of Design

32
Northeastern University

36
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
41 MIT
42 BSLA Scholarship Program
44 BSLA Flower Show Winner
46 Call for Volunteers
47 Skill Building / CEU Credit Process
48 Community Outreach Opportunities

student scholarship program. Harry Dodson is now one
of our Nominations Committee Co-Chairs, where he
leads our Fellows nominations process. While it is difficult
to follow the superb work of long-time former chair
Sonja Johansson, I am confident Harry will continue
the great tradition of ushering our Fellows nominees
through the nominations process.
This edition of Fieldbook is the first under the leadership
of Todd Robinson, our new Communications Committee
Chair. Todd was a dynamic co-chair of our Host Chapter
Booth Hospitality Committee. Since becoming the
editorial team leader, he has brought the same energy,
enthusiasm, and enlivened perspective to BSLA Fieldbook.
The Fieldbook Editorial Team is bringing another stellar
issue to you. With its focus on education, you will learn
about the area programs and hear from students
immersed in their coursework. However, for landscape
architects, education continues well past receiving
our degrees. We are continuously educated by our
peers and our communities, with the role of instructor
changing hands often. So we’ve approached education
from multiple angles; you’ll learn about cutting edge
technology and the advantages and obstacles of the
new LARE process, discover how firms are bolstering
community outreach practices, learn about local youth
education programs, and much more.
This Spring edition of BSLA Fieldbook is just one of our
ways to maintain the momentum that was started last
year. The book serves as another way to enhance our
communication with you, our members. More is in the
works. Check out the article on page 46 about ways you
can get involved. Only through your engagement will
we have a stronger chapter and a stronger profession. I
look forward to having you join us.

Cover Image: Charcoal Section Northeastern Faculty Brad Goetz MLA MCP

2013, the 100th Anniversary of the Boston Society of
Landscape Architects, was our biggest year yet. More members
became actively engaged in BSLA activities than ever before.
Clearly, the largest effort was the planning for the ASLA Annual
Meeting held in November. While ASLA performed the bulk of
the planning, BSLA volunteers stepped up and showed how
New Englanders can enhance efforts. Guided by the leadership
of then-BSLA President Kathleen Ogden, then-Trustee Tom
Doolittle, and Host Committee Chairs Scott Doty and Michele
Folts, the passion, dedication, and determination of our
volunteers is something I was proud to witness.

2014 Boston Society of Landscape Architects Spring Fieldbook

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