con'text Magazine 2017

Designing for Climate Change Resilience

con'text Magazine of The Conway School

//2017//

Faculty Mollie Babize ’84 Planning + Design

Administration Bruce Stedman ’78 Executive Director

Ken Byrne Humanities

Ken Byrne Academic Director

Anne Capra ’00 Planning

Dave Nordstrom ’04 Finance Director

Kate Cholakis ’11 Landscape Planning + Design

Nancy Braxton Alum Coordinator

Kim Erslev Landscape Design, Site Engineering, Graphics CJ Lammers Planning Bill Lattrell Ecology Rachel Loeffler Site Engineering + Landscape Design Glenn Motzkin Ecology Jono Neiger ’03 Regenerative Design

Kate Cholakis ’11 Admissions Manager Rachel Lindsay ’15 Publications Manager Priscilla Novitt ’07 Senior Administrator Kristin Thomas ’10 Project Manager Dave Weber ’15 Campus Manager Elaine Williamson ’11 Event Coordinator

Keith Zaltzberg Digital Design

Board of Trustees Keith Ross, Chair LandVest Warwick, MA

Visiting Instructors Michael Ben-Eli Sustainability

Stephen Thor Johnson, Vice Chair + Clerk North American Land Trust Chadds Ford, PA

Walt Cudnohufsky Design Process Edwina von Gal Landscape Architecture David Jacke ’84 Permaculture Erik van Lennep ’83 Sustainability John O’Keefe Ecology

Timothy A. Umbach, Treasurer Northampton, MA Mitch Anthony Clarity Northampton, MA Janet Curtis ’00 Union of Concerned Scientists Climate Program Cambridge, MA

Keith Ross Conservation Innovation

Marianne Jorgenson ALPINE Cambridge, MA

Joel Russell Conservation Law

Nicholas Filler Conway, MA

Dana Tomlin GIS

John O’Keefe Harvard Forest Petersham, MA

Greg Watson Food Systems The Conway School of Landscape Design 322 S. Deerfield Road PO Box 179 Conway, MA 01341-0179 180 Pleasant St. Studio 211 Easthampton, MA 01027 (413) 369-4044 www.csld.edu Nicholas T. Lasoff ’05 Editor Rachel Lindsay ’15 Project Manager Allison Gramolini ’16 Corrin Meise-Munns ’16 con’text Interns Lilly Pereira, Murre Creative Kristen Winstead, Sund Studio Design John Baldwin Bruce Stedman ’78 Priscilla Novitt ’07 Contributing Writers

Theresa Sprague ’08 Ecological Landscape Alliance Harwich, MA Charles Tracy US National Park Service Boston, MA William B. Sayre Wm. B. Sayre, Inc. Williamsburg, MA Emeritus Trustees David Bird (d. 2007) Gordon H. Shaw ’89 Bruce Stedman ’78 Past Directors Walter Cudnohufsky Founder, Director (1972–1992) Donald Walker ’79 Director (1992–2005) Paul Cawood Hellmund Director (2005–2015)

The mission of the Conway School is to explore, develop, practice, and teach design of the land that is ecologically and socially sustainable.

The Conway School of Landscape Design, Inc., a Massachusetts non-profit corporation organized under Chapter 180 of the General Laws, is a school of sustainable landscape design and land use planning. As an equal opportunity institution, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital or veteran status in the administration of educational, admissions, employment, or loan policies, or in any other school-administered program. © 2017 con’text is published by The Conway School of Landscape Design, Inc. All rights reserved.

con'text Magazine of The Conway School

//2017//

FE AT U RE S

04 Implementing Resilient Systems Robbin Peach ’78 on asking the right questions and bringing key players together to understand the implications of a changing climate.

08 From Rural Costa Rica

Professional photographer Gioia Kuss ’99 shares images and reflections from her David Bird International Service Fellowship.

11 Be Curious. Create Masterpieces.

Tell Stories.

Claudia J. Ford asks the class of 2016 to imagine, design, and repair the world.

DE PART ME NTS RAINGARDENS FOR CITY STREETS As part of their green streets design for the X Intersection in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Springfield, Massachusetts, Breyonne Golding ’16 and Eric DePalo ’16 recommended adding raingardens (image above), bioswales, and street trees to the asphalt-dominated area. These elements of Complete Streets increase the amount of stormwater infiltrated before entering the combined sewer and stormwater system. The plans, which the city planning board intends to implement along with other road improvements, address anticipated increases in precipitation due to climate change. Complete Streets are also associated with better mental and physical health of residents. Read about this and other students’ projects on page 16.

ON THE COVER Photograph of the Quabbin Reservoir by Margot Halpin ’16. Find additional photos and a description of the class trip that Margot participated in at csld.edu/2017/02/on-the-cover.

Printed on Rolland Environment 100 Satin, an uncoated 100% post-consumer reycled paper that is processed chlorine free, EcoLogo and FSC® Certified, and is manufactured using biogas energy. Printed by Hadley Printing, Holyoke, Massachusetts.

02 From the Directors A message from Conway codirectors Bruce Stedman ’78, Ken Byrne, and Dave Nordstrom ’04.

03 Perspectives

Using skills from two graduate degrees, Willa Caughey ’14 designs a therapeutic garden.

10 Perspectives

As a built environment specialist, Melissa Mourkas ’94 analyses the impact of energy plants on cultural landscapes.

14 Class of 2016

Highlights from the first year with two cohorts of students.

16 Portfolio

Students’ projects focus on revitalization, accessibility, climate change resilience, and more.

22 Conway Currents

News of and from the school.

26 Annual Report

A summary of operations for the 2016 fiscal year.

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F ROM T H E DIR E C TO R S

Taking Our Responsibility to Heart

“Conway believes that professionals in design and planning fields have a responsibility to address many of the challenges we face, especially climate change.”

Directors Bruce, Dave, and Ken

The year 2017 promises to be one of

California, Melissa Mourkas ’94 analyzes

history’s most significant years. We are

the impact of energy plant proposals on

facing unprecedented challenges that

local cultural resources as new regula-

need to be addressed in policy, law,

tions are introduced in energy generation,

planning, and design.

(p. 10), and Willa Caughey ’14 designs

for the health of inner-city communities

As this issue of con’text demonstrates,

Conway believes that professionals in

and the environment in the city of San

design and planning fields have a respon-

Mateo (p. 3). The scope of 2016 student

sibility to address many of the challenges

projects (pp. 16–21) further demonstrates

we face, especially climate change.

how communities are faced with com-

Commencement speaker Claudia J. Ford

plex socio-economic and environmental

challenged the class of 2016 to “go for-

challenges—and how our students work to

ward and repair the world” (see p. 11). Her

design appropriate solutions.

call to action underscores our resolve to

engage in an inclusive conversation about

to further consider what we can do to

what needs repair; to bring climate issues

improve our own homes, to influence

into each student project; and to reduce

planning for our communities, and to

the carbon footprint of the school.

help shape the policies of our states and

nation. As designers and planners with

Our community of alums takes these

This issue should help inspire us all

issues to heart, and works alongside us

an understanding of how to adapt to

at the innovative edges of design and

the changing climate and how to create

planning fields. They apply the “Conway

resilient communities, we each have the

approach”—conducting rigorous site anal-

profound responsibility to be at the fore-

yses while considering socio-economic

front of these issues.

context and regional climate change

impacts—to an impressively wide range of

must be attentive to the changing

Like our alums, the Conway School

places and professions. The Massachusetts

demands for ecologically oriented design

Port Authority manages a complicated

and planning professionals, and regularly

built environments that require cut-

assess what we do and how we function.

ting-edge technologies. There, Robbin

As you may know, the school is drafting

Peach ’78 has implemented changes as

an updated strategic plan for our campus,

the founding resiliency program manager

governance, and curriculum. We genuinely

(p. 4). In the remote rural community

welcome your advice on these and other

of Mastatal, Costa Rica, Gioia Kuss ’99

topics. Together, we are taking seriously

used her skills as David Bird International

the responsibility of shaping the future of

Service Fellow to identify valuable

our school, of our communities, and of the

and fragile natural resources (p. 8). In

ecological design field. Join us!

BRUCE STEDMAN

DAVE NORDSTROM

KEN BYRNE

Executive Director

Finance Director

Academic Director

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Perspectives

Report from a Recent Conway Graduate

Conway Meets Copenhagen

BY W IL L A C AU GH EY ’14, M LA

Walking out of the examination room after presenting my master’s thesis in September 2016, I was greeted by a warm cohort of friends popping champagne and placing plant trophies in my hands. That day was full of celebration, giving way to a period of reflection and gratitude—for my time at the University of Copenhagen, where I received a master of landscape architecture, and for the path that led me there.

I went to Conway to follow a passion, to pursue the education I wished I could find Willa Caughey in a conventional landscape architecture program. I knew I would, in all likelihood, continue on to pursue an MLA, but I wanted the Conway experience to inform what followed. A confluence of factors led me to study in Denmark.

My first studio revealed an alarming clash between my professor’s abstract treatment of projects, and Conway’s commitment to analysis-based, real-world design solutions. I found myself struggling to communicate effectively and to figure out how the design identity I forged at Conway fit in here. Only when I had to explain to my confused classmates what a watershed was, did I begin to understand more tangibly the value of the Conway degree. I worked to integrate the best from each of my rich design educations, and this ultimately led me to evidence-based health design.

Evidence-based health design uses the best available research, along with institutional and user-based knowledge, to design for maximum health benefits and quality of life for users. In my thesis, I merge health design with ecological

design. My thesis, The Phoenix Garden, presents a vision for an evidence-based therapeutic garden for incarcerated youth in San Mateo County, California.

Designed for a largely Latino, socioeconomically disadvantaged population with a disproportionate share of psychiatric disorders, the garden uses naturalistic spaces to address psychiatric conditions and learning differences and restores valuable habitat.

