MSU Landscape Design Professor Honored
Rebekah VanWieren has been awarded the Western Region Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities.
Rebekah VanWieren has been awarded the Western Region Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities. VanWieren, an assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology in MSU’s College of Agriculture, said she is honored to have won the award, which recognizes outstanding instructors in food or agricultural sciences who are seven years or less into their academic teaching careers.
Prof. Rebekah VanWieren - Montana State University
“I’ve always been fascinated by the integration of people and the environment and how we can utilize landscape design to sustain the long-term health of both within our communities,” “It’s this integration that drives my teaching and scholarship, and I hope my students graduate with a passion to make a difference through landscape design within the communities they serve.”
VanWieren teaches undergraduate landscape architecture courses that cover a broad range of knowledge and skills, beginning with using hand drawn illustrations to communicate preliminary design concepts and landscape construction details, and a course on site engineering where students bridge landscape design with civil engineering and learn about grading, drainage and ways to manage storm water. She also teaches advanced landscape design, a capstone class in which students spend a semester on service-learning projects in Montana, such as community park and trail design and vacant land redevelopment plans in areas challenged by past industrial uses or disinvestment.
Working with communities that don’t have the funds to hire a landscape architect in early design stages, VanWieren said she first asks her students to “think outside the box” to encourage innovation. But, as they begin building knowledge and skills, they then focus on the plausible to provide ideas the community finds valuable. One service-learning project pairs VanWieren and her students with the Fort Peck Tribes Office of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to revitalize a former main street gas station into a plaza with green spaces, something she said could change the trajectory of the space and improve environmental health and human well-being. VanWieren’s success in integrating scholarship with outreach led to her being awarded the 2017 President’s Award for Excellence in Service Learning at MSU.
Prior to coming to MSU, VanWieren worked as a landscape architect at firms in Michigan alongside planners and civil engineers. Her focus then was primarily on leveraging the design of green spaces on commercial properties and streets to reduce the impact of storm water on waterways, an issue she said is becoming more important as development increases even in semi-arid Bozeman.
Mike Giroux, head of MSU’s Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, lauded VanWieren’s ability to teach and prepare landscape design students while giving them opportunities to gain real-world experience. “Her capstone course involves having her landscape design students design and carry out service-learning projects that both instill civic pride and help ensure the long-term health of communities,” Giroux said. “We are proud of her and her accomplishments in teaching and all that she does to help MSU students be successful.”
Before working in practice, VanWieren earned bachelor’s degrees in both biology and environmental science at St. Olaf College in 2001, followed by master’s degrees in both landscape architecture and natural resource planning and policy from the University of Michigan in 2009.
From article By Denise Hoepfner, MSU News Service. Read the complete article at www.montana.edu
Rebekah VanWieren was also featured in the Landscape Architecture Foundation website as a 2008 Olmsted scholar. Click here to read the article!
Jack O’ Lantern Jamboree - MSU
October 17, 2018 | 7 PM | Basement of Linfield
ASLA’s first pumpkin carving event will be held at 7 PM on October 17th, 2018 in the basement of Linfield hall.
Jack O’ Lantern Jamboree
October 17, 2018 | 7 PM | Basement of Linfield
ASLA’s first pumpkin carving event will be held at 7 PM on October 17th, 2018 in the basement of Linfield hall.
All pumpkins will be put on display near the plant growth center.
Pumpkins provided while supplies last, otherwise BYOP
PARK(ing) Day 2018
It’s time to rethink the way streets are used and to re-imagine the possibilities of the urban landscape!
PARK(ing) Day is an annual event that encourages community members, students, and designers to transform parking spaces into temporary parklets. This event occurs annually in hundreds of cities in dozens of countries on every permanently-inhabited continent on earth. While PARK(ing) Day may be temporary, the image of possibility it offers has lasting effects and is helping to shift the way streets are perceived and utilized.
This year we really stepped up our parklet game! There were 19 parklets, that I know of, total- Moscow (3), Coeur d’Alene (1 block party), Boise (6), Pocatello (7), and Bozeman (1). That is a dramatic increase from last year which is exciting! These were not all ASLA associated parklets but since ASLA is all about promoting this event, they were all on the ASLA parklet map. There was a news piece on the Pocatello parklets in the Idaho State Journal and there will be an article about all the parklets in Idaho coming out in the near future in the Idaho Business Review. Next year when you are in the planning stage of PARK(ing) Day, make sure to get the media involved to help raise awareness!
Maggie Clark, ASLA, PLA
Parking Day Pocatello
Pocatello Parking Day
Business participants:
The Yellowstone
Station Square
The Orange and Black Store
Molinellis
Main Steam Coffee and Desserts
Elwen Cottage
Bannock Transportation Planning Organization
Montana State University - Bozeman
University of Idaho - Moscow
Boise Parking Day
Boise Businesses/locations who participated:
D.L. Evans Bank
8th Street corridor
Collister Shopping Center
Vista Village
Albertsons
Coeur d’Alene block party
The City of Coeur d’Alene organized the Sherman Block Party pilot project in conjunction with PARK(ing) Day. This function was very successful with over 1,500 people attending! The pilot project design maintained the current location of the sidewalks, removed the center turn lane (except at intersections), and added diagonal parking on one side of the street. Furthermore, this project results in five additional parking spaces on this block. The pilot project also includes planters, benches, temporary curb extensions, artistic crosswalks, bike parking, and some curbside seating in a “parklet”.
Better Block Event - Pocatello, ID
Pocatello hosted the Terry First Build a Better Block event on Saturday, August 25th.
