Advocacy Day
Every year the ASLA Arizona Chapter celebrates Advocacy Day at the Arizona State Capitol by providing breakfast and coffee to all legislators and showcasing landscape architecture in the state. This year the event occurred on February 18th, 2020 at the Capitol building lawn. The morning event focused on promoting the profession of landscape architecture throughout Arizona. The Chapter also highlighted recently awarded professional and student projects through an awards board exhibit displayed on the lawn. Chapter members were on site greeting legislators and promoting the importance of landscape architecture and licensure.

AZASLA 2020 Awards
Due to Covid-19, the Arizona Chapter ASLA cancelled the in-person awards gala but announced their professional and student award recipients this year via email and through social media. The Chapter awarded 11 professional awards, five student awards, and five special awards. The special awards include the following:
• Educator of the Year: Chingwen Cheng, Arizona State University

 
• Emerging Professional Award: Nate Ritchie, Wheat Design Group
• Award of Gratitude: Rob Dalager, Public Policy Partners
• Volunteer of the Year: Aaron Allan, J2 Engineering and Environmental Design
• Contractor of the Year: Valley Rain Construction
• Office of the Year: Colwell Shelor Landscape Architecture
This year's award recipients will also be recognized at the upcoming AZASLA's Awards Gala event to be held in Spring of 2021.

University of Arizona - PARK(ing) Day 2020: Physically Distanced But Socially Connected
Students from CAPLA's Master of Landscape Architecture and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture programs worked together to design and build a pocket park for Park(ing) Day 2020. MLA students have created a number of Park(ing) Day installations on and off campus since the City of Tucson began participating in 2008, but this year marks the first for CAPLA's inaugural cohort of BLA students.

The event necessitates a great deal of planning and coordination between students and local officials. The students' enthusiasm and previous experience with the event helped them overcome the unique challenges they faced while building a temporary parklet during a pandemic.

"The twin devils of COVID and digital fatigue were our largest hurdles. Keeping everyone on the same page remotely and outside of school hours was a struggle, but we made sure to start the planning process before school started to give us time to compensate. Honestly, once we decided that we wanted to do an installation that showed how space could reinforce social distancing and sanitation but still be comforting, the layout designed itself," says CAPLA ASLA student chapter co-president Ramzy Bejjani '21 MLA.

The student group received materials and labor support from a number of local businesses and organizations. Caf´e; Pass´e;, which is owned and operated by CAPLA alumna Jenny Rice '19 BS Sustainable Built Environments, hosted and provided all of the furniture for the space. The Pima County Native Plant Nursery loaned the plant materials and the Watershed Management Group lent its Tippy-Tap Handwashing Station.

As seen in LASN magazine, December 2020.