To a Conway School graduate in relentless pursuit of the so what? an evidence-based approach may sound obvious. But in the field of landscape architecture, where poetic language and sun-drenched visualizations can be a substitute for substance, it has profound implications. Incorporating qualitative and quantitative evidence from a defined group of users—be they individuals with dementia or those in need of physical activity and stress reduction—increases the ability for landscapes to support and enhance the health and well-being of our population, and elevates the field of landscape design.

From my thesis: An outdoor amphitheater, designed for youth in San Mateo, California, creates a flexible gathering, recreational, and contemplative space.

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Implementing

Resilient Systems

Anticipating the Impacts of Climate Change

BY R O BB I N PEACH ’78

P

ost-tropical cyclone Hermine headed north from North Carolina in September 2016 and stalled off the coast of New England. My days became filled with anxiety. As program manager of resiliency for the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), I was responsible for ensuring that Logan International Airport and the Port of Boston’s critical assets were resilient to flooding and other disruptive forces. Over the previous three years, since the program at Massport was created, staff and consultants had run predictive flood modeling, identified the most essential assets for Massport’s daily function, and installed both permanent and temporary flood barriers to protect them.

The parking lot at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts has succumbed to storm surges over the years. The town plans to rebuild it 125 feet farther from the beach in 2018, employing what the National Park Service has called “managed retreat” from increasingly fragile coastlines.

PHOTO: RACHEL LINDSAY ’15

“Nowhere in New England are natural threats more apparent than in coastal urban environments.”

By 2016, we had comprehensive operational flood plans in place that outlined the details for what had to be done, by whom, and when, in the event of a significant flood. We had practiced interdepartmental tabletop exercises that were co-facilitated with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to prepare for a hypothetical storm. We were watching and communicating continuously about the track of Hermine. Yet even with all this preparation behind us, there was good reason to be concerned.

Massport’s world-transportation network, including three airports and significant maritime properties in the port of Boston, connects New England to the world and promotes the regional economy through its operations. Logan International airport alone provides $13.3 billion annually to the New England economy. Port security, however, is increasingly threatened by human-made events and climate-induced changes

in the environment, and nowhere in New England are natural threats more apparent than in coastal urban environments. Surrounded on three sides by water in Boston Harbor, Logan International Airport and Massport’s maritime assets are extremely vulnerable to a climate-induced increase in storms, flooding, storm surge, and sea level rise.

The vulnerability of Massport’s property is further increased by the fact that much of it lies on infilled land that was once open harbor. In Boston, most infilled land is more vulnerable because it is both closer to the water and the infilled elevations are not adequately high to accommodate future sea level rise and increased storm surge.

Consequently, during a storm surge and sea level rise, the infilled land actually acts as a buffer to the higher land behind it! The highly vulnerable location of Massport’s property contributed to its becoming one of the first airports in the nation to

Design approaches to increasing the resiliency of our communities differ widely in technological complexity. Left: The temporary marine-grade laminate panels around the police building at Massport snap together and are engineered so that the floodwater pressure consolidates and strengthens the system. They can be deployed quickly before a pending storm—eight people can assemble 150 linear feet of four-foot panels in less than an hour. Right: In contrast, a man in a coastal community, photographed by Gioia Kuss ’99 while on her David Bird Service Fellowship in Mastatal, Costa Rica (see p. 8), protects his house with sandbags and a living barrier of coconut palms and sea-almond trees. PHOTO, LEFT: MASSPORT; PHOTO, RIGHT: GIOIA KUSS ’99

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devote its own funds to implementing a comprehensive climate resiliency program. For Massport, “resilient” means able to get back to business as usual as quickly as possible after a disruptive event, and limiting any failures to prevent them from rippling across functions. Resiliency, sustainability, and emergency response are critical cross-cutting initiatives, but not interchangeable terminology.

For planners and designers of the built environment, climate change will increasingly be a factor in the design-build equation. Boston’s relative sea level has risen 11.8 inches since 1900 (the peak of infill development in the city), and sea levels are predicted to continue to rise three to six feet more by 2100. In the northeast, more than a 21 percent increase in precipitation is expected.

Extended, extreme temperatures will likely increase in frequency and intensity. Across the region, aging infrastructure, eroding coastal protection, and our existing energy and transportation systems are already stressed. Improving the resiliency of these infrastructural elements will tax our collective imagination, but will also present opportunities for visionary design and planning.

The strategic thinking and planning skills honed at Conway are necessary components in a design process that encompasses both how we address climate challenges, and what we design for the built environment.

We must convene stakeholders to strengthen our understanding of threats and vulnerabilities, conduct robust research and share knowledge, and plan collaboratively and interdependently while we work toward reinforcing our existing infrastructure and incorporating resiliency into the design approach for future developments.

Since the Massport resiliency program’s initiation in 2014, sound scientific research and principles have informed changes in our operations and policies, leveraging investments of over nine million dollars in analysis and capital improvements. Of those funds, approximately 20 percent were spent on studies, planning, and predictive modeling; another

Boston was founded in 1630 on a narrow peninsula of 487 acres.

PHOTO: RAREMAPS.COM

10 percent were spent on temporary flood barriers; and the remainder on permanent infrastructure improvements. The improvements included installing custom flood-proof doors, upgrading emergency power systems, and installing water level sensors. Our goals are to improve the resiliency of the overall infrastructure and operations, increase our ability to restore operations during and after disruptive events in a safe and economically viable time frame, and to create robust feedback loops that inform new solutions as conditions change. These are also sound planning and design principles for any land-use or capital project.

Investing in making our infrastructure more resilient should come in tandem with mitigating the causes by reducing greenhouse gasses emitted by our infrastructure, when possible. In 2001, Massport began a 15-year initiative to keep nitrogen oxide emissions at Logan airport at or below levels recorded in 1999. Logan airport now has two LEED-certified buildings (one was the first LEED-certified airline

6 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

terminal in the world), and Massport operates a fleet of compressed natural gas shuttle buses, which reached their 12-millionth clean air mile in 2008. As part of its commitment to sustainable building practices, Massport recently repaved a runway with “warm-mix” asphalt, saving 200,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide, and 26.4 billion BTUs over conventional paving practices.

Given the results of the recent federal election, climate change mitigation may not be robustly addressed on a national scale in the near future. This makes our collective work on preparing ourselves to be climate resilient even more necessary.

Massport has had the luxury of having both the resources and political will to conduct extensive studies and implement capital improvements, but this work can be done at any scale. Green infrastructure such as green roofs, urban forests, and water conservation technologies like rainwater harvesting systems can be implemented at individual and community sites or at a regional scale.

change and other national security threats. The reports, resources, and design guidelines we publically share on Massport’s website are designed to encourage broad adoption of the strategies we employ, and to encourage others to ask the right questions that lead to site-specific solutions. What are the most relevant projected climate threats? How can we best address them in an adaptive, sustainable, and economically feasible manner? By answering these questions in the best way possible in our work, we will help to build resilient, healthy, sustainable communities—which is not only a wonderful aspiration, but also a critical and pressing need.

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Boston Harbor

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By 1880, infill development had more than doubled the area of the city. Today, the city occupies 57,360 acres of original, inland, and infilled land. A large portion of Massport’s property is built on the infilled areas, and so increases its vulnerability to sea level rise. IMAGE: THE CONWAY SCHOOL; DATA FROM BOSTON PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY GIS AND GOOGLE EARTH

Projected extreme temperatures and “urban heat islands” due to climate change can be addressed through cooling from increased tree canopy and open, permeable space. Better management of storm-water run-off, storm-surge protection, and flood prevention can be managed with green spaces, wetlands, permeable surfaces, and berms. Many of these design elements are adaptive, appropriate for projects with fewer financial resources and in other parts of the world, and can be customized to serve dual purposes—such as a green park that absorbs excess precipitation while also providing a space for passive recreation.

Fortunately, most major storms to hit Boston Harbor in the last decade have happened during a low tide cycle.

If Hurricane Sandy had hit Boston at high tide, significant New Yorkstyle flooding would have occurred.

Luckily for us, Hermine was not the superstorm we feared, and subsequent storms, such as the recent Hurricane

Robbin E. Peach ’78 received a graduate certificate in 1978 and, in 1985, a master’s degree from the Conway School. She also has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She worked at Massport as the founding resiliency program manager from 2014 to January, 2017.

She has served on Conway’s board of trustees, has lectured at the school, and remains an ardent Conway fan.

Matthew, have missed us altogether.

Nationwide, Hermine caused three deaths, inflicted widespread property damage, and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people from Florida to Virginia, inflicting total economic damages close to $1 billion.

Access Massport’s resiliency resources However, at massport.com damage in New England was minimal, affecting mainly Eastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod with downed trees, branches, power lines, and light poles.

We cannot rely on chance low tides to protect us in the future.

Our opportunity to have a positive impact lies in the broad application of resiliency planning across scales and design fields. Through its resiliency program, Massport hopes to model a planning process that both heightens our collective overall security and influences the global discourse on resiliency in the face of climate

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Chepo, a local farmer and employee at Rancho Mastatal, harvests beans on a slope recently deforested for a new palm oil plantation. He planted between the rows of the newly established orchard. This helps minimize runoff and increases nitrogen fixing for the plantation, and Chepo can use or sell his crop.

Bird Fellow Report

What We Have To Lose: Erosion in Rural Costa Rica STO RY A N D PH OTO GRAP H S BY GIO IA KUSS ’ 99

Costa Rica: The name conjures images of rich dense vegetation spilling down hills to pristine See full-color beaches, but these landscapes are threatened. photographs at csld.edu With nearly a thousand miles of coastline, Costa /2017/ Rica faces loss of land from rising ocean levels.

03/bird Inland, where the volcanic spine of the nation spills down toward the coasts, land is also being lost. These steep areas, with naturally occurring dense tropical rainforests, harbor agrarian communities and their land-use patterns of development, livestock grazing, and crop production.

I was fortunate to be chosen as Conway’s 2016 David Bird International Service Fellow and to experience the hospitality of a country that is the size of Vermont and New Hampshire put together. My goals were to immerse myself in the culture and community of my project site, create a management plan for a 100-acre privately-owned property, and lend my professional photography skills to document the landscape and community.

