Take Action

The charge is serious. The charge is urgent. The moment is now.

The New Landscape Declaration calls us to act.

It is not good enough to be a good designer; landscape architects need to be active designers, engaging in politics, policy, finance, community service, and more. LAF offers a range of programs, tools, and stories of impact to inspire you and help you get started.

We pledge our services. We seek commitment and action from those who share our concern.

Image: NASA Earth Observatory courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ ERSDAC/JAROS and the US/Japan ASTER Science Team

Trees in a gravel parking lot at Glenstone

Go For It: Get Your Projects to Climate Positive

Landscape projects have the ability to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than they emit. By reducing a project’s carbon footprint (through design, materials selection, and maintenance practices), and increasing carbon storage and sequestration (by protecting habitat and soils and increasing plant biomass), designers can create landscapes that offset the carbon emitted in their construction and become carbon sinks.

2018-2019 LAF Fellow Pamela Conrad created the free, web-based Pathfinder tool to help you calculate the point (in years) that a project becomes climate positive. Within the tool, you can then make adjustments to the design and materials to see how they affect the time to positive. Use the tool to see your project's impact and get to positive faster! Check it out and share how it's helping you. #LAFTakeAction #ClimatePositiveDesign

National Memorial for Peace and Justice - Columns with the names of lynching victims hang in the pavilion

Commit to Work Toward Anti-Racism and Justice

With the recent killings of Black people at the hands of law enforcement and the pandemic spotlighting the effects of centuries of structural racism and injustice, much of which has been manifest and reinforced by the built environment, LAF stands steadfast in our efforts to make equity, inclusion, and justice central tenets in the landscape architecture discipline.

As shapers of the built environment who work with communities and institutions, landscape architects wield great power, and we urge all of our friends and supporters to do the necessary learning and use their power to work for change. We know that true change will take vigilance and unwavering commitment. Together we will continue to learn, share, and work to create a healthier, more just, equitable, and sustainable world.