The 2011-2012 Executive Committee is off to a strong start!

Prior to the 2011 Holiday Party, the new executive committee held their first business meeting. As always there are lots of opportunities for volunteers and we would love your help in planning for a great 2012!

You can check out all the current meeting minutes here to stay up to date on the chapter's work!

ASLA Board of Trustees met at the 2011 ASLA Annual Meeting!

Interested in knowing what the leadership of ASLA discussed at their recent Board of Trustees meeting?

Check out the full report here!

Green Buildings in Indianapolis: Creating a Sustainable Future

Below is the link to the full-length green building documentary titled “Green Buildings in Indianapolis: Creating a Sustainable Future.” http://www.youtube.com/user/IndyDPW#p/a/u/0/admXx-vLj0w The 54-minute documentary features several green buildings in Indianapolis. Specifically, it highlights the construction and completion of The Nature Conservancy’s new Indiana headquarters building – The Efroymson Conservation Center. The building, completed last March, is currently seeking LEED certification and expects to receive a Platinum rating. It will be the first LEED Platinum building in the state of Indiana. The documentary project was a partnership effort between The Nature Conservancy, WCTY Channel 16 (Indianapolis Public Access channel), and the Office of Sustainability. The project began in early 2009, just prior to the beginning of the construction process, and was recently completed. The documentary was posted to YouTube today and will be officially announced tomorrow as Indianapolis’ first green building documentary. The documentary was written, produced, and directed by Allyson Pumphrey, LEED AP, with help from Tony Elliot, an intern in the Office of Sustainability and IUPUI SPEA grad student. The documentary will begin airing on Channel 16 next week.

Bench Build Session

Join us as we kick-off the Landscape Elements Campaign for National Landscape Architecture Month this weekend!

What: Bench Build Session

When: Saturday, April 2, 2011, 9:30 am to 4:00 pm

Where: Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Headquarters, 1029 Fletcher Avenue, Indianapolis, IN

The headquarters is located on the southwest corner of Fletcher Avenue and Shelby Street. Pull around to the back and enter the service yeard off of Grove Avenue- the main/ front doors will be locked.

Tools and materials will be set up and ready on Saturday morning- all you need are work clothes and closed-toed shoes.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend.

Is It Easy to Be Active in Your Community?

Is it easy to be active in your community? As we consider the obesity epidemic in the country and its relationship to heart disease and, of course, Type II diabetes, we need to look at the way our communities function. In decades past, people walked and rode bikes as a form of transportation, performed dozens of tasks we now use machines for, and had access to fresh and healthy food on a daily basis. Since the 1950s society has changed in ways that make it more difficult to be physically active.

Did you know that 40 percent of all car trips are made within two miles of home? 1 Many of these trips are made by car because there are physical or perceived barriers to walking or biking. Sidewalk networks are incomplete (if they exist), crossings are dangerous, retail uses and schools and churches are separated from neighborhoods, bike parking isn’t available, car drivers don’t know how to share the road with bikes, and bicyclists may not be comfortable enough to do so safely. All of these factors contribute to fewer opportunities to lead an active lifestyle.

More than 60 percent of American adults are not regularly physically active. In fact, 25 percent of all adults are not active at all.2 Moderate physical activity of just 30 minutes a day most days of the week is the amount needed to reduce health risks3, including the risk for Type II diabetes. Walking or biking to and from the store, school, workplace or place of worship could fulfill this basic requirement.

Across the country groups and individuals are working to raise awareness of these issues and make the active lifestyle-health-land use-transportation connection to achieve active, healthy communities. AARP has a liveable communities initiative that advocates walkability and complete streets. The National Complete Streets Coalition includes partners like the Bikes Belong Coalition. State and local campaigns for complete streets are also underway. Individuals are making a difference participating in Safe Routes to School activities, speaking out in favor of pedestrian connectivity and bike routes at plan commission and local legislative hearings, and testifying before their state legislatures. As a DESA member, you are likely already an active person and could benefit from better connections in your community. You can also be an advocate to encourage others to be healthy and promote active lifestyles in your communities. Learn more about active communities and get involved in your where you live to improve the ability to bike and walk locally.

Learn more about active communities ~
AARP Liveable Communities: http://www.aarp.org/research/ppi/liv-com/

American Planning Association: http://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/surfacetransportation.htm

Bikes Belong Coalition
http://www.bikesbelong.org/

National Center for Biking and Walking
http://www.bikewalk.org/

National Center for Safe Routes to School
www.saferoutesinfo.org

National Complete Streets Coalition
http://www.completestreets.org/

Author Rose Scovel, AICP is a Senior Planner and Associate at LSL Planning, Inc. in Indianapolis, IN. She is currently president of the Indiana chapter of the American Planning Association and an avid runner and cyclist. She is also a Type II diabetic.

