con'text Conway School of Landscape Design Alumni Magazine, Fall 2005
Conway School of Landscape Design Graduate Program in Landscape Planning, Design, and Management
Carl Heide
The mission of the Conway School of Landscape Design is to explore, develop, practice and teach planning, design and management of the land that is environmentally and ecologically sound. The intention is to: • Provide graduates with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to practice planning, design and management of the land that respects nature as well as humanity; • Develop ecological awareness, understanding, respect and accommodation in its students and project clients;
• Produce projects that fit human uses to natural conditions. Facts in Brief
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Founded 1972 Fall 2005
Taking the Measure of it All by Jean Killhour Akers ........1
Program Ten months (September through June) of applied
integrated study Emphasis Environmentally sound land use planning, design and
Athens, the World and New Ecologies by Paul Cawood Hellmund .....................2
management; integrated communication skills; individual educational goals; learning through real residential and community projects
School News .............................................................5
Size 18–19 graduate students
Board Retreat: Together into the Future...................12
Faculty Three core faculty, two adjunct faculty, 50+ guest
Faith-Based Education by Ken Byrne ..........................17
speakers
Leaving a Dam Legacy by Jean Killhour Akers ..............18
Degree Master of Arts in Landscape Design, authorized by the Massachusetts Council of Higher Education
Student Projects 2004–2005...................................20
Accreditation New England Association of Schools and
Responsible Design: Highlights from the 2005 Graduation Ceremony .............................24
Colleges, Inc.
Honoring Don .........................................................26
cultural and natural resources of the Five College Consortium and the Connecticut River Valley
News from Alumni ..................................................28 Thank You, CSLD Alumni .........................................34 Annual Report ........................................................35 Letter from the Chair...............................................37
Cover: Ottowa Lesson by Sandy Ross ’05
Location Rural western Massachusetts near the academic,
Campus 24.5 acres of wooded hilltop located one-half mile east of Conway town center Facility 3000 square feet with four wood-stoves and solar hot
water panels, spacious design studio with individual drafting stations, library, classroom, design/print area, and kitchen/ dining area
Taking the Measure of it All
Jean Akers
BY JEAN KILLHOUR AKERS
STAFF Faculty Paul Cawood Hellmund, Director Jean Killhour Akers Ken Byrne Bill Lattrell, Adjunct Sue Reed, Adjunct Administration Nancy E. Braxton, Administrative Director Ilze Meijers, Office Coordinator and Financial Aid Advisor David Nordstrom, Accounting Manager Conway School of Landscape Design 332 South Deerfield Road P.O. Box 179 Conway, MA 01341-0179 413-369-4044 www.csld.edu con'text is published annually by the Conway School of Landscape Design Kirsten Baringer, Editor Maureen Scanlon, Graphic Design
continually evaluate its programs and policies to ensure its success and future. The Conway School of Landscape Design must constantly examine its effectiveness as a graduate humanities program that focuses on conservation design. To fulfill this responsibility and be accountable to the many alumni and current and prospective students, the school has been involved in a broad range of activities. The NEASC team conducted their ten-year accreditation review visit this past academic year. The new CSLD campus is the focus of a multi-year master planning process to exhibit a sustainable educational facility that exemplifies its mission statement. Our new school director is bringing a fresh perspective, additional technologies, expanded contacts and professional experiences into the academic program and CSLD community. The Board of Trustees conducted a day-long summer retreat to examine future possibilities for the school’s direction. While some students have questioned the amount of time spent on learning surveying techniques in their fall term, most graduates would admit that developing a complete inventory of a site’s physical characteristics was a prerequisite for their residential design projects. Evaluating the CSLD program and how best to implement the school’s mission requires intense and exacting measurement of existing practices, policies and resources. CSLD is a dynamic institution that must grow and evolve to maintain its place in the educational and ecological communities. Some of us will be reading the transit—getting bearings and distances, others will be holding the rod or assessing what next to measure. Whatever your role in the CSLD community, we look forward to your participation in taking the measure of our future direction.
ANY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION MUST
Jean Akers
The Conway School of Landscape Design, Inc., a Massachusetts non-profit corporation under Chapter180 of the General Laws, is a professional training school of landscape design and land use planning. As an equal opportunity institution, it does 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 the educational, admissions, employment, or loan policies, or in any other school-administered program.
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Athens, the World and New Ecologies
BY PAUL CAWOOD HELLMUND, DIRECTOR
Carrie Makover
September 24, 2005 I’M IN ATHENS, GEORGIA, representing the Conway School of Landscape Design at the annual meeting of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture and I’m in the midst of a lengthy discussion with the head of a large eastern department of landscape architecture. After enumerating the challenges of trying to educate landscape professions at his cash-strapped state university, suddenly a light seems to come on for him. He turns to me, “You know, I think Conway has been ahead of its time. I mean, your model—intensive, project-based—is where things are headed. The demand for landscape architects has never been greater, yet the number of students graduating in the field hasn’t changed in many years. If we are going to meet this demand we are going to have to find new educational models, like Conway.” While his perspective may The special need be more about educating enough professionals to meet is for landscape demand, he clearly appreciates visionaries who can much more than that about our school and its “new” look across time model. (He also recognizes and space and craft that Conway’s mission is larger than just educating those who designs that are as want to practice landscape forward-looking as architecture.) At nearly ever turn here they are sensitive I am reminded of how signito the past. ficant Conway is and how grateful I am to be associated with it. People at the conference were amazed when I described the range of professional activities of Conway alumni. (I also note that the entire stack of CSLD brochures I put out on the first morning here was gone within hours.) With my Conway glasses on, I was particularly interested to hear:
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n “Deep”
learning can result from small team projects, as one panel of educators concluded. Diverse perspectives are important and without recognizing and honoring them, you can’t reach the “pinnacle of learning,” they observe. n Another faculty team concluded that often studio teaching reflects too much influence from teachers, engendering “decision-making dependency.” They are exploring ways an instructor can serve more as the “guide on the side.” n One eastern school is about to launch a new “concurrent design curriculum,” a professional bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture, in which two-thirds of the studio contact time takes place in professional offices, working on real-world projects. Of course these concepts are very familiar to those who know the Conway School and its decades-old approach. They were part of the vision of school founder Walt Cudnohufsky, continued by his successor, Don Walker, and now passed on to me, the school’s third director, as a rich legacy. It was reassuring to know that other institutions are exploring these same approaches. I was also very interested to hear how other schools are attempting to evaluate these (for them) alternative approaches. I made a mental note to look for appropriate ways that we at Conway could start to evaluate the effectiveness of what we do. Where do we go with what we have?
An important theme was reinforced for me during this meeting, one that seems relevant to the Conway School and the work of its graduates. The future and its landscapes are likely to be very different from those of the past and the practitioners we train at the Conway School will have to be prepared for change throughout their careers. We are helping people fit themselves to continue as life-long learners who want to make meaningful contributions to society. A new practice of this sort would be intensely ecological because it aims to be sustainable— sustaining people, place and natural process.
Paul Cawood Hellmund
A thought-provoking example of a landscape design that required envisioning “new ecologies” was Peter Latz’s plan for the 100-hectare Duisburg Nord Emscher Park on the site of the former Thyssen blast furnace works in Duisburg, Germany. Here, very little of the original infrastructure was removed. Instead, park elements were strategically inserted into a post-industrial matrix.
It seeks to fit between human communities and nonhuman ones. It helps people find beauty around them in their lives; it brings nature and natural processes close to their homes. The special need is for landscape visionaries who can look across time and space and craft designs that are as forward-looking as they are sensitive to the past. These kinds of designers will need to speak to experts of many types. They will need to be able to integrate ideas, work with diverse publics, facilitate, mediate and be willing to work when there is no RFP (request for proposal) or clear direction from others. They will need to be rooted in the place where they work and committed to that place over the long haul. They may call themselves landscape architects, but they are just as likely to be known by many other names, such as ecological designer or planner. This kind of design goes beyond trying to regain some previous landscape state that is now most likely unachievable. It seeks new ecologies that recognize that human influences in the landscape are pervasive and must be acknowledged. I have seen this need on many projects, but perhaps most clearly while working on a plan for a large natural area in the Denver metropolitan area. Early desires to restore the area’s stream to its predisturbance state quickly dropped away once we realized that the stream’s now urbanized watershed had forever changed the nature of the stream through the site. With all the impervious surfaces in the watershed, the once seasonal flow was
more consistent throughout the year. Stream configuration and vegetation through the natural area couldn’t be sustained as they had been historically because the flow regimes had changed so much. What, then, should the stream “restoration” look like? What would be a sustainable condition for the corridor that was informed by the past, but looked to even greater and unknown changes in the future? Another vivid example is found at the Rio Grande State Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico—and at far too many places across the western United States. The cottonwood gallery forest in the state park has been thoroughly invaded by the exotic tamarisk (Tamarisk hispida) and Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia). The invasion is so complete and the influx of new seed so constant that park managers don’t believe the invasion can be reversed—ever. A new kind of design approach is needed to envision a future for this state park and countless other places like it across the country. Out of Athens
September 25, 2005 It’s time to head home and on the flight from Athens I am seated near another conference participant. He is a German landscape architect living and teaching in the US. It turns out his professional focus is on the design of post-industrial landscape sites—clear candidates for new ecologies. In the 45-minute flight to Charlotte (over the roaring engines of this small,
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Photos by Paul Cawood Hellmund
In most areas of the park, natural processes are visibly, even if only gradually, reclaiming abandoned production facilities, such as the cattails growing in the water tank shown here. In one area—in a provoctive juxtaposition of old (decaying ruins) and new (living, carefully tended plants)—more formal gardens have been inserted into a series of walled compartments that formerly stored coal or other production resources.
twin-prop plane) we touch on the Iron Curtain through Europe, shrinking cities around the world (including Detroit and cities in Eastern Europe), the Korean DMZ, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Rocky Flats Nuclear Production Facility, Hanford Nuclear Reactor, Chernobyl, and former US military bases in Panama with unexploded ordinance, in a kind of chart-topper list of post-industrial landscapes. For me the conversation is a powerful and energizing culmination of the previous few days, as we discuss the incredible opportunities and significance of the brownfields, large and small, that permeate our cities and countryside. We also discover a shared love of the 100-hectare Duisburg Nord Emscher Park on the site of the former Thyssen blast furnace works in Duisburg, Germany. This was a place I visited and was profoundly affected by two summers ago. It turns out he was involved in the planning of this post-modernist masterpiece, which resulted when the post-industrial site was converted to a park under the guidance of German landscape architect Peter Latz. We concurred that the significance of that place is the manner in which the park design
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embraces all the pasts of the site with considerable openness. Latz masterfully made strategic cuts in the existing walls and other infrastructure, showing “cues to care,” and providing people with park-like opportunities, but in a very bizarre setting. Nature, including an extensive wooded area off-limits to people, coexists with and is seen eating away at the massive structures that remain on the site, including climbable, 70-meter high towers. My new friend makes an important observation: it is important to focus on successes like this one in Duisburg, he says, and not on the overwhelming scope of environmental problems. At the end of the flight we exchange business cards and farewells and I head off to the final leg of my flight north. The plane lifts off and I have time to think about all I have heard over the preceding days. As we prepare to land in Hartford, a landscape of fascinating juxtaposition and pattern presents itself wherever I look. As a westerner now making his home here, I feel compelled to learn to read these patterns and the processes behind them, to understand the opportunities for future generations of ecological designers and to make a difference here.
FACULTY/STAFF UPDATES A Commitment to Life-Long Learning It is a challenge in many professions to conduct the business of the day and still allow time to “sharpen the saw,” or keep technical skills up-todate. This past academic year was especially busy with the school’s director search and the NEASC accreditation team’s winter visit. But beyond the Conway hilltop of intense activity and learning, there is a larger world for interaction, engagement and stimulation. In the fall, the ASLA annual meeting was held in Salt Lake City, UT. Traveling to the heart of the LDS church and the arid regions of the southwest offered a very different perspective on contemporary concerns of suburban sprawl, sustainable site design and restoration ecology. While attending the conference, I was able to delve into the copper extraction process and mine restoration activities at the Kennecott Copper Mine. The Kennecott Land Company was in the process of implementing Day Break, its traditional neighborhood development. Roof-top tours at the SLC public library and Mormon temple complex offered two different approaches to green roof designs. Educational sessions on LEED, planning, restoration, site design and new technology generated fresh ideas and stimulus for new class activities and exercises. I was able to initiate involvement with two of ASLA’s professional interest groups: restoration/reclamation and water conservation. Renewing old and initiating new professional contacts rounded out the long weekend’s schedule. On a Saturday in March at the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissioners annual seminar, I gave a presentation on the science of vegetated buffers, jointly with planner Lauren Gaherty from the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. The talk was very
well-received and CSLD got some good exposure in our session. Before and after the presentation, I was able to join hundreds of conservation commissioners from across the state attending the many workshops on wetland, riverfront, restoration and other ecological issues. Squeezed into a weekend in April, I attended the ASLA PA/DE State Chapter Annual Workshops in Hershey, PA. Of particular note were two presented projects focusing on restoring floodplains based on legacy sediment research and wildlife habitat restoration on landfills. Some of the material was incorporated into our spring term’s river morphology exploration. The speakers expressed a willingness to travel to CSLD in the future to share their expertise. Lastly, a mid-June road trip to Bordentown, NJ (accompanied by CSLD student, Johanna Stacy) led to a two-day seminar on the practice of restoring native ecosystems. Led by Stephen Apfelbaum, principal of Applied Ecological Services, the applied science of ecological processes was revealed through numerous restoration and development projects. We spent the two nights on the floor of my daughter’s apartment (ever frugal CSLD) in nearby Levittown, PA (a place of historic suburban planning significance). Despite the scheduling challenges, the participation in all these activities generated new ideas and fresh materials for future explorations in the CSLD learning environment. —Jean Akers
Jean Akers
School News
Sue Reed
knowledge of the school’s traditions as well as her consummate skill in site analysis, developing base maps and guiding students through their initial design projects. A registered landscape architect, Sue is the principal of a Shelburne Falls firm that focuses on residential design with an aim to promote native and local species to restore habitat.
New Accounting Manager David Nordstrom ’04 joined the staff as Accounting Manager in November, 2004. Prior to coming to CSLD, David was employed for 18 years as an accountant with several large corporations.
Sue Reed Returns for Fall Term Sue Reed ’87, a CSLD fall term adjunct from 1992–2002, has returned as residential project studio instructor for the 2005 fall term to help assess and select residential projects, teach surveying and give one-on-one studio guidance. Sue’s warmth and enthusiasm are legendary, and the class of 2006 is fortunate to have the benefit of her
David Nordstrom
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In addition to his accounting position at CSLD, David currently works for a local landscape design/ build firm and is involved in creating residential landscape design plans for his own clients. Since graduation he has also worked as a staff assistant helping in the preparation of community development block grant applications. Originally from greater Boston, David moved to western Massachusetts in 1987 and has made Turners Falls his home for the last five years.
Regular IT Support at CSLD
EXTRACURRICULAR An Environmental Design Workshop on Campus Darrel Morrison has noted that “there is often a perceived schism between ecologically sound landscape design and artful, aesthetically rich design.” During the three-day period of August 18–20, 2005, he led a workshop serving to bridge that schism. In the workshop, “Reading the Landscape: Landscape Design as Ecological Art,” participants studied the natural landscape through species composition, distribution patterns
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and aesthetics with a combination of quantitative and artistic methods. Lessons from field study were used to develop a landscape design for a site on campus. Twenty-one people came from Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Texas, North Carolina, Washington and California to attend the workshop. One participant wrote of the event, “The location, the theme, the material, the venue, Darrel and all of you were superb and inspirational. It was just simply fun to be there and participate. Thanks to you all.” Darrel Morrison, FASLA, is a professor and Dean Emeritus in the School of Environmental Design at the University of Georgia. He is also an Advisor to, long-time friend of and annual instructor at the Conway School of Landscape Design.
