A love of landscape architecture has led a group of Michigan area professionals to develop a summer camp program to expose high school students to this exciting and growing field.
The week-long summer camp is hosted by Lawrence Technological University in Southfield and organized by the Michigan Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, the City of Southfield and Southfield City Centre.

 
Within this group of volunteers are professional landscape architects, urban planners, architects and artists, all of whom teamed up in 2022 to offer a 3-day summer camp to BIPOC and underserved students. Due to its success, the summer camp was offered again in 2023 and expanded to 5 days, with plans for a 2024 camp.
The ultimate goal is to encourage students to consider the field as they explore career options, said camp leader Terry Croad, AICP, ASLA and director of planning for the City of Southfield. "Landscape architecture is an exciting field and one that can offer a secure, rewarding future. We expose students to the various professions in which landscape architects work, such as the private, public and non-profit sectors as well as education and research."
The camp focuses on affordability, with a $100 registration fee - one-eighth of the cost of a typical week of summer camp on a university campus - made possible in part by 15+ volunteer instructors, with curriculum designed, managed and led by team members from the City of Southfield's Planning Department.
During the camp, students work in teams to design a local park as they learn to identify the site's opportunities and constraints, develop a schematic design to illustrate their concept or "big idea" and create the design-development plan necessary for construction.
On the last day of camp, each team presents a site plan to a jury of volunteer professionals and fellow students. Components of the teams' design plans include sustainability features, low-impact design, enhanced streams and ponds, accessibility for visitors with disabilities, multi-purpose sports areas and playgrounds, use of landscaping, berms and screen walls to provide noise reduction, local public art and solar panels.
To further promote landscape architecture as a career, the Michigan Chapter ASLA Foundation awards two $2,500 diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships to BIPOC students who choose to pursue a landscape architecture curriculum at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.
According to Croad, "The program's volunteers are committed to helping students - some from as far away as Chicago and Brooklyn, New York - realize a possible new career path they may have never considered before."