2021-2022 News & Events Archive
SCASLA Event: Celebration of Frederick Law Olmsted's 200th Birthday
APRIL 26, 2022
On April 26th, students and faculty celebrated the 200th birthday of the father of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted. Cal Poly’s Student Chapter of ASLA invited all studios out to Dexter Lawn for cupcakes and a game of hacky sack. Fun hats were required. This event was a huge success in developing connections between different student cohorts and expanding department visibility. SCASLA and the Landscape Architecture Department are excited about continuing to foster new connections among students, majors, faculty, and alumni in the upcoming school year.
Follow SCASLA's Instagram for more updates : @scasla.slo
LA 204 Buellton Community Garden
SPRING 2022
During spring quarter 2022, a group of landscape architecture students recently participated in designing a community garden for a low-income neighborhood in Buellton, CA. The student presented their designs to the Buellton City Council by way of the Buellton Community Garden non-profit organization. The designs were received favorably such that the council granted permission to install the community garden on city-owned land. This new community garden will support residents need for green space and access to fresh food. Faculty member Aaron Liggett mentored students through this successful design effort.
The students' design proposals can be viewed on the Buellton Community Garden website, buelltongarden.org
See also, local media coverage of this project for the City of Buellton: http://www.santamariasun.com/news/21245/buellton-city-council-greenlights-proposed-community-garden/
Perspective drawing by LA 204 students
50th Anniversary Celebration and Class Reunion
APRIL 22-23, 2022
The Landscape Architecture Department 50th anniversary celebration, which occurred Friday April 22nd and Saturday the 23rd, was a great success. The festivities started on Friday (Earth Day!) with an alumni, faculty, donor, and student mixer at SLO Brew Rock. Participants enjoyed reminiscing and storytelling while current students got to learn about ‘the good old days’. The fun continued on Saturday at various events and presentations throughout San Luis Obispo including: a student and faculty led hike into Poly Canyon to check out Design Village, a downtown walking tour lead by Michael Codron – San Luis Obispo’s Director of Community Development, and a talk by alumni Shaun Cooper, Senior Planner with the County of San Luis Obispo Parks and Recreation Department and Heather Goodman with the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County that was given at the restored and historic Octagon Barn. The festivities continued Saturday evening with a barbecue at the newly redesigned (by LARC students) CAED Legacies Courtyard on campus. Attendees were treated to a history of the college by Dean Christine Theodoropoulos which is also celebrating its 75th anniversary, as well as remarks by the very first director of the program, Professor Paul Neel. Professor Richard Zweifel, former associate dean of the college and one of first faculty to teach in the program, followed with reflections on the history of the program and its earliest contributions to the profession.
The department would like to thank all attendees, participants, and those who helped make this event the success that it was. If you missed the 50th anniversary celebration, please come by when you are in town and visit us in Dexter Hall (Building 34). We would love to reconnect with you!
2022 Landscape Architecture Senior Show
March 11, 2022
Come join the graduating class of 2022 at the Senior Show! The event will be held on March 11th at The Penny SLO, 664 Marsh St from 5 to 8 pm. We look forward to seeing you there!
California Native Plant Society, San Luis Obispo
February Speaker: Lecturer Kim Chacon
Thursday, February 3rd at 7:00 pm
Lecturer Kim Chacon will be speaking about Landscape Design for Native Bees at the California Native Plant Society, San Luis Obispo Chapter on Thursday, February 3rd at 7:00 pm.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://cnps-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIoc-CsqzguGtb0c6LIvbTIGIpFB--P8SRN
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Student Design-Build Rain Garden
November 2021
Associate Professor Ellen Burke shared an update on the student design-build rain garden at Building 26 on Cal Poly Campus one year later, including a photo of it in action from earlier this year. In 2021-22, the group will be purchasing monitoring equipment and having students measure soil moisture and temperature, as well as count insect and bird inhabitation.
Lecturer Kim Chacon Weighs In on Big-Bee Project
November 15, 2021
A new data project at UC Santa Barbara, titled Big-Bee, will allow researchers to upload high resolution images to help better study thousands of bee species. Lecturer Kim Chacon spoke with KCBX radio station regarding the importance of the Big-Bee project, native bees and how her Cal Poly landscape architecture students are designing for bees. Kim’s research is concerned with solving bee habitat fragmentation, the main issue affecting bees currently. The Big-Bee project will help inform scientists and landscape designers alike about bee species distributions and how to best design and manage landscapes for bees.
Visit the following links for more information:
- KCBX Interview: https://www.kcbx.org/health-science-and-technology/2021-11-15/uc-santa-barbara-team-leads-bee-data-project-to-better-understand-species-decline
- Big-Bee: https://big-bee.net/
- Kim’s Website: https://www.beelandscapes.com/