A Wood Duck Habitat Project for Conway Students
Class of 2005 at La Mer Bleu, Ottowa. Photo by Sandy Ross
With the advent of Graphics Professor Jean Akers to the CSLD faculty in fall 2002, a number of software programs have been introduced and incorporated into Wednesday morning presentations, community project public meetings, winter reports and spring design plans. All winter project reports and most spring project designs are now produced on CD-ROM as well as hard-copy.
The increasing use of such software programs as Microsoft PowerPoint, ESRI ArcView, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign on the students’ laptops (now required) as well as on the school’s three internet-connected student work stations has naturally called for IT consultation on a monthly basis, which is being provided by Greg Anderson.
During the fall term of 2004, Professor Jean Akers’ first client tracked her down after many years, several moves to different states, and a marital name change to enlist help from her and the class of 2005 with an ecological project. Linda Betz feared that new home construction activities on an adjacent property would threaten the existing wood duck habitat at her 2-acre home in West Chester, PA. Her family has a special bond with these elusive and beautiful birds: a female duckling was left behind one year which the family raised and released into the wild. Wood duck females typically return to their birthplace seasonally, so it is likely that one of the current wood ducks is “Woodie” herself. A CSLD student team took part in the research stages for the creation of a design plan for the pond area. Shawn Callaghan ’05 traveled to the Betz property during spring break and completed the first phase of the wood duck habitat enhancement. Through his company EarthView Design, Shawn installed native plant
materials that provide forage, cover and escape habitat for the ducks. There were opportunities for homeowner education and public outreach to neighbors on issues of wildlife conservation, invasive plant identification, wetland issues and responsible land stewardship. Despite neighboring construction disturbances, for the first time in years six ducklings were born!
CAMPUS AND FACILITY UPDATE Preparing an excellent master plan for the new CSLD campus and developing a space/facilities plan to address the school’s current and future needs are priorities of the CSLD board, faculty and staff. During the past academic year, several steps were taken to address each of these goals.
Toward a Master Plan One of the projects during the 2005 winter term was the preparation of a Conway School of Landscape Design Site Analysis & Assessment, undertaken by Eric Korn, Kristin Nelson and Stephanie Rubin. The Board’s Long Range Planning Committee chaired by Jack Barclay served as the client overseeing this project, which included a public meeting at the Conway Town Hall that drew several residents of the town and some abutters to our property. In spring 2006, a student team will continue the master plan development by producing a team design project, again with the LRPC serving as the client. Supplementing the school project initiatives, in May 2005 the school ordered a survey of the western border of the property, and in June Don Walker prepared “Proposed Walks & Pond of CSLD.” Over the spring and summer of 2005, Kathleen Kerivan ’84 & Jessica Mathon, MS candidates for Environmental Studies within the Conservation Biology Program at Antioch New England in Keene, NH, prepared a Natural Resource Inventory for CSLD. In addition, Sue Reed ’87 prepared a topo map of the area in front of the building
Shawn Callaghan ’05 teaching future environmentalists about enhancing wood duck habitat.
(including the arrival area) as part of the information base needed to teach residential design in the fall term, and Johanna Stacy ’05 is in the process of preparing a botanical inventory of selected areas of the CSLD campus for a certification class with New England Wild Flower Society.
A Greener Facility On the facility front, with the intention of preparing to apply for a green building planning grant (offered by the Kresge Foundation, among others), a green building charrette took place at the CSLD campus in December 2004. The charrette’s purpose was to gather and hone ideas for green building technologies to incorporate into the new campus building and grounds. A number of ideas were generated during this constructive session addressing the facility requirements, the needs of students, faculty and staff and the many means toward creating a sustainable facility. In attendance were Jonathan Tauer,
Seth Wilkinson ’99, Aaron Schlechter ’01, Jono Neiger ’03, Ben Falk ’05, Don Walker, Nancy Braxton and Kirsten Baringer ’04 (facilitating). During the spring of 2005, CSLD staff researched every possible way of installing a green roof on the studio, but expert structural engineering advice negated this desired result. A standing seam metal roof was determined to be the best option to replace the current 20-year-old roof. This work was undertaken in late October 2005.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES/ ADVISORS/COMMITTEES Major Board Initiatives During FY 05, while maintaining its high standards of oversight of the school’s fiscal health and mission, the 15-member Board of Trustees was outstanding in accomplishing two major initiatives: a national search for a new director, culminating in the appointment of Paul Cawood Hellmund on July 1,
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CSLD AWARDED CONTINUING ACCREDITATION In November 2005, the Conway School of Landscape Design received notice from the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) that the school had been approved for continuing accreditation, based on the recommendation of the New England Association of Schools & Colleges’ (NEASC) evaluation team following its comprehensive 10-year review of CSLD. The school was originally accredited in 1989, and the last comprehensive evaluation was in 1994. This notification concluded the accreditation review process undertaken by the school over a 2-year period, coordinated by Administrative Director Nancy Braxton and closely and capably shepherded by the CSLD Board’s NEASC Committee: Al Rossiter, Chair, Buckingham, Browne & Nichols; Hank Art, Williams College; and Jack Barclay, University of Connecticut, Storrs. In August 2005, CSLD had received the formal report of the NEASC evaluation team, which was based on the team’s review of the school’s Self-Study responding to CIHE’s eleven standards of accreditation and on the team’s March 6–9, 2005 campus visit, when team members reviewed an array of school materials and met intensively with Trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. Chaired by Mr. Lawrence H. Mandell, President of Woodbury College, Montpelier, VT, the other NEASC team members were Dr. Glenn T. Miller, Academic Dean, Bangor Theological Seminary, Bangor, ME; Ms. Kathleen C. Rood, Vice President for Finance & Administration, Boston Architectural Center, Boston, MA; and Dr. Kerry D. Woods, Professor of Biology, Natural
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Science, Bennington College, Bennington, VT. The report’s introduction expressed appreciation of the hospitality, cooperation and collegiality of the school. “The CSLD community welcomed the team and by doing so demonstrated their openness to the process of peer review. The team was impressed with the quality and thoroughness of the School’s SelfStudy and the materials provided to the team during the visit.” The Introduction went on to note: Since the 1994 visit, the School has gone through some significant changes including moving to a new campus and modifying its curriculum to incorporate new technology now available to the field. More changes are likely in the near future as a new director begins his tenure. The School has not veered from its mission to teach “planning, design, and management of the land that is environmentally and ecologically sound.” The team found that this mission was understood by all members of the CSLD community and was, for many students, the determining factor in their attendance. CSLD is particularly remarkable because of its small student body. Even though the School has made extraordinary strides in creating a strong financial base for its operations, it will likely remain a fragile institution until it builds a significant endowment. The upcoming transition in leadership creates an opportunity and a challenge for the School. The Board of Trustees has done a great deal to prepare for this change and this attention should continue as the new director learns what is required of a
leader of an accredited institution of higher education. The 22-page report summarized strengths, concerns and recommendations for the school with respect to the eleven CIHE standards, and cited the following significant strengths: n The
School has a clear mission that is well understood by students, staff and faculty, and the Board of Trustees. n The Board of Trustees has important planning processes in place. n The Board is well qualified and dedicated to the mission and success of the School. n The core vision expressed in CSLD’s mission statement is clearly manifest in the educational program. n The project-oriented curriculum, with its focus on ‘real,’ unique projects for outside clients, is distinctive and carefully articulated to develop appropriate technical expertise and collaborative skills. n Outside experts and CSLD alumni are powerfully incorporated as speakers and critics throughout the program. n The explicit incorporation of the humanities in the curriculum, and the emphasis on written and verbal presentation, add important dimensions to the basic design and planning skills. n The faculty are unified in their shared vision and support of the School’s mission. The CSLD administration takes this opportunity to express great appreciation to the Board’s NEASC Committee for its invaluable support and expertise throughout the 2-year accreditation review process, now successfully completed.
2005, and overseeing the school’s 10-year accreditation review by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (see article p.8). The Director Search Committee, chaired by Art Collins ’79, culled applications from around the country and conducted on-campus interviews with three candidates during the winter of 2005. Members of the committee (Jack Ahern, Rick Brown, Ruth Cutler ’85, Amy Klippenstein ’95, Bill Richter ’78, former board chair Joel Russell, Carrie Makover ’86 (ex officio) and Nancy Braxton) are to be lauded for their care in setting a high standard and their diligence in assessing candidates. The board’s Transition Committee (Amy Klippenstein (Chair), Jonathan Tauer, Art Collins, Carrie Makover and Joel Russell) capably smoothed the entry for Paul, his wife Joan and their two children, Noah and Andrew. Most recently (at their October 2005 meeting) the Board of Trustees gratefully accepted Vice Chair Bill Richter’s proposal for Richter & Cegan, Inc. to prepare, at cost, a site analysis, feasibility studies and campus master planning for the school during FY ’06. Bill also presented a proposal prepared at his initiative by Moser Pilon Nelson Architects, LLC of CT to provide (also at cost) programming and space planning services for the school’s facility during FY ’06. Hearty thanks go to Bill and his colleagues at Moser Pilon Nelson Architects for their generosity and dedication in mobilizing these essential and timely initiatives.
Carrie Makover
Outgoing Board Chair, Carrie Makover ’86 At the October 2005 annual meeting of the Board of Trustees, Art Collins ’79 was elected as Chair of the Board of Trustees, replacing Carrie Makover ’86. Carrie’s four year tenure in this position has been remarkable, encompassing the creation of a new faculty position and the appointment of Jean Akers, the school’s move from Delabarre Ave. to 332 South Deerfield Rd. including a highly successful Capital Campaign, the search for a new director, the school’s 10-year accreditation review, and the ceremonies celebrating Don Walker’s 27 years. During this period of time, Carrie also served as chair of the Annual Fund (FY 02), continued her amazing (volunteer) work as the school’s Webmaster and vigorously initiated an integrated marketing plan for the school, to mention only a few more of her activities. Carrie’s skillful leadership of the Board during these pivotal years in the school’s history is matched only by her tireless
In August, the Franklin Land Trust held a workshop at CSLD entitled “The Soulful Landscape,” conducted by writer Erica Wheeler. We welcome non-profits seeking an ideal environment for summer workshops to contact us regarding use of our facility and campus. Please call or email Nancy Braxton at nebraxton@csld.edu.
dedication to every aspect of the school, large and small. We cannot thank Carrie enough for her myriad contributions to CSLD. With the release of her “half-time job” with the school, we hope Carrie will find a little more time for some leisure while pursuing her part-time work in web design and town planning consultation. We are grateful that Carrie will continue to serve out her third threeyear term as a member of the Board and that she is also committed to continuing as CSLD Webmaster.
New Board Chair, Art Collins ’79 The President of Collins Enterprise, Inc., a multidisciplinary development company in Greenwich, CT, is not only a graduate of CSLD but also holds an MLA from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a student of Ian McHarg. Since joining the Board in 2000, Art has been a strong force as a member of the Finance Committee, which he chaired for two years, and as Advisor to the Long Range Planning Committee during the crucial period of assessing alternative contractors for the renovations to the new building, keeping a vigilant watch on budget limits and the deadline for completion—both of which were met, in large measure thanks to Art. He also served as Vice Chair of the Board from October 2004 to October 2005. Further, Art’s leadership of the Director Search Committee during the 18-month search process was outstanding, as evidenced by Paul Hellmund’s joining the school in July 2005. As we enter a new era in the history of the school, we can feel confident in the school’s leadership at both the board and directorial levels, and we can appreciate the collaborative partnership between Art and Paul that is already emerging.
New Board Members As clear evidence of Art Collins’ leadership skills, Amy Klippenstein ’95 and Bill Richter ’77 joined the Board at the February 2005 meeting
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Bill Lattrell Bends Trees. Photo by Sandy Ross
as a continuation of the momentum of their involvement with the school as members of the Director Search Committee chaired by Art. Amy served on the Board from 2001–03, when she initiated the Student Liaison Committee on which she continues to serve; she then served as a CSLD Advisor until February 2005. Working with fellow CSLD alumni and other members of the Director Search Committee, Amy said she remembered once again how much she values what the school and its graduates are doing, and re-joined the Board. Amy chairs the Transition Committee, charged with oversight and implementation of activities for the smooth entry of Paul Hellmund into his new post; she is also a strong member of the Long Range Planning Committee. An organic farmer who founded the Ashfield farmers market, Amy has recently added cows and the production of yogurt to her vegetable marketing. Amy has a BA from Amherst College as well as her degree from Conway. She is a consultant, designer and builder for her partnership business, Greenspace Collaborative in Ashfield. Bill is a principal of Richter & Cegan, a landscape architecture and urban design firm in Avon, CT.
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Recent projects include the Hartford Riverwalk, which received top honors from The Waterfront Center, and the expansion of Olmsted Seaside Park in Bridgeport. Bill has been an Advisor to the school since 2002 as well as a long-standing member of the Long Range Planning Committee, on which he played a pivotal role in the decision to create the school’s second (westerly) studio during building renovations in 2002, denying the alternative of postponing this work to a later time. Bill is the new Chair of the Finance Committee, on which he has served for several years, and in October 2005 Bill was elected as Vice Chair of the Board. In addition to his degree from CSLD, Bill holds a BA in Architecture and a Masters in Architecture and Urban Design, both from Virginia Tech. He is a registered architect.
Rick Brown Changes Hats Once Again Rick Brown has stepped down from the CSLD board. Administrative Director from 1998–2001, in 2002 Rick became an Advisor and a member of the Finance Committee, which he chaired from 2004–2005. In 2003 he became a member of the Board of Trustees, masterminding
and chairing the school’s successful Capital Campaign drive that resulted in the purchase of the new campus and renovations of the former residence to a school. A member of the Director Search Committee, Rick consistently contributed his acute observations, drawing on his career in educational administration at every level: elementary, middle, high school, college and graduate school. Rick is also changing hats at the Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY, where he had been Business Manager and Development Director but will now resume teaching history (we suspect, however, that he will also be called upon for his acumen in school management.) We are enormously grateful to Rick for the many contributions he has made to this unique institution, and we are glad that he will be staying connected to CSLD as an Advisor and as a member of the Finance Committee. Thank you, Rick.
New Advisor Rich Hubble, Executive Director of the Franklin Land Trust, joined as an Advisor to CSLD in May 2005. His predecessor, Mark Zenick, had been a valuable help to the school as an Advisor for several years, and we are extremely pleased to strengthen our relationship with the Franklin Land Trust through Rich’s association as an Advisor. One early link is the holding of the Land Trust’s August 2005 workshop, “Soulscapes,” on the CSLD campus.
Board Committees CSLD has six active committees. We invite you to consider joining one! It is not necessary to be a member of the Board of Trustees or a graduate of the school to be a committee member. Committees typically meet about three times a year, and most work is accomplished through email and/or telephone communications. Please contact Art Collins (acollins@collinsllc.com) or Nancy Braxton (nebraxton@csld.edu) if you would like to
be involved with the school in this way. Your ideas and energy will be appreciated. The committees are: Long-Range Planning, Finance, Strategic Partnership, Student Liaison, Board Development and Annual Fund.