The property, bordered by the area’s main river, Rio Chires, abuts a private wildlife refuge, owned by the sustainability education center, Rancho Mastatal, that borders La Cangreja National Park.

A corner of the site lies a stone’s throw from Mastatal, a town of 100 residents within the capital city’s province, and yet two and a half hours from the capital and major tourist attractions.

4

I witnessed rampant erosion on the steep terrain of Mastatal, particularly where livestock trample the vegetation that stabilizes the soil, and along the roads and built environment where runoff channels. The anticipated increase in storm intensity, variability, and intermittent droughts from climate change will result in a higher rate of soil erosion, further affecting the region’s ability to maintain healthy agricultural systems as well as water quality and quantity.

The extreme soil erosion I witnessed comes from years of road building, logging, and cattle grazing, all done without implementing measures to limit displacement of soil due to the impact of pelting rains and overland flow. Installing water bars, regrading roads, planting on contour, and limiting access of cattle to waterways and steeply sloped areas would reduce the loss of soil, increase groundwater retention, and help regenerate biodiverse tropical ecosystems.

Perhaps the least publicized problem of climate change is the unmitigated loss of our most underrated natural resource— soil. If we hope to feed the planet, maintain sources of clean drinking water, and support healthy ecosystems in any biome, soil conservation must become the vernacular of all citizens in the 21st century.

8 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

1

2

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4 1. Abundant in the rain forest, trees with shallow roots such as Ficus spp. take advantage of surface-level nutrients and develop buttresses for stabilization. 2. Cows descend deep in the forest to the stream to stay cool and hydrate.

Their movement increases turbidity through defecation, disruption of the streambed, and stirring particles already suspended from upland erosion. 3. Grazing cattle wear down paths that become rivulets during downpours.

Finding its way downhill, the water gains speed and exposes the roots of vegetation. The water rises and breaches the downside edge, falling to the next level in cascading mudflows. 4.

Gioia Kuss at the Rio Chires. 5. Thirty miles away, Playa Esterillo Oeste is one of the beaches closest to Mastatal. Most local Costa Ricans enjoy the beaches and appreciate that the first 50 meters above the high-tide line are reserved solely for public access. 6. La Cangreja Mountain and National Park, seen from a gently sloping pasture. Jorge Salazar Garcia, who runs a local chocolate business, leads a tree identification tour—there are approximately 2,000 tree species in Costa Rica.

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Perspectives From the Energy Field

At the Intersection of Energy Generation and Cultural Landscapes M E L ISSA M O U RKAS ’9 4

Melissa at the 1950s era Mandalay Generating Station (MGS) in Oxnard, California. MGS is one of many post-war coastal power plants in California being replaced with newer, more efficient power plants that do not use ocean water for cooling purposes.

When I tell people that the focus of my work is the siting of power plants, I’m sure their first thought is an environmental review of air quality, flora, and fauna, but my work in the Siting, Transmission and Environmental Protection Office of the California Energy Commission is much more. As a “built environment” specialist, I apply my skills as an architectural and landscape historian to analyze the potential for impacts on cultural resources from these proposed power plant applications.

In the case of a solar power project, staff members identified a cultural landscape that extended out 15 miles from a proposed project site near Desert Center, California. The project had the potential for significant, immitigable impacts on tribal cultural resources within that landscape, even though the impacts to the built environment were all less than significant. Since then, the thinking has evolved that the tribal cultural landscape in that region is even larger. This is just one instance where the cultural resources unit at the Energy Commission has raised the level of awareness of cultural landscapes.

Last year, we took on a planning project that built a cultural resources sensitivity model for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan area (DRECP). The DRECP encompasses 22.6 million acres of desert regions and adjacent lands in seven counties within California. The intent of the project was to identify those areas that are more suitable for development and less likely to disrupt cultural resources of all kinds. The Energy Commission awarded our cultural resources unit and our GIS support team a special achievement certificate for the project.

10 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

Although desert environments have figured largely in our siting reviews, we have also begun analyzing applications in the coastal regions of California, as all power plants using ocean water for cooling water must eliminate ocean water intake by 2020 for biological environmental reasons. Throughout the state, we are analyzing a smattering of re-power proposals to switch sources from old gas plants to more modern “peaker” plants, which ramp up and supply power to the grid quickly, supporting the variability of renewable power sources. California has a goal of 50 percent renewable energy sources by 2030.

When I consider my year at Conway, with its emphasis on written and spoken communication skills, I realize these core competencies inform my work on a daily basis. During my studies at Conway I also honed my ability to read the landscape for clues that reveal the evolution into its present form. You never know where a Conway education might take you.

The Eagle Mountain Railroad tracks are an example of a built-environment historical resource that was included in the DRECP cultural resources sensitivity model.

Be Curious. Create Masterpieces.

Tell Stories.

Imagining, designing, and repairing the world 2 016 COM ME N C E ME NT S P E E C H

BY C L AU D IA J. FO RD

The Conway School was honored to have had Claudia J. Ford, PhD, interdisciplinary scholar and faculty member at Rhode Island School of Design, address the class of 2016 at commencement. Claudia’s research interests include historical ethnobotany, traditional ecological and indigenous knowledge, environmental history, women’s health history, sustainable agriculture, and ecological resilience. A midwife, artist, writer, and poet, Claudia’s extensive time living abroad has inspired an interest in the relationship between humans and nature and in the enhancement of environmental care and awareness for governments, corporations, institutions, communities, and individuals.

I begin by acknowledging the original keepers of the place where we celebrate this occasion, the Pocumtuck and Mohegan peoples who cared for this land for many millennia before we arrived. I thank them for their stewardship of this land. I acknowledge their wisdom as a model for our current environmental decision-making.

As a lover of stories, I will start with a short one:

There was once a sage who would walk the streets shouting at the people to change their ways. At first some of them listened. But over time, they stopped listening and returned to their old lives and wasteful ways. The sage continued to walk the streets and shout.

One day a small boy approached the sage. “Do you not know that they do not listen to you?” the boy asked.

“Yes, I know,” replied the sage. “Then why do you keep shouting?” “If I still shout,” answered the sage, “it is no longer to change them—it is so they do not change me.”

The members of the class of 2016 embody the hopes, dreams, and vision of the founders of the Conway School, who were fired up by their innovative model of planning, design, and management that equally respects nature and humanity.

This vision of ecological and social sustainability became and remains the mission for the Conway School. Let us not forget, however, that the idea of respect for the land, the idea of land sovereignty that the indigenous stewards of this land based their way of life on, is yet quite radical. We are privileged to experience a radical education in designing a future for all

PHOTO: AMY NYMAN ’13

communities, natural and human; one which defines itself by learning to listen, respect, and respond to the needs of both people and nature.

We are designing and imagining a better future and yet, two weeks ago, we witnessed the joy-filled lives of 300 mostly Latinx, gender queer, young people interrupted in a heinous, brutal fashion at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, as they celebrated their identity, their lives, and their love for themselves and each other. We mourn, and we weep over the individual

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/ G R A D UAT I O N /

stories of each of the victims. We are traumatized and broken hearted—and we are reminded, yet again, that we live in a society that harbors racism, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, violence, and hate in our public discourse. Nothing about this is okay.

In the shadow of these tragedies, we are forced to ask ourselves some difficult questions: What is our obligation and responsibility to the creation of a more just world? What actions can we take personally and within our communities to dispel hatred and nurture hope? We can start by joining the change-makers in decisive action that recognizes the important cultural shifts in this moment, in this country. Welcome this change, embrace it, chase away any fear of it, and be curious about it. Chip Blake, chief editor of Orion Magazine, reminds us, “People used to believe that environmental issues could be held separate from issues of justice, race, gender, sexual orientation,

equity, and peace. Those days are finally (and thankfully) over, but it will take a great deal of imagination to understand how to continue to bring all of these conversations under one roof.”

We can deeply engage our society’s shifts in social consciousness and demographics by tending to and nurturing diversity. Who do we discuss in our practices, whose work do we promote, use, and talk about? If there are people whose differences of age, race, nationality, religion, gender, class, or ability have historically kept them from having a seat at the table, it is up to us to open the door, and by listening, let them know they are welcome. Listening is a fundamental act of social justice. We need to make reaching out and deep listening an integral part of our personal and professional practices.

For the task of imagining, designing, and building the future we hope for—to seek the meaning of our lives and com-

mit to the continuous incorporation of diversity, social justice, and hope in our ecologically informed practices—here are three habits that we can cultivate: Be curious. Create masterpieces. Tell stories.

Be curious If you entertain curiosity, you will not be afraid to ask the naïve questions. If you continuously entertain curiosity, you will be fortunate enough to approach every situation with what Buddhists call “beginners mind,” a condition of extraordinary receptivity to creative ideas. Peter Senge, American systems scientist, reminds us that as ecologists, planners, and environmentalists, no one knows these interconnections better or can teach and transmit this interconnectedness with more passion and vibrancy.

Create masterpieces Make everything you do a work of art.

This is not perfection, which is a trap of

Lucy Conley shares some of her work with Claudia J. Ford in the Mill 180 studio before commencement. PHOTO: AMY NYMAN ’13

12 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

/ GRA DUAT I ON /

Clockwise from top left: Faculty member CJ Lammers and Claudia J. Ford at commencement. | Doug Serrill presents a diploma to his classmate Margot Halpin. | Executive Director Bruce Stedman ’78, right, welcomes Ryan Corrigan and his family to the Mill 180 studio. | Mariko McNamara addresses her classmates and a full tent of graduation guests.

PHOTOS: AMY NYMAN ’13.

the ego. Walking on this path means that we are observant, we allow wisdom into our lives, and we have a good relationship with all beings and people. Making everything a masterpiece means that your work is your signature; it is your unique and important contract with the world. Making everything a masterpiece means that you will not neglect the art of conversation and the building of community, the art of relationships with other humans and non-humans.

