Build your knowledge, skills, and credentials. Understand climate science and how to design for it. Increase your cultural literacy. Research, read, and travel to learn different ways of looking at and doing things. Learn the language of developers and politicians. Find out what the kids are talking about. Sit on an awards jury or just call your alma mater and see what’s new. Innovation is born at the intersection of theory and real-life practice.
Learning doesn’t stop when you cross the stage at commencement, degree in hand. Landscape architects are curious by nature; connecting communities, investigating impacts, and solving complex problems are central to the discipline. Continued learning doesn’t have to take place through a formal process, but continuing to ask questions and research the issues facing the planet today contributes to good design that promotes equity, sustainability, and a healthier world for all.
Here are a few examples to get you started:
EXPLORE CLIMATE CHANGE AND YOUR ABILITY TO EFFECT CHANGE
LAF’s Climate Change Resource Guide gathers several resources for landscape architects to develop and implement landscape solutions. The guide offers sections dedicated to understanding the problem, designing for climate change, and advocating for action.
INFORM YOURSELF ON DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
LAF's 2019 DEI Surveys are the first discipline-wide survey addressing these issues. Both individuals and firms recognized the importance of the topic in both design and business. Yet, according to responses, diversity, equity, and inclusion are sometimes hard to understand and therefore hard to support through policy and practice. LAF’s summary highlights opportunities for improvement and suggestions for growth.
Licensure signifies to others that you’ve built your knowledge and skills and that you’re continuing your education to keep your certification up to date. Requirements vary by state and many state ASLA chapters offer resources, study sessions, and scholarships to help make the process more accessible.
STUDY UP ON EXEMPLARY PROJECTS
LAF’s Landscape Performance Series (LPS) highlights the ways in which landscapes provide quantifiable benefits. Learn more about how to achieve specific goals and how to incorporate landscape performance into your practice. The LPS is easily searchable and has a library of projects that address resiliency and climate and social impacts.
Landscape architects can serve as powerful partners in creating places that generate a high return on investment but often don’t know how to express the value of their work in language compelling to developers. This webinar offers insights from three experts for how landscape architects can translate their work and reach their greatest potential.