CSLD ON THE NET As we hope you’ve noticed, CSLD has been increasingly using emaildistributed newsletters to help us stay in touch with you. There are currently well over 300 alumni on our email distribution list. We think there are many more alumni whose email addresses are either missing or incorrect. We hope that you’ve updated your email address in your response
to our survey. If you haven’t, it’s never too late. You can sign yourself up right now! Go to this page on the CSLD website: http://www.csld.edu/ alumniresources.htm. In the middle of the page you’ll see a box where you can sign up for our email mailing list. You will always have the ability to change your own email address by following the links at the bottom of each message sent to you from this list. We promise never to sell your address to another mailer and never to overwhelm you with email. This list is not the same as the Yahoo Alumni mailing list, which is interactive in nature and allows any alumnus (about 70 of you right now)
to send emails to the entire group. That list is for your postings to the CSLD community. CSLD’s mailing list is for newsletters, announcements, invitations, etc. sent directly from the school. We hope that many of you will sign up for both mailing lists. You can join the Yahoo mailing list by visiting this page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ csldalumni/members. We both benefit by using email. It enables us to be more immediate in our communications, and substantially reduces our costs. It lets you know what’s going on at school and the greater CSLD community. Please take a moment right now and sign up!
Special work/travel opportunity in Panama for CSLD alumni Please join new CSLD director Paul Cawood Hellmund on a weeklong trip to work with the villagers of the Panamanian rainforest village of Achiote, in the midst of one of the top birding spots in the world. We will work half days on simple construction projects, teaching English or drawing, or helping evaluate the ecotourism potential of this impoverished area on the edge of new national park that was formerly a US Military base used for jungle warfare training. The other half of each day will be spent participating in rural heritage tours and enjoying the countryside A 2005 trip participant is recognized by Achiote villagers. and beach. Paul has been working with villagers in Achiote for three years and was himself born in For more information about the Feb. 11–18, 2006, Panama. Last year he led a similar trip to the village, trip see: www.emeraldplanet.com/html/conway.htm where villagers were eager to improve their lives by (All arrangements will be made by Emerald Planet, building the capacity for appropriate ecotourism. a professional ecotourism provider with extensive This trip is part of a larger effort to understand how experience in Latin America.) A donation to the the CSLD design approach might be shared with Conway School of Landscape Design will be made would-be ecological designers in Latin America. from each participant’s fees. The deadline for registraSpeaking Spanish is not a requirement of the trip. tion is Dec. 5.
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On August 8, 2005, the Board of Trustees held an all-day retreat to identify current and long-term priorities for the school. In the following pages are the highlights of that day. They represent the breadth and ideas that form this evolving institution.
Carrie Makover
Together into the Future CSLD’s directors from left, Walter Cudnohufsky, Founder and Director 1972–1992; Donald L. Walker, Jr., Director 1992–2005; Paul Cawood Hellmund, current Director.
Ken Botnick ’79, facilitator of the retreat, began by reading the following statements prepared by CSLD’s first two directors, Walt Cudnohufsky (1972–1992) and Don Walker (1992–2005), offering their views about the school’s formation, its mission and their hopes for its future.
The Conway School of Landscape Design BY WALTER CUDNOHUFSKY, FOUNDER AS A REMINDER FOR SOME, INCLUDING MYSELF,
the impetus for the Conway School of Landscape Design grew from several conditions. There was a certain restlessness with my own undergraduate design education, which appeared to be disconnected from reality. Also, there were both dutiful and rebellious aspects to my nature. For example, I felt both willing to follow a program as prescribed in the catalogue and, simultaneously, a propensity to challenge the nature of and benefit from its projects and exercises. As part of a team that prepared a thesis and study on design education while at the Harvard GSD in 1963–5, I had the opportunity to think through what might be better methods for delivering a complex and demanding design education. My own self study and exploration, voracious reading on educational theory, and exploration of holistic education began to illumi-
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nate the possibility for a “design education in action” to serve those around me who could become landscape architects and designers. It became apparent to me that one needed to be truly educated in a liberal sense, one needed to be lucid and mindful, to be an effective designer. The profession certainly requires us to be artists and more! Technician, problem solver, team player, writer, speaker, community builder, financial conversant, designer, historian, ecologist are all roles that quickly come to mind. The luxury of this investigative reflection was a genuine gift and set the stage for a new program (CSLD), conceived “to prepare potential graduate students to better use their pending design education.” There was a high quotient of naiveté, an ample dose of “don’t sweat the consequences” and a ‘little’ arrogance that went into the founding of the school.
so precious and special. I still believe that “design,” community-building and place-making are legitimate intentions and companions to the current program strengths. In my opinion, the school must continue to dare to be bold and encompassing. It must continue to see across boundaries in planning and design, architecture and landscape architecture, boundaries both ecological and social, technical and theoretical. The hardest job for the school may be to sustain the basics and fundamentals in a world that is operating under the mesmerizing umbrella of fast-paced technology. People (student and client) are the most important of building blocks, not to be forgotten. My pride in the school is enormous and my gratitude limitless for those who have picked up the mantle and served tirelessly to sustain this wonderful school. It was simply “an idea whose time had come” and many of us would like to think it is “a timeless idea.” In my view, the heart of the school resides in the impressive and unbelievably good work of CSLD graduates. That goes for people who are directly or peripherally engaged in so-called “professional” pursuits. A book that documents this work would be for the next decades an essential addition to the foundation of this most wonderful “Place.” I wish you all well in your deliberations and offer my willingness to remain engaged. And Thank you ALL!
Eric Korn ’05. Photo by Sandy Ross
It was my belief that one did not need multiple years of education to engage in the relevant and substantive issues of design. And if it took a lifetime to become a good landscape architect, why would two, three or four years make any big difference? Why, I subconsciously asked, wasn’t the “Lincoln Route of self education” not a legitimate alternative for those who were equipped to self-learning? I simply wanted to be part of a program where the institution did not get in the way of real learning, for which I had then developed an appetite. I wanted the genuinely educational conversations to continue and not be stopped by a bell. I wanted a space where one did not need to arrange for opening a building a week in advance, where knowledge was not parceled out in course numbers and where grades did not rule. A look around the world quickly demonstrated that the design being produced was greatly deficient both ecologically/environmentally and socially. The importance of building community and a sense of place, while discussed, were only beginning to influence professional thinking. Instead, design assessments were predominated by aesthetic and artistic efforts. We were too close to being exterior decorators for my comfort! It is a blessing that the school has along the way embraced projects that focus on “community building,” which is desperately needed in our society and strongly tied to our professional work. It is an absolutely wondrous blessing that ecologically-based thinking is now growing in acceptance. Still, my perception is that the Conway School of Landscape Design remains unique, unfortunately! It is more essential than ever as a touch stone of what design education can and should be. My request is that the school not lose the connection to its roots and mission. Continue with a naturebased, ecologically sustainable approach to design. Continue withthe team approach to self exploration and understanding,
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The Past, Present and Future of CSLD BY THE TIME I ARRIVED AT CSLD IN 1978, I had abandoned hope for the landscape architects who had founded and subsequently jettisoned the whole field of city planning and were ignoring or bad-mouthing their potential savior, Ian McHarg. Garrett Eckbo accused McHarg of “turning the fine art of landscape architecture into a science.” As Richard Williams said of Republicans, landscape architects had a death wish: a belief to continue to harbor their role in the demolition of the natural world. This belief shapes my teaching and has shaped the program at CSLD in recent years. In 1984 I described the school this way: “[The] Conway School of Landscape Design is a place where people who think they want to design landscapes come for a short time to ‘learn to do it.’” In fact, you cannot learn ‘to do it’ in 9 months or even in 5 years; a lifetime is required by the best of us. So what is the purpose of the Conway School? “It is a place where you who think you want to design landscapes come to experience what is involved when designing landscapes. It is a gestation period during which your conception of “it” develops, and whether you are ready or not you, with “it,” are put back into the working world to find and make your ways as best you can. “While at the Conway School you may have learned or improved some skills, acquired knowledge and developed understanding of yourselves, the world, and your role in it. “You are encouraged to look for the ‘values’ that hide behind desires and things, to expand in height, depth, and breadth your field of vision as a means of discovering and focusing on essentials. It is our experience to discover the ‘design’ that lurks in every situation: from our best understanding of ecological actions that are inherent in the natural and social spheres; from available materials and methods of construction; from a desire to incur the least cost, least destruction, and least dismay. “You leave with numerous facts which contribute to the formation of numerous options which can be rationally evaluated and clearly explained. You strive to be straightforward, and let your actions and products speak for you. You came to the Conway School because you believe that designing landscapes (where nothing you can see, hear, touch, feel, inhale, drink, eat or experience as radiation is irrelevant) is an
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BY DONALD J. WALKER, JR.
important and satisfying human endeavor. You have grown in power along these lines. The purpose of CSLD is to make it possible for such growth to occur.” Twenty years later I can only add the conclusion to one of my Con'text articles. “Designing requires seeing clearly, collecting, analyzing, and assessing all relevant information, developing and evaluating alternative scenarios, envisioning the implementation of each, and thoroughly explaining the advantages and disadvantages to create an informed clientele. Clear and logical (and ecological) thinking must lead to drastic changes in the way we live on earth, so that every project and every action will replace current landscape decoration with scientifically grounded ecosystem/landscape restoration. These skills become evermore critical as the earth’s condition deteriorates. There will be an ever-greater need for the kind of education the Conway School of Landscape Design currently provides.” What of the future? Certain predictions seem easy enough simply by extending current trends. The human population continues to engulf all other life and earth resources, diversity of habitats and species will be reduced ever more rapidly, dwindling supplies of fossil fuel will severely alter lifestyles in the U.S., more drastic measures will be taken to protect the “haves” from the “have-nots,” the majority of the populace will remain ignorant of their place in the ecosphere, and so on. In some ways, we are faced with a repeat of 1970 but no one is taking any noticeable action. I subscribe to David Orr’s evolving thesis, expressed in Earth in Mind; On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect, Chapter 16, “Designing Minds.” The future requires individuals who know their place in nature and have the practical skills to fashion reasonable lives which may be able to convert civilization to repairing the damage we continue to do. The Conway School of Landscape Design must devise ways to give students what they need to go out and act to make a difference right away, not to succumb to the status quo as many seem to do. Find alumni who are making a difference and have time to come and give pep talks. Bring in speakers (like Steve Strong and John Todd) who can do the same; eliminate the rest. Reduce the ever-increasing burden of student
projects (I wish I knew how) so there is more time for field trips and on-site experiences. Reduce the cost (now +/- $50,000) of attending this school so more will apply and selections can be made. (The first school charter invited everyone from practicing landscape architects to homeowners. If I could have, I would only have accepted experienced ecologists who want to apply their knowledge in redesigning cities, towns
and countryside.) Continue to improve the physical plant as a model of sustainability and the grounds as a model of ecosystem stewardship where one can sometimes observe dragonflies, a flock of turkeys, spotted salamanders, an ermine, a bear, or a moose. For some of us, such sightings and the satisfaction of healing our children’s environment remain among the greatest joys of life.
Some Results of the On-Line Survey In the summer of 2005, the school sent a request to alumni, current and former trustees, staff, faculty, friends and others associated with the school to participate in an on-line survey. The survey was specifically prepared in advance of the retreat to review with the entire CSLD community the school’s 33-year progress and how best to build its future. n Most
of the questions in the brief survey focused on perceptions of the school’s mission and future prospects. There were also openended questions that allowed respondents to elaborate on their thoughts. As of July 31, 2005, over 449 requests were sent out and 144 individuals completed the survey. n The largest category of respondents (42%) were those who were most recently involved with the school, within the last five years. Over 80% of the respondents were alumni. n The school’s “current position and future prospects in the world” are “strong” according to 52% of respondents; 5% said they are “weak,” 11% said that they are “neutral,” and 32% are “not sure.” n When asked about their agreement with the statement that the school “has done a good job of staying true to its mission related to ecologically sound landscape design,” over 93% either agreed or strongly agreed (with 50% strongly agreeing). 4% were not sure, and 2% either disagreed or strongly disagreed. n There were similar numbers for the statement that the school’s mission is the “right one for it to pursue”: over 93% agreed or
strongly agreed (66% saying they strongly agreed), 4% were not sure, and 2% disagreed or strongly disagreed. n Perceptions of the school’s national reputation were somewhat murkier. When asked to respond to the statement “I think the Conway School of Landscape Design is well known and respected on a national level,” the most selected response was “Not sure” (46%). Roughly comparable percentages disagreed (27%) and agreed (21%) with the statement. n Almost 76% felt that the school should “offer more short-term workshops on timely topics for alumni and friends of the school,” and 61% said they would participate in workshops if they were on relevant topics. In the space for comments, one respondent suggested that rather than offering workshops for alumni, “I’d rather have workshops for strangers, to strengthen the fold and to better disperse the message.” Half of the respondents said they were interested in participating in the school by sharing skills and experiences with students and alumni. n The survey’s open-ended questions included “My vision for the school is that in five years it will be…” and “Anything else you would like to say?” Most of the
responses to these focused on the school’s reputation; there is a clear desire that the school become better known. This appears to be in part related to the desire among respondents that the school’s philosophies, values, and practices spread and become more accepted, and in part to some respondents’ concerns about their future career prospects. There appears to be some tension or divergence between those advocating for more technical or applied skills (such as CAD, for example) and those hoping that the school continues the educational philosophy and traditions of the school (the desire that the school not become a vocational/technical school). Many expressed a desire that the school be more financially secure, which would allow for a more diverse student body, and many also expressed the desire that the campus be more aligned with the school’s mission. A few students called for the expansion of the program to two or more years; a PhD degree was mentioned. Better preparation for the “real world” job search was also a concern raised by a number of respondents.
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Key Topics Identified at the Retreat Following a presentation by Director Paul Hellmund on his vision of the school as “The Beginning of a Lifetime of Learning,” the retreat attendees—10 Trustees, 4 former Trustees, 2 Advisors, faculty and staff—identified goals pertaining to five key topics.
Since our alumni body is the most important part of the Conway community, we can offer more services to them such as job leads, professional support via gatherings and workshops with CEU credits, regional meetings, connecting new alumni with older alumni, offering life-long email aliases under a csld.edu name, helping to start new businesses and improving access to the CSLD database. Consequently, we can also receive support from alumni through representation at conferences, assisting staff with fundraising events, providing job leads to new students, recruiting new students, helping with grant leads, project recruitment, publishing accomplishments and holding off-site information sessions. ALUMNI OUTREACH
MARKETING/DEVELOPMENT AND STUDENT RECRUITMENT
Strategic efforts should be more efficient by combining professional development with marketing enhancement. An integrated market scheme needs to be developed to promote a consistent recognizable image throughout the school’s literature, website, facility and promotional materials: letterhead, ads and business cards. [Update: the development of a new logo is now in progress.] Marketing efforts should include activities reaching a national audience as well as strengthening Five College contacts. This should help produce a larger pool of qualified applicants. Since the image of the school is connected to our physical presence, our entry should model our mission as a positive example of a natural and sustainable landscape and building that is attractive and welcoming. This group identified the need for a facility space plan and a campus master plan (update: both are now in progress, thanks to at-cost initiatives led by Trustee Bill Richter ’77).
FACILITY
There is a surprising number of grads in the 100-mile vicinity of CSLD and if we pooled our efforts we could do such things as change the Massachusetts zoning regulations so open space is actually public land and not private trustees land, for example. We could move legislatures, move mountains!— A SURVEY RESPONDENT
a larger circle of friends, including other educators, designers, and institutions. To expand the larger community, CSLD could create a publication series, publish our student community projects and give awards. The faculty should attend more conferences. Trails from town to campus would help with local connections, as would instigating more events to which community members are invited, such as the social event at the conclusion of the August Darrel Morrison workshop and the second NESEA Solar Day at CSLD on October 1. CONCLUSION A final topic raised at the conclusion of the session focused on the school’s financial picture: the need to retire the school’s $170,000 mortgage and to enhance financial aid opportunities for students in order to reduce reliance on federal loans. Concluding comments also noted that while the ideas generated are wonderful, implementing them has huge staff and budgetary implications. This small institution must use caution by selectively implementing targeted goals.
