We'd like to extend a special thank you to this year's jury: Charlie Brucker, Chelsea Schneider, Katherine Sheie, and Jeffrey M. Luers, who volunteered their time, and expertise to review student work, this event is made possible by your caring involvement!
The ASLA Student Honor and Merit Award Program, administered through the ASLA chapters, is a collaborative effort between chapters and landscape architecture programs. The awards recognize academic achievement, design competence, and interpersonal skills, and are distributed to outstanding students in programs across the country.
The number of awards are based on the size of the academic program. At the University of Oregon, the faculty nominates two BLA students and two MLA students each year. Our nominees were recognized by the University of Oregon faculty as truly outstanding students for their scholarship, excellence in design, and service to the department. This recognition is worthy of honor and congratulations.
The Oregon Chapter of ASLA and the Department of Landscape Architecture virtually convened a jury of ASLA members to hear 20-minute presentations from student nominees. After hearing the presentations, the jury deliberated their decision based on the following criteria:

Design Excellence
Outstanding Mentorship & Leadership
Potential for Future Professional Impact

We are pleased to announce the winners of this year's awards:
Isabella Ospina, Undergraduate Honor Award
Nancy Silvers, Undergraduate Merit Award
Aaron Woolverton, Graduate Honor Award
Heather Tietz, Graduate Merit Award

 
It is a great honor to celebrate and lend support to emergent professionals. Congratulations to Aarron, our 2021 Graduate Honor Award Recipient! Enjoy a bit about them and a taste of their work!
Aaron is a graduate of the University of Oregon's Landscape Architecture program. With a bachelor's in Architecture from Drexel University, Aaron has an interest in the intersection between built infrastructures and the environment. His current research involves understanding complex ecosystem dynamics through dynamic mapping, environmental sensing, and developing interoperability between design platforms and environmental modeling software.

Featured project:
Instant Cities, a community oriented studio in Venita, OR and Masters Project - Algae as Agents
Congratulations to Heather, our 2021 Graduate Merit Award Recipient! Enjoy a bit about them and a taste of their work!
Heather enjoys considering hybrid artistic approaches to design in landscape architecture. Tietz is interested in identifying emerging ways to integrate biota into the built environment to enhance ecological cycles and human health. She values learning about different cultures to create contextual design work and looks forward to designing with equity through inclusive design approaches.
Featured project:
Oregon Sequence at Coos Bay and Masters Project - Foreground for Mosses: Designing 3D Printed Clay Bryobricks to Enhance the Built Environment.
Congratulations to Izzy, our 2021 Undergraduate Honor Award Recipient! Enjoy a bit about them and a taste of their work!
Izzy is a landscape designer and artist passionate about bringing cultures and histories to life. Their design work at the University of Oregon has been centered around spatial justice, empowering communities through collaborative design processes. She is interested in playful designs of all scales that engage our senses and imagination of time and space. In making her designs feel welcome and inclusive to a diverse range of people, she also acknowledges the history of violence and displacement many landscapes are associated with. In her free time, she likes going to the movies, draws with her feet, and cooks experimental foods.

Featured project:
Eco Parque Quindio: Re-envisioning Tourism in Columbia.
Congratulations to Nancy, our 2021 Undergraduate Merit Award Recipient!
Enjoy a bit about them and a taste of their work!
Nancy is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in textiles, painting, and garden design. She received a Bachelor's of Landscape Architecture through the UO. Working with materials that range in scale from a single thread to acres of gardens, Nancy seeks opportunities to explore and convey ideas surrounding identity and ecology. Nancy has been the head gardener for a 175-acre estate for 13 years. The property is situated in the woodland urban interface of south Eugene and she continues to witness, study, and advocate for maintenance practices that will respond to the changing landscape in the area.

Featured Project:
Oregon Sequence at Coos Bay Harbor and An exploration of beaver habitat and hydrologic systems.

Meet the New Executive Committee Members for 2022
As many of you know, the conclusion of the Conference on Landscape Architecture (November 19-22) marks the point at which newly elected candidates begin their term on the Executive Committee (ExCom). ASLA Oregon is exceptionally lucky this year to be welcoming the following individuals into their positions on the ExCom. Here is an introduction to our new leaders, and a little bit more about the Chapter work that they will be doing.
Charlie Brucker (President) - Charlie brings his design and management skills to the role of President this year. He has been preparing for his role by watching and listening in on Chapter activities, including attending the Fall and Spring Chapter Presidents' Council meetings. Charlie is interested in the excellence of Oregon ASLA's programs and is focused on continuing to evolve the Oregon Chapter to meet the challenges ahead.
Allison K. Rouse (Past President) - Allison proved herself to be an excellent leader while serving as the chapter president. Her resolve and kind leadership style during the pandemic allowed for the chapter to adapt its programs and events to succeed in this trying time. We are so grateful to have her positive energy and unwavering support for another year.
Melissa Erikson (President Elect) - Melissa brings over 20 years of experience working for public clients. She looks to bring her collaborative spirit to her role as president next year while being committed to continuing the forward advancement of the profession, and setting the foundation for a more robust and equitable future.

2021 Design Symposium
Theme: HOME
Over the past year, many of us have become unexpectedly and acutely familiar with the notion of home. Within and beyond our four walls, our capacity for understanding the concept and scale of home has grown, changed, been challenged - even shaken at times. This took place from April 9th and 10th.
Home can be a place of warmth and invitation. An idyllic setting full of fond memories and freedom with endless possibilities. Home can also be fraught with challenges. It can incite heartache caused by displacement, cultural disunity, theft of ancestral lands, or perhaps its sheer absence.
People aspire for home to be an important place of comfort and flourishing, where we may derive and center our affections and sense of belonging. For the 2021 ASLA Oregon Design Symposium, we are looking forward to exploring the concept of home and how it relates to our environments and ourselves.