Tell stories Stories require cognitive complexity and emotional maturity. Stories require critical thinking and openness to innovation and change. Stories are blueprints for

human experience that enable us to face Read Claudia’s complex and intracfull speech at: csld.edu/2016/ table problems with 10/ford/ resolve and perspective, again and again.

Stories are born of observation—of deep listening and deep attention. For any of us who dedicate our lives to a just concern about our collective future, an ability to tell stories is critical to grounding our respect for a shared environment.

Maybe we cannot individually address all of the challenges that face this troubled and beautiful world. But we must keep shouting like the sage, so that we are certain that the fear, hate, and violence of this society do not change

‘

us. As we celebrate your graduation and your success, and the love of your family and friends, we simultaneously embrace the heartache and danger of these times.

I wish for each graduate every opportunity to rise, put on your shoes, and make the world new, individually and together. Go forth, enjoy the accolades which are your earned present, the sense of accomplishment which acknowledges the past that led you to this moment, and your earnest hopes for the future. Go forward and repair the world with your newly found skills in ecological planning and community building.

Go forth from here with a hint of unrest married to a profound sense of peace and joy. Congratulations!

//2017// con’text 13

Class of 2016

Conway’s Forty-Fourth Class

Ten Months, Two Cohorts, and One Commencement Ceremony

BY KAT E C H O LAK IS ’11 AND RACH E L LINDSAY ’ 1 5

The class of 2016 celebrates at their graduation ceremony: standing, left to right, Max Madalinski, Miranda Feldmann, Ryan Corrigan, Grant Kokernak, Susan Schen, Eric DePalo, Margot Halpin, Kelly Corbin, Mike Conover, Armi Macaballug, Doug Serrill, Helmi Hunin, Oliver Osnoss, Breyonne Golding; kneeling, Allison Gramolini, Warren Lee, Max Ehrman-Shapiro, Mariko McNamara, Corrin Meise-Munns, Lucy Conley, Tia Novak, Faren Worthington.

In late August 2015, two groups of students set off on orientation trips—the first field trips of their time at Conway.

For most students, the year is filled with firsts such as a first section drawing, a first ArcGIS™ map, or a first public presentation. The 2016 academic year also marked the first time Conway welcomed two cohorts of students.

Ten students spent most of their time at the Conway campus, and twelve students worked primarily in the studio at Mill 180 in Easthampton. The groups came together for lectures and events, attended each other’s winter and spring presentations, and celebrated their graduation together under a full tent at the Conway campus. Students from

both cohorts contributed the following reflections. In addition to these activities, the groups organized unique events, such as a storytelling evening inspired by The Moth Radio Hour, a redesign of the Mill 180 studio, and a weekly jam session.

Guest Speakers A wide range of professionals from the design, conservation, and agricultural fields travelled to present in Conway and Easthampton. During the spring term, the cohorts gathered together for a daylong workshop with Conway School founder Walt Cudnohufsky and a field trip to Boston with Wendi Goldsmith ’90 to explore stormwater

14 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

facilities at different scales. Both groups attended lectures by Edwina von Gal and Molly Burhans ’15. Guest speakers also interacted with students virtually: Travis Beck, author of Principles for Ecological Landscape Design, Skyped with the Mill cohort from his office at the Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware.

Mike Conover enjoyed the two sessions led by Peter Jensen, a trail designer who specializes in creating accessible trails. He recalls, “The handson experience of the trail mapping exercise was really effective at putting knowledge into practice.” His classmate, Allison Gramolini, also appreciated learning from Peter’s experience running an independent trail design

/ CLASS OF 2 01 6 /

1. Al Averill, Massachusetts State Soil Scientist, digs deep into the study of soil structure. PHOTO: HELMI HUNIN 2. Allison Gramolini and Max Ehrman-Shapiro take a break from the studio to enjoy the spring weather and work on some harmonizing. PHOTO: SUSAN SCHEN 3. Site-engineering professor Rachel Loeffler leads a hands-on study of ADA hardscaping criteria. PHOTO: KATE CHOLAKIS 4. Students don hard hats at the Hitchcock Center’s almost-complete living building.

PHOTO: MIRANDA FELDMAN

2

1

firm. She explains, “It was great to see an example of someone who has created a successful business in a small, niche design-build field.”

Eric Toensmeier presented ideas from his recently published book, The Carbon Farming Solution, suggesting how regenerative agricultural practices can address both food security and contribute to climate change mitigation.

Max Madalinski reflects, “Thinking about farming to capture and sequester carbon intentionally is a fascinating and powerful concept for me, and it gave me a lot of food for thought when working on my third Conway project, a farm located within the area of projected 6.6foot sea-level rise.”

Field Trips From digging in the dirt to donning hard hats or snowshoes, every field trip starts in unfamiliar territory. The variety of places visited this year ranged from the new living building for the Hitchcock Center for the Environment at Hampshire College to the oldest cottonwood tree identified along the Connecticut River. Near the end of the year, the students toured the construction at Pulaski Park in Northampton with Peter and Lauren Stimson of Stephen Stimson Associates. They met multiple contractors and learned about construction management while studying hardscape details.

3

“We had so many wonderful fieldwork experiences this past year—digging holes in the rain on the Montague Plain, exploring a winter floodplain forest in Hadley, animal tracking at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary—but a real standout was our last trip with Glenn Motzkin to Hawley Bog. This beautiful and unique living classroom was a perfect example of what we had been learning about all year: fragile communities can be found in harsh environments, but it is often human activity that puts these areas at risk,” reflects Miranda Feldmann.

Max Madalinski agrees, “I remember the feeling of walking along the rickety boardwalk with marsh marigold, myrica, and leatherleaf lining either side, the vegetation getting thinner as the landscape slowly transitioned into peat bog and became dominated by the pitcher plants, sundew, and teeny tiny laurel. We all took a good rest in the sun after Glenn finished with his last and (typically) awesome field class. What a great trip!”

Presentations The curriculum demands that students refine their communication skills, and weekly presentations can be challenging. Mike Conover reflects, “Communicating information effectively through text, graphics, and oral presentation is essential for people to understand the importance and benefits

4

of ecological design. My presentation skills improved dramatically.”

Lucy Conley concurs, “Presentations were very difficult for me at first and it was gratifying to get better as the year went on. Listening to presentations was also valuable. Everyone came up with such amazing ways to get information across.” Eric DePalo and Breyonne Golding tackled a green-street design for a challenging intersection in Springfield, Massachusetts for their winter project, Greening the X (see p. 21). They reminded us, while throwing out puns and answering their own rhetorical questions in unison during their engaging winter presentation, that humor can be one of those ways.

Each of the 22 members of the class of 2016 gave one final presentation during the commencement ceremony, as they presented a diploma and congratulatory hug to one of their classmates. After each graduate had received a round of applause, Eric DePalo and Doug Serrill surprised the group with one more presentation, a list of questions inspired by their Conway experience: “Is it possible to recreate the ecosystems of the past? Is it possible for a parking lot to be ecological? How is Walt Cudnohufsky so cool? What is ecological design, anyway?” With this kind of dedication to asking the right questions, and the skills to find and communicate the answers, the class of 2016 is sure to go far.

//2017// con’text 15

Portfolio

Students’ Projects: 2015–2016

Revitalizing Our Communities With the opening of its urban campus in a former mill building, the Conway School plays an active roll in a growing movement to revitalize former industrial areas. Several students’ projects focused on similar efforts to bring new uses to historic areas. From envisioning the role of landscape in the Wampanoag tribe’s cultural revitalization on Martha’s Vineyard to enhancing the green infrastructure at the Mill 180 building in Easthampton, students applied ecological design solutions to encourage economically, culturally, and ecologically vibrant communities.

REINHABITING INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

REVIVING THE MILL RIVER

E AST H A M P TON, M ASSAC H U S ETTS

MI LL R I VER TOWN S, MASSAC HU SET TS

Mill 180, the home of the new Conway School campus, is a converted 19th

The Mill River Greenway Initiative, a volun-

century mill with mixed residential, educational, and commercial uses. The

teer organization dedicated to restoring the

building houses several locally owned businesses, and owner Mike Michon

Mill River’s ecosystems, preserving its cultural

was recently awarded a 2.7 million dollar MassWorks grant to improve

heritage, and designing a recreational and

on-site parking and connect to the neighboring Manhan Rail Trail. For proj-

educational greenway around the river, hired a

ect teammates Mike Conover and Max Ehrman-Shapiro, the revitalization

student team to develop a systematic pro-

of Mill 180’s historical architecture included updating antiquated infrastruc-

cess of identifying potential greenway sites

ture as well as encouraging sustainable patterns of use. Envisioning a green

along the river. Prepared by Margot Halpin

roof as an opportunity to harness solar energy, rainwater, and the cli-

and Armi Macaballug, the resulting document

mate-mitigating effects of vegetation while also providing attractive social

establishes a variety of assesment criteria and

space, their final design contributes to the continued economic and cultural

decision-making methodologies for identifying

revitalization of the old mill building.

connections to the Mill River’s industrial past and ecological heritage.

New Life for an Old Roof A design alternative for a green roof at Mill 180 improves energy efficiency of the building while also providing attractive and educational social business spaces.

Green roofs cool building and increase lifespan 2–3x.

Green walls cool parking spaces

REVISIONING AQUINNAH CIRCLE AQUI N N A H, MASSACHUSETTS Solar panels offset energy costs with ~170,000 kWh Green roofs cool panels and increase efficiency

Members of the Wampanoag Tribe are leading a cultural revival. In January 2016, they and the Town of Aquinnah established the Aquinnah Cultural and Historic District, or “Aquinnah Circle,” which hosts more than 100,000 tourists each year. To accomodate this large influx of visitors, the town and tribe worked with Ryan Corrigan and Mariko McNamara to provide a

Permeable pavement allows water infiltration, reducing runoff.

