Upcoming events + activities

The BSLA Calendar

If you want to connect, learn, or grow, there are things here for you.

We’re continuously building this calendar to be a big, beautiful summary of all-things-landscape-architecture in our region.

What else do you want to see? Please send ideas or info our way! Email details to chapteroffice@bslanow.org. Thanks!

GDIRC: Design Workshop for the Trina Persad Landscaped Playground
Jan
25

GDIRC: Design Workshop for the Trina Persad Landscaped Playground

In Person. Free.

Global Design Initiative for Refugee Children (GDIRC): Design Workshop for the Trina Persad Landscaped Playground

Join the Global Design Initiative for Refugee Children (GDIRC) Knowledge Community for an inspiring day of collaborative design! We are hosting an all-day community engagement design charrette to envision the future of the Trina Persad Playground and green space, in partnership with Dudley Neighbors Inc. (DNI) and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI).

This event will take place on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at the DSNI offices (550 Dudley Street, Roxbury, MA 02119) It will bring together DSNI families and youths, the GDIRC team, and members of the Boston Society for Architecture (BSA) and Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) to brainstorm and co-create design ideas for this exciting initiative.

Don’t miss this opportunity to contribute to a project that will provide a vibrant and inclusive play and green space for the community. Whether you’re a design professional, a community member, or simply passionate about creating spaces that foster connection and growth, your ideas and insights are welcome!

RSVP Here

Images below are from past GDI charrettes.

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Livestream WEDG Professionals Course
Feb
19
to Feb 20

Livestream WEDG Professionals Course

Online. Register here.

A community’s waterfront is its flagship site. Whether it’s a small town’s river, an urban estuary, or a Great Lakes port, the waterfront is special. Resilience, ecology, and access make waterfronts thrive. Join the Waterfront Alliance Wednesday, February 19 and Thursday, February 20 from 1:00 – 5:00 PM EST for their livestream training of the WEDG® (Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines) Professionals Course featuring case studies of WEDG Verified sites and experts in resilient, nature-based design. After completing this two-day guided virtual course and passing the open-book exam, participants can earn their WEDG Associate credential.

CEUs Available
6 AIA LU, 6 LA CES

The registration link with further details can be found here.

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Monthly BSLA ExComm + Leaders Meeting
Dec
19

Monthly BSLA ExComm + Leaders Meeting

Online.

This is the monthly meeting of BSLA’s elected Executive Committee (“ExComm”), Section chairs, Student chapter leaders, and Committee leaders. All members from Maine and Massachuetts are welcome to attend.

This typically takes place on the third Thursday of the month.

The regular agenda includes brief updates, questions, and calls-to-action from each of the leaders and the work that they represent, along with longer discussions on special topics. If you have a topic to bring to an ExComm meeting, please email BSLA President, Luisa Oliveira.

It’s our regular, essential moment to connect and coordinate our activities across Mass & Maine, AND our means to collaboratively discuss questions, issues, and other important things.

The 2024 Zoom link is here. Email Gretchen to be added to the calendar invite. Join us!

View Event →
Firm Leaders+Owners Roundtable
Dec
18

Firm Leaders+Owners Roundtable

Online.

This is an informal, monthly drop-in Zoom meeting of landscape architecture firm owners and leaders. 

Our goal is to create a space where New England landscape architecture firm owners and leaders can connect, commiserate, compare notes, and hopefully laugh a little with your peers in this community.

There is no fixed agenda, but we will start with a few discussion prompts and then you can take the conversation wherever you want to go. 

Questions or topics to discuss? contact BSLA President & Crowley Cottrell firm owner, Michelle Crowley.

For now, we’re alternating between first Friday mornings and first Wednesday evenings. We'll see how that works for folks and will modify as we go.

Do you want to receive the monthly calendar invite? email Gretchen.

Here’s the new Zoom link! Good for fall, 2024.

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WMAIA Annual Meeting/Design Awards
Dec
17

WMAIA Annual Meeting/Design Awards

From our friends at AIA Western Mass:

Register Now here!