We need to develop a national presence as well as promote the concept of CSLD as the 6th college in the 5-college region. An endowed chair is a clear fundraising priority. CSLD is a community on several levels: from staff and current students to local and widespread alumni; from project clients to donors and COMMUNITY BUILDING
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Kristin Nelson
EXTERNAL PROGRAM
Faith-Based Education Faking It, a person has one month to “pass” as someone they are not. The vicar is to pass as a used-car salesman, the classical cellist as a dj, the burger flipper as a chef, the punk rocker as a classical music conductor. They are taken under the wings of minders who steer them through the process of transformation. The fakers learn the right moves, the lingo, the body language; they record, privately, a daily video diary of their struggles. And they do struggle, mightily. They address fears, well known to themselves or long hidden (leaping off buildings, stepping into a boxing ring, climbing onto a horse for the first time four weeks before the competition). Late at night, exhausted, they speak directly to the camera in whispers, saying how they just can’t go on, they’ve had enough, they have no desire to continue. Meanwhile, we hear from their minders how poorly things are going, how they’ll never get their charges to pass, it’s a hopeless case. And they strategize what else they can do, who else they can bring in to help. But at some point, the person faking it sloughs off their resistance, and their desire to become X—the nightclub bouncer, the chef, the conductor—blossoms. In the midst of their ordeal, they collect their energies. They pass, and afterwards have the same singular moment when they say, choked with genuine emotion, “I am an X.” I am a used-car salesman! I am a stuntman! I am a bouncer! They say it with pride, and with a kind of awe as well, acknowledging how deeply transformed they have become. Like the participants in Faking It, many CSLD students go through a momentous transformation, similarly identifying with a new community and crossing an unknowable gap between who they were and who they become. Adults decide to return to school, of course, for many reasons: financial motivations, unexpected lifechanging events, the loss of a job, a career path that has lost its luster. There are clear and logical objectives that can be listed, pragmatic utilitarian considerations that are easily explained to partners, family and friends. There are also other, maybe less speakable or IN THE BBC TELEVISION SERIES
even less understandable motivations: a vague sense of dissatisfaction with what one is doing, with the way one’s life has turned out, or the sense that this recently discovered field of ecological design/planning exerts some unexpected pull. Looking to return to school, they desire to transform their lives in a fundamental way—even to transform who they are. They have the desire to know something else, but also the desire to become someone they currently are not, and paradoxically they can not know in advance what exactly this change entails; they want something, but they don’t know what. Like a baseball team making a trade for a player to be named later, they are giving up something substantial for something they can only guess at. Consequently, all education is faith-based education, requiring a leap across an unknowable gap. In this process, the whole CSLD community plays an important role, because students engage not just with the faculty who lie (presumably) across that gap, but all the people they come in contact with while in school—those who lead field trips, those whose offices we visit, those who come and speak in the evening, those who talk about their work over lunch. Like the minders in Faking It, these members of the community represent a world of ethical commitments, of practice in the field, that is absolutely essential to the educational process of students identifying with the desires of others, of crossing the gap.
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Lincoln Smith ’05 at the Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal. Photo by Sandy Ross
BY KEN BYRNE
Leaving a Dam Legacy BY JEAN KILLHOUR AKERS exist in the state of Massachusetts, altering the hydrology of nearly every brook and river. Some of these dams have been retaining sediments for more than 150 years. These “legacy” sediments, generated from past land use, could be the source of some water quality problems today.* TODAY NEARLY THREE THOUSAND DAMS
Jean Akers
A Legacy of Settlement and Deforestation Deforestation
Colonial settlement patterns generated rapid and extensive changes in the land, concurrent with dam building. By 1830, more than 80% of Massachusetts was deforested. By the 1850s, 75% of Connecticut was cleared of forest. The use of the mechanized plow (late 1800s) increased gully formation and downslope sediment deposition. Industrial charcoaling added to the sedimentation of waterways in the late 1800s. Mill Dams
Mill dams sprang up in all but a dozen towns in Massachusetts. The town of Conway had more than 50 mills in operation over the course of its first 200year history. During the 1800s, at least 34 mills were located on the waterways within CSLD’s Mill River watershed. West Brook alone had 21 dams capturing power for manufacturing activities. By 1880, the six states of New England possessed 1/3 of the developed water power in the US while representing only 2% of the country’s land area. Most dams were built between 1850 and 1900. Legacy Sediments
The dams created mill ponds to impound enough water to avoid power losses during dry weather. All these dams altered the natural river hydrology by slowing down the streamflow and trapping sediments behind the impoundment structures. Many former dam sites now have sediment terraces in the former mill pond locations. The present stream channel carves and incises the sediment terrace. Recent research projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are exploring the effect of these dam
The Hubbard Brook study (a long-term ecological research project in North Woodstock, NH) documented the drastic effects of deforestation on water quantity and quality. Water runoff quantities after complete removal of vegetation increased as much as 418%. Nutrient runoff increases (forty-five times higher for nitrogen, twenty-one times higher for potassium, and ten times higher for calcium) and massive soil erosion caused serious disruptions in the ecosystem. For more information see http://www.hubbardbrook.org
sediments on water quality impairment and potential stream restoration projects. The depth of legacy sediment (ranging from three to over twenty feet) confines larger floods, keeping flood water from spreading into the flood plain. Major bank instability in the sediment terrace also creates significant sediment loading (just from the collapsing bank).
Restoration Considerations Hydrological Patterns
Restoration practitioners who are stabilizing streambanks, realigning stream channels and day-lighting historic streambeds must have an understanding of the natural processes affecting the site. With riparian restoration, the approach should account for the natural self-stabilizing tendencies of rivers. The river channel patterns naturally evolve to provide for
*Post-settlement land use (with agricultural conservation practices and Clean Water Act regulations now in place) does not generate as much sediment.
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dissipating the energy of moving water and transporting sediment. Natural rivers make adjustments in sinuosity to balance the streamflow energy and sediment transport so that the system neither degrades nor aggrades. Floodplain Function
Restoration involves re-connecting the stream flow to the historic flood plain. The stream channel should be designed to connect to its flood plain to allow normal flood water storage and alleviate streambank stresses from incised channels. Recapturing flood waters in their original floodplains can alleviate downstream flood damage and provide groundwater recharge opportunities for the local aquifer. Groundwater Connection
Root Zone Separation
Legacy sediments can separate riparian plant root zones from their natural connection to groundwater and its nitrogen availability. Native plants in functioning riparian communities can access the nitrogen in groundwater, promoting plant health and reducing the nitrate-loading in streams. Topsoil Source
Legacy sediment can consist of prime agricultural soil, eroded as lost topsoil centuries ago. Although soil testing may be prudent since stream and pond sediments are collecting areas for whatever flows off the land, the reclaimed topsoil could be a valuable commodity for reuse in the upland portions of the watershed. Summary
The gravel bed of the historic stream channel may still exist beneath the layers of legacy sediments. Often the gravel beds were discharge locations for groundwater base flow into the stream. If the pre-settlement valley floor is re-established, this groundwater source could connect cool, clean water back into the stream’s aquatic ecosystem, mitigating some of the heated surface runoff from urbanized land uses.
Dam removals are warranted across the country as many aging structures have lost their function and aquatic ecosystems are being restored. With current directives for improving water quality, uncovering legacy sediments may be an opportunity for restoration practitioners to undo the historic land use consequences of leaving a dam legacy.
Historical Seedbeds & Invasive Species
“Unearthing New Truths,” by Lisa M. Christopher, Franklin & Marshall Magazine, Winter 2005 In the Shadow of the Dam, The Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874 by Elizabeth M. Sharpe. Free Press: 2004 The River Book by James Grant MacBroom. Natural Resources Center: 1998 Applied River Morphology by Dave Rosgen. Wildland Hydrology: 1996 Internet: http://www.landstudies.com A Google search for “legacy sediment”
The sediment deposits represent decades (or centuries) of disturbance events that favor colonization of invasive plant species. Cattail swamps are a typical monoculture plant community found on legacy sediments. Even after being buried for 100 to 200 years, the seedbeds from the original floodplain terrace can provide native riparian plant species for the restoration target plant community. Reconnecting the original floodplain elevations and re-aligning the stream channel to its former gravel bed can expose the historical native seedbeds, breaking their dormancy and promoting a diverse riparian habitat.
a few resources for further information:
Beaver dams create a cycle of disturbance in natural streams that initially floods adjacent land converting upland to water. Upon abandonment, the dam eventually fails and the former pond becomes a wet meadow plant community growing upon the rich sediments that settled out of the stream’s flow behind the
Jean Akers
beaver dam. Many plant species are dependent on this disturbance pattern and the resulting islands of wet meadow habitat in dense forested landscapes. Understanding this cyclical pattern of natural disturbance can help us tolerate the legacy left by those industrious dam-builders.
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Student Projects ‒ FALL PROJECT CSLD students begin their year working with area residents on their home properties. Projects may involve siting a new house, reducing erosion, reorienting driveways, or making a property more habitable for wildlife. Through careful observation, students come to understand the relationships among natural systems.
Enjoying the Sun in Winter The Feitner-Knox Property, Cummington, Massachusetts. Designer: Erin Flather
Designing for Solar Gain
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eter Feitner and Christy Knox wanted to find a location for a new house, garage and driveway on their 32.4-acre property, which is forested except for the immediate vicinity of their current house and pottery studio near a discontinued road. They wanted to site the new house within a natural forest setting, near a grove of sugar maples and ferns. They also wanted the designer to consider the location of a hot tub, patio and vegetable garden, and to minimize lawn. An analysis of vegetation, slopes, soils, infrastructure and legal restrictions revealed the two acres of the property that were most appropriate for a future house site. These two acres were then subject to further detailed study. One critical analysis for house placement was the winter sun and shadow patterns of the existing sugar maple forest. It was determined that the house must be placed at least sixty-nine feet north of the existing maples to ensure at least four hours of direct sunlight during eight months of the year. This placement would provide passive solar gain for the house without requiring the removal of trees.
The final plan locates the house along the alignment of a remnant stone wall with the garage placed to the north and a twenty-foot connecting breezeway framing the view to a pine forest opening. The driveway alignment protects existing trees and provides a view to the house before the driveway turns into the parking and garage area. Selective clearing south of the house opens the tree canopy for passive solar access. Judicious placement of understory trees frames the view to the sugar maple and fern grove and provides a transition to the forest interior without affecting the house’s exposure to the sun.
February/October 21,
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NOON
WINTER PROJECT For their second project, student teams work with local communities and nonprofit agencies throughout New England and eastern New York to develop long-range plans for conserving fragile ecosystems and placing human activities where the land can sustain them. Students identify and map natural resources and immerse themselves in local government issues, state regulations and regional contexts.
Marbletown Looks to the Future
Marbletown, NY, 2005 Index of Natural, Cultural, and Historical Resources. Designers: David Campolong, Nicholas T. Lasoff, Sandy Ross
Accommodating Growth and Preserving Resources
I
n recent years, the citizens of Marbletown have become increasingly aware that the character of their town and their quality of life are changing. While moderate growth and improved infrastructure are favored by the public, there are concerns that “McMansions” and strip malls are not in keeping with the quiet community of hamlets and farms. Wetlands
Protected Land
and forest that provide habitat for the rich and varied wildlife in this scenic Hudson Valley town might be lost forever. These concerns, raised in visioning workshops and surveys, led to a year-long moratorium on large developments while the town’s Comprehensive Plan was reviewed. The town’s Environmental Conservation Commission engaged a student team from CSLD to research and analyze the town’s resources. The resulting Marbletown 2005 Index of Natural, Cultural, and Historical Resources helps to identify undeveloped lands for protection and to establish the pattern of future land use in the town. More than an inventory, the index incorporates information about the importance of each resource to the environment and society. Recommendations for preservation and for the means of conducting more comprehensive inventories are included. Paper maps of each resource provide a graphic means for understanding the landscape; electronic maps in GIS format allow new maps to be created as new data become available. The student team also used GIS to create a powerful means for understanding the constraints and opportunities of the town’s resources: an Overlay Planning Tool. The tool allows the overlay of resources; layers can be turned on or off so that resources can be considered individually or in aggregate. Employing the electronic format, users can focus on particular areas and change scale depending on their needs. The Index is currently being used in the implementation of Marbletown’s new zoning regulations for conservation overlay districts and design standards for conservation subdivisions.
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SPRING PROJECT CSLD student teams spend the third term working with community and nonprofit clients to develop site-specific design plans for parks, town centers and riverways. Students base recommendations on ecological conditions and on assessed community needs. Final designs illustrate foot and bike paths, planting choices, lamp standards and other details.
Built on a Rock Church of St. Andrew, Marblehead, Massachusetts. Designers: C. Todd Lynch & Deborah Smith
Experience of Place in a New England Parish
T
he Church of St. Andrew sits exposed on a rocky hill along a major roadway at the entrance to Marblehead. Recent construction of the new parish hall and the main entrance has created significant disturbance, with adjacent areas that are unvegetated, compacted and covered with fill and rock. Several patches of bedrock are exposed throughout the site due to naturally occurring conditions. One-third of the acreage is covered with impervious building roofs, paving, or bedrock; most of the remaining ground surface is covered with lawn. Native trees including pitch pine, black birch, ash and oak are scattered around the property, as well as some invasive exotic plants. The elevation changes as much as thirty feet from the northwest corner of the lot to the hilltop. A circulation analysis revealed significant conflicts and safety concerns around pedestrian and vehicular traffic near all the southern building entrances. Continuous impervious surfaces, shallow soils and exposed bedrock accelerated stormwater runoff problems. The existing parking was inadequate and its arrangement was impractical. The proposed design reduces impervious surfaces by 13,500 square feet and lawn by 25,000 square feet. Garden swales, cisterns, dry stone beds and vegetated slopes collect and retain stormwater runoff. The driveway is moved, improving vehicle circulation by delineating parking spaces and creating a distinct drop-off point for churchgoers. Pedestrians and nursery
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Because of CSLD’s commitment to a philosophy of good stewardship, you seem to attract students dedicated to doing the right thing by the planet. From the beginning, I was confident that Deb and Todd’s product would be a useful tool for our parish (in need of broadening our understanding of stewardship). They carefully listened to our concerns and needs…. They worked together gracefully and respectfully…. We particularly appreciated their bringing to light significant site concerns that must be addressed.… the church of st. andrew
school children cross safely between parking and play areas. Outdoor spaces connected by paths, stairs and ramps create opportunities for gathering and contemplation. The design accommodates phased implementation and incorporates a successional landscape planting pattern. A welcoming, unified experience of place reinforces the church mission of responsive stewardship of the human and ecological community.
Other Community Student Projects ‒ WINTER PROJECTS Menla Mountain Retreat and Conference Center Master Plan: Phoenicia NY Shawn Callaghan, Ben Falk, Erin Flather
Nestled in the heart of the Catskill Mountains, this 310-acre property is surrounded on three sides by protected wildnerness areas. The master plan focuses on highlighting and protecting the site’s unique natural features while guiding its current and future use as a retreat, conference and Tibetan healing center. Conway School of Landscape Design Master Plan: Conway MA Eric Korn, Kristin Nelson, Stephanie Rubin
The school’s 25-acre wooded hilltop and abutting 10-acre co-owned parcel provide a rich landscape for learning. The student design created a preliminary master plan exemplifying the school’s environmental mission, addressing its long-term goals and exploring opportunities for creating an exemplary campus for future students and the larger community. Affordable Housing Feasibility Study and Master Plan: Spencer MA Karen Hardy, Linda Leduc, Christopher Stevenson
A private landowner contracted the team to conduct analysis and assessment for the development of his 20.5-acre property as a statesubsidized Chapter 40B affordable housing community. The design team analyzed the site’s natural and social contexts to determine potential impacts of development and created a master plan for ecologically sound future land use. Open Space Action Plan: Philipstown NY Todd Lynch, Sasha Pilyavskiy, Johanna Stacy
The design team prepared an Action Plan with recommendations for conserving the natural resources and scenic character of this town located forty miles north of New York City.