Rainwater is stored in a cistern and used for toilets and irrigation.

vision for the economic development of the tribe’s struggling storefronts while maintaining the rich cultural, historic, and scenic elements of the tribal homeland. In a visioning document

Real projects for real clients form the core of Conway’s intensive ten-month curriculum. In the fall, each student is assigned an individual project for a residential or small municipal site. Teams in the winter tackle larger land planning projects at a regional or town-wide scale. The spring team projects focus on an intermediate and more detailed community scale. As often happens, common themes emerge which a number of projects explore. Find more student projects online at: csld.edu/real-projects.

16 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

containing several design alternatives, Ryan and Mariko explored possible alterations in building placement, gathering space, and circulation patterns within Aquinnah Circle.

/ PORT F OL I O /

RECAPTURING LINCOLN’S SENSE OF PLACE L IN CO L N , M ASSAC H U S ETTS

With nearly twice the amount of open space of neighboring

Lincoln Station, a mixed-use mall at the center of South Lincoln.

towns within the metropolitan Boston area, Lincoln prides itself

Incorporating Complete Streets techniques, place-making the-

on its conservation ethic. However, South Lincoln, Lincoln’s urban

ory, and green infrastructure, their planning recommendations

commercial center, stands in stark contrast with the town’s rural

include emphasizing a connection with the town’s rural aesthetic,

character. Desiring a greener, livelier, more walkable downtown,

reprogramming the mall’s businesses to cater to the town’s social

the Lincoln Planning Department hired Conway School team

needs, and strengthening connections to local cultural and recre-

Margot Halpin and Corrin Meise-Munns for a site redesign of

ational attractions.

24'

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One Grant Street Framingham, MA 01701-9005 508.903.2000

18'

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THE MALL AT LINCOLN CENTER

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THE M LINCOLN

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Site Constraints and Opportunities A solid understanding of the site’s constraints and assets informed the recommendations for the Lincoln Station redesign.

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RECONNECTING TO THE RIVER M ID D L E TOW N , CO NNE CTIC U T

The Connecticut River, which once established Middletown’s prosperity, is now largely hidden from sight. Following a 2014 placemaking report by the Project for Public Spaces, the Garden Club of Middletown consulted with Ryan Corrigan, Breyonne Golding, and Tia Novak to revive Harbor Park, a critically underused public space located between Route 9 and the Connecticut River. The student team developed a design that both rejuvenates the city’s cultural connection to the river and revitalizes the shoreline’s lost floodplain ecology, providing a resilient solution to balance the citizens’ desire for waterfront recreation and the increasing need for floodwater mitigation.

Two Views of the Restored Cove In the final plan for Harbor Park, a perforated bridge provides educational and recreational access to the restored cove and floodplan ecosystem.

Route 9 Embankment

Fishing Area

Restored Cove and Bridge

Open Lawn and Shade Trees

//2017// con’text 17

30

1270070

0703D-C MAY 22,

/ PORTFOLIO /

Ensuring Accessibility Accessibility—whether physical, cultural, or economic—is a social justice issue. Everyone can benefit from access to open space, which offers opportunities for recreation, passive and active education, and increased well-being for community members. This year, Conway students focused on improving users’ access to a variety of outdoor experiences. Their projects included supporting the ability of a nonprofit farm to provide therapeutic services, enhancing community access to open space within urban centers, and encouraging responsible and respectful uses of fragile ecosystems.

Walk in the Park

Country Pockets

Photosythesis

AGING IN COMMUNITY C H E ST E R F IE LD, M ASSACH U S ETTS

Following a feasibility study by the Conway School in 2013, the

with continued access to the town’s culture and community. The

Senior Housing Committee (SHC) of Chesterfield is moving

student team presented three design alternatives responding to

forward with the planning of a senior housing facility. Students

the seniors’ desires for accessible trails through the site’s sur-

Grant Kokernak and Oliver Osnoss, worked with the SHC’s goal

rounding woods; common space for socializing; and community

of creating a housing facility that allows seniors to age in place

gardens reflecting the town’s agricultural heritage.

Riding Arena

AN URBAN RETREAT Plaza Market Circle

HA RTFOR D, CON N ECTI CUT

Located in the 694-acre, Olmsted-designed Keney Park, Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. (EHI) operates Connecticut’s only urban equine center. Hartford native Breyonne Golding worked with EHI to design a safe, functional space to house equestrian activities and other community programming for inner-city youth. The project’s final design explored solutions for safety hazards such

Food Forest Gardens

as flooding and poor security lighting. It also introduced a variety of new uses. A proposed outdoor riding arena offers space not only for jump courses and horse shows, but also for non-equestrian community events. A new garden area covers a depaved gathering area with a plant palette inspired by the native habitats within

A Garden in the Park A food forest and pollinator garden offer the chance for urban dwellers to get their hands dirty while learning about the value of the urban habitat Keney Park provides.

18 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

Keney Park. An adjacent food forest incorporates therapeutic gardening into the many services EHI can provide for the local community.

/ PORT F OL I O /

Environmental Justice Populations, Urban Density, and Access to Open Space The concentration of impervious surfaces, shown in this GIS map (right) of the subbasins of the Housatonic River, indicate the inner-city populations, which are largely disconnected from the conservation areas in Pittsfield.

HEALING THROUGH STEWARDSHIP M O N T E R E Y, M ASSAC H U S ETTS

At Gould Farm, human health is intricately linked with environmental stewardship. One of the nation’s oldest residential therapeutic communities, the farm provides guests in need of psychological rehabilitation access to the meaningful work of sustainable forestry and agriculture. To help Gould Farm establish a vision for protecting the farm’s scenic and healing beauty over time, Faren Worthington and Grant Kokernak developed recommendations for reclaiming an unsightly and potentially dangerous gravel pit on site and established criteria and suitable locations for siting a

Legend

forever-wild conservation restriction on the farm’s property.

River or Stream

The final document is a land-use plan to keep this healing

Lake or Pond

landscape safe and accessible to its users in perpetuity.

Conservation Areas of Interest Subbasins Canopy Cover Impervious Surface

CUES TO CARE E AST H A M P TON, M ASSACH U S ETTS

GREEN SENSE

Within the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary’s regionally

PI TTSFI ELD, MASSACHUSETTS

rare floodplain ecosystems and native grasslands, the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s staff are encounter-

The City of Pittsfield is in the midst of an economic and cultural

ing the destructive remnants of visitors’ trash dumping,

revitalization, and it has recognized the need for a conserva-

partying, off-leash dogs, and off-road vehicle use. Oliver

tion area management plan to safeguard its sense of place as a

Osnoss and Max Ehrmin-Shapiro developed recommenda-

“city in the country.” Commissioned by Pittsfield’s Conservation

tions toward establishing a culture of stewardship among

Commission, students Miranda Feldmann and Corrin Meise-Munns

Arcadia’s visitors and neighbors and developing cues to

developed recommendations for the holistic management of

care, a “coordinated program of changes designed to help

specific properties and the city’s conservation areas as a whole.

draw visitors into a healthier relationship with the land.”

The team weighed the advantages of restricting access to vulner-

These include establishing wayfinding signs that promi-

able ecosystems against the emotional, physical, and economic

nently display the society’s rules, providing interpretive

benefits that access to conservation areas can provide to urbanites.

signs that signify an area’s ecological sensitivity, and estab-

To ensure that residents within the city’s dense urban core have

lishing areas of controlled access.

greater access to open space, the team recommended identifying potential partnerships with local nonprofits and environmental edu-

Evolution of the Grasslands to the Forest The figure below illustrates how Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary’s regionally rare native grasslands would be displaced by forest if not maintained.

Grassland

Years

1

Shrubland

5

cation groups who can provide regular programming and transportation to conservation areas within the city.

Pole-Sapling

Young Forest

Mature Forest

20

40

80

//2017// con’text 19

/ PORTFOLIO /

Adapting to Climate Change Communities and ecosystems face a broad range of impacts related to climate change: sea-level rise, increased storm frequency and intensity, and rising temperatures. This year, students introduced a variety of tools to diverse communities to help adapt to this changing reality. Designing urban landscapes that capture and treat stormwater before it is discharged into rivers and streams; helping educational farms adapt their techniques to a changing climate; and creating resilient landscapes that can withstand flooding and storm surges are a few ways these students’ projects contribute to a more sustainable future.

FARMING INTO THE FUTURE E D G A RTOW N , M ASSACH U S ETTS

What do you get when you mix cows, pigs, 190

Bath House

acres of farmland, a lamb named Argyle, and 2,500 students a year? You get The Farm Institute, an organic farm and educational center on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The farm’s location means that effects of climate change—especially sea level rise and saltwater intrusion into groundwater—are a serious concern. Max Madalinski and Helmi Hunin created a master plan that addressed the client’s desire to expand their educational facilities without increasing their environmental impact. At right,

Nutrient Cycling Water from a well is heated by a solar heating system.

Outgoing greywater provides water and nutrients to nearby tree roots before sinking slowly back into the soil.

their plan for a student bathhouse with a greywater recycling system demonstrates an opportunity to

Aquifer

conserve fresh water and recharge the aquifer.

PLANNING FOR RESILIENCY

HUDSON VALLEY GATEWAY

SO U T H B O R O UGH , M ASSAC H U S ETTS

ASHOKA N , N EW YOR K

The Town of Southborough offers a

The proposed Ashokan Rail Trail will be an 11.5-mile, multi-use trail within the water-

convenient location for commuters

shed of the Ashokan Reservoir, part of the drinking-water system for New York City.

to Boston, so it’s no surprise that

Doug Serrill and Miranda Feldmann worked with the New York City Department

development pressure is high. But

of Environmental Protection to design a parking lot and trail head that uses native

can the town keep growing and

vegetation and permeable pavement to capture and treat 100% of stormwater before

still maintain its natural and cultural

reaching the reservoir. The design takes into account predicted higher precipitation

resources? Allison Gramolini and Helmi

due to climate change and offers recreational visitors a beautiful ADA-accessible

Hunin’s update of the town’s open

connection to the trail.

space and recreation plan addresses this concern by recommending the preservation of additional open spaces to create contiguous wildlife habitat and expand opportunities for trails and outdoor recreation. The plan also aims to improve Southborough’s resiliency by increasing the town’s capacity to absorb stormwater.

