LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

It has been a very busy few months for NMASLA , but before I get to that I’d like to talk a bit about NMASLA’s advocacy efforts. In last quarter’s newsletter, I briefly mentioned the fundraising NMASLA was doing to hire a lobbyist to assist in defending New Mexico’s landscape architecture licensure act from sunsetting in 2025. Not long after, I received an email from a couple of our members asking, Why do we need to go through this intensive and expensive process to extend our licensure act, just six years since the last time we did it? Isn’t there a better way? If we educate the public about the essential role landscape architects play in the creation of successful and resilient communities, could we more effectively pursue legislation that would improve or eliminate the sunset process? 

These are great questions, and they made me realize NMASLA needs to do a better job communicating to all of you about the sunset process and other advocacy issues and what NMASLA and ASLA are doing about them. The sunset process is frustrating, and it’s frustrating that some of our allied professions in New Mexico don’t have to defend their licensure acts as frequently as we do. This is likely at least partly due to their professions being better understood by the public and legislators.

Because of this discrepancy in the public perception of landscape architecture versus professions such as engineering and architecture, ASLA has campaigned extensively on behalf of our profession to educate legislators at all levels of government, and to educate the general public and potential future landscape architects about what we do. Our local New Mexico ASLA chapter is also frequently involved in efforts to get the word out about landscape architecture. We share all kinds of information about what NMASLA and our profession are up to on social media. We participate in educational events for K-12 kids. We table at community events like the Albuquerque Earth Day Festival. We talk with our federal and state legislators about who we are and why they should support us. We issue press releases for important events and accomplishments in our field. And we bring landscape architects and other allied professionals together to grow our network and celebrate each other.

In addition to this work that happens every year, this year, (thanks to generous member donations and Golf Tournament sponsorships), we have hired Maki Campaign Solutions (MCS) to provide lobbying services to assist NMASLA in extending the sunset provision of the landscape architecture licensure act, and to pursue possible legislation to extend the Landscape Architecture Board’s sunset provision from six years to ten years. MCS will help us accomplish these goals through the development of an education campaign targeting our stage legislators, relevant committee members, the Legislative Finance Committee, the Legislative Council, and the Governor’s Office; the establishment of a coalition of supports from allied industries; and the identification of a legislative champion.

This work will come together to provide a framework of support for the defense of our licensure act. The framework, however, is just a scaffolding that requires all of us to bring it to life. We need you to join in the effort to contact your legislators, show up on Advocacy Day at the Roundhouse during the next legislative session, and be the voice of landscape architects across the State that convince our supporters and detractors that landscape architects play a critical role in the development of our communities and that we need licensure to protect the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens.

October is the start of a new Executive Committee and a new year of planning. This year the Ex-Com is filled with many new faces as well as more seasoned officers, making this a great time to kick off new initiatives and make change. I invite each of you to get involved. You don’t have to be a member of the Executive Committee to attend Ex-Com meetings, to lead or join a committee, help plan an event, or advocate on behalf of landscape architecture to your legislators. All you have to do is let us know you want to help, and we’ll find a way to get you involved in whatever it is that interests you most. I’d love to hear from you! Email me at kwerenko@plandcollab.com, or our incoming president, Arturo Merino, at arturo@westwindlandscape.com.

Here’s what’s been happening since our last newsletter:

• Tijeras Creek Cultural Corridor Tour – about twenty-five people joined members of the City of Albuquerque Open Space Division, Bernalillo County Parks, Recreation and Open Space, Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District, Adaptive Terrain Systems, Ecotone Landscape Planning, and local landscape architects and planners on a tour of several projects throughout Tijeras Canyon. These included the Singing Arrow Community Center, the Tijeras Biozone Education Center and Inclusive Sensory Nature Trail, the Tijeras Creek Watershed Restoration Project, and the Tijeras Creek Remediation Project.

• The 29th Annual NMASLA Golf Tournament – a huge thanks to our many generous sponsors of this year’s successful tournament and fundraiser, which was held at Top Golf. It was a fun afternoon of good food, bad golf, and great company!

• Robert Loftis joined the New Mexico Board of Landscape Architects and was appointed Chair at the September board meeting. Many thanks to Chris Green, who stepped down after the completion of his term, for his time and service on the board!

• Brian Verardo was elected President-Elect of CLARB’s 2024-2025 Board of Directors. Congratulations, Brian!

• UNM’s Landscape Architecture students celebrated Park(ing) Day in style last week. Check out NMASLA’s Instagram post about the event!

• What did I miss? Let us know about your achievements and other happenings in landscape architecture across New Mexico. We’d love to share it on our website, in email blasts or in the next newsletter.

Finally, I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to this year’s Executive Committee and our entire membership for making my year as President a success. It has been a pleasure to serve New Mexico’s landscape architecture community, and I look forward to continuing being involved as Past-President when Arturo Merino assumes the presidency following the upcoming ASLA Annual Conference in Washington DC next month.

Best wishes,

Kristina Werenko
NMASLA President

On August 30, members of NMASLA gathered at TOPGOLF in Albuquerque for its annual Golf Tournament, although this year there were no carts, no tee times, and scores were tabulated by computer. Teams of up to 6 players were able to drive their ball out into a field with numerous large ‘holes’ with varying scores, as well as the hope to make that Hole in One. The mood was upbeat and the crowd seemed to really enjoy themselves, even those who hadn’t picked up a golf club in decades, or ever before. From the comments heard from the participants, the food and beverages were great. Hats off to Arturo Merino for pulling this al together!

