EDSA and Other LAs Team with United Way

EDSA landscape architects, from left, front: Cara Behling; Fernanda Ferrari; Rebecca Barber; Matt Flynn. 2nd Row: Elliott Doerle; Byron Pogue; Sarah Owen; Kris Hirte; Tim Salka; Kim Mandras; Tara Moody; Greg Kunak; Doug Schultz. Top row: Rob Myers; Duncan King; Katie Meyer; Mihaela Zaharescu; Dagmar Rehdanz. EDSA LAs not pictured: Joel Johnson; Kona Gray; Tara Titone. Other LAs not pictured: co-chairperson Malcolm Miller, Land Form Design, Inc.; Phil Austin, Savino Miller Design Studio; Dave Litty, AutoNation.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fl.?EUR??,,????'??+ For the past 10 years, EDSA has helped the United Way of America fulfill a local school's wish list by landscaping their campus grounds. This year?EUR??,,????'???s effort was co-chaired by Rebecca Barber and Malcolm Miller. Rebecca Barber is a landscape designer for EDSA. This was her third year to participate; she was also one of the co-chairpersons last year. Malcolm Miller is a local landscape designer and owner of Land Form Design, Inc.

This year, the United Way of Broward County nominated Stranahan High School for renovation. Located in downtown Fort Lauderdale, the school is situated on 67 acres.

EDSA began donating its time several weeks before the work began by allowing Rebecca to attend committee meetings with the United Way. Three months before the Day of Caring, Malcolm, Rebecca, and the school?EUR??,,????'???s horticulture teacher, Joe Korvick, walked the site to decide on the focus areas and devise a conceptual plan of what areas would receive what plantings. Rebecca then had the task of soliciting nurseries for donations of plants and to arrange for delivery or pick up.

The United Way had 1,400 volunteers registered for the one-day renovation. EDSA assisted in partitioning the site into zones to divide up the work between the approximately 500 landscape volunteers. This year, like last, EDSA had over 20 employees volunteer on the work day to serve as zone leaders and volunteers, ensuring the tasks for each zone be completed within the one day. The Salvation Army provided beverages and food for the volunteers.

The campus was cleared of plant debris and trash, the pathways were mulched, and 300 sq. ft. of brick E16 pavers were installed. All the buildings were repainted and 712 plants installed: foxtail, areca and coconut palms; orange geiger; green island ficus; ferns; lantana; cocoplums; firebush; satin leaf; allamanda bushes; scaveloa; and dwarf clusia.

About EDSA: EDSA is an international, full-service planning, landscape architectural and graphic design firm with over 130 employees and 43 years?EUR??,,????'??? experience in community planning, hotels and resorts, attractions and entertainment, campus and cultural planning, urban design, and environmental planning and ecotourism. The firm is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with offices in Orlando, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and Beijing. EDSA?EUR??,,????'???s projects include Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas, El Conquistador Resort and Country Club in Puerto Rico, Fort Lauderdale Beach Revitalization, and numerous Disney projects.

Co-chairperson Rebecca Barber of EDSA on the job. Rebecca's biggest challenge was getting donations of planting materials.

Australian Matt Flynn, an EDSA landscape architect, normally designs landscapes.