 

Tuesday December 17 | 5:30pm-8:00 pm | Olver Design Building 170 | 1 LU  

WMAIA ANNUAL MEETING/DESIGN AWARDS

Featuring:  Awards, Scholarships & Chapter Elections

Annual Meeting Sponsored by: Pella

Awards Sponsored by: Keiter

Our December program is a celebration of the season and of design in Western Massachusetts. It's a time to catch up with colleagues and see the wonderful work being done in our region. All sixteen submissions for this year's awards will be presented.

Once again, this awards program was held in conjunction with the Western Massachusetts Section of the Boston Society of Landscape Architects and was juried by colleagues from AIA Greenville, South Carolina

The program will begin with a reception with hearty hors d'oeuvres (there will be a cash bar -- registration includes one free drink ticket). We will be presenting WMAIA/AIA National/Pella student scholarships and WMAIA’s special honorary membership award. The December meeting is also our chapter’s annual meeting and election of officers. 

For more information and to register visit here

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BSLA Plant Sourcing Task Force
Dec
10

BSLA Plant Sourcing Task Force

Online.

Register for the Zoom

Growing from several presentations and discussions at BSLA's 2024 Fieldday conference, we're starting a Plant Sourcing Task Force. This group will focus on anti-neonicotinoids as well as other issues such as seed grown plants, local ecotypes, etc.

Following last month’s kick off, we’ll dive into a discussion about goals and priorities for 2025. All are welcome.

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Museum of Science’s ‘Careers of Tomorrow: Green Jobs Showcase’
Dec
7

Museum of Science’s ‘Careers of Tomorrow: Green Jobs Showcase’

The BSLA has been invited to join in the Museum of Science’s ‘Careers of Tomorrow: Green Jobs Showcase’. This is a great opportunity to introduce people of all ages to the amazing and diverse profession of landscape architecture! The career fair is geared towards youth, but also will attract college students and mid-career people who may be looking for a pivot. We will be hosting a table within the Job Fair and participating within the mentoring workshop.

Who: looking for 5-6 volunteers for a very low lift!

When: Saturday, December 7, from 10am-1pm (the whole event runs from 9:30-3pm, but the Job Fair is only from 10am-1pm) AND/OR a Q&A session with high school students, 2-3pm. We are seeking volunteers for one or both parts of the day.

What: participate in one of three ways: 1) help at the table, introducing people to the profession of LA; 2) participate in 1 on 1 mentoring conversation for people who have signed up to learn more, and 3) participate in the youth engagement - similar to the 1 on 1 mentoring, but with kids - and slightly later in timing.

Interested? Please email Gretchen, Deb and Joe. We’ll organize a short organizational Zoom before the event with the volunteers.

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Sip & Sketch
Dec
5

Sip & Sketch

In person at Apres, 148 Anderson Street, Portland, Maine

This casual meetup is open to all landscape designers, architects and friends. Come hang out with us while we chat, sip and sketch.  We may even play our own version of exquisite corpse (a drawing game.) Feel free to bring you favorite drawing media and paper, or use ours.

We’ll cover the first round of drinks. See you there —

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BSLA Public Sector Landscape Architects Zoom Meetup
Dec
4

BSLA Public Sector Landscape Architects Zoom Meetup

Online. Free.

This is a quarterly Zoom meet up for landscape architects (or those trained as landscape architects), currently working in the public or nonprofit sector. This includes landscape architects/designers/planners working in city or town, state, or federal parks agencies as well as in other government departments or nonprofits — not in “regular” practice. We know that many of you face similar issues in your work. Many of you are The Only one of you who does what you do, too.

Our intent is to create space for this professional community to come together.

The topic of these meetings will shift depending on what you want to discuss. You do not need to be a BSLA or ASLA member to participate.

To attend the December Zoom, click here.

If you’d like to be added to the calendar invite, email Gretchen.

