Landscape Architect Articles

2016 ASLA Chapter Reports: Illinois ASLA Chapter12-05-16 | Feature

2016 ASLA Chapter Reports
Illinois ASLA Chapter

Volunteers worked on the ASLA Legacy Project at Curie Metro High School after the 2015 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo in Chicago. The ACE Mentor Program and Chicago Public Schools assisted in the complete renovation of a courtyard at the high school. The grand opening was in November 2017.

For the Illinois Chapter ASLA in 2016, local initiatives continued to gain momentum; membership grew, an advocacy plan was implemented, past leaders were recognized, public awareness campaigns increased and engagement was measurably high. In addition, the chapter produced a book entitled "Landscape Performs," a compilation of case study briefs from Illinois landscape architecture firms, which were submitted to the Landscape Performance Series by the Landscape Architecture Foundation.

Attendees at the ILASLA Celebration+ 2017 in April recognized 2017 award winners. In addition to the evening awards, this year's event included a full day of educational programming presented by ASLA members and other green industry professionals.

Following the 2015 ASLA Annual Meeting and Expo, the Illinois Chapter, in partnership with the ACE Mentor Program and Chicago Public Schools completed the renovation of a courtyard at Curie Metro High School on the city's southwest side as part of the Legacy Project.

As the Illinois Title Act prepares to sunset in 2020, a long-term advocacy plan has been developed to assist in the education and awareness of issues to Chapter members. To help support members, the Illinois Chapter also made a substantial push to provide affordable continuing education to members, offering nearly 40 credits this year.

Kurt Culbertson, FASLA, Design Workshop, Scott Jamieson and Tom Tyler, Bartlett Tree Experts at the Ignite! Speaker Series, a growth and gathering event. Ignite is a collaborative effort to spark innovative thought and provide professional development and networking opportunities for landscape architects and allied professionals.

Membership engagement was strengthened through networking events and partnerships that traversed the industry along with several very active public awareness campaigns. Consistent communication with the chapter supported engagement. Social media campaigns have ramped up and are seeing a boost in followers. In addition, the regular publications continued: a monthly e-newsletter, Vista and weekly e-newsletter, Stream along with Elevation, their quarterly journal and Folio, celebrating annual statewide landscape architecture award winners.

As seen in LASN magazine, December 2016.