1 League of American Bicyclists: http://www.bikeleague.org/resources/why/environment.php
The State of Indiana has a goal that all Hoosiers will live within 15 minutes of a trail.
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/sgr/intro.htm
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html

Congratulations David! 2010 Claire Bennett Legacy Award Winner

In 2003, INASLA unveiled the initial “Claire Bennett Legacy Award” to recognize individual knowledge achievement, and service to the profession and the Indiana Chapter. The award honors long-time Indiana Chapter Member Claire Bennett, FASLA. Claire served as the president of the Indiana Chapter in 1978 and as the National President of ASLA in 1990-91. The legacy of service she has provided for the Indiana Chapter, as well as the leadership to ASLA on a national level inspired the creation of this award named in her honor to recognize those members who embody those same ideals.

INASLA members who have maintained full membership in the Society for the last ten years may be nominated for the Claire Bennett Legacy Award. The award recipient(s) are selected in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the profession by excellence in administrative work in public agencies, in direct service to the Society and/or profession, in executed works of Landscape Architecture, or in professional school instruction or in professional writing. The INASLA Executive Committee selected the recipient of this award.

This year, we are pleased to honor David Gorden, ASLA with the 2010 INASLA Claire Bennett Legacy Award.

David Gorden graduated with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Illinois in 1981. Upon graduating he received the Department of Landscape Architecture's Edward L. Ryerson Fellowship through which he spent six months in New Zealand studying the work of landscape architects in that country's National Parks. Since then his extensive travels have taken him to over 65 countries around the world.

He joined Mark M. Holeman, Inc. in 1989 and now manages the firm's design staff while also overseeing a wide variety of projects. He is a frequent speaker on landscape matters and has taught classes at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and White River Gardens.

David is a Licensed Landscape Architect in the States of Indiana and Illinois and has been recognized with a variety of awards and honors from a variety of organizations :

Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects:
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Monumental Awards:
St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild Decorators’ Show House:
International Society of Arboriculture and Indiana Arborists Association

David has continued to be a leader in his profession, serving the chaptewr in a variety of positions, including

President – 1999
Chair – Annual Meeting – 2005
Chair – Chapter 30th Anniversary Celebration – 2003
Chapter Representative - ASLA Licensure Summit– 2006, 2007 and 2009

As part of his commitment to the chapter and the profession, David has also served as:
Chair – Annual Indiana Green Expo Luncheon and Speaker – 1997-2010
Representative - Indiana Invasive Plant Species Working Group (IPSAWG) – 2001- 2009 and Indiana Invasive Plant Advisory Committee – 2010-present.
Co-Chair of Indiana School for the Blind Monon Trailhead Project. Project awarded 2002 Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Monumental Affair Achievement Award.
Chair of School Tree Planting Program.
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful Monumental Awards Steering Committee/Landscape Architecture Jury Chair – 2002-present

His service beyond INASLA is also extensive. His many affiliations and positions in other allied organizations have included service on the:
Indianapolis Art Center Building Committee
Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society Executive Committee
Indiana Urban Forest Council Board of Directors
St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild Decorators’ Show House Design Committee
Meridian Kessler Neighborhood Association (Indianapolis) Land Use Committee
Indianapolis Museum of Art Horticultural Society Vice-President
Binford Redevelopment and Growth (BRAG) Advisory Council

David has was also appointed by Governor Joseph E. Kernan to serve from 2004-2008 on the Indiana Board of Registration for Architects and Landscape Architects, serving as Chair of this Board from 2005-06.

David’s service to the profession – as well as his outstanding projects - have made him a leader in the field of Landscape Architecture in the State of Indiana.

The Indiana Chapter of ASLA is proud to honor David Gorden with the 2010 Claire Bennett Legacy Award for his Service to the Profession.

INASLA NLAM 2010 Event: Clark Elementary School

In collaboration with school staff, students, and parents of Clark Elementary, Cory Daly and Dan Syrus developed a conceptual site master plan for an 11 acre site as part of the school’s annual Earth Day celebration. Cory and Dan participated in two design charrettes as part of the process to generate design ideas from the students and staff so the outdoor classroom could be a vision of the entire school and not just the landscape architects.

The school grounds include butterfly gardens, kitchen gardens, sun gardens, shade gardens, and native prairie gardens. Opportunities of learning wait around every corner for students as they run and play in the outdoor gardens. Students learn through interaction with on-site stormwater management techniques, interpretive signage, an interactive waterfall, hummingbird feeders, and bat boxes.

An interactive trail meanders through the prairie gardens and provides the opportunity for students to learn about 50 different types of Indiana native trees. Interpretive signage will be stationed at every tree and every type of garden throughout to enhance the student’s learning experience. A sundial plaza will also serve to instill knowledge of our earth’s solar system and provide social interaction for all who participate.

Overall, the design of the site incorporates all types of users, all types of plants, and all types of learning opportunities that will be shared and enjoyed through multiple generations today and for years to come.