Pictured: Jessie Waisnor and Alexandra Vecchio, landscape architects with the Town of Brookline, lead a BSLA Inside/Out tour of new & historic Brookline public spaces, October 2023

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BSLA Holiday Party
Dec
3

BSLA Holiday Party

In person, at Garage B.

Start your spatulas! It’s time for Gingerscapes and the annual BSLA winter social. All are welcome. Tickets include food & drink. The vibe is informal and fun.

There will be festive winter gatherings in Maine and Western Mass too. Details + Tickets coming soon.

Photos below from the 2023 BSLA Holiday Party.

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Monthly BSLA ExComm + Leaders Meeting
Nov
21

Monthly BSLA ExComm + Leaders Meeting

Online.

This is the monthly meeting of BSLA’s elected Executive Committee (“ExComm”), Section chairs, Student chapter leaders, and Committee leaders. All members from Maine and Massachuetts are welcome to attend.

This typically takes place on the third Thursday of the month.

The regular agenda includes brief updates, questions, and calls-to-action from each of the leaders and the work that they represent, along with longer discussions on special topics. If you have a topic to bring to an ExComm meeting, please email BSLA President, Luisa Oliveira.

It’s our regular, essential moment to connect and coordinate our activities across Mass & Maine, AND our means to collaboratively discuss questions, issues, and other important things.

The 2024 Zoom link is here. Email Gretchen to be added to the calendar invite. Join us!

View Event →
Firm Leaders+Owners Roundtable
Nov
20

Firm Leaders+Owners Roundtable

Online.

This is an informal, monthly drop-in Zoom meeting of landscape architecture firm owners and leaders. 

Our goal is to create a space where New England landscape architecture firm owners and leaders can connect, commiserate, compare notes, and hopefully laugh a little with your peers in this community.

There is no fixed agenda, but we will start with a few discussion prompts and then you can take the conversation wherever you want to go. 

Questions or topics to discuss? contact BSLA President & Crowley Cottrell firm owner, Michelle Crowley.

For now, we’re alternating between first Friday mornings and first Wednesday evenings. We'll see how that works for folks and will modify as we go.

Do you want to receive the monthly calendar invite? email Gretchen.

Here’s the new Zoom link! Good for fall, 2024.

View Event →
26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature" (Copy)
Nov
19

26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature" (Copy)

from the New York Botanical Garden

26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature"

Online. LA CES credits available.

Get tickets for one or all three

NYBG’s 26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolios Lecture Series welcomes three innovative landscape architects whose work explores the multidimensional relationship between design and nature. Each speaker will share projects from residential landscapes to museums, corporate headquarters, and public spaces, as well as their working methods, design philosophies, and lessons learned along the way.

The series kicks off October 15 with Shannon Nichol of GGN on "Forms, Weeds, and Real Life." On October 29, Shane Coen speaks on "Context, Form, and Equity." Lauren Stimson concludes the series on November 19 with "On Wildness, Lost Landscapes, and Belonging."

Photo: Lurie Garden, Chicago, courtesy GGN.

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BSLA Planning Advance
Nov
15

BSLA Planning Advance

Hybrid. In person at the offices of Payette (290 Congress Street, Boston) AND on Zoom

We’re bringing back the Planning Advance — a pre-pandemic annual tradition in which we take a moment to pause and look ahead together. What challenges & opportunities are you facing? Is our profession facing, in this region? What impact do we want to make? What should BSLA’s priorities be in 2025?

Join us for a lively discussion. ALL ARE WELCOME.

Register here for In Person

Register here for the Zoom

OR — Share your thoughts on your own time via this SURVEY.

However you share your ideas with us, THANK YOU. This helps us serve you better!

Pre-pandemic photos from the last time we did a Planning Advance in person.

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Reflections + Projections on Landscape Trajectories
Nov
14

Reflections + Projections on Landscape Trajectories

In Person. Free.

