NURTURE
RIGHT PLANT
RIGHT PLACE
CHW PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANTS IS A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY DESIGN FIRM OFFERING LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, PLANNING, CIVIL ENGINEERING, SURVEY AND CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING SERVICES THROUGHOUT PROJECTS IN THE SOUTHERN US
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS WITH
JOHN CONROY
John Conroy is president, founder and owner of Fish Branch Tree Farm, a familyrun company with 40 employees. In 2019, FNGLA awarded him Educator of the Year for his work on the state’s grading process, his dynamic curriculum for landscape architects and his contribution to the Department of Transportation. In this article, John interviews Laurie F. Hall about the importance of planting the right tree in the right place. Laurie is director of landscape architecture for CHW Professional Consultants in Alachua, Florida, where over the last 15 years she has been involved in a wide range of commercial, multi-family residential, community planning, and campus projects throughout the South.
LAURIE F. HALL, PLA, ASLA
John: How do you navigate codes and ordinances for each job site? Laurie: Codes and ordinances play an important role in the design process, especially when working on urban design projects such as streetscape projects or urban infill projects. Not only do codes help ensure the health, safety and welfare of the public, they should also reflect the goals and vision for the local community. As a landscape architect, it is critical to be able to interpret how these codes translate into the built environment and understand our role in ensuring the community’s goals are met, especially relating to the urban forest. Code language can have a dramatic impact on the quantity, location, types and the overall success of the trees we plant and the projects we design, so we start each project with a thorough understanding of both the owner’s goals for their project as well as the applicable codes and site conditions. Sometimes the need to meet other requirements can make planting trees difficult, site constraints can stifle design, and/or existing conditions can leave us with limited options to
46 Pro Landscaper USA South March/April 2021
south.prolandscaperusa.com
