BSLA Fieldbook BSLA 2015 Spring Fieldbook | Page 29

MEMBER /

BSLA

LISA NABOR COWAN, ASLA
OPPORTUNITIES

I

am fortunate to have broken into the
ecological restoration field as a landscape
architect in the early 1990s. I worked as an
integrated member of an interdisciplinary
team of biologists, foresters, wetland and soil
scientists, tasked with finding cost-effective,
low impact construction methodologies to
restore and create natural ecosystems —
wetland, and riparian stream habitats.
This experience was life-changing and informs
my work today as an advisor/designer for
sustainable site and low impact development.
For instance, in 2007, on a transportation plaza
project, I was asked by the site engineer to find
cost effective ways to stabilize and revegetate
slopes. The solution I proposed involved
spreading a recycled woody debris/soil mix
which would be overseeded with native
legumes, and result in the creation of stable
vegetated slopes that could support natural
succession to a forested canopy. The client later
thanked me in person for saving them over
$100,000 in construction costs.
This experience prompted me to collaborate
with a colleague with a background in resource
economics, to find ways to quantify the
economic benefits of sustainable landscape
architectural design and management practices.
Through that research, we connected and
established a relationship with the staff at
the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) at the
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, and

made yearly pilgrimages to share ideas about
how SITES practices might apply to the New
England region. Those efforts led to the creation
of our company, Studioverde.
Since then we have been active in SITES
outreach and provide technical input on rating
system credits related to wetlands and aquatic
systems. Most recently, I have partnered with
the Association of State Wetland Managers
to promote the role of landscape architects as
critical team members for wetland restoration
and creation. At the 2014 ASLA Meeting in
Denver, I led a team talk titled “Behind the
Scenes of Wetland Restoration: Critical Roles
for Landscape Architects”—a recorded version
is available through ASLA. Sustainable site
design and ecological restoration continue
to be our passion at Studioverde, as we
work with professional organizations and
clients to promote the economic, social, and
environmental benefits of a sustainable,
ecologically