As landscape designers, how do our ambitions around visioning and developing open space inform our career trajectories? Join us in a conversation of reflection and projection, featuring a range of women practitioners on what types of work they engage with, how their varied educational and career pathways have led them to where they are today, what advice they might offer others in their early career, and what questions they have for those with more experience. 

Moderators

  • Chelsea Kilburn, Senior Associate, Stoss

  • Alysoun Wright, Senior Associate, Stoss

Panelists

  • B Chatfield, Senior Project Manager, City of Boston Parks and Recreation

  • Danielle Choi, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, Harvard GSD 

  • Kelsey Kern, Senior Water Resources Designer, Nitsch Engineering

  • Marin Braco, Senior Landscape Architect, Boston Planning Department

Event Time + Location

  • Thursday, November 14th, 2024 from 6-8pm

  • Stoss Landscape Urbanism, 54 Old Colony Avenue, Floor 3, Boston, MA 02127 

Sign up here.

This event is co-sponsored by BSLA and Stoss Landscape Urbanism

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GDIRC Bi-Monthly Meeting
Nov
13

GDIRC Bi-Monthly Meeting

Online. Free. All welcome.

Join us for the Global Design Initiative for Refugee Children (GDIRC) bi-monthly meeting! This meeting is hosted via Zoom.

RSVP here to receive join information for this meeting. This information will be included in your confirmation email.

The Global Design Initiative for Refugee Children is led jointly by BSLA and BSA. To find out more, visit the GDIRC website here or visit the Global Design Initiative for Refugee Children Knowledge Community page on the BSA website here.

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Inside/Out: MIT
Nov
7

Inside/Out: MIT

In person at MIT

RSVP Here

Join us outside!

Now in its fifth year, our "Inside/Out" series of landscape architecture site tours continues across our region. Prioritizing issues of climate and health, equity and resilience, each tour will discuss ideas and implementation as we explore these landscapes together.

Our fall series resumes on the campus of MIT. This evolving campus continues to transform in dramatic ways and incorporates a vast array of innovative, climate conscious plazas and parks, streetscapes and study areas, residence and rooftop gardens and gathering spaces.

As we walk, we will hear from landscape architects with recent projects on campus, including individuals from:

  • Hargreaves Jones

  • Klopfer Martin Design Group

  • Mikyoung Kim Design

  • OJB

  • Reed Hilderbrand

  • Stoss Landscape Urbanism

This tour has been developed in collaboration with campus landscape architects Laura Tenny, ASLA and Todd Robinson, ASLA in the MIT Office of Campus Planning.

We will meet at 3:00pm at 300 Main Street, Cambridge -- near the Kendall Square T station and next to the MIT Museum.

All are welcome. Tickets are free, registration appreciated. Sign up today!

Please come dressed for the weather, prepared to walk outside. We look forward to exploring with you.

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.

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FOR FURTHER READING

From the MIT Office of Sustainability:

"From a semi-industrial landscape to a densely populated center of innovation, our campus landscape has undergone dramatic evolution since MIT moved across the Charles River to Cambridge in 1916. Currently, approximately 64 percent of MIT’s campus is composed of impervious surfaces, such as roofing and paving. Green spaces provide areas for recreation and habitats for local wildlife. They also clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and provide natural water management, actively mitigating the effects of climate change."

Read more...

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26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature"
Oct
29

26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature"

from the New York Botanical Garden

26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature"

Online. LA CES credits available.

Get tickets for one or all three

NYBG’s 26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolios Lecture Series welcomes three innovative landscape architects whose work explores the multidimensional relationship between design and nature. Each speaker will share projects from residential landscapes to museums, corporate headquarters, and public spaces, as well as their working methods, design philosophies, and lessons learned along the way.

The series kicks off October 15 with Shannon Nichol of GGN on "Forms, Weeds, and Real Life." On October 29, Shane Coen speaks on "Context, Form, and Equity." Lauren Stimson concludes the series on November 19 with "On Wildness, Lost Landscapes, and Belonging."

Photo: Lurie Garden, Chicago, courtesy GGN.