The trailhead design includes bioretention areas to filter stormwater.

20 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

/ PORT F OL I O /

A GREEN OASIS ON BOSTON HARBOR B OSTON , MASSACHUSETTS

Bunker Hill Community College, in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood, hosts 14,000 students per semester from over 100 countries. The 33-acre campus is one of the largest open spaces in Charlestown, and has the potential to reduce erosion and runoff into Boston Harbor. However, its proximity to the harbor and low elevation also put it at high flood-risk during ever more frequent hurricanes. Armi Macabullug, Lucy Conley, and Kelly Corbin created A Lack of Outdoor Places A SketchUp model shows the abundance of open space and the dramatic impact additional vegetation could have on student life and the neighborhood.

A MORE FLEXIBLE FARM R U P E RT, V E R M O NT

campus designs with bioretention areas to capture and treat stormwater, plus shady, welcoming spaces for formal and informal use.

Bringing Green into the Urban Matrix A design for an urban streetscape that incorporates bioretention can improve residents’ experience of the landscape and reduce stormwater runoff.

Eric DePalo and Mariko McNamara worked with the Merck Forest and Farmland Center, a 3,100-acre farm and education center in southwestern Vermont, to adapt its mission of innovative and sustainable farming and education to a changing climate. Historically, Merck’s production of maple syrup has been a big part of its agricultural output—a practice that is becoming less viable as sugar maples’ range recedes to the north. The Conway team explored tools such as repurposing the farm’s sap house as a year-round

.

educational space, using earthworks to create cold-climate rice paddies, and building greenhouses to make the farm’s operations more flexible and adaptable as climate becomes less predictable.

R NE

E AV

M

SU

SMALL TOWN, GREEN STREETS W H AT E LY, M ASSACH U S ETTS

Residents of the Historic District of Whately love their community’s beautiful street trees, historic character, and open vistas.

However, the sugar maples lining the main thoroughfare are in declining health as temperatures rise, and increased runoff from the district’s cracked sidewalks threatens the health of critical aquatic habitats. A master plan by Warren Lee and Susan Schen recommends site-specific tree care, stormwater catch basins, and traffic-calming measures to help to make the town more vibrant and walkable while maintaining its historic character.

COMPLETE STREETS IN THE CITY OF FIRSTS SPR I N GFI ELD, MASSACHUSETTS

The impervious urban landscape of Springfield is designed to shuttle stormwater into a system of underground pipes to a treatment plant before being released into the Connecticut River. But in big storms, the stormwater pipes overflow into sewage pipes and discharge contaminated runoff and raw sewage directly into the river. With more frequent and intense storms brought by climate change, combined sewage overflows become an increasing threat to water bodies.

Working with the Springfield Planning Department, Breyonne Golding and Eric DePalo designed a streetscape plan for “The X,” one of Springfield’s busiest and most asphalt-dominated neighborhoods. Their plan implements green infrastructure and pervious surfaces to infiltrate and treat stormwater before it enters the sewer system. It also creates community gathering spaces, introduces gardening opportunities for residents, and reduces the sidewalk’s temperature during hot summer months. By adopting Complete Streets, Springfield

Slowing the Flow Check dams slow the flow of water on steep slopes to allow for infiltration into the surface and prevent erosion.

could become a leader in urban greening—adding one more accolade to its list as the City of Firsts.

//2017// con’text 21

Conway Currents News of and from the School

TRUSTEES UPDATE

The class of 2017 takes in a lecture by Darrel Morrison in the classroom at Mill 180.

NEW FRAMEWORKS FOR COLLABORATION Recent changes to the organization of the school have strengthened the collaborative relationship between the faculty, staff, and board. Bruce Stedman ’78, Dave Nordstrom ’04, (replacing John Baldwin), and Ken Byrne are co-directors for the 2016–2017 academic year. As executive, finance, and academic directors, respectively, they along with faculty Kim Erslev, admissions manager Kate Cholakis ’11, senior administrator Priscilla Novitt ’07, and campus manager Dave Weber ’15 oversee the school’s day-to-day operations. Periodic staff meetings and all-employee meetings extend this collaborative approach to include all employees.

The collaborative model includes two ad-hoc committees. The Communications Working Group, with Priscilla Novitt, Kate Cholakis, con’text manager Rachel Lindsay ’15, and board member Mitch Anthony, shapes the Conway story in all communications. They began in August 2016 by focusing on the new website, blog

content, community newsletters, and this magazine.

A new ten-member Facilities Committee, chaired by Dave Weber, brings participants from the faculty, staff, alums, and board together to look at both the short- and long-term use of the two campuses and settle on a long-term home for the school; they also contribute to a successful strategic planning process, outlined below.

STRATEGIC PLANNING As Conway began its 46th year and entered into its next round of strategic planning, the faculty, staff, and board initiated a series of meetings to develop a strategic plan for the school through 2022. The full process includes the opportunity for alums to participate through discussions and a survey, and a final report in the spring of 2017. As part of the strategic planning process and the requirements for accreditation, the faculty is developing a system for external evaluation of the curriculum. Watch your inbox for updates and announcements on both these planning efforts!

22 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

The board of trustees welcomes four new members: Marianne Jorgensen coordinates Academics for Land Preservation in New England (ALPINE), an emerging network that seeks to explore and expand the role that New England academic institutions play in conserving the natural heritage of the region. Prior to her work with ALPINE, Marianne worked for 16 years in the field of international education, specifically with an eye toward social justice and environmental sustainability.

John O’Keefe is emeritus museum coordinator for Harvard University’s Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, and co-author of New England Forests through Time: Insights from the Harvard Forest Dioramas and Ecological History of Massachusetts Forests. John has worked for over a decade with Conway and served as a critic at numerous student project presentations. He states he has “consistently been impressed with [Conway’s] students and the program,” and he brings to the strategic planning process a deep knowledge of the school.

Theresa Sprague ’08 is president of the Ecological Landscape Alliance, a nonprofit, member-based organization that advocates for environmentally responsible stewardship of land and natural resources. She is also the owner and lead designer of BlueFlax Design LLC and has served at Conway as a critic for students’ project presentations.

Charles Tracy is the national lead of the US National Park Service’s art partnerships, and superintendent of the 215-mile New England National Scenic Trail. He brings to Conway’s board 30 years of experience creating, supporting, and strengthening environmental organizations and alliances.

In his view, Conway’s curriculum is “strongly aligned with the skills that I see as critical to success in working with communities.”

/ CON WAY CURREN TS /

The board also thanks outgoing trustees: former clerks Susan Rosenberg ’95 and Michael Cavanagh ’02, and members Richard C. Andriole, Carol Franklin, Bob Pura, and Dolores Root for their years of dedicated service on the board.

STAFF UPDATE In August 2016, Adrian Dahlin left his position as director of admissions and marketing to pursue a master’s degree at New York University. While at Conway, Adrian spearheaded several creative endeavors: commissioning a professional video about the school for the school’s website, organizing public workshops on entrepreneurship, and encouraging students and staff to use social media technologies and communications. Kate Cholakis ’11, who joined the faculty last year, has taken on the position of admissions manager and continues as a part-time faculty member to teach a core class in ecological design.

A heartfelt thank-you to John Baldwin for lending his business expertise to Conway during the last 18 months as interim finance director. He passes the baton back to Dave Nordstrom ’04, who left in August 2015 to work for the Proteus Fund

after serving as Conway’s accounting manager and administrative director for 11 years.

The school is pleased to have Priscilla Novitt ’07 return as senior administrator and accreditation officer. Her invaluable knowledge of the inner-workings of the school and unfailing willingness to help others is appreciated daily.

STUDENT PROJECT UPDATES During phase two of a US Forestry Service grant through the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, two student teams are developing green stormwater streetscape designs for the cities of Holyoke Send project and Chicopee. The suggestions designs will help to Kristin Thomas at thomas@ inform and guide csld.edu future street and pipe construction projects. Each team will focus on approximately three blocks within each city and will determine locations where green infrastructure elements could be implemented. The cities intend to contract out the final designs to a private firm. The designs from the 2016 green streets project in Springfield are currently in the engineering phase, and the city plans to implement them within the next two years (see p. 21).

m

Hot off the Press Congratulations to faculty member Jono Neiger ’03 on the publication of his new book, The Permaculture Promise, that explains how permaculture can be the key to unlocking a livable future on our planet. Jono asserts that humans can thrive while simultaneously making the planet healthier rather than destroying it. In this book are 22 examples of ways in which permaculture has helped to achieve this goal, brought to life through profiles of the people and communities who are already taking the permaculture path, including an urban dweller who tore up her driveway to create a vegetable garden and a California housing development that dedicates a third of its land to parks, orchards and gardens.

Jono is a founding principal of Regenerative Design Group in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and has taught permaculture courses throughout the eastern US since 1996.

The Permaculture Promise was published in November 2016 by Storey Publishing.

Have you published a book, article or study recently? Are you actively teaching classes at a school or university, or giving public workshops? Send a note to alum liaison Nancy Braxton at braxton@csld.edu so we can help you spread the word.

Members of faculty and staff gathered in December for a strategic planning meeting. Standing, left to right, Rachel Loeffler, Kate Cholakis, Bruce Stedman, John Baldwin, Dave Weber, Dave Nordstrom, Jono Neiger, Glenn Motzkin, CJ Lammers, Ken Byrne, Elaine Williamson, Nancy Braxton, Mollie Babize; kneeling, Priscilla Novitt, Kristin Thomas, Kim Erslev. PHOTO: RACHEL LINDSAY ’15

//2017/ con'text 23

/ CO N WAY C U RRE NTS /

OUR UNDERWRITERS Thank you to the following alums and affiliated companies for their support in underwriting this issue of con’text.

R I C H T ER & CEGA N is recognized for the

highest quality site planning and design, and completing significant projects for downtowns, schools, parks, riverwalks, transportation, housing, and cultural sectors.

