January 25, 2012
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact
Michelle Medaris

Mia Lehrer + Associates Anchors Open Panel Discussion

The Landscape Architect Expo proudly announces top landscape architect firm Mia Lehrer + Associates will anchor the open panel discussion, Biodiversity + Sustainability: Uncovering Nature in the Urban Core. The panel discussion will stress the importance of sustainability in the coming years and the role nature plays in sustainability. This open panel discussion will be held from 12:00 ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Biodiversity + Sustainability: Uncovering Nature in the Urban Core

Course Description:

This seminar focuses on creating biodiversity habitats in highly designed spaces within the urban core. These environments become a place of respite and reflection, a mixture of landscapes that set the stage for nature exploration and discovery. Two projects: a park and a museum have taken the initiative in designing environments that support a greater ecological functioning. These projects will be presented as examples of how landscape architecture can intervene in adding ecological value to communities.

One of the first objectives is to understand the local area and its connection to the broader region. In Irvine, the Orange County Great Park located in the center of the county, is where planned diversity of plants and animals will restore much of the county?EUR??,,????'?????<

Another objective is making nature visible to the visitor. Visitors have a transformative experience that heightens their sensory perception of nature in a city. The ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Sustainability is intertwined in the site through structures, systems and technologies to create a healthy balance between meeting human needs and promoting environmental health. At the Orange County Great Park, sustainability is made tangible by addressing critical issues of our time such as water and energy, revealing the site history and providing meaningful social spaces within and beyond the park. The landscape character of the museum campus explores sustainability within the site in its walls, paving, planting, bridges, water features and site furnishings.

Through the fragmentation of greenscapes in Southern California the landscape becomes the place where biodiversity forms the relationship of the climate, soil, birds, insects, and other fauna create a natural environment which is ripe for exploration. Each project has similar yet distinctive outcomes for an educational and immersive experience supporting an ecological framework.

Michelle Sullivan Biography:

Michelle Sullivan, Principal at Mia Lehrer + Associates has over 25 years experience in landscape architecture. She was involved in managing the design and engineering teams as well as the Landscape Architecture team into comprehensive design deliverables for the Orange County Great Park, a 1,347 acre park in Irvine, California. She also has been instrumental in developing and building the award winning 27 acre Orange County Great Park Preview Park. Ms. Sullivan is currently managing the redevelopment of the Natural History Museum North Campus, a new exciting urban destination with over 3.5 acres of outdoor exhibits that will foster nature within the city.

Prior to Mia Lehrer + Associates she worked for Walt Disney Imagineering, the resort and theme park design and engineering group for the Walt Disney Company for over 15 years. She has worked on a range of projects from resort wide master plans, to theme park planning and development, to more focused theme park land, attraction, retail and entertainment venues. While employed at Disney she was mentored by the preeminent world horticulturist ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Milan Mitrovich, PhD Biography:

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Lila Higgins Biography:

Lila Higgins is a museum educator with 10 years of experience in environmental education, exhibit development, and citizen science programming. In late 2008 she joined the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles (NHM) working in the Education & Exhibits department. She oversees the Museum?EUR??,,????'?????<

If you are interested in Exhibiting in the 2012 LA Expo please contact Vladimir Kostich at vkostich@landscapearchitect.com or call 714-979-5276 x118.

If you are interested in attending the 2012 LA Expo please contact Jacqui Argyle at jargyle@landscapearchitect.com or call 714-979-5276 x115.

About The LA Expo
The LA Expo, scheduled for March 30th, 2012 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif. was created specifically for Landscape Architects, Designers and Commercial Specifiers in the western United States. The LA Expo is an offshoot of The Landscape Expo ?EUR??,,????'?????<

For more information about the LA Expo, please contact 714-979-5276 x. 130