View Event →
Firm Leaders+Owners Roundtable
Oct
25

Firm Leaders+Owners Roundtable

Online.

This is an informal, monthly drop-in Zoom meeting of landscape architecture firm owners and leaders. 

Our goal is to create a space where New England landscape architecture firm owners and leaders can connect, commiserate, compare notes, and hopefully laugh a little with your peers in this community.

There is no fixed agenda, but we will start with a few discussion prompts and then you can take the conversation wherever you want to go. 

Questions or topics to discuss? contact BSLA President & Crowley Cottrell firm owner, Michelle Crowley.

For now, we’re alternating between first Friday mornings and first Wednesday evenings. We'll see how that works for folks and will modify as we go.

Do you want to receive the monthly calendar invite? email Gretchen.

Here’s the new Zoom link! Good for fall, 2024.

View Event →
Inside/Out: Mount Auburn + Social
Oct
24

Inside/Out: Mount Auburn + Social

In person at Mount Auburn Cemetery + social

Join us outside!

Now in its fifth year, our "Inside/Out" series of landscape architecture site tours continues across our region. Prioritizing issues of climate and health, equity and resilience, each tour will discuss ideas and implementation as we explore these landscapes together.

Our 2024 series continues with a seasonal walk through Mount Auburn Cemetery...

Ricardo Austrich, ASLA, will lead a spirited tour of the award winning Asa Gray Garden along with a horticultural walk through this hallowed landscape.

After the walk, we invite you to join us at a nearby restaurant for appetizers and drinks and conversation, sponsored by Maglin Site Furniture.

Say hi to old friends and meet someone new! All are welcome. RSVP here.

Tickets are free, reservation appreciated.

Get your ticket today!

 
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The Time is Now to Apply for Climate Funding: An Introduction
Oct
24

The Time is Now to Apply for Climate Funding: An Introduction

WEBINAR

The Time is Now to Apply for Climate Funding: An Introduction

Thursday, October 24

10:30am - 12:30pm

Online

New federal grant programs made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act allocated billions of dollars in resources and shed light on the abundancy of discretionary grant funding...

This EBC Climate Change Webinar will describe federal and state funding programs available to support planning or construction of climate change and resiliency-related projects.

Learn more and register

This webinar tees up the next Climate Adaption Forum, to focus on funding climate adaptation projects, scheduled for December 6. BSLA is pleased to be a supporter of the Climate Adaptation Forum.

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A Conversation with Kongjian Yu
Oct
23

A Conversation with Kongjian Yu

Please Join us for an enlightening conversation with Kongjian Yu, PhD, renowned landscape architect and professor, College of Architecture and Landscape of Peking University, and Chris Osgood, director of the Office of Climate Resilience, City of Boston. Moderated by Robin Young, Emmy-award winning co-host of WBUR’s Here & Now.

Discover how urban landscapes around the world face similar environmental challenges and explore innovative solutions that transcend borders. Professor Yu, pioneer of the “sponge city” concept, will share his insights on:

  • Common ecological issues affecting cities globally

  • Nature-based approaches to urban resilience

  • Success stories from around the world

This event promises to inspire hope and showcase tangible solutions for creating sustainable, livable cities. Do not miss this opportunity to envision a greener future for urban spaces worldwide!

Hosted by The Museum of Science in partnership with The Stone Living Lab.

Wednesday, October 23rd @ 9AM at The Museum of Science

RSVP Here

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BSLA EP Plant ID Walk
Oct
20

BSLA EP Plant ID Walk

Fall is here!

Calling all Emerging Professionals...

Join us for a fun morning as we brush up on our plant ID skills and Olmsted history with a walk around the Arnold Arboretum. We're excited to be collaborating with Arnold Arboretum staff who will lead the walk and share their extensive plant and history knowledge with the group.

If you're in the early stages of your design career, this is for you! Landscape designers & architects, students and recent grads. Architecture, planning, engineering, and other design industry colleagues too. All are welcome.

The group will be capped at 20. Free for BSLA members and $10 for non-members.