Open Space and Recreation Plan: Great Barrington MA Del Orloske, Deborah Smith, Lincoln Smith
This update of the town’s 1998 OSRP is based upon community input and the student team’s analysis of Great Barrington’s ecological, historical and cultural features. The document serves as a planning tool that will help the town identify and preserve its most valuable open space and recreational resources. SPRING PROJECTS Shkreli Estate Master Plan: Patterson NY David Campolong, Sasha Pilyavskiy, Christopher Stevenson
The Shkreli’s 119-acre family estate includes a lake shared by the family, 80 acres of forest and three recently constructed homes with a fourth and final home ready for construction in the near future. The design focused on connecting the four homes via footpaths, creating destination points and family gathering areas, designing the landscape around the three existing homes, and solving the problem of vehicle headlights shining into one of the houses. Ives Trail Greenway Environmental Assessment and Design Recommendations: Danbury CT Karen Hardy, Kristin Nelson, Sandy Ross
The Ives Trail Greenway is a 14.4mile proposed connecting corridor that will pass through open space and recreational areas of the Connecticut towns of Ridgefield, Danbury and Bethel. The design team used GIS and site visits to analyze state listed Threatened and Endangered Species habitat, identify potential negative impacts and offer trail design and alignment recommendations. Poplar Street Canoe Launch: Turners Falls MA Eric Korn, Nicholas Lasoff
The master plan created a model for environmental stewardship with safe and easy access to and from the water and clear indications about the use of the site. Wolbach Farm Master Plan: Sudbury MA Erin Flather, Stephanie Rubin, Johanna Stacy
The Sudbury Valley Trustees is a regional land trust that works within the thirty-six towns of the Sudbury-Assabet-Concord Rivers Watershed. The project focused on turning five of the fifty-three acres into ecological demonstration gardens. Streamside vegetation, stormwater management, lawn alternatives, septic-field plants and wildlife habitat were addressed in easy-to-implement designs for visitors to be able to recreate on their own properties. Breakneck Hill Master Plan: Southborough MA Shawn Callaghan, Linda Leduc, Del Orloske
The Breakneck Hill Conservation Land Trust owns an 80-acre site with wetland, pasture, orchard and forest woodland. The master plan included recommendations for restoring and managing a wetland and grassland habitat, suggestions for clearing invasive plant species from the site, an interpretive trail to inform the public about ecology and a haying plan intended to supplement the feeding for a group of Belted Galloway cows adjacent the site. The Rowe Elementary School Campus Master Plan: Rowe MA Ben Falk, Lincoln Smith
The design team prepared a master plan for improving field drainage, siting a media center and incorporating the natural environment into the curriculum through such features as a bird blind and sheltered outdoor classroom.
This .75-acre site is characterized by dangerous slopes, invasive plants and unclear signals about the site’s use.
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Responsible Design Highlights from the 2005 Graduation Ceremony
“Take the I out” is something you hear almost from the first day here at Conway. It’s about taking yourself out of your presentation of the topic at hand. So it may be a bit ironic that we have today a commencement speaker who is so well known for autobiography. Dr. Jill Ker Conway has kept the I in, from The Road from Coorain through True North to A Woman’s Education. She has also edited collections of others’ memoirs, and in When Memory Speaks explored the different narrative patterns recurring in the memoirs of women and men over the centuries. However, there is a link from the narratives of the memoir to the narratives of landscape design and planning. Dr. Conway in When Memory Speaks asks why memoirs and biographies are still so popular, when our passion for fiction has faded. We don’t suspend disbelief when reading fiction, but we do when we read autobiographies and biographies. She writes that we “crave the confirmation of like experience, or the enlargement or transformation which can come from viewing a similar experience from a different perspective.” Furthermore, “Whether we are aware of it or not, our culture gives us an inner script by which we live our lives….We all practice the craft of autobiography in our inner conversations with ourselves about the meaning of our experience…. But few of us give close attention to the forms and tropes of the culture through which we report ourselves to ourselves.” A compelling narrative about a site does these things also. It confirms the experience of others about that place. But it also gives the listener an enlarged and transformed understanding. A good landscape narrative is attentive to that inner script, the cultural patterns through which we all variously understand and act in the landscape. A good landscape narrative releases us from those inherited psychological-cultural traps that would otherwise have us repeating over and over the damage that is second nature.
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Gabriel Suarez
From an Introduction by Ken Byrne
From Graduation Speaker, Jill Ker Conway A profession is a vocation or occupation requiring advanced education and training and involving intellectual skills, or, the body of people practicing such skills. We’re celebrating the education part today, and you’ll be joining the body of practitioners very shortly, so let’s take up the vocation part of the definition. It comes from the Latin vocare—to be called. It originally had a religious meaning—to be called by God to use one’s talents. The problem today is that many regard education as an investment which will be valued to the degree it pays off, monetarily. Of course, that first job is on everyone’s mind just now. But many become embittered when the right job doesn’t instantly appear. You must keep in mind that it usually takes three to five years to launch oneself in a profession, to establish one’s credentials, to find work with the right team, to find the clientele, to find the right balance between practitioner and client. So graduates, friends, and family—be patient.
And remember the vocation part—the combination of skills, knowledge, visual sense, and design creativity that is uniquely you and enables your best work. My own experience has focused on the history of the ways we apprehend the biota, how our views of the plants and animals offers a way into understanding many core cultural constructs. In my native Australia, farmers and ranchers were celebrated in the popular culture, as strong, brave, hardy people who “battled daily with nature.” It truly was understood as a battle. The battle made them tough, and the culture nourished the illusion that one could win. Of course, the necessity to battle droughts, floods, plagues of grasshoppers and locusts came from introducing temperate-climate farming and animal husbandry into a semi-arid Mediterranean climate. In cities as well as in rural life, there was another form of the struggle as people planted English perennial gardens in a water-scarce environment. So much energy and so many resources would be spent to subvert water-use restrictions, to keep one’s peonies or delphiniums alive. The net result was a view of nature as hostile and a great respect for battlers, for the people who could succeed. The responsible designer has an enlarged role in today’s world, and must have an enlarged understanding of this cultural history. A responsibility to the land, to preservation, to correcting past traditions of landscaping that are not environmentally sound—all of this involves teaching, which is something that was once not considered part of the designer’s job. There are, of course, many ways to do this teaching, but it is most successful when the designer is able to draw on the history of landscape design—and to explain why and how we get our notions of what is beautiful.
Sandy Ross
From Don Walker’s Graduation Remarks Over the years I have collected dozens of quotations that express my ideas much better than I can. Today I am going to share a few of my favorites with you, beginning with Henry David Thoreau, “What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” And Frank Lloyd Wright, “Heaven couldn’t be as beautiful as nature on earth.” Students have often heard what my undergraduate professor, Stanley Hart White, convinced me of, “The earth and the cosmos IS design.” This may be the first time you have heard Ruth Parnall’s explication: “As you come to understand the magnificent organization of natural systems, you can’t help but realize that changing the natural landscape (or the human body, or the genes of bacteria) is not making order out of chaos. Changing nature is making chaos out of order.” Here are some quotes about designing. The first one is my own. “Landscape design should not be exterior decoration, not the ego-trip of an outdoor ‘artiste,’ not the latest fad nor the conventional destruction of natural habitat for neighborhood neatness. To design well requires intelligence, logical thinking, knowledge of natural systems, understanding of human desires and foibles, and a very large scoop of imagination and inventiveness. Add to that list a blind sense of hope which allows one to persevere against all indications of powerlessness, against the tide of non-sense.” Here is a quote that students have heard once or twice before. “Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler.” That’s a tricky one from Albert Einstein. From Buckminster Fuller, “When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.” A series of maps of the lower 48 states illustrates the cessation of the existence of virgin forests between 1620 and 1940. Similar maps could be made for grassland, wetland, species of plants or animals. They all would have similar characteristics and convey the identical message. In Futures by Design, Douglas Abermathy wrote, “This is heaven, right here. This is it. Give it all you’ve got.” For the future well-being of my grandchildren, your grandchildren and all living things, I implore you, let us all give it all we’ve got.
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Honoring Don
Jennifer Luck
Striving for Fit: Repairing the Human Connection to Nature, was the title we chose for a colloquium held July 2 at CSLD honoring Don Walker’s contribution to the school over the last twenty-six years. Carol Franklin, principal of Andropogon Associates and a long time friend of Don, moderated a lively daylong sequence of presentations and discussion touching on the work of all the CSLD community. Distinguished ecologist Steward T.A. Pickett led off, sharing his hope for a working partnership with design in a talk he titled, “Conceptual Foundations for Repairing the Flux of Nature.” He explained that the field of ecology is working with a new paradigm which frames sustainability as a stable dynamic of change rather than a stable state. Natural and human disturbance and repair are the invariants with which we work. The inference for designers, he concludes, is that the critical value to be sought in a landscape or an ecosystem is resilience. Noted author Evan Eisenberg urged us to look at pattern and process as a way to understand our place in the natural world. We can appreciate that human beings are an inextricable part of the ecosystem by recognizing the legacy effect of our time on earth. Fields plowed 800 years ago, abandoned and “reclaimed by nature” continue to this day to express human intervention in patterns of disruption on the ground. Carol Franklin reiterated Evan’s point that
Randy Griffith and Don
Jennifer Luck
Sean Gaffney ’04, Trustee Jonathan Tauer, Lela and Lizzy Gaffney, Sarah and Beatrice Tauer
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Carrie Makover
BY GINNY SULLIVAN AND RUTH PARNALL
Ruth Parnall and Don
these patterns are tools we can use to appreciate our place in the world, “examining and claiming our heritage, the loss of it, the repair of it….” In his talk, “Wright and Wrong in Phoenix: Urban Ecology and the American Dream,” Evan noted that by the year 2007, half the world’s people will live in cities. To survive, humans will need to participate more fully with the process of nature, moving beyond their passive affinity for grass and trees to a more active partnership with the ecologies in which they live. This question of how to live successfully in cities was addressed in remarks by Darrel Morrison, read by Ken Byrne. Reflecting on his own lived experience of a single day in the city, “Summer Solstice in New York” was Darrel’s thoughtful essay on human response to the often barren phenomena of modern urban life. Bringing people and nature into a healthy balance requires designers to provide access to the process of the natural world, including public spaces dedicated to supporting genuine dialogue with the process of flux. John Reynolds, Senior Fellow with the National Park Foundation, addressed these issues at the national scale, further speculating on our obligation to preserve and restore the ground of experience that is our legacy. He noted, “most of our childhood landscapes have been obliterated.” If experience is a good teacher, then we need to ensure that our legacy is not the extinction of experience through the extinction of the places
(from left) speakers Bill MacLeish, Steward T.A. Pickett,
But most memorable are the times after long slow rains when the forest is still misty, the leaves shed their last silver drips, the moss is a brilliant luxuriant carpet, and the little red efts miraculously appear as scurrying flameorange apparitions on moss and brown leaves.
His life’s work has been “to protect efts, resist pavements, and prevent tears.”
Carl Heide Kirsten Baringer
where it can occur. Much is at stake. John argued for going beyond the idea of National Parks to that of National Heritage Areas. The way forward is not ideological, but rather to work toward agreement on a shared picture, just as Bill MacLeish would say we can develop agreement on a story. Both pictures and narrative are thus important tools for preserving place. Writer and storyteller Bill MacLeish suggested that the key to our survival lies in understanding the story of our dependence on the natural world. This story, he surmised, will develop “In Place” (the title of his talk). In a world heading “down the road to ecological suicide,” where environmentalists are having difficulty being heard, Bill argued for place as the middle ground between science and faith, the ground where we can meet to discuss ideas in relative calm. In 1970, when rivers were literally bursting into flame and the EPA had new regulatory power, we had both discrete issues to solve and tools to fight with. In fact, “a lot of Americans thought the job was just about done.” Conversely, in the world today we must try to understand and reverse complex and often terrifying global trends that defy discrete solutions. To preserve our heritage, he suggests that we must re-experience and re-learn our place within the ecosystem by participating in the narrative of our own particular places. In fact, this universal call for an engaged dialogue with particular places links each speaker to the heart of Don’s life and teaching. Don, himself, expressed the quality of engagement with nature that is required of us in an article he wrote for Landscape Journal (Jan. 1993) describing influences which shaped his design philosophy. Relating his mother’s tears as a youngster when a neighborhood urban woodland was replaced by an asphalt “playground,” he went on to describe his own summer camp explorations:
Carrie Makover
(below) Bethany Atkins ’04 and Crystal Hitchings ’04
Sunday Brunch: A Gathering of Friends and Alumni Clear blue skies and mild summer temperatures provided a welcome setting for over 100 guests who gathered at our hilltop campus on Sunday morning July 3 to honor Don Walker. A range of people came to bid farewell and to pay tribute to his many contributions to CSLD as a teacher, director, taskmaster, mentor, meliorist and all around fix-it man. Alumni, along with their family and friends came from 15 states and Canada. Friends and long time supporters of the school came from near and far, including Bill Gundermann, Bob and Mary Merriam, Don and Betty Fitzgerald, and Hal and Fran Hatch. Our caterers Bruce and Jeanne Jouannet were here as guests for a change. Also present were the school’s first board chair, David Bird, along with other current and past board members. Former faculty Randy Griffith and Maureen Buchanan Jones came, as well as previous accounting manager Janice Wood. The school’s founder and first director Walt Cudnohufsky and his wife Susan were part of the occasion, as were incoming director Paul Cawood Hellmund and his wife Joan. Ruth Parnall and Ginny Sullivan were a great help in setting up this event, aided by John and Susan Gutting and alumna Laura Stack.
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News from Alumni 1973 Barbara Barros launched StrataVarious,
Inc. to promote newly available HyperMap Atlas software templates for organizing project data and graphics into a dynamic, multi-layered map. The patented StrataVarious data visualization technology eliminates multiple layer map clutter by allowing the user to continuously show and hide features so only the selected information is visible (www.StrataV.com/HyperMapAtlas.html). 1975 Peter Dailey is principal of Dailey Design
Group, Inc., a land use consulting firm in Sarasota, FL. He continues to work with development and permitting. His son Austin, 17, ranked 230th in USA Tennis and daughter Caroline, 10, ranked 20th. Jack Hannula won first place in painting from the Arts Club of Washington. His work is currently exhibited at Phoenix Gallery/Gallery 325 on Capitol Hill and at the Andrei Kushnir Michele Taylor Gallery in New York. 1977 William Richter continues his work on
Hartford, CT’s Riverwalk. The most recent .5-mile stretch included an unprecedented gate opening in the flood dike to achieve public, on-grade access to the Connecticut River. He is planning the Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk featuring four dozen selected sculptures on both sides of the river. 1978 Robbin Peach is on sabbatical from her
position as the Executive Director for the Massachusetts Environmental Trust and is currently a Robert F. Bradford Fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. 1979 Ken Botnick will be in residence at the
Robyn Jones is a massage therapist and cranio-sacral practitioner in private practice on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound. Having completed training in Spatial Dynamics, she teaches movement and singing to adults through the Sound Circle Center in Seattle. Her daughter Hana Bloom will graduate from the Hazel Wolf Waldorf High School this June and her son Toby is in the 10th grade on Whidbey Island. She has 2 cats, a dog and a beautiful old sailboat that she is restoring with fiance, David Malony.