We focus on meeting budgets for creative, unique spaces. www.richtercegan.com

B LU EF L AX D ESI G N LLC merges

science with the fine art of landscape design to create beautiful, ecologically sound, sustainable gardens and landscapes that restore ecological function and integrity to the built environment and

STA N T EC provides professional consulting

support the needs of both people and

services for a wide range of environmental

wildlife. www.blueflaxdesign.com

sciences, engineering, architecture, and landscape architecture projects. With over 400 offices in communities worldwide, we always design with community in mind. www.stantec.com

COL L I NS ENTE R PR I S E S , LLC is a

third-generation, private real estate company nationally recognized for owning and developing properties in strategic locations such as urban waterfronts, emerging downtowns, and brownfield sites.

WA LT ER CU DN O HU FSKY ASS OCIAT ES, IN C. is a full service

community planning and landscape architecture firm 27 years young. We work regionally on civic, land, and housing planning as well as institutional and residential master planning using a rigorous design process. www.wcala.com

C L EAV ER D ES I G N ASS O C I AT E S is a

full-service landscape architecture company happy to support Conway. We specialize in residential and winery design, providing individual attention to every detail from conceptual design, design development, and approval submittals to installation. www.cleaverdesign.com

W I LK IN SO N ECO LO GICA L DESIGN

is New England’s premier ecological restoration firm, specializing in challenging and sensitive projects, and dedicated to superior design and management of complex ecological and bioengineering projects, protecting habitat, and enhancing land value. www.wilkinsonecological.com

our commitment to improve people’s lives.

We also thank the following alum-affiliated companies for their support for con’text: Future Lands Design, Genius Loci Design, Lasoff Editorial, Regenerative Design Group, Speaking of Landscapes, and Stedman & Associates. To underwrite or support future issues of con’text, contact Publications Manager Rachel Lindsay

www.greenfieldsavings.com

at lindsay15@csld.edu.

GR EENF I EL D SAV I N G S BA N K puts

improving quality of life in our communities at the heart of everything we do—from protecting customers’ savings and providing the financial resources they need, to supporting local non-profits who share

24 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

A team of students is drafting a citywide urban agricultural plan for the City of Brockton, Massachusetts. The students will focus on assessing the existing agriculture within the city, as well as the potential for additional traditional agriculture and alternative methods such as geoponics, aeroponics, hydroponics and aquaculture. Other current projects include open space and recreation plan updates for the Massachusetts towns of Pembroke and Templeton as well as a master plan for Gould Farm in Monterey, Massachusetts.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS The Conway School is pleased to announce further collaborations with four institutions.

The Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA) is a network of landscape design professionals who advocate for responsible stewardship of land and natural resources in landscaping and horticultural practices. The partnership with ELA includes memberships for students, opportunities for Conway students and alums to present at ELA’s annual conference, and a joint commitment to featuring the work of Conway alums at ELA-sponsored events and in their newsletter. For more information about how to participate, contact Rachel Lindsay at lindsay@csld.edu.

Yestermorrow Design/Build School teaches the arts of design and building as an integrated process. It provides instruction in fundamental skills through 100 hands-on classes and courses each year. Through the partnership, Yestermorrow graduates who have taken a two-week or longer course are invited to apply for a $2,000 scholarship at Conway. In exchange, Conway alums receive a 25 percent discount on a range of two-day to two-week-long Yestermorrow courses and a 10 percent discount on longer courses.

Conway has also renewed formal partnerships with the University of Georgia and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The agreements allow Conway graduates to enter into MLA programs as second-year students. For more information about these partnerships or to suggest other potential affiliations, please contact Kate Cholakis at cholakis@csld.edu.

/ CON WAY CURREN TS /

co nway ’ s fo rt y- FI F TH c l ass : 2017 Left to right, Devan Arnold, Amanda Mackay, Emily Cohen, Øystein Kristiansen, Caitie Dwyer-Huppert, Tim Tensen, Ben Covino, Emma Vautour, Jason Hurd, Addie Halligan, Andrew Kilduff, Coleen Curley, Sam Battaglia, and Ben Rippe

NEWS FROM ALUMS Conway published its first digital alum newsletter in January, with individual updates organized by class, a short list of alum blogs, and thank-yous to all who have volunteered as presentation critics, lecturers, and information session presenters. If you did not receive the newsletter, the school might not have your correct contact information.

Be a Conway class agent! If you graduated Update your in one of the following information at years: ’74, ’76, ’83, ’84, csld.edu/alums/ alum-services ’85, ’86, ’88, ’89, ’92, ’04, please contact alum liaison Nancy Braxton at braxton@csld. edu to become a class agent. Class agents play an active and important role within the larger Conway community. They communicate with classmates and relay information to and from the school. They organize regional social and professional development gatherings among Conway graduates in their areas, and they serve as ambassadors to Conway by attracting new students, projects, and financial supporters. Being a class agent is a fun and engaging way to support Conway!

CONWAY’S FORTY-FIFTH CLASS: 2017 What do Great Barrington, Idaho, Nova Scotia, and Norway have in common?

Those are just a few of the places that members of the class of 2017, pictured above, have called home. Together they

form a capable, creative, and dedicated group of students. When this group of talented individuals graduates, the school’s community of alums will grow to over 700 individuals working in a broad range of planning and design careers across the country and beyond.

m

Terrestrial ecologist Tom Wessels leads the class of 2017 in an exploration of southern Vermont history, as told by chestnuts, hemlocks, and other natives of the black gum swamp.

PHOTO: COLEEN CURLEY ’17

//2017/ con'text 25

/ A N N UA L R EP O RT /

Annual Report Fiscal year 2016

Think Strategically with Conway Serving our Community

Each year, con’text introduces the

incoming class and highlights their

best to address climate issues in our

diverse backgrounds and talents. And

teaching. As you reflect on this issue of

Your contributions help sup-

each year, the magazine describes the

con’text, send us your thoughts: how do

port projects like the Mount Tom

Conway experiences that bring students

you approach storm water management,

Ecological Assessment. The Mount

together with each other and with other

species range changes, transportation

Tom range, visible from our campus

graduates. This year, we ask each of you

issues, intense weather events, and more?

at Mill 180 and for miles around, is

to offer your diverse talents and com-

an iconic landmark, a well-known

mon love of the Conway School to help

of diversity at Conway, we also need

destination for recreation, and

shape its future.

your help—with contacts for prospective

home to rare and endangered spe-

students, ideas for projects we have not

cies. This report, prepared by Kelly

working together in a strategic process.

traditionally tapped, and donations to

Corbin ’16 and Tia Novak ’16 for

Our focus is fourfold: recruiting a diverse

build our scholarship fund so we can

Kestrel Land Trust, Winding River

student body, providing needed schol-

offer critical skills to deserving students

Land Conservancy, and The Mt. Tom

arships, incorporating climate change

regardless of background.

Advocacy Group, includes design

into the curriculum, and determining the

and conservation planning recom-

future for our two campuses.

financial support are crucial to Conway’s

mendations to benefit the greater

ability to implement our strategic

community—from neighboring land-

directions. We look forward to hearing

owners to resident salamanders.

Faculty, staff, trustees, and alums are

“Real projects for real clients” remains

the heart of Conway’s approach as students learn from

!

Contribute online at

csld.edu/give

We value your suggestions for how

To increase the breadth and depth

Your ideas, time, and continuing

from you.

practitioners in all aspects of design. We continue to develop formal working relationships with

municipalities as well as like-minded

WILLIAM SAYRE Chair, Development Committee

educational and non-profit organizations.

We have redoubled our emphasis on climate change effects and how they influence the way we plan and design.

Traditionally, in each annual report, we

ask for your financial support; indeed, I do ask that of you again, and offer an addressed envelope in this issue for your convenience. But equally important are your ideas and engagement with Conway’s future. As you read this, we will be in the final stages of crafting our strategic plan for the next five to ten years.

Together, we have decided to continue teaching at our leased Easthampton campus while we determine the future for both of the school’s campuses. Your input on this key decision is greatly appreciated.

The Mount Tom range is home to some of the most diverse and productive vernal pools in Massachusetts.

26 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

/ A N N UA L REPORT /

WE ARE PLEASED TO RECOGNIZE DONORS who support the Conway School by way of in-kind support and gifts to the Annual Fund, Student Grants Fund, David Bird International Service Fellowship and the Sustainable Communities Initiative. Your support is critical to our continued success, and your generosity ensures that we can continue to prepare graduates to make important contributions to ecological landscape planning and design, across many scales and around the world. The 2016 Annual Fund includes gifts made to the Conway School from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016. We make every effort to ensure its accuracy and ask you to bring any errors or omissions to our attention by contacting Priscilla Novitt at development@csld.edu or (413) 369-4044.

