Linda Velazquez Editor & Publisher ASLA, LEED™ AP, GRP

Dear colleagues,

Happy February, a time to cherish our loved ones on Valentine's Day and honor the lives, struggles, and accomplishments of African-Americans in Black History Month! Supporting each other and celebrating our diversity as Americans is so very important in these trying times - as such, for our current Project of the Week we are showcasing the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, DC. It recently opened last September, and has been praised for both its uplifting and upsetting nature, not to mention its "greenness" since it's the Smithsonian's first LEED-Gold certified museum.

Speaking of green, we are in the throes of finalizing details for our upcoming web-based 2017 Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit, and are very excited to have the participation of our esteemed colleagues from our Advisory Group. We welcome your input, too, and hope you'll join us this April 9 - 30!

2017 Conference Updates: Don't miss the Early Bird Registration for the 2017 WGIC - World Green Infrastructure Congress - held in Berlin on June 20-22, 2017, which ends February 20. And Green Roofs for Healthy Cities' Grey to Green Conference: Quantifying Green Infrastructure will be held from May 8-10, 2017 in Toronto, but register now as early bird rates end March 10. Also, the CitiesAlive: 15th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference is now accepting proposals! Held this year in Seattle on September 18-21, 2017, the theme is building resilience and equity across Cascadia: people, community and places. Proposals are due March 17.