1982 John Hamilton joined Masson & Associates,
Inc. in Escondido, CA as a Senior Land Planner. After five years doing environmental impact assessments, he is happy to return to land planning, a department his company will be looking to expand in the near future. He and his wife Jane have been in California for five years and report, “we miss our friends in Massachusetts (where we lived for 25 years), but not the winter weather.” 1983
1980 Christopher Gallagher is Principal Landscape Designer at Gallagher Design Associates in Framingham, MA. Bryne Kelly is president at The STUDIO @ The Greenfields Company, Inc. in Takoma Park, MD.
1981 Jeanne Furstoss practices occupational therapy in Oakland, CA. Her daughter is studying Landscape Architecture at the University of California.
Sandy Ross
National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad,
India for four months on a Fulbright Fellowship beginning December 2005. He and his wife Karen celebrated 20 years of marriage last May. His daughter Claire began her second year at Mount Holyoke College. Karen, Claire, and Molly, 15, will join him in India. In his new title as Director of Business Development with AIDS Housing of Washington, Donald Chamberlain is exploring the needs across the state for additional funding, training, capacity building and leadership to assist the State in meeting its goal of reducing homelessness by 50% over the next ten years. Over the past year he has visited with Tom and Barbara Sargent (“and their fabulous kids”) in the Bay area, as well as David Ivancic and Jeannine Furrer. He writes, “I’m hoping that Don Walker wanders out this way. Sorry I wasn’t here for you, man, but I was up on Mt. Rainier!” After a four-generation family reunion of 30 on an Alaskan cruise in August, he is looking forward to enjoying the fall. Margaret (Peg) Read-Weiss was hired at the Shady Hill School to teach art and is also doing her own artwork. Her daugher Marina is a sophomore at Amherst College and her son Logan is a junior in high school at the Cambridge School of Weston. She writes, “Fred and I send our best to all my classmates. I’d love to hear from you guys!”
Shawn Callaghan ’05 and Ben Falk ’05
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Phyllis Croce is a Landscape Restoration Specialist/Public Education Coordinator for the Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District in Louisville, KY. The job includes roles as watershed coordinator, interagency coordinator for local and state governmental agencies and instructor for an outdoor classroom course for public school teachers who produced the State of the Streams Report for the Beargrass Watershed, published August 2005. She reports that “the corporate native landscape” was almost wiped out due to misunderstanding and lack of maintenance knowledge. Her agency turned things around quickly with public education and a Consent Decree with state and federal EPA. Priscilla Davies Brennan is a Landscape Designer for the Professional Landscape Association, a small design/build company in Schneckville, PA. Her husband Andrew is president of the company. Their son Will, 14, works with the crews during the summer months when he’s not busy with marching band and other activities. Their daughter Erin, 12, has recovered from a broken femur injured in a soccer game last spring. Priscilla serves on the Heidelberg Township Land Planning Commission and the Environmental Advisory Council. Dean Maynard owns Summer Street Gardens in Lanesborough, MA. He offers garden supplies, plants and landscape design services showcased in demonstration areas. Peter Owens completed a PhD in Urban Design/Environmental Planning from the University of California, Berkeley in August 2005 with the dissertation Beyond Density: Measuring Neighborhood Form in New England’s Upper Connecticut River Valley. He has also been working on the Vermont Neighborhood Project, which developed a model of smart growth urban design
guidelines for three neighborhood development sites in Addison County. It was awarded Project of the Year (2005) from the Vermont Planners Association. His son James, 8, is entering 3rd grade and daughter Amanda, 6, is entering 1st grade. Carolyn Radisch, his wife, works for the ORW, Landscape Architects and Planners in Norwich, VT, with a specialty in transit-oriented development. 1984 David Jacke’s new book, Edible Forest Gardens (with Eric Toensmeier) received favorable review by Verlyn Klinkenborg in the June 5, 2005 New York Times as offering “a vision of the garden that reaches well beneath its aesthetic surface and into its ecological depths.” Kathleen Kerivan completed an M.S. in environmental studies/conservation biology at Antioch New England. Early successional habitat management and GIS mapping are the subjects of her thesis. She recently purchased a house in Ashfield, MA across the street from Walt Cudnohufsky, where she would like to start a native plant nursery. Her 19 year-old son has joined her there while on leave from Hampshire College.
1985 Mary Parker owns her own landscape/
interior design company, Mary Parker Designs, in Northampton, MA. She is a consultant for the Wisteriahurst Museum in Holyoke and the Fischer Home in Amherst and gives lectures on garden history. 1986 Donna Eldridge is a Landscape
Designer/Planner and Partner at Cleaver Design Associates. She lives in Lafayette, CA. Bill Halleck is now an elected Municipal Environmental Compliance Specialist at the City of San Jose, CA, while still serving as a board member of the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association and the Silicon Valley Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club. Divorced after 18 years of marriage and a child, he has been with his partner, Tom Smith, for 2 1/2 years. An energetic personal trainer, Bill lives close enough to work that he frequently bikes, and dedicates his life to the environment. Carrie Makover reports she is “sort of ‘retired,’ but very busy doing website project management, and of course, CSLD!” Jean-Pierre Marcoux is a Regional Park Planner and Coordinator in Rawdon, Quebec. He says projects “meet with resistance from some of the local population, and relief and excitement from others.” Janet McLaughlin works for the state of Maine as Director of School Construction. Michael Thornton is head of the humanities department at the Denver School of the Arts. His wife Donna’s business, Altieri Instrument Bags, has an updated website: altieribags.com. His son Dexter graduated from the Pratt Institute
2005 ANNUAL FUND/PHONATHONS The FY ’05 phonathons held on Saturday, November 14, in Boston and Amherst, Massachusetts, and on Saturday, May 7th in Portland, Oregon, once again proved to be important vehicles for annual fund giving, raising $7,914 or 13% of the FY ’05 annual fund. Special thanks go to the volunteers and those who made their facilities or home available for these efforts: n
n
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Boston, MA, at the law offices of Duane Morris, LLP, available thanks to Richard Snyder: Candace Currie ‘97 and Judy Thompson ‘99, Co-Coordinators, Wendy Ingram ‘98, Sonja Kenny ‘02, Lauren Snyder Lautner ’90 and Roger Plourde ‘97. Amherst, MA, at the office of Blair, Cutting and Smith Insurance Agency: Carla Cooke ‘92, Sue Crimmins ‘97, Sean Gaffney ‘04, Anna James ‘99, Jen Luck ‘00, David Nordstorm ‘04, Cindy Tavernise ‘99, and staff: Nancy Braxton, Ken Byrne, Ilze Meijers and Don Walker. Portland, Oregon, at Lupin Hill’s home: Lupin Hill ‘04, James Allison ‘04 and Karen Lamson ’01.
with a degree in Industrial Design; he worked for ADB (Architectural Design Build) in New York City and recently returned to Denver to pursue a design career. 1987 Steve Stranz is a Landscape Architect with the design/build firm Young’s Landscape Management, Inc. in Moorestown, NJ. Karen Tiede published the book Carve Smart: 100 Chainsaw Carvers from Around the World Answer Questions About Carving. She is a writer and a sculptor, specializing in “jewelry for the garden and the world’s finest penguin decoys.” She lives in Moncure, NC.
1988 Helen Anzuoni has begun the process of
taking the Landcape Architecture Registration Examination in Nevada. She completed the three multiple choice sections in July and hopes to take the remaining two sections in December. Helen is a landscape designer/ planner at LJM Design Group in Truckee, CA. Michael Goldfinger completed his radiology residency in June and reports he’s “arrived at his final career stop.” He and his wife Jennifer have two daughters, Eva, 9, and Esme, 6. Jennifer is a children’s book author/illustrator. They live in Norwood, MA. Claudia Kopkowski’s position as Land Protection Specialist for Mass Audubon was eliminated due to budget cuts. She is now involved with Propeninsula, a conservation organization protecting Baja California’s dunes and sea turtle habitat. She is exploring opportunities for habitat protection projects in MA. Barbara Mackey has worked as a park planner with the National Park Service in Boston for 14 years. Her projects include the Boston Harbor Islands, the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, the Harriet Tubman home feasibility study and the FDR & Eleanor Roosevelt home. As president of The Friends of Hall’s Pond, she assisted in wetlands
rehabilitation. Ginny Raub moved to Exeter, NH, where she serves on The Conservation Commission. She reports, “It is a very active board committed to preserving open spaces and creating spaces for public access. They have an excellent trail system and a riverfront park and walkway.” She continues working as a Title 1 tutor with the Seabrook Elementary School in Seabrook NH, working with K–4th grades on reading and math skills and with the GED program on math and algebra. 1989 As Chair of Guildford, CT’s Conservation Commission, Jennifer Allcock prepared the town’s first Natural Resource Inventory and Assessment, online at www.ci.guilford.ct.us. Cindy Knauf has started her own business, Cynthia Knauf Landscape Design in Montpelier, VT. Gordon Shaw continues to work for Concord Land Conservation Trust in MA, focusing on land acquisitions, fundraising and property maintenance. He and Joy bicycled through Southern Bohemia in June, enjoying Prague and the countryside. Pamela Underhill writes, “As my children are growing into independance, I am able to find more time to participate in ‘new’ learning adventures.” She participated in the 2004 Trail-Making workshop at CSLD with Peter Jensen and joined an exciting and innovative international gathering at the Green Roofs conference in DC. Word of mouth has given her enough work to choose design projects, and she continues to do art work. She and her husband are planning on adding a porch to their home, with the goal of making the roof a garden and sitting area. The challenge, she says, will be finding the time to sit. Jim Urban is Project Manager at Land Design & Development, Inc., a planning/ design firm staffed by several registered landscape architects which offers civil
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1990 Wendi Goldsmith’s expanding set of clients
has allowed her to bring “a Conway style perspective” to agencies/projects such as the NJ DOT, whose project PortWay plans multipurpose greenways throughout Newark and vicinity to carry and treat stormwater, provide habitat linkages and introduce bike and walking trails between formerly isolated neighborhoods, open space and workplaces. Her team played the leading role in conserving a 62,000-acre former army property with special resource value. She says she is “continually inspired and relieved to find that land stewardship approaches are embraced by organizations formerly known for the opposite tendency, and often all that is needed is a rigorous and persuasive outline of how and why to do it.” The Bioengineering Group is hiring for various positions, entry level and above. www.bioengineering.com. 1992 Christopher Elkow won third place in the
2005 APLD Design Awards for residential designs of $150,000 and over. He is a designer at Elise Landscapes and Nursery in New Canaan, CT. His dog Duby (who was at CSLD) died. Bailey, a new puppy, is keeping everyone busy. Kiera is in 4th grade and Sadi is in 1st grade. Vincent Falcione is the superintendent of the Fresh Pond Reservation for the Water Department of Cambridge, MA. John Saveson left Walt Cudnohufsky Associates. He is busy raising children and moving into Rocky Hill Cohousing, a new cohousing community in Northampton, MA. 1993 Sunnifa Deehr designs landscapes for
friends and family near Fairbanks, AK. She is a music teacher, gives private violin lessons and performs with a quartet. Jim Donahue is the head horticulturist at Green Animals Topiary Garden in Portsmouth, RI. He is working on garden restoration and the installation of a new hummingbird garden. Beth Ferrari enjoys her work as Program Administrator with the Genesee Waterways Center, a nonprofit organization promoting paddling, rowing and related activities near Rochester, NY. Ann Sinclair reports that after three years of running her own design company, Ann Sinclair Landscape Design in Jamaica Plain, MA, the volume of work has increased and is approaching a sustainable income with a satisfying diversity of properties and clients.
where he has worked for seven years. The store has a large selection of “CSLD-type books” and he’d love for students and alumni to stop by. He tries to stay involved with planning and design by doing a project each year. Lynn Harper recently completed work on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan, a federally required set of strategies for conserving the animals at risk in the state. Jeffery Horton owns HORTicultural Resources, a wholesale plant nursery in Gray, ME. Melissa Mourkas owns Landscape Legacy in Sacramento, CA, offering garden design, master planning, and historic and native landscapes. Martha Petersen owns Martha Petersen Landscape Design in Kittery, ME and provides services in residential and community landscape design and construction management with emphasis on coastline vegetative buffers using native plants. 1995 James Cowen is Senior Wetland Scientist
at Environmental Planning Services in Stonington, CT. His current projects include The Preserve, a 1,000 acre open space/ golf course/residential development. James and Pamela Jean Lewis were married in September 2004. Kristin Fletcher was busy weathering hurricanes this summer in Gainsville, Florida where she is a Spanish Professor at Santa Fe Community College. She traveled to Costa Rica and Oregon this year. Cynthia Hayes owns Mozaic Landscape design in Sunol, CA. A Native American/multi-cultural residential landscape design (reflecting her family’s origin) is featured in the September ‘05 issue of Sunset Magazine (“Viva Mexico”). Last year a design was featured in WaterShapes trade magazine. She is working on her first greenroof of approx. 8,000 sq. ft. She is remarried to Francisco Villa, who runs Villa Landscape Construction and installs most of her designs. Amy Klippenstein’s Sidehill Farm in Ashfield, MA has begun a mid-week pickup for people who do not own shares in any of the local CSAs but would like to buy local organic produce. She also supplies local restaurants with unique produce, such as purple carrots and lemon cucumbers. Christopher Rice owns Designs for Native Landscapes in Newcastle, ME, specializing in residential and commercial design. Susan Rosenburg reports “All kids are out of college, hurrah!!!” She is chair of Canopy: Trees for Palo Alto (CA) and is a board member of the Palo Alto Art Center. She recently managed a friend’s campaign for city council, and is “still cooking, futzing in the garden, and reading.” Jeanne Azarovitz offers independent
Grey Angell bought Bookends, the used
design consultation as JLA Associates in Pocasset, MA. She also works as a substitute
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1997 Sue Crimmins just moved to Florence, MA
and is excited about working with a CSLD student on a residential design of her new property. Candace Currie and her spouse Edi bought a home in Watertown, MA in May. She now walks or rides her bike to work everyday! She is the Mapping and Planning Projects Manager for Mt. Auburn Cemetary in Cambridge, MA. Selina Lamb has moved to Great Barrington, MA and continues her landscape design business, Selina Lamb LTD. Christine (’97) and Jim McGrath (’98) still enjoy living and working in the Berkshires with their son Ian, who will be 3 in January. Jim’s responsibilities as Director of the Pittsfield Parks Department now include maintaining the city’s school grounds and athletic fields, and he was appointed the city’s Harbormaster. Christine continues at Okerstrom Lang Landscape Architects in Great Barrington, MA. Recent projects include Renfrew Park improvements in Adams, MA and work on numerous lakefront buffer designs for private residences on Pontoosuc Lake. Barbara Popolow bought a retail garden business in Arlington, MA
1996
1994 bookstore on Maple Street in Florence, MA
teacher in her children’s Montessori school. Her son Trevor is starting preschool and her son Jacob is entering 2nd grade, reading and writing Braille. She tries to stay ahead of him in learning Braille so she can at least check his homework. Marcia Fischer and her partner Ted Enderlein welcomed their daughter Piper, born June 6, 2004. Marcia left her position at Sheldon and Associates and is now self-employed, working in collaboration with two others on ecological restoration projects in Seattle, WA. Andrew Franch is the lead designer at Snow Creek Nursery and Landscaping, Inc., a design/build firm specializing in sustainable landscapes in Asheville, NC. Amy Spencer Ackroyd relocated to the Olympia, WA area. Sylvie and Rae welcomed their baby brother Rowan, born July 1, 2005.
Carrie Makover
engineering and surveying services. He assists in writing comprehensive plans, zoning and subdivision regulations, stormwater management plans, architecture and landscape design regulations and has provided expert testimony in court cases.