But an event like this couldn’t have taken place without our sponsors, who we would like to thank one more time:

AND THE WINNERS WERE:

Team High Score: Westwind

Best Group Costume: Garden Ornaments by Consensus Planning

Best Individual Costume: Rosie the Riveter by Courtney McKelvey

Santa Fe Children’s Museum Playground

Surroundings worked with The Santa Fe Children's Museum over the course of four years to help design a master plan, identify phasing scopes and realize the first phase renovation of their backyard. It finally opened back up to the public this summer!

The site was incrementally built over many years and lacked a cohesive vision. With the help of a grant from the State of New Mexico to make the site accessible, The Museum was able to move forward with Surroundings' plan to provide a large ADA loop path that brings families to all corners of the site. Along the way, visitors can now enjoy a new music garden, a loose parts play, a sand and water play, picnic area and a new amphitheater. The overall design reflects the mission of the Museum to foster learning, creativity and a sense of wonder through unstructured play.

RECENTLY PUBLISHED……

Beginning n 2010, Christie Green learned to hunt elk, deer, oryx, turkey, grouse, and quail in the eight eco-regions of New Mexico. Her deeply moving memoir, Moonlight Elk: One Woman’s Hunt for Food and Freedom (High Road Book), chronicles her journey to self-sufficiency as a fledgling hunter and a woman alone in the wilderness. Structured around the phases of the moon, the book lays out how different times of the month affect Green’s hunting grounds and her own emotional state as she navigates how to redefine her boundaries as a single mother, a lover, a business owner, and an ethical hunter in a male dominated society. Above all else, Green listens to and learns from what the animals have to say.

Molly Boyle, New Mexico Magazine September 2024

UNM Landscape Architecture Update

Greetings from the UNM Landscape Architecture Department! The Fall 2024 semester is off to a great start as we welcomed in a new cohort of students along with our continuing students in the two and three-year MLA programs - 28 graduate students in total. Although it seems like we just returned to campus, one third of the semester has already flown by, with Fall Break right around the corner. Now that everyone is deep into their studio projects, we would like to share some updates with the NM ASLA professional community.

Park-ing Day 2024 (see Photo above)

On September 20, the LA505 studio, with the help of SASLA, transformed a Central Avenue parking space into a vibrant oasis celebrating the Bosque. The studio designed the installation and collected fallen materials from the Bosque. Students created cutouts of local wildlife, including hawks, porcupines, and butterflies, all made in the UNM fabrication lab. With lush plants rented from a Plant World, we invited the public to connect with nature in a place surrounded by concrete and asphalt. Visitors were curious and lingered in the installation, fostering a greater appreciation for the beauty of the Bosque. Thank you to everyone who joined us in this engaging celebration!

Studios 

This semester, the Introductory Studio LA501 cohort is building their fundamental design skills by working on ideas for a small performance pocket park in downtown Albuquerque, led by Susannah Abbey.  The Indigenous Landscape Studio LA503 (led by Anthony Fettes) is engaging in their first community-based learning experience, collaborating with the Hozho Voices of Healing Center in Borrego Pass, NM. In this project, students are learning about the importance of Indigenous reciprocity and agropastoral lifeways to address food sovereignty in the Navajo Nation, while providing design assistance to the Center. Meanwhile, students in their final year are working on innovative design ideas for the Peja Culture Pavilion competition in the LA505 Competition Studio, led by Kathy Kambic. This international competition aims to revitalize the city center of Peja, Kosovo, transforming it into a vibrant public hotspot. 

If you are interested in learning more about the studio projects or would like to be a reviewer, please reach out to us! 

Department Chair Transition 

At the end of this year, Katya Crawford will be stepping down as Chair of the LA Department at UNM. She will continue as Professor in the program after a much needed sabbatical, and we are pleased to announce that Associate Professor, Catherine Page Harris, will be taking the reins as the new Chair. Over the past 5 years, Katya has brought an unparalleled amount of joy and creativity to the program, while also teaching AND running the department. We look forward to her shift back into teaching and the inspiration that she brings to all of us. Thank you, Katya!

ASLA 2024 Conference Attendance

This next month, the LA Department will have strong representation at the ASLA 2024 Conference in Washington, D.C. Six students will be attending, along with Katya Crawford and Catherine Page Harris. If you happen to be there, be sure to visit the UNM table at the LABash Block Party on Monday, October 7th from 4:30 - 5:30pm ET in the EXPO.

iPad Program

We continue to be grateful for the NM ASLA coordinated donations for purchasing iPads in 2021. Thank you to the generous support from Dekker, Pland Collaborative, Surroundings Studio, Consensus Planning, and Richard Bumstead. Over the past three years, these tools have provided numerous students the opportunity to enhance their skills and showcase excellent hybrid digital, hand-drawn graphics.

Coming in 2025

In the next newsletter we will share some of the great things that are in the works for 2025, including UNM SA+P celebrating 50 years.

OCTOBER 6-9, 2024 - ASLA National Conference, Washington, D.C

Early November 2024 - Multimodal Tour of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, New Mexico