DONORS TO THE 2015–2016 ANNUAL FUND Susanna Adams ’78, in honor of Bruce Stedman ’78 Jennifer Allcock ’89 Katherine Anderson ’94 Richard C. Andriole Anonymous (5) Mitch Anthony George Anzuoni P’88, in memory of Helen C. Anzuoni ’88 Mollie Babize ’84 & Mary Quigley Gary Bachman ’84 John Baldwin Lynn Barclay Kirstin Baringer ’04 Charles Sumner Bird Charitable Foundation Rachel Bird Anderson Leigh Bloom ’81 Ken Botnick ’79 James Bouwkamp Nancy Braxton Barbara Keene Briggs ’02 Larissa Brown ’94 Richard K. Brown & Anita Loose-Brown Ralph A. Caputo Willa Caughey ’14 Michael Cavanagh ’02 Madeleine Charney ’03 Kathy Cole David B. Coleman ’78 Art Collings ’95 Paul & Kathleen Connolly ’10 Carla Manene Cooke ’92 Clémence Corriveau ’02 David Cox ’76 Candace Currie ’97 Janet Curtis ’00 Ruth B. Cutler ’85 D. Alex Damman ’95 Esther Danielson ’94 Anya Darrow ’99 Robert Dashevsky ’79 Harry Dodson Karen Dunn ’11 Donna Eldridge ’86 & Bob Cleaver Paul G. Esswein ’99 Don Eunson ’93 Lila Fendrick ’79 J. Nicholas Filler Cynthia Fine ’09 Carol Franklin Elizabeth French Fribush ’81 Clyde & Peggy Froehlich Hatha Gable Bartlett ’99 Lynn Harper ’94 Nancy Hazard Carl Heide ’00

Paul & Joan Cawood Hellmund David Holden ’76 Max Horn Sterling Hubbard ’75 Faith Ingulsrud ’82 Christian Johnson ’14 Erik Johnson ’09 Stephen Thor Johnson Angela Kearney ’03 Elizabeth Kelly ’14 Kim Klein Cynthia Knauf ’89 Nancy Knox ’85 Claudia Kopkowski ’88 Gioia Kuss ’99 Robert Lemire Charles Leopold John C. Lepore ’11 Barbara Mackey ’88 Carrie Makover ’86 Marguerite Cole Foundation Ann Georgia McCaffray ’78 Heather McCargo ’84 Sierra McCartney ’13 Kathleen McCormick ’08 Philip McKnight Robert J. & Gladys T. Miner P’07 Aitan Mizrahi ’15 J. Peter Monro ’86 Melody & William Montgomery ’91 Andrea Morgante ’76 Darrel G. Morrison James C. Mourkas P’94 Melissa Mourkas ’94 Kristin Nelson ’05 John O’Keefe Mary Parker ’85 Robbin Peach ’78 Chris Pearson Martha Petersen ’94 Roger Plourde ’97 Janet Powers ’90 Mary Chicoine Praus ’10 Sue Reed ’87 Sarah Drew Reeves ’89 Sally & William Richter ’77 David & Catherine Rioux ’98 Jason & Laura J. Rissolo ’11 Dolores Root P’10 Susan Rosenberg ’95 Keith Ross & Louise Doud Clarissa Rowe ’74 Joel Russell Tom & Barbara Delaney Sargent ’79 Sheafe Satterthwaite John Saveson ’92 William B. Sayre Aaron Schlechter ’01

Robert H. & Janice L. Schmidt ’15 Charles M. Schnell ’01 Gordon H. Shaw ’89 Angela Sisson ’04 Robert Small ’93 Kimberly Smith ’13 Richard Snyder, Esq. P’90 Bruce Spencer Laura Stack ’89 John A. Steele ’84 Lesya Struz ’01 Mrs. Richard D. Sullivan P’86 Virginia Sullivan ’86 Robert Swain Cindy Tavernise ’99 Richard W. Thomas ’73 Floyd Thompson ’74 Judith F. Thompson ’99 Michael Thornton ’86 Kate Tompkins ’11 Timothy & Linda Umbach Pamela Underhill ’89 Peter & Susan Van Buren ’82 Liz Vizza ’82 Edwina Von Gal Donald L. Walker Jr. ’79 & Ruth Parnall George Watkins ’77 David Weber ’15 Eric Weber ’77 & Bobbin Young P’15 Frederick & Peg Read Weiss ’79 Cary White ’15 Robin Wilkerson

DONORS TO RESTRICTED FUNDS Susanna Adams ’78 Beth Batchelder ’15 Claire Bateman Bermil Foundation Blue Yak Foundation James Bouwkamp Molly Burhans ’15 Charles Sumner Bird Charitable Foundation Jordan Clark ’15 Collins Enterprises, LLC Anya Darrow ’99 Ben Fairbank ’15 Jeff Frisch Jr. ’15 Annice Kenan ’97 and Jesse Smith Aitan Mizrahi ’15 Kate O’Brien ’15 Dorothea Piranian Richter & Cegan, Inc. Susan Rosenberg ’95 Keith Ross & Louise Doud Robert H. & Janice L. Schmidt ’15

Michael Singer Virginia Sullivan ’86 Sustainable Design Group Timothy S. Taylor ’83 The Randleigh Foundation Trust Claudia Thornton Michael Thornton ’86 Russell Wallack ’15 Walter Cudnohufsky Associates Seth Wilkinson ’99 Wilkinson Ecological Design

GIFTS-IN-KIND Rachel Bird Anderson Myrna Breitbart Kate Cholakis ’11 Walter Cudnohufsky Eric DePalo ’16, in memory of Vic Morano Patricia Finley ’90 Margaret Flint Paul Cawood Hellmund Nicholas T. Lasoff ’05 Peter Monro ’86 James MacAllister The Legacy Circle The Legacy Circle recognizes alums and friends who have made bequests or life income gifts to the Conway School. Their commitment, generosity, and leadership ensure the future of the school for years to come. We thank them publicly and encourage other members of our community to follow their lead.

Anonymous Jennifer Allcock ’89 James Bouwkamp Richard K. Brown Susan Crimmins ’97 William Gundermann Carl Heide ’00 Paul & Joan Cawood Hellmund Carrie Makover ’86 Virginia Sullivan ’86

P=PARENT

//2017// con’text 27

/ A N N UA L R EP O RT /

STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2016 (from audited financial statements accepted by the Board of Trustees with comparative totals for 2015)

FY 2016

FY 2016

Unrestricted

Temp. Restricted

FY 2016 FY 2015 TOTAL * TOTAL

REVENUES, GAINS, AND OTHER SUPPORTS Tuition and fees Financial aid Cash and in-kind contributions Project fees

The 2015–2016 fiscal year was a

721,236 721,236 536,550

pivotal year in the exploration

(148,170) (148,170) (32,500)

of (and our investment in) the

90,600 124,416 215,016 370,221 142,575 142,575 96,692

Investment income, net

7,130 7,130 8,408

Workshop fees and miscellaneous income

5,568 5,568 3,050

Net assets released from restrictions Total Revenues, Gains, and Other Support

1,122,713 (179,358) 943,355 982,421

Supporting activities: Administration Fundraising

404,727 404,727 241,560 91,160 91,160 143,735

Total Expenses

1,149,720 1,149,720 859,653

Net Assets at Beginning of Year (restated)

1,076,963

225,766 1,308,671 1,185,903

Net Assets at End of Year

1,049,956

46,408 1,102,306 1,308,671

(27,007) (179,358) (206,365) 122,768

(from audited financial statements accepted by the Board of Trustees with comparative totals for 2015)

FY 2016

FY 2016

Unrestricted

Temp. Restricted

FY 2016 FY 2015 TOTAL TOTAL

ASSETS

Notes receivable Prepaid expenses

raising funds to pursue establishing a new campus. We sought to address the question of whether another

and students’ interests. With the hard work and financial support of donors, we opened a second campus in Easthampton, Massachusetts in the fall of 2015.

Although we had the largest enrollment in the school’s history and drew one of the most diverse group of students we have had in one class, the operation of two campuses presented several fiscal challenges.

Most important, the total enrollment was not enough to fund two separate

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS OF JUNE 30, 2016

Contributions receivable

Conway School was successful in

many trustees, faculty, staff, and 653,833 653,833 474,358

Accounts receivable

For several years prior to FY16, the

school’s long-term program goals

Program services: School activities

Cash and cash equivalents

Sustainable Communities Initiative.

location would better serve the

303,774 (303,774)

EXPENSES

Change in Net Assets

Summary of Operations

campuses. As a result, the program required additional investment, as did the physical preparation of the Easthampton facility. The total invested from the Sustainable

110,558 52,350 162,908 346,623 74,445 74,445 32,546 9,250 9,250 3,015

19,394

35,405 35,405 26,993

Communities Initiative Fund was $224,937.

Working with the faculty and staff, the trustees voted to operate a single academic program at the Easthampton facility for the 2016–

Property and equipment

654,920 654,920 654,639

2017 academic year. The school

Investments

340,829 340,829 386,784

continues to focus on raising funds

Tuition loans Total Assets

18,000 18,000 18,000 1,243,407

52,350 1,295,757 1,487,994

LIABILITIES Current liabilities

85,427 85,427 62,495

Mortgage note payable, long term

108,024 108,024 116,828

Total Liabilities

193,451

for scholarships and financial aid, improvements to the program, and increasing our reserves. Thank you to all who continue to keep the Conway School sustainable with your generous contributions.

- 193,451 179,323

NET ASSETS Designated by the Board of Trustees

153,854 153,854 153,234

Undesignated

896,102 896,102 923,729

Total unrestricted

1,049,956

- 1,049,956 1,076,963

Temporary restricted

52,350

Total Net Assets

1,049,956

52,350 1,102,306 1,308,671

Total Liabilities + Net Assets

1,243,407

52,350 1,295,757 1,487,994

52,350 231,708

28 The Conway School Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

*Significant increases in some numbers

for FY 2016 are the result of Conway having two campuses and 22 students enrolled; in FY 2015 there was one campus with 17 students enrolled.

The world needs the Conway School more than ever.

Wilmington Village Center during Tropical Storm Irene. PHOTO: ERIC CRAVEN

Wilmington, Vermont has experienced six major floods in the last century.

Conway students developed a master plan that presented adaptation strategies for the anticipated increase in frequency and intensity of storms due to climate change, and they proposed a design for a new downtown outside the floodplain.

Page from Village Master Plan for Wilmington Vermont, by Renee LaGue ’13 and Kimberly Smith ’13.

Preparing ecological designers to address these evolving challenges—and more—has never been more important.

Apply

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Learn

csld.edu/admissions

csld.edu/give

csld.edu/blog

THE CONWAY SCHOOL | CONWAY + EASTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS 10-MONTH MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ECOLOGICAL DESIGN www.csld.edu | Kate inCholakis, Manager 25 The Conway School Graduate Program SustainableAdmissions Landscape Planning + Design|

cholakis@csld.edu | (413) 369-4044

the

Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning + Design

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“I took this photo during our class trip to the Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown, Massachusetts, which is Boston’s fresh water supply. There, we discussed how temperature changes, drought, and increased amounts of potentially contaminated stormwater runoff are elements of climate change that threaten this vital public water source, and its 450,000 acres of protected open land that provide habitat for wildlife such as bear, moose, bobcats, loons, and bald eagles.” —Margot Halpin ’16