Come with old friends, meet someone new, and learn more about this extraordinary, iconic, continually changing landscape!

Register here

Please note:

Wear comfy shoes and dress warmly! Meet at the Arnold Arboretum main entrance by Hunnewell Building. (Directions here).

If you are no longer able to attend the event, please let us know via eventbrite so we can offer the spot to another interested person.

We look forward to seeing you.

Images below are from the 2022 BSLA EP Plant ID Walk

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Inside/Out: Saco
Oct
19

Inside/Out: Saco

In person. Starting at the Saco Transportation Center, 138 Main Street, Saco, Maine

RSVP here

Join us outside!

Now in its fifth year, our "Inside/Out" series of landscape architecture site tours continues across our region. Prioritizing issues of climate and health, equity and resilience, each tour will discuss ideas and implementation as we explore these landscapes together.


Our 2024 series continues in Saco and Biddeford, Maine…

How can a series of small landscape architecture projects enhance human experience and knit the spaces of a community together?

This tour features a diversity of project types in a small geographic area. Projects include visioning/conceptual planning, implemented signage & way finding, a restaurant, a riverwalk, pedestrian infrastructure, and a public park. These projects connect along and create special moments within, engaging residents through the process. Join us as we explore.

Led by

Todd Richardson, FASLA, Principal, Richardson & Associates | Landscape Architects

The whole walk is less than one mile.

After the walk, join us for snacks and drinks on the outdoor terrace of Magnus on Water (one of the landscape architecture projects featured in the walk.) The first round is on BSLA!

Families, friends, colleagues, all are welcome.

Tickets are free but the tour size is limited. Sign up today! We look forward to exploring with you.

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Engineered Soils + Cranberry Bog Tour
Oct
17

Engineered Soils + Cranberry Bog Tour

In person at AD Makepeace, Wareham, MA

Soils are the hidden heroes of landscape architecture. Engineered soils enable healthy plant growth in places not otherwise possible. Have you ever wondered how engineered soils are made? Or what it's like to be in a cranberry bog during harvest? Or what those two things have to do with one another?!?

Read Custom Soils and AD Makepeace invite BSLA and ASLA members and friends to a special behind-the-scenes tour of their blending facility, a complimentary working lunch in the historic Box Mill, and a rare opportunity to wade through a flooded cranberry bog during the harvest.

They'll also show the exciting new renewable material of biochar, and speak to their current work in the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Initiative.

Limited to 24 participants.

Get your ticket here

Please register by October 10. Thanks!

Floating cranberries at sunset, photo by Tom Connolly

SCHEDULE

9:30 - 10:00 a.m.

  • Arrival and Welcome

  • Join us at the A.D. Makepeace Company’s historic Box Mill Hall to kick off the day with coffee, water, and juice.

  • Meet and mingle with fellow attendees before we embark on our day of exploration.

10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

  • Guided Tour of Read Custom Soils Blending Facility

  • A shuttle will transport guests to the Read Custom Soils blending facility, where you’ll have a rare behind-the- scenes look at how engineered soils are blended. Discover a variety of innovative soil products, including Stonedust with Organic-Lock™ binder, CU-Structural Soil™, and rooflite® Certified Green Roof Media, and engage in a Q&A session with our experts.

  • Led by Chris Ierardi, Vice President & General Manager of Read Custom Soils and Terry Gibbs, Production Manager

11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

  • Lunch & Learn with Tony Will

  • Return to Box Mill Hall for a complimentary lunch. Enjoy an engaging presentation by Tony Will, a leading expert in soil solutions with 45 years of experience in landscape construction materials. Tony will provide an overview of RCS’s soil solutions, from ground applications to rooftop uses, and share insights on the company’s latest initiatives, including: a partnership with Standard Biocarbon to bring premium biochar products to market, the recent Makepeace Miyawaki Forest implementation, and their involvement in the Healthy Soils Initiative.

  • Led by Tony Will, Director of Marketing & New Product Development.

