Black River Charrette
The ASLA South Carolina Chapter was invited by the National Park Service to participate in a design charrette for the new Black River Water Trail. The goal of the charrette was to provide master plans for two parks located along the water trail. Participants in the charrette worked on designs for the Hinds Canada Tract (near Kingstree, SC) and the Rocky Point Community Forest (Georgetown, SC). These sites will be part of the new Black River Water Trail and the design programming will include a new state park visitor center, lodging, camping, kayak launches, trails, and boardwalks.
A regional master plan for the water trail is underway by Earth Design. The charrette for these two parcels will be included in the work presented for the regional plan.
The corridor is also being studied by a Clemson University third-year landscape architecture studio taught by Lara Browning. The students participated in the charrette alongside professional volunteers.
Charrette Sponsors
Chapter Calendar
Message from the President
Greetings ASLA South Carolina members,
This October e-news is filled with lots of updates and opportunities to participate, both virtually and in-person. The chapter executive committee has been busy planning and coordinating events, and we are looking forward to seeing you again! Please see below for more information and to RSVP. This will include the exciting two-day design charrette for Black River to provide input on the newest South Carolina State Park in over 20 years, the pre-event webinar (1.0 PDH) to learn more, and our October Virtual Site Tour + Talk (1.0 PDH)!
Voting has closed for chapter elections and constitution amendments with results verified and announced below. The Clemson student chapter has also held elections. We welcome and are grateful for the service of all new & returning officers! Registration for the 2021 ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture in Nashville is open with the Advanced Pricing deadline Oct 14th. I am looking forward to joining other officers representing the SC Chapter during the pre-conference Chapter Presidents Council (CPC) Meetings and attending conference presentations and events. Please reach out if you are planning to attend. Thank you for your membership* and participation with ASLA.
Kristina Harvey, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP, SITES AP
SCASLA Chapter President (2019-2021)
*update your preferred contact information via your ASLA member profile.
Platinum Sponsors
Meet Your Newest Chapter Leaders!
SCASLA Annual Elections have come to a close, results have been verified, and we are pleased to announce the newest chapter leaders! Confetti and balloons!! Thank you to everyone who participated in the election process.
President-Elect: Andrew Hargett
Treasurer: Michael Ethridge
Trustee: Holley Owings
At-Large Members (2): Jamie Hairfield and James Ward
Chapter Constitution Amendments: Passed
Clemson University has also announced their newest cohort of student leaders:
President: Caitlyn Van de Meulebroecke
Vice President: Kinzer Hurt
Secretary: Andrew Klebowski
Treasurer: Brianna Nalley
We are truly grateful for these individuals' willingness and enthusiasm to serve our chapter and our profession, and we look forward to kicking off your new terms with the Conference on Landscape Architecture! We would also like to give a huge THANK YOU for the tireless service of all of our current executive committee members and student leaders, and for those whose roles are changing or coming to a close, we wish you all the best in your next endeavor. More confetti and balloons!!
If you have any questions or would like to find out how YOU can get involved (hint: committees, conference planning, advocacy, procuring balloons, etc), please contact secretary@scasla.org.
Kristina Granlund, ASLA
SCASLA Secretary (2020-2022)
Let’s Talk About the Future!
Gold Sponsors
ASLA Government Affairs Busy at Work
ASLA has been busy advocating for landscape architects this year. With so many legislatives’ bills addressing transportation, water, and community funding, we needed a seat at the table to be sure our professional communities voice was heard.
TRANSPORTATION
Invest In America has monopolized the media airwaves. And no matter which side of the aisle you reside, we can all agree landscape architects and our clients will benefit from some of the policies being adopted in this bill. The ASLA government affairs team, including ASLA staff and dedicated members, pushed legislators to include funding for alternative transportation, reinstate
funding towards safe routes to schools, and continue pushing complete streets. Not only is this better for the communities we serve, but it also ensures transportation funding includes work for landscape architects. Check out this guide created by ASLA for the importance of multimodal transportation for all, Transportation_Recommendations.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) proposed revisions to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control devices (MUTCD). MUTCD defines the standards used by road managers nationwide to install and maintain traffic control devices on all public streets, highways, bikeways, and private roads open to public travel. Our government affairs team noticed several concerns in the proposed revisions, including the exclusion of landscape architects in the manual which conflicts with state licensure laws. We worked to review these guidelines to provide recommendations on these revisions, including comments from our own state advocacy community. Read more here ASLA DEFENDS LICENSURE AND ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION.
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has reached out to ASLA to interview landscape architects about federal processes and policies related to Complete streets. The project team was reviewing the current policies and practices related to complete streets they conducted these interviews to understand implementation barriers encountered by professions. The FWHA interviewed five Landscape Architects for feedback on the current policies.
NON-TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL ISSUES
ASLA has also been vocal in urging Congress to look at alternatives to adding permanent fencing to the Capitol Complex by placing landscape architects on the expert panel. ASLA is also urging the Biden administration appoint landscape architects again to the commission on fine arts (CFA), ensuring the CFA is diverse professionally in addition to their change of making sure the Commission has racial and gender diversity.
ASLA was asked to review and endorse the proposed Green Roofs for Public Schools Act. Our recommendations were for grants for planning and maintenance to be added (design excluded in the current bill language), as well as asking for Landscape Architects to be added to the professionals listed to work on these projects. Using SITES as the measuring tool for these projects was also suggested. ASLA is hoping to endorse the next version of this bill if these changes were included. Reach out if you want to be involved with next review.
Holley Owings, PLA, ASLA
SCASLA Chapter Trustee (2019-2021)
holley@scasla.org
Chapter News and Updates
It's Almost CharretteTime!
The ASLA South Carolina Chapter was invited by the National Park Service to participate in a design charrette for the new Black River Water Trail, South Carolina's newest state park in 20 years!
The goal of the charrette is to provide master plans for two parks located along the water trail, which stretches from Kingstree to Georgetown. Volunteer participants in the charrette will work on designs for the Hinds Canada Tract (near Kingstree, SC) and the Rocky Point Community Forest (Georgetown, SC).
The charrette will be held from October 22-23, 2021 in Georgetown, SC, and the event will follow the latest COVID protocols. Spaces are limited and a waitlist will be available. Sign up today!
NEW: Registration is available for a webinar with 1 CEU to learn more about the history of this exciting project and the regional plan currently underway by Earth Design Inc.
SCASLA Virtual Site Tours Continue
As a reminder, the chapter continues with virtual events for providing continuing education via LA CES Professional Development Hours (PDH) to complement ASLA’s monthly free PDH in lieu of an in-person conference for 2021. These are free for SCASLA members and $10 for non-members.