Wynne Wirth ’98 and son Owen Thomas Coon
called Derby Farm Flowers and Gardens. She continues to do landscape design. Serge van der Voo is Landscape Project Manager at Glacier Hills Rehabilitation Community in Ann Arbor, MI. The 40-acre campus master plan calls for a new outdoor amphitheatre, a large retention pond with native plants, resident garden plots and single family homes. 1998 of Piedmont Environmental Planning & Design in Carrboro, NC. Peter Freisem operates Cricket Hill Landscapes, specializing in design, installation and maintenance, in Conway, MA. Brian Higgins married Jill Weems on August 27, 2005. They live in Seattle, WA. Wendy Ingram is a Transportation Planner and GIS Analyst for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council in Boston. Her work concentrates on bicycle and restoration planning, scenic byways and the MetroFuture Project. She is active in the Neponset River Watershed Association as a water quality monitor and is a member of the Milton Village Revitalization Committee and the Neponset Greenway Council. She enjoyed the summer bicycling with relatives from Germany and Iowa. For news on Jim McGrath, see Christine McGrath (’97). Sally Naser works as Boundary Program Manager for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Boiling Springs, PA. She maintains NPS Exterior Corridor Boundaries from Virginia to Maine and assists NPS field rangers with encroachment issues and remediation. Darcie (Woodruff) Perkins designed a native landscape for an elementary school near her home in Dripping Springs, TX. The beautification project used drought-tolerant plants native to Texas hill country and attractive to birds. She is working with a literature-based art enrichment organization to create an outdoor space that actively engages young children and offers nature-based art and exploration. She has begun homeschooling her two young children. There is potential to combine her interests in outdoor education and landscape design into a future business opportunity. Wynne Wirth and her partner Pat Coon celebrated the birth of Owen Thomas Coon on September 24, 2004. Wynne enjoys spending days with Owen while Pat operates Energyworks, a mechanical contracting company that specializes in energy-efficient heating systems (radiant floors, wood and propane-fired boilers), solar hot water, ondemand water heaters, super-insulated tanks, solar electric systems (off-grid and grid-tie) and wind power. They live in Liberty, ME.
Class Over. Photo by Sandy Ross
Matthew Arnsberger is the sole proprietor
Federation-UK in Surry, England. He is coauthor (with A. Birney) of Pathways: A Development Framework for School Sustainability and One School at a Time: A Decade of Learning for Sustainability (available at www.wwflearning.org.uk). Pathways has been adopted by England’s Department for Education and Skills as a national model for school sustainability and is the centerpiece of a new sustainable development government website for teachers. He works for the UK Sustainable Development Commission in the Department for Education and Skills to support the development of the website and to develop additional web-based tools for schools, including: a sustainable development classroom resource review tool, a sustainable school self-assessment method and a school environmental assessment method. Cindy Tavernise is working on detailed existing conditions drawings for the Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge, MA. She is painting a series of large Russian landscapes (5’x7’), from photographs taken on her trip after graduation from CSLD. Her husband Silvio is the manager of computer systems for the city of Westfield, MA. Her daughter Sabrina is a staff writer for the New York Times and has spent extensive time in Baghdad. Niko, her son, filmed a documentary about the making of the Warner Brothers film, The Fountain. It will be included on the movie’s DVD to be released spring 2006. 2000
1999
Janet Curtis has left her position at the
Paul Esswein is Director of Planning and
University of Vermont and is pursuing a Masters degree in Public Policy at Tufts University. Leslie Dutton Jakobs is a freelance landscape designer, currently working
Community Development for the town of Farmington, NH. Ben Hren is Head of Formal Education for the World Wildlife
on residential and schoolyard design. She lives in Germany with her husband Ralph, daughter Sydney, 4, and son Benjamin, 2. Carl Heide is the President of GardenWizard, Inc. in Beverly, MA. Judy Rice is finishing her fourth season with Three Season Landscaping, which is moving to a renovated historic railroad depot in Henniker, NH by the end of 2005. She is looking forward to designing new display gardens for prospective clients. Teresa Rogerson is an alternate for the U.S. West Coast Surf Kayak Team and will compete at worlds in Costa Rica in October 2005. Her landscape design/ build business has slowed by choice, and she says she is “looking for a new path.” Judy Sherburne expanded her business J.L. Sherburne Designs to include installation and maintenance. She also manages the new Juneau, AK Arboretum and teaches landscaping at the University of Alaska. She is on the committee writing the third and final edition of Gardening in Southeast Alaska. Rebecca Way was married in September 2005. She is the Town Planner in Windham, NH. 2001 Karen Lamson designs riparian buffers
and teaches conservation landscaping in her position as Conservation Technician for Wasco County, OR Soil and Water Conservation District. She is certified by the NRCS as a conservation planner. Lora Migliore Shelly and her partner Christine Shelly had a commitment ceremony in May 2004 and celebrated the birth of their daughter Sydney Phillips Shelly on November 11, 2004. They live in Arlington, VA. Aaron Schlecter will be speaking about meadows at the 2006 Connecticut Flower & Garden
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2002 Cindy Bright is a children’s librarian in Ware,
MA. Ecology and wildlife are often the theme for library programs. Michael Cavanagh and his wife Sheri welcomed their son Julian Michael Cavanagh on March 9, 2005. Graham Claydon reports he is “much happier since leaving Home Depot” and working as a professional handyman. His new solar hot water heating system was featured in an article in the Shirley Oracle (MA) January 9, 2005. Gove DePuy oversees on-site project development and systems quality control for Wastewater Gardens Indonesia, an ecological wastewater treatment company in Bali. He is working to improve the system’s biodiversity component. Sonja Kenny and classmate Selina Rossiter own Twinleaf Associates, specializing in residential and small commercial landscape design serving the greater Boston area. Selina and her husband Sandy Colhoun have moved to Canterbury, NH. Andrea Morris writes, “Living Earth Landscapes is in the midst of very positive growth in the areas of landscape design, installation, consulting and management.” She completed several new designs which are being installed in phases and is involved in ongoing landscape restoration projects of neglected properties and intense invasive species removal. Whitney Rapp is the first
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Kirsten Baringer
Show. He recently completed a park design for Westchester County DEP in Rye Brook, NY, and is currently working on a wetland restoration in Roosevelt, NJ to improve turtle habitat, as well as honing his technique for killing Japanese knotweed and mile-a-minute with several projects on Staten Island. His work with Creative Habitat Corp. on the Pryer Marsh in Mamaroneck, NY won an award for successful habitat improvement and his pond study at Paine Lake in New Rochelle was covered in a half-page article in the New York Times Westchester section on August 14, 2005. Robin Simmen is Manager of the Brooklyn Greenbridge Community Horticulture Program at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in NY. Lesya Struz is a member of the Waltham Conservation Commission. Jason Williams was engaged in May to his “beautiful fiancée Gina.” He now works with Milone and Macbroom, a large multidisciplinary firm located in CT, ME, VT and SC. Working amongst surveyors, landscape architects/planners, engineers, scientists and construction managers has been rewarding. With little free time, he continues to run a small business, Container Gardens, and work in gardens. He writes that he is looking forward to the winter winds. Francie Fleck Yeager works for Parker Garden Design, a design/build firm in NH. She also tutors, leads the youth work program for Groundwork Concord and is responsible for the street tree planting in town. She visited classmate Terry Marvel in Milwaukee and reports he is well.
Matt ’04 and Michelle Bourne
Invasive Plant Coordinator at Glacier Bay National Park, AK. She is excited that the National Park Service is proactive in protecting native species before invasives become well established in the region, as the large populations of moose and chain-saw lovers in Alaska hinder the growth of native woody plants. Laurie Tanenbaum completed the first public Logan Square Illinois Prairie Garden. This was the first phase of an ongoing project of Logan Square Walks, a nonprofit group involved in projects that encourage bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Over 50 residents came to prep and plant beds in a 1/4 acre property next to an elevated train exit which had been an eyesore of litter and hypodermic needles for years. The new plants are guarded and watered by local community groups. Her daughter Cory spent the summer working on the first U.S. Truth and Reconcilliation Commission in Greensboro, NC and her daughter Megan received a Bachelors degree from Smith College in May. She is heading to Mexico for Spanish lessons and then on to Cuba to study health and agriculture systems. 2003 Madeleine Charney works for the New
England Small Farm Institute in Belchertown, MA. She is assisting with a USDA/NRCS project to promote ecologically-sound grazing in the Chicopee River Watershed. She bought a condo in Granby, where the Mt. Holyoke Range State Park is literally in her backyard. Terra Freeman DeMedici spent the first two post-graduate years as the Landscape Manager of an environmental education center located in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, where she put to use her Conway-induced garden and trail design skills. In the fall of
2005, she ventured into operating her own landscape design business, Grounds for Nature. She continues to happily reside in Berkeley Springs, WV, with her husband Rich and their growing menagerie of pets. Bill Joyce was promoted to Project Manager at Isabelle Greene & Associates in Santa Barbara, CA, where he says they design environmentally sound landscapes with an artistic flare. He is engaged to be married to Nicole in September 2006 at a 40-acre manor in CT. They traveled to Tahiti and Moorea Island this summer for a celebratory pre-wedding vacation. Angela Kearney taught a course on landscape play spaces for children at the New England Wildflower Society’s Garden in the Woods and the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, MA. She is engaged to Jimmy Seaborg. They plan a honeymoon sail in the Caribbean next year and hope to build a “green” house and start a native plant nursery in New England. Heather NicholsCrowell and her husband Aaron are living in Edinburgh, Scotland while Aaron studies at the Edinburgh College of Art. Andrew Robertson moved to the Vail, CO area where he is a Land Planner/Designer at Braun Associates. He is working on a land preservation project for a ranch-style development in Steamboat Springs where his main objectives are to protect wildlife, the riparian corridor, agriculture lands and the ridgeline. He and partner Jennifer are training for a triathlon, climbing mountains, camping in Moab, snowshoeing, snowboarding and skiing. Mary Whitney is an independent consultant practicing ecological landscape design. She has given presentations on organic landcare and landscape design to conserve and protect water resources. She hopes to branch out
2004 Bethany Atkins is the Lands Program Director for the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association in Newcastle, ME. The land trust focuses on land protection, trail design and development in an area of important salmon habitat. Kirsten Baringer has joined the ranks of CSLD alumni working at Walter Cudnohufsky Associates in Ashfield, MA. She spent the past year gathering a variety of design projects, including presentation drawings for a local landscaper, working with CSLD toward a green facility plan, and editing Con’text. As editor, she’s finding it odd to write about herself in the third person. Matthew Bourne had a successful first year in Maine operating Bourne Landscape, a design/build company. His daughters Olivia and Mchale will turn 3 and 4 in January. Josh Clague has created a GIS database of Scenic Hudson’s land and conservation easement holdings to aid with preserve management and easement monitoring. He also works with the NYS Natural Heritage Program to ensure that the presence of sensitive species and important habitats inform land acquisition and management decisions. He and Tracey have moved to New
Paltz, NY where she has accepted a position as a caretaker on a small farm. It was a hot, difficult summer, but it is a beautiful place and they are happy to get all the fresh produce they can eat! They plan a trip to St. Johns in the Virgin Islands this fall. Judith Griggs is presently splitting her time between two positions: as Conservation Agent for the Town of Maynard, MA and as Planner for Deerfield, MA. She is also doing some independent work with a realtor/ developer in Templeton, MA to create more sustainable developments. She writes, “It is an interesting way to see how different towns handle state legislation, buildout and growth.” Lupin Hill is working on several independent landscape design projects in Portland OR. She lives in the same neighborhood as Tim Brooks (‘87) and they attend local land trust meetings together. Karen Lamson (’01) also lives close by and has helped Lupin with her job search. Crystal Hitchings is a Landscape Planner/Designer with Hillier and Associates Environmental Consultants in Augusta, ME. After graduation from CSLD, she held an Americorps internship with the Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed. She directed the “Slow the Flow Program,” focusing on shoreline stabilization and non-point source pollution prevention through ecological landscape design. She oversaw several work crews as they completed 30 stabilization projects. She and Jeff plan to visit the Azores this fall. Robin MacEwan is living in Seattle and working as a Restoration Planner with Jones and Stokes in Bellevue, WA. She has also finished her Masters in Resource Management. Lizabeth Moniz owns Flying Mammoths Landscape
The class of 2004 was well represented at the brunch for Don.
Shawn Callaghan
and use her undergrad degree in Marine Anthropology to do more with coastal issues. An anticipated move to the north shore of Boston should help with that. Amanda Wischmeyer is in the process of relocating to Lima, OH where her husband has accepted a position with Proctor and Gamble. She will work part-time as a civil engineer technician until spring when she can start her own design/build business.
arrow arum Peltandra virginica
Design in Worcester, VT. Her house was featured in The House That Jill Built, a book by Judy Ostrow, and in Vermont magazine in July/August 2005. 2005 Ben Falk operates Whole Systems Design in
Moretown, VT, a design/build company specializing in landscape design, land planning and timber outbuildings for residences, schools and summer camps. He finished construction of a timber-framed (in the round) bathhouse with living roof started before CSLD. He is teaching a new course in microclimate design at Yestermorrow and continues teaching biofuel energy workshops across the country. Projects on his own land include planting an orchard, landscaping with edible plants, digging new ponds, laying up large stones for mammal habitat, building a rammed-straw, wood-fired sauna and doing interior renovations. He is working on a site and outbuilding design-build project for a summer camp in New Hampshire. Eric Korn is President of Ecotone Land Designs, a design/build company in Richboro, PA. He is working on several patio design/installation projects with pavers, fieldstone and freestanding walls. Kristin Nelson reports her dad was very happy she returned to his house in Buffalo, NY last summer, where she will live until she considers moving elsewhere for work. She says she is “relieved and proud to be a CSLD alumna.” Del Orloske is starting up a landscape design/build company in Fairfield County, CT. He writes, “Graduating from CSLD and finding a new place for my wife and me to live and play was perhaps the height of accomplishments for me this year.” He is currently working on a wildflower meadow restoration project with pathways and trails and plans to continue to write and speak about ecology and nature to various age groups with the intention of improving eco-literacy.
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Thank You, CSLD Alumni during the academic year of 2005, CSLD alumni were awesome in responding to calls for their help with three major initiatives: the search for a new Director, the 10-year accreditation review, and the Annual Fund, which included phonathons and the silent auction. This is an opportunity to publicly thank all those who gave their time, energy and experience, as well as to communicate their knowledge of and enthusiastic dedication to the school, exhibited through these crucial drives. THANK YOU, one and all! Director Search
Three candidates for the opening of CSLD Director were brought to the campus during December 2004 and January 2005 for 3-day sessions with the Director Search Committee, current students and alumni. A hearty thanks goes to the following alumni for their role in this important process: Michael Cavanagh ’02, Madeleine Charney ’03, Sean Gaffney ’04, Sue Reed ’87, Gordon Shaw ’89, Liz Vizza ’82, and Seth Wilkinson ’99. 10-Year Accreditation Review
On the third day of its visit to the CSLD campus, the NEASC visiting team met with those hardy alumni who were not daunted by a major snow storm and found their way to the campus. Thank you Mollie Babize ’86, Sean Gaffney ’04, Sue Reed ’87, Chuck Schnell ’01, and Cindy Tavernise ’99.