12:45 - 1:15 p.m.

  • Break & Explore | Visit Makepeace Farms Country Market and Abel’s Place Cranberry Museum.

1:15 - 2:30 p.m.

  • Classic New England Cranberry Bog Tour

  • Experience the beauty and tradition of cranberry farming with a guided bogside tour led by Glenn Reid, General Manager of Cranberry Operations for the A.D. Makepeace Company. Glenn will share his 30+ years of cranberry growing experience with the group. Plus, attendees will have an opportunity to don a pair of waders and get into the corral of crimson berries to experience the harvest firsthand.



PLEASE NOTE

Participants will be transported by shuttle bus to/from the blending facility and the cranberry bog (those sites cannot handle lots of private vehicles). The fee for this event covers the direct cost of that shuttle bus. Meals and tours are provided by Read Custom Soils.

All registered guests will receive an email with the directions and details for the excursion. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. An extra pair of socks is recommended for the cranberry bog portion of the day.

This excursion will be held rain or shine, though inclement weather may impact parts of the tour. Any anticipated modifications will be communicated to ticket holders 72 hours before the tour, allowing time to adjust plans if needed.

Questions? Please email the chapteroffice@bslanow.org.

If your schedule changes, please cancel via eventbrite so that you can be refunded and so that your ticket can go to someone else. Tickets will not be available on the day of the excursion. AD Makepeace and Read Custom Soils reserves the right of admission.

Photos, from left: cranberry bog at harvest; biochar; the blending facility; Harvard SEAS, which incorporated Read Custom Soils

ABOUT THE HOST

Read Custom Soils (RCS) is New England’s most experienced precision soil blender. The company operates from a New Hampshire quarry, a Westford blending facility, and a state-of-the-art blending facility in Carver, MA. RCS is New England’s leading provider of lightweight planting soil for green roof installations, stabilized stonedust for nature paths and pedestrian walkways, bioretention/raingarden soils, a proprietary blend ideally suited for challenging urban tree planting, and specialized soils for athletic fields.

RCS is also the region’s leading provider of golf course materials, consistently serving over 400 courses throughout New England. RCS offers multiple varieties of topdressing sand, bunker sand, rootzone mixes, divot mixes, colored sand, and our newest product, Kiln Dried Topdressing Sand, all meeting USGA specifications.

RCS has demonstrated its commitment to providing a high-quality, consistent product line to customers by implementing an in-house testing lab coupled with routine testing through multiple independent laboratories. RCS remains aware of the industry's evolving demands and actively participates in projects that help define future best practices.

RCS is an active member of BSLA and numerous other vital industry organizations.

Read Custom Soils is a division of the A.D. Makepeace Company. The 169-year-old A.D. Makepeace Company is Ocean Spray’s largest grower-owner, the largest private property owner in eastern Massachusetts, the developer of the award-winning Redbrook, and a recognized leader in environmentally responsible real estate development and stewardship.

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Monthly BSLA ExComm + Leaders Meeting
Oct
17

Monthly BSLA ExComm + Leaders Meeting

Online.

This is the monthly meeting of BSLA’s elected Executive Committee (“ExComm”), Section chairs, Student chapter leaders, and Committee leaders. All members from Maine and Massachuetts are welcome to attend.

This typically takes place on the third Thursday of the month.

The regular agenda includes brief updates, questions, and calls-to-action from each of the leaders and the work that they represent, along with longer discussions on special topics. If you have a topic to bring to an ExComm meeting, please email BSLA President, Luisa Oliveira.

It’s our regular, essential moment to connect and coordinate our activities across Mass & Maine, AND our means to collaboratively discuss questions, issues, and other important things.

The 2024 Zoom link is here. Email Gretchen to be added to the calendar invite. Join us!

View Event →
Rome Prize Info Session: Landscape Architecture
Oct
16

Rome Prize Info Session: Landscape Architecture

Landscape Architects: Consider applying for the Rome Prize

Rome Prize Info Session: Landscape Architecture

Online. Free. Registration required.