The Pop-Up Park had vendors, food, hydration station, public art, outdoor games, seating, landscaping, and a selfie stop.
photo credits: Team Better Block
photo credit: Hannah Sanger
photo credits: Maggie Clark
The Pop-Up Park had vendors, food, hydration station, public art, outdoor games, seating, landscaping, and a selfie stop.
Temporary Public Space Improvements included a 9 block bike/ped path, street narrowing, back-in parking, bulbouts, outdoor dining parklet, landscaping, intersection painting, and ISU logo street art.
Pocatello hosted the Terry First Build a Better Block event on Saturday, August 25th. In preparation for the build out, there were several ways for the community to participate and influence the project. There was a website terryfirst.com where community members could go to learn about the project and sign up to be a volunteer. The website incorporated some great interactive tools including “Photo Voice Map” where people could share photos that show what they would like that specific area to look like. There was also an “Opportunity Points Map” where they could point out areas that had potential to be improved. In addition, the community members could also take a questionnaire to further voice their opinions pertaining to the project. In mid-September Community Builders and Team Better Block held the first public meeting, attended by 75 people, to kick off the project. The group was split off into smaller groups to focus on Streets and Public Spaces, Art and Beauty, and Pop-up/Programming. The results from this brainstorming session were used to come up with a concept plan for the build out.
During the event, the City of Pocatello along with project partners Team Better Block and Community Builders debuted a series of temporary improvements to the historic warehouse district and Idaho State University neighborhood. Some of the ideas tested included pop-up shops, parklets, a stage with seating, landscaping, and public art. The Terry First project aims to create a vision for the Terry Street/South First Avenue corridor that will spur economic development, support redevelopment, increase bicycle and pedestrian mobility, and improve the connection between Idaho State University and Old Town Pocatello. “Build a Better Block allows us to try out some of the ideas before investing the time and resources to make them a permanent feature of Terry Street or First Avenue,” said Matthew Lewis, Senior Planner with the City of Pocatello. “The public will have a chance to see how the features function and make additional suggestions to improve the neighborhood.”
The volunteer effort was phenomenal for this project! There were about 125 community members and city employees from numerous departments who volunteered their time over the four days leading up to the event to get everything ready. This project was funded through Community Builders who contracted with Team Better Block as the consultant. After a successful community event, the City of Pocatello is anxiously awaiting the final report from Team Better Block. The City is identifying low cost improvements that can be accomplished short term as they work toward the long term goal of increasing walkability. Some of these low cost improvements may include a permanent ISU logo and striping updates. The community response from this event has been very positive and the City is excited to move forward with these new ideas. If you would more information about this event or if you are interested in doing a similar event, please contact Maggie Clark- maggieclarkpla@gmail.com.
MSU Visit
MSU Visit
On April 5th, IMASLA members Kent Watson, Lynda Wightman, and Kate Dinsmore met with the Montana State University (MSU) landscape design program faculty and students. The MSU program is working towards becoming an accredited landscape architecture program. Over lunch with about 25 students, the professionals talked to the students about the benefits of ASLA for student members, learned about the MSU program, and answered student questions.
The students were interested in additional opportunities to interact with local landscape architecture professionals. Some ideas for professionals to engage with the students include internships, job shadowing, office visits, or portfolio reviews.
Student engagement and support of the landscape architecture programs within our chapter are important for promoting and building landscape architecture. Professional engagement with the students will help build more robust programs and raise awareness of landscape architecture within our communities. If you’re interested in being more involved with our chapter’s landscape architecture students, you’re encouraged to reach out to the chapter or the program to find out how you can contribute.
Kate Dinsmore, PLA, SITES AP
2018 Advocacy Summit
The Advocacy Summit is an annual event that brings together representatives from 30+ chapters to discuss and build upon chapter government affairs and advocacy efforts focused at the state and local level. Attendees learn about the current political and legislative environment, as it relates to licensure and other issues, and receive training on best practices in government affairs and advocacy.
ASLA and the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards (CLARB) co-hosted for the first
time a joint Licensure Summit. The Licensure Summit was held June 22-24, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio, and focused on building effective relationships between ASLA chapters and state licensing boards to enhance licensure education and defense. Participants included nearly 90 individuals representing over 40 states and Council of Landscape Architectural Board jurisdictions. The ASLA Ohio Chapter and Ohio Board of Landscape Architects where also instrumental in assisting with this first-ever joint meeting.
The event opened with a debrief on the 2018 state legislative session and its unprecedented efforts to reform occupational licensure – through deregulation, broad sweeping licensure board reviews, interstate compacts for temporary licensure, and Right to Earn a Living Act bills. The session included firsthand observations from boards and chapters that have worked together successfully to address these challenges. Afterwards, summit participants were joined by Columbus City Councilwoman Jaiza Page and two city council staff members for a site tour of the award-winning Scioto River Greenways Project.
Ohio State Representative Tim Schaffer opened the afternoon session with a keynote address that focused on how to effectively engage with state lawmakers and provided remarks on the nationwide trend of occupational licensing reform. In one of the most engaging segments of the Summit, the Ohio Chapter’s lobbyist shared tips and techniques in preparing and delivering persuasive testimony, followed by a mock committee hearing. Completing the afternoon was a breakout session on Landscape Architecture Month Resolutions. The introduction and enactment of landscape architecture resolutions can be used for advocacy, education, and building awareness of the profession.
On the last day of the Summit, participants rotated through three workshops: 1) Planning Creative Education and Advocacy Programs, 2) Building Effective Board/Chapter Relations, and 3) Responding to Legislative Inquiries. Each of the workshops comprised of applicable case studies presented by Summit participants. Each case study panelist shared their chapter/board best practices and offered insightful tips. Peppered throughout the event, ASLA staff also provided an update on state and federal government affairs activities and resources.
Article and photo- LAND Updates from ASLA
