The Maryland Chapter of the ASLA has had a busy year of programming in 2021. We recently held our Annual Awards Gala in Baltimore - the first in-person gathering since the beginning of the pandemic. This outdoor event honored projects and firms from around the state and was a great success. Our members enjoyed the renewed opportunity to reconnect with the close knit group of professionals around the state.

 
This year's Presidential Award winner was a project called BLISS Meadows which seeks to bring nature based programming to what would have been an otherwise underutilized open space in downtown Baltimore. The goal of the project is to engage communities of color with connections to nature, urban agriculture, self reliance, and sustainability through the operation of a community managed open space and urban farm.
This year's Award of Excellence in Lifetime Achievement went to former Chapter President, Bob Gorman. The chapter also established two new awards this year and celebrated Coleen Vacelet for winning our Mid-Career Award and Michael Pullano for receiving our Emerging Professional Award. We were also honored to have two members become Fellows of the ASLA this year in Barbara Iraola and Dennis Nola.
In June, the Maryland Chapter joined with the Potomac and Virginia chapters to host our 2021 Regional Conference with the theme of "Looking to the Future." Held entirely online, the conference offered 8 professional development hours and an exciting slate of speakers. The chapter is looking forward to planning a climate symposium with our neighbors in the coming year.