Annual Fund
The FY ’05 Annual Fund, composed of fall and spring letter drives, fall and spring phonathons and the endof-year silent auction, brought in a total of $62,959, playing a vital role in enabling the school to mount its 2005 operating costs. A total of 277 donors contributed, 192 alumni (or a fabulous 39% of the 491 CSLD graduates through FY ’04) and 85 friends. (Another alumnus and 9 friends also contributed inkind gifts (e.g. speaker fees) bringing in an additional $2,971 to the school’s unrestricted giving for FY ’05). Sincere thanks go to Annual Fund Chair Candace Currie for her fabulous leadership in a very successful Annual Fund campaign and to her terrific hard-working committee composed of Michael Cavanagh ’02, Peter Phippen ’00 and Judith Thompson ’99. Silent Auction
The first-ever CSLD silent auction mounted in July in connection with the colloquium/brunch celebrating Don Walker brought in $6,095, nearly 10% of the unrestricted gifts for FY ’05. It would never have happened without the nearly single-handed efforts of Board member Clémence Corriveau ’02, who conceived of and implemented this wonderfully successful first-time event. Special thanks to you, Clémence! Thanks also to Carrie Makover for her oversight, web-work and help in coordinating this initiative. Finally, we are grateful to the 39 alumni and friends who contributed items or events to the auction and the 24 alumni and friends who purchased them.
Planned Giving to the Conway School of Landscape Design. The simplest way to do this is through a bequest in your will, designating CSLD as a beneficiary. As mentioned in the 2002 Con'text, three alumni led the way by including CSLD in their wills. Since that time, three friends of the school have informed us that they also have made bequests to CSLD in their wills, for which we are most grateful. In addition, Jennifer Allcock ’89 thrilled us last November when she informed us that she had named CSLD as the beneficiary of a $100,000 annuity, adding, “I wonder if other alumni might be encouraged to do the same thing.” Thank you Jennifer! We hope PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A PLANNED GIFT
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that your lead will indeed encourage others to include CSLD in their estate planning. In addition to or in lieu of a bequest in your will, there are many different planned giving tools that you can consider, including naming the school as beneficiary of your IRA, and life income arrangements such as charitable gift annuities or charitable remainder trusts. Please feel free to contact Nancy Braxton, Administrative Director, to receive information on setting up instruments such as these or to talk about your thoughts concerning planned giving. (nebraxton@csld.edu, 413-369-4044)
Annual Report Fiscal Year 2005 Summary of Operations FY 2005
STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2005 (with comparative figures for 2004)
DURING FY ’05, the second year at CSLD’s new campus, the school’s net assets increased by approximately $7,000 despite extraordinary non-operating expenses incurred in connection with two major initiatives: the 10-year accreditation review and the nationwide search for a new director. This continues the overall steady picture of the school’s fiscal stability, with net assets approaching the million-dollar mark. The positive end-of-year balance is attributable not only to FY 05’s full enrollment of 18 students and a sustained level of project reimbursements, but also to the excellent Annual Fund campaign, proceeds from the first CSLD silent auction and solid contributions to the school’s Capital Campaign. We are very grateful to all who made contributions to the Conway School of Landscape Design in FY ’05.
UNRESTRICTED PUBLIC SUPPORT AND REVENUE Revenue and Gains: Contributions In-kind contributions Tuition and fees Project fees Workshop fees Investment income Net realized and unrealized investment gains/losses Net realized gain on sale of property Miscellaneous income
62,951 2,971 405,505 54,403 5,300 13,579 (9,413) – 3,304
57,520 4,775 324,800 53,716 – 12,111 (12,824) (146) 2,051
Total Unrestricted Support and Revenue Net assets released from restrictions
538,600 12,334
442,003 31,930
550,934
473,933
390,557 81,522 29,867 44,947
366,179 78,211 29,639 –
546,893
474,029
FY 2005
TOTAL UNRESTRICTED SUPPORT AND REVENUE AND NET ASSETS RELEASED
EXPENSES School activities Administration Fundraising Other expenses TOTAL EXPENSES NET CHANGE IN UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS
TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS Contributions Interest earned—scholarship/loan fund Investment income—scholarship/loan fund Net assets released from restrictions
4,041
FY 2004
(96)
14,044 544 556 (12,334)
28,342 232 500 (31,930)
2,810
(2,856)
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS
NET ASSETS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR
956,565
959,517
NET ASSETS AT END OF YEAR
963,416
956,565
6,851
(2,952)
Linda Leduc
INCREASE IN NET ASSETS
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Capital Campaign Donors FY 2005 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, FACULTY AND STAFF
of the Conway School of Landscape Design are deeply grateful to the following individuals and institutions for their generous donations to the school’s Capital Campaign during the period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005. This support enabled us to make necessary improvements to the driveway (including regrading and widening the hairpin turn at the bottom and repairing and resurfacing the upper portion), install two woodstoves, replace the insulation for the carpet in studio A, and prepare for major roof repairs in the fall of 2005. These improvements are vital to maintaining CSLD’s beautiful facility and campus. Thank you very much.
Henry Warren Art David Bird Rick Brown & Anita Loose-Brown Elisabeth Reese Cadigan Michael Cavanagh
Donald Chamberlain Art Collings Arthur Collins II Michael Dobson Clémence Corriveau Candace Currie
Sarah Drew Reeves Wendi Goldsmith William Gundermann Lynn Harper Brian Higgins Betsy Hopkins
Claudia Kopkowski Christopher Rice Jeffrey Richards Katherine Schreiber Andrew & Nancy Smith
State St. Matching Gifts Program Jonathan Tauer Peter & Susan Van Buren J. Jackson Walter Wynne Wirth
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Donors FY 2005 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, FACULTY AND STAFF
of the Conway School of Landscape Design extend deep appreciation to the following individuals and organizations for their contributions credited to the school’s 2005 fiscal year. This list includes unrestricted Annual Fund/ Phonathon gift, as well as gifts-in-kind, donations to and purchases at the July silent auction and restricted donations (except Capital Campaign gifts, which are reported on p.35). The generosity of all our donors was crucial to offering our unique graduate program in ecological landscape design, planning and management during this fiscal year, contributing 12% of the school’s operating income, which covered 34% of operating costs (excluding salaries). We extend our warm and whole-hearted thanks to all of you. Susanna Adams John F. Ahern Jennifer Allcock James Allison Katherine Anderson Mike & Marilyn Anderson George Anzuoni Helen Anzuoni Matthew Arnsberger Henry Warren Art Jeanne Azarovitz Mollie Babize & Mary Quigley Yanhua Bao Jack Barclay Suzanne Barclay Susan Kiely Barry Aina & David Barten Arthur Bartenstein Baltimore Community Foundation Terence Beltramini Mark Bethel Blair, Cutting & Smith Linda Betz David Bird Cynthia Boettner Michele LoGrande Bongiorno Charlie Bosson Ken Botnick & Karen Werner Terrence Boyle & Associates Sunnifa Deehr Brady Nancy E. Braxton Barbara Keene Briggs Cindy & Eric Bright Tim Brooks Larissa Brown Richard K. Brown & Anita Loose-Brown Jane Roy Brown Brown, Hart & Kaplan David Buchanan Elisabeth Reese Cadigan Alexander H.P. Calhoun Ralph A. Caputo Joan Casey Donald Chamberlain Josh Clague Graham Claydon
Russell A. Cohen Bruce Coldham David B. Coleman Arthur Collins II Jill Ker Conway Carla Manene Cooke Clémence Corriveau Serge Corriveau James Cowen Phyllis Croce Amy Craig Sue Crimmins Walter Cudnohufsky Bill Cullina Candace Currie Ruth B. Cutler Esther Danielson Mimi Darrow Robert Dashevsky Brian Dobyns Harry Dodson Lea Doran Gregory Drake Mark Edelman Arden Edwards Freda & Evan Eisenberg Donna Eldridge Marlene Eldridge Christopher Elkow Jon & Barbara Elkow Carolyn Ellis Jonathon Ellison Paul Esswein David Evans Lila Fendrick Elizabeth Ferrari Patricia Finley & Charles Taylor Marcia Fischer Don & Betty Fitzgerald George & Kristen Flather Adeline Fortier Andrew Franch Thomas Fredrick, CPA Peter Freisem Jeannine Keith Furrer Jeanne Furstoss Sean Gaffney Christopher Gallagher Dr. & Mrs. Edgar Garbisch Mary Garrett Wilson Elisabeth Gick
Nat Goodhue Sharyl Green Bradford M. Greene Greenfield Savings Bank, Conway branch Randy Griffith Judith Griggs William Gundermann Sue & John Gutting James & Alice Hardigg Lynn Harper Neil & Ann Harper Fran & Hal Hatch Cynthia Hayes Alma Hecht Carl Heide Jane Sexton Hemmingsen Lupin Hill David & Marcia Holden Daniel Holmes Michael Hylton IBM Olivia Imoberdorf Wendy Ingram John & Cynthia Irwin David Jacke Leslie Dutton Jakobs Judy & Bob Janowiak Peter Jeswald Maureen Buchanan Jones Bill Joyce Daniel Kaden Steve Kellermann Byrne H. Kelly Annice Kenan & Jesse Smith Sonja Kenny Kathleen Kerivan Anne & John “Hiki” Klauder Peter Klejna Amy Klippenstein & Paul Lacinski Cindy Knauf Kathleen Hogan Knisely Nancy Knox Eero Kola Karen Lamson Ed and Sandra Landau Elsie H. Landstrom Bill Lattrell Lauren Snyder Lautner Jorge Leal
Learning by the Yard Jackie Leopold Susan Leopold Mark Leuchten Karen Leveille Jason Long Marc & Susan Long David Lynch Robin MacEwan Barbara Mackey Carrie Makover Margaret & Andrew Maley Ann Georgia McCaffray Tim McClaran Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions Heather McCargo Tom McCarthy Thomas McCurry Christine & James McGrath Janet McLaughlin Ilze Meijers Robert & Mary Merriam Renny Merritt & Janet Taft E. Lynn Miller William & Melody Montgomery Terry Moore Andrea Morgante Brooke & Judith Morowski Hollis James Mourkas Mary Mourkas Robert Mulcahy Donna Murphy Gwendolyn & Andrew Nagy-Benson Marilyn Nordby John Nuzzi Rebecca Okrent Omgeo LLC Wendy Page Ruth Parnall Robbin Peach Mary Crain Penniman Martha Petersen Roger Plourde Barbara Popolow Nata Post Linda & Ron Prokopy Heidi Putnam Whitney Rapp Ginny Raub Sarah Drew Reeves Seth Reynells Walter Reynolds Design Assoc. Ltd. Donald Richard William & Sally Richter Catherine Rioux Ann R. Roberts Andrew Robertson Melissa Robin & Michael Caplan Teresa Rogerson Rose Associates Susan Rosenberg
David Rosenmiller Sandy Ross Allen & Selina Rossiter Clarissa Rowe Joel Russell Stuart Sachs Barbara & Tom Sargent Sheafe Satterthwaite Tina Schneider Chuck Schnell Katherine Schreiber Annette Schultz Barbara & James Scott Donald R. Scott Angela Sisson Gordon & Joy Shaw Valerie Shulock Robin Simmen Diane Sirois Angela Sisson Patsy Slothower Robert Small Andrew & Nancy Smith Gary Smith Karen Bess Smith Richard Snyder State St. Matching Gifts Program Laura Stack Bruce Stedman John A. Steele Judith Stone Lesya Struz William Streeter Jonathan Tauer Cindy Tavernise Betsy & Brian Taylor W. Barry Thomson Floyd Thompson Judith Thompson Robert & Lydia McIntire Thompson Brinkley Thorne Michael Thornton Kate Troast Alison Trowbridge Jean Tufts Pamela Underhill Jim Urban Mr. & Mrs. M. E. Van Buren Peter & Susan Van Buren Chris Vance Liz Vizza Donald L. Walker, Jr. J. Jackson Walter George Watkins Eric Weber & Barbara Young Frederick & Peg Read Weiss Miles Weston Ann Turner Whitman Judith & Robert Wilkinson Seth Wilkinson Judith Wilson Mary Garrett Wilson Larry & Vicki Winters Thomas & Helene Wirth Wynne Wirth
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES Arthur Collins II ’79 (Chair)
Letter from the Chair
Collins Enterprises LLC Stamford, CT
Dear Alumni and Friends:
William Richter ’77 (Vice Chair) Landscape Architect West Hartford, CT
John Ahern University of Massachusetts, LARP, Chair Amherst, MA
Henry Art Williams College Biology Dept. Williamstown, MA
John S. Barclay University of Connecticut, Wildlife Conservation Center Storrs, CT
Clémence Corriveau ’02 Landscape Designer West Hartford, CT
Candace Currie ’97 Mt. Auburn Cemetery Watertown & Cambridge, MA
Nat Goodhue ’91 Goodhue Land Design Stowe, VT
Amy Klippenstein ’95 Farmer Ashfield, MA
Carrie Makover ’86 Consulting Planner Fairfield, CT
Donald Richard ’77 Landscape Architect Marlborough, MA
Allen Rossiter Buckingham, Browne and Nichols School Cambridge, MA
Jonathan Tauer Cellu-Spray Colrain, MA EMERITUS TRUSTEES
David Bird Gordon H. Shaw ’89 Bruce Stedman ’78 FOUNDING DIRECTOR
Walter Cudnohufsky
ADVISORS Richard K. Brown Darrow School New Lebanon, NY
John Hanning ’82 GIS Database Specialist Montpelier, VT
Richard Hubble Franklin Land Trust, Executive Director Shelburne Falls, MA
David Lynch ’85 MA Capital Asset Management Watertown, MA
I am honored to be the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Conway School of Landscape Design and continue the great strides that the school has taken over the last few years. In fact, your board would like to pick up the pace. You have heard it said that “nothing comes easy” and at this point, it is well worth acknowledging the tireless work of many to transform the school into what it is today. The volunteer efforts of Board members, the cutting-edge curriculum guided by Jean and Ken, the outreach activities of the staff, the support of the alumni and friends all have contributed so much to the school and its mission. It is also a time to recognize the dedication of Don Walker for 26 years at CSLD. In his own distinctive way, Don has led the transformation and defined what has become a timely mission for the school to follow. His leadership will be missed, but his message will live on. The hiring of our new Director Paul Hellmund is the light that shines on the hill. He started in July and has already gotten the school to look “across scales” in promoting the Conway message. Our goal is to make a significant contribution in the cause for environmental and land design conscience in the world. It is truly an exciting time for the school. This year begins the 34th year of CSLD, and there is much to look forward to. The mission has never been clearer and the efforts to broadcast that mission will be a primary focus. Students will write press releases on their projects, the faculty will attend more national conferences and publish exciting articles and there are plans to create a Conway Press to publish the ideas and concepts generated at Conway. You are encouraged to come participate and learn. Our vision is not complete without the continued and increased participation of the alumni and friends. You can anticipate more communication from the school and perhaps a visit from our traveling faculty and Trustees. Thank you for your continued support and active interest in supporting the Conway message. Sincerely, Art Collins ’79
William Montgomery ’91 Landscape Designer Danbury, CT
Darrel Morrison Deborah Smith
University of Georgia, Professor Emeritus Watkinsville, GA & NYC, NY
Ruth Parnall Landscape Architect Conway, MA
Joel Russell Land Use Attorney Northampton, MA
Steven Stang Investment Advisor Simsbury, CT
foamflower Tiarella cordifolia
The Class of 2005 From left to right: Back row; Johanna Stacy, Karen Hardy, Christopher Stevenson, David Campolong, Lincoln Smith, Don Walker, Jr. Middle row; Stephanie Rubin, Nicholas Lasoff, Linda Leduc, Eric Korn, Kristin Nelson, Todd Lynch, Deborah Smith. Kneeling; Sandy Ross, Ben Falk, Del Orloske, Erin Flather, Shawn Callaghan. Missing from the photo: Sasha
Jean Akers
Pilyavskiy.
Conway School of Landscape Design South Deerfield Road P.O. Box Conway, MA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
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