Register here

The program will include a presentation about the Rome Prize by Lauren Stimson (2024 Fellow). An extended Q&A will follow. All prospective Rome Prize applicants in landscape architecture are welcome.

The deadline for applying is November 1. There is an extended deadline of November 15 for an additional fee.

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26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature" (Copy)
Oct
15

26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature" (Copy)

from the New York Botanical Garden

26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolio Lecture Series: "Design and Nature"

Online. LA CES credits available.

Get tickets for one or all three

NYBG’s 26th Annual Landscape Design Portfolios Lecture Series welcomes three innovative landscape architects whose work explores the multidimensional relationship between design and nature. Each speaker will share projects from residential landscapes to museums, corporate headquarters, and public spaces, as well as their working methods, design philosophies, and lessons learned along the way.

The series kicks off October 15 with Shannon Nichol of GGN on "Forms, Weeds, and Real Life." On October 29, Shane Coen speaks on "Context, Form, and Equity." Lauren Stimson concludes the series on November 19 with "On Wildness, Lost Landscapes, and Belonging."

Photo: Lurie Garden, Chicago, courtesy GGN.

View Event →
Inside/Out: Yard South
Oct
12

Inside/Out: Yard South

In person. Starting at 1 Madison Street, 2nd Floor (aka the PODS / LeMessurier building), South Portland, Maine 04106

RSVP here

Join us outside!

Now in its fifth year, our "Inside/Out" series of landscape architecture site tours continues across our region. Prioritizing issues of climate and health, equity and resilience, each tour will discuss ideas and implementation as we explore these landscapes together.


Our 2024 series continues in South Portland, Maine….

Yard South is a proposed mixed-use community on 30 acres of underutilized land in South Portland’s Eastern Waterfront. It has been thoughtfully planned to be a blueprint for sustainable coastal development, addressing both the housing crisis and incorporating coastal resilience strategies.

Join the Yard South team for a 10-minute conceptual master plan presentation followed by a 50-minute site walk. Participants will learn about the site’s WWII history, our public engagement process, and the crucial role of zoning and land use planning to ensure smart growth in Southern Maine. 

For those interested in further discussion, we invite you to join us at Spring Point Tavern after the tour for drinks and conversation.

Led by

Amy Magida, landscape architect and Yard South Project Manager

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Kristen Bartlett, Yard South Outreach, Events & Administrative Coordinator

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All are welcome.

Tickets are free but the tour size is limited. Sign up today! We look forward to exploring with you.

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2024 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture
Oct
6
to Oct 9

2024 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture

The ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture is the largest annual gathering of landscape architecture and allied professionals—all coming together to learn, connect, share knowledge, gain inspiration, and bring value to their practice. The conference offers sessions, professional development, networking opportunities, and a world-class EXPO featuring over 275 vendors showcasing cutting-edge products and services.

Join us there!

Join us Sunday, October 6 - Wednesday, October 9 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., for ASLA 2024. This landmark event will celebrate the 125-year legacy of the American Society of Landscape Architects while setting sights on the future of the ever-evolving field of landscape architecture.

Go to the ASLA Conference website

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Firm Leaders+Owners Roundtable
Sep
25

Firm Leaders+Owners Roundtable

Online.

This is an informal, monthly drop-in Zoom meeting of landscape architecture firm owners and leaders. 

Our goal is to create a space where New England landscape architecture firm owners and leaders can connect, commiserate, compare notes, and hopefully laugh a little with your peers in this community.

There is no fixed agenda, but we will start with a few discussion prompts each time, and then you can take the conversation wherever you want to go. 

Questions or topics to discuss? contact BSLA President-Elect & Crowley Cottrell firm owner, Michelle Crowley.

For now, we’re alternating between first Friday mornings and first Wednesday evenings. We'll see how that works for folks and will modify as we go.

Do you want to receive the monthly calendar invite? email Gretchen.

Here’s the new Zoom link! Good for fall, 2024.

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