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Meet ILCA President—Donna Vignocchi Zych A fascinating chat with a 2nd generation contractor
New ILCA President — Donna Vignocchi Zych
by Meta Levin
When Donna Vignocchi Zych’s father invited her to spend a summer during college working in the family business, ILTVignocchi, Inc., she fell in love.
“I fell in love with the place, the excitement in the morning and the people,” she says. That summer job has led to a career, a husband, innumerable friends and now, ILCA’s presidency.
A telecommunications and marketing major in college, Vignocchi ended up working for her father, where she flexed her marketing muscles and slid into the industry.
Lisa Fiore, now of LandscapeHub, Inc., approached her about joining the ILCA Board. “She thought I would be a great fit,” says Vignocchi Zych. At the time, she had been involved in what now is the National Association of Landscape Professionals, serving on several committees, as well as the national board.
The ILCA board has been a different and she says, “an invaluable experience. I’ve made some amazing friends; people who have affected my life and have eaten at my house.” The latter is a good thing, since Vignocchi Zych loves to cook and entertain.
Not only have those she met through ILCA become close friends, but so have many of ILTVignocchi’s employees. Several of the employees were like family; she had grown up around them and some still work for the company. She points to Sam Ortiz, known by those close to him as Sammy, and about whom Vignocchi Zych recounts a family story. Her parents bought a house, which her father, a stone mason by trade, wanted to make into a stone house. Ortiz “was just a kid,” but he was there working alongside Vignocchi Zych’s father and other rela
Donna Vignocchi Zych
tives. He is still on the team.
Vignocchi Zych grew up in a creative family – her mother is an avid gardener
Donna and father Harry Vignocchi
Donna and husband Aaron Zych and her father is artistic – which is one of the reasons she felt so comfortable when she began working at ILTVignocchi. “There is this thing at ILT, everything has to be beautiful,” she says.
Her husband, Aaron Zych, is a landscape architect and now heads the ILTVignocchi design department. “We are similar people and we hit it off,” she says. “He works like my Dad. He wakes up at 2 am and he runs circles around me.” Although she officially is the company president, she and her husband share the operations manager role.
Together they also have an 11-yearold daughter, Sofia, who has inherited the family artistic ability. “I love to draw and my daughter loves to draw,” she says. “She’s really good.” She learned many lessons working alongside her father and continues to run the business in “the old fashioned” way. She has done just about every job in the business, except pushing a mower and building a patio. Her father taught her that if she was going to send a crew out in 100-degree weather, she should stay and help. “Show that you are willing to do what they’re doing,” she says. “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.”
As ILCA president, she wants to convey a message of hope and optimism to the membership and for members to know that the association values a high level or honesty and integrity. Moreover, “I don’t want ILCA to throw in the towel, because of COVID-––19.” The association will continue to provide its members with vital information, which it has done during the entire pandemic.
“We need to continue to continue to support the people who support us,” she says. “We need to give hope.”
Árboles de sombra en un paisaje urbano Un estudio de caso de Navy Pier
Por Heather Prince
Los árboles proporcionan innumerables beneficios a nuestros paisajes urbanos, pero ¿cómo los planificamos y plantamos para lograr el mayor éxito? Una compañía,
GreenBlue Urban ha estado revolucionando los sistemas de plantaciónde árboles urbanos durante tres décadas. Shane Carpani habló eniLandscape sobre cómo su sistema asegura la salud de los árboles enplantaciones urbanas alrededor del mundo. Hicimos un seguimiento enuno de sus proyectos más cercanos a nosotros – Navy Pier en Chicago.
Siendo la atracción frente al lago más visitada de Chicago, elcampus de 50 acres de Navy Pier (muelle de la Armada) celebró su100.o aniversario en 2016. Como parte de los planes de celebración,se planificaron importantes renovaciones del paisaje, incluyendo“un paseo a través de una arboleda de álamos de semillero grandes“,recuerda Carpani. Diseñado por la firma de arquitectura paisajistagalardonada James Corner Field Operations, incorporar las mejoresprácticas ambientales y los principios de diseño ecológico fue una de lasprioridades principales. La meta del diseño fue crear un oasis verde queaplacara el ruido del tráfico y atrajera a los visitantes, respondiendo al mismo tiempo a las necesidades de un área altamente traficada tanto por peatones como por automóviles y camiones. Los árboles sua
vizarían los bordes ásperos del paisaje urbano manteniendo al mismo tiempo vistas abiertas del área frente al lago característica de Chicago, además de ofrecer una sombra refrescante.
Se seleccionó una mezcla de arces de mármol y sicomoros americanos. Como variedades de árboles nativos de rápido crecimientos, resultaban opciones adaptables y tolerantes a la polución.“Eran árboles grandes. Querían impacto inmediato sin tener que esperarde tres a cinco años para lograrlo”, comentó Carpani.
“Me complace informar que estos árboles han tenido un resultado fenomenal desde que fueron plantados hasta el día de hoy. Son saludables y tienen un excelente rendimiento”. El plan especificaba árboles maduros con cepellones de diámetro hasta de ocho pies. “Se hace la abertura del sistema al tamaño del cepellón. Para los que están en Navy Pier, diámetros de cepellones de siete u ocho pies requieren de una cavidad a la base del árbol o alcorque mucho más grande que si setrabaja con árboles más pequeños”.
Se seleccionó a GreenBlue Urban ArborSystem porque ofrece unespacio vacío del 95% de suelo no compacto alrededor de los árboles, lo que permite el máximo crecimiento de las raíces. Debido a que Navy Pier no tiene suelos nativos, cualquier árbol plantado tiene que estar esencialmente en un recipiente gigante. Debido a la naturaleza del sistema
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