Hopefully everyone has managed to stay cool with this heat we’ve had as our summer wraps up and school starts again! As Fall fast approaches we are excited about several of our upcoming PGASLA events.

The Sponsorship Appreciation Event is always a fun time to get together with other Landscape Architects and thank our sponsors for their continued support of the Prairie Gateway Chapter! The event includes heavy appetizers and drinks (for free), and Char Bar is always a great place for a large group gathering. Please RSVP for the August 31st event, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Many of you have attended our PGASLA Annual Meetings in the past, and this year we are excited to try a new format for the event. We will be holding the event on September 28th at Lake Olathe, and an educational LACES-approved session will be included to learn about the design of the park. Join us for happy hour beforehand, and a presentation about what the Prairie Gateway Chapter executive committee has been working on during the last year. We will also be introducing the new executive committee members from our recent elections. 

Speaking of elections, we had great turnout in voting for next year's executive committee candidates. Thank you to everyone who ran! Here are the results:

           President Elect - Celine Armstrong

           Secretary - Madison Quincke

           Vice President of Membership - Scott Stefanc

           Vice President of Public Relations - Taryn Borelli

           Manhattan Member-at-large - Jessica Canfield

           Wichita Member-at-large - Jessi Garrett

In other news, The U.S. Access Board issued a final rule on accessibility guidelines for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way. These new guidelines go into effect next month, and the website has been updated to include a lot of new information. Additionally, the Access Board provides free technical assistance specifically on accessibility of public right-of-way, including sidewalks, street crossings, and other pedestrian used features. Email row@access-board.gov for more information.

What’s the big idea behind Minecraft as a design tool? Tune into part 2 of the Career Discovery 3-part webinar series ASLA Explores Landscape Architecture Through the Digital Lens of Minecraft. TODAY, August 31, 1:30pm, Abigail Danner, ASLA shares research findings from her post-baccalaureate studies in landscape architecture at Kansas State University. Her study compared traditional design methods to digital methods of community engagement with high school students. Register now to hear her findings during Building Blocks of Inclusion: Examining the Research Behind Minecraft as a Design Tool for Youth. 

Until next time,

Sean Ray, PLA, ASLA

PGASLA President

Join us for our annual event to thank 2023 Sponsors for their continued support of PGASLA! Stop by anytime to see Sponsors and Members for a casual in-person gathering. This event will be held outdoors, weather permitting. Heavy appetizers, drinks, and games will be provided by PGASLA.

Where: Char Bar

When: Thursday, August 31st from 6-9pm

PGASLA members – 1 free ticket

PGASLA Sponsors – up to 4 free tickets, based on sponsorship level

Non-members / Additional tickets – $15 each

August 31 | 6:00-9:00pm

Char Bar

Join us for our annual meeting to learn about what the Prairie Gateway Chapter has been up to during the last year, and to meet the incoming members of the Executive Committee. The event will also feature a LACES-approved educational session about the design of Lake Olathe Park, where the meeting is being held. Heavy appetizers and drinks will be provided by PGASLA.

Where: Eagles Landing at Lake Olathe

When: Thursday, September 28th. Happy hour will be at 5:00pm, followed by PGASLA and CEU presentations from 6 to 7:30pm.

PGASLA members — $10 ticket

Non-members — $20 each

Please RSVP by September 20th. Questions? Email Sean Ray at sean.a.ray@gmail.com

September 28 | 5:00-7:30pm

Eagles Landing at Lake Olathe Venue

September LINKS: Imagining the Park of Tomorrow

Please join us for a LINKS event sponsored by ABCreative. Éric Tomeo – the owner of Trekfit, and a passionate advocate for outdoor physical activity, will be visiting from Quebec Canada to speak to us about the importance of community fitness and educate on strategies to incorporating equipment in parks and public spaces.

His modern approach to outdoor fitness is focused on designing spaces that are inviting to teens and adults of all abilities. This means that a user can be out of shape and needs “easy to approach equipment”, or an A+ level athlete, or a senior citizen in a wheelchair. He goes over the importance of having viable options for all the user groups – and importantly – designing these spaces so that the community actively utilizes them.

Learning Objectives:

1. The Importance of Community Fitness
2. How to Promote Fitness in the Parks of the Future
3. Approaching fitness equipment for all abilities and age ranges

• Teens are commonly forgotten.
• How can fitness be approached by those with disabilities
• How do get grandma on the equipment.

RSVP by Thursday, September 14th. Course will provide 1.0 continuing education credits. Lunch will be provided. Email Jackie Dietz with any questions at jackie.dietz@forms-surfaces.com.

September 18 | 12:00-1:00pm

Center for Architecture & Design

October LINKS: Designing for Outdoor Play and Fitness

Please join us for a LINKS event sponsored by Kompan. Join Suzanne Quinn with Kompan for this month’s CEU lunch. Suzanne Quinn has a PhD in child and family studies from Syracuse University. She is the manager of the KOMPAN Play Institute, Americas. In this role she is part of the international research team for the company, and the lead for North America. The institute investigates trends and issues in the fields of play, health, and the built environment and consults with children on what is best in play. The Play Institute works closely with the Fitness Institute, investigating issues related to health and fitness across the lifespan. Suzanne is an editor of the 2018 Routledge Handbook of International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and a diverse catalog of peer reviewed publications. She has extensive teaching experience as a university lecturer.

Play and fitness are essential for people of all ages & abilities. This session will cover research on the benefits of outdoor play & fitness and how to design outdoor spaces to increase health for all ages & abilities. We will help you to apply these principles so that you can create well-designed outdoor play and fitness spaces that help strengthen communities and promote health equity.

Learning Objectives:

1. Be able to summarize a rationale for play and fitness as a component of equity in public health
2. Learn the research informed criteria used to assess play & fitness equipment that motivates high levels of activity
3. Learn about universal design principles;
4. Learn how to apply play & fitness criteria to the design of outdoor play & fitness spaces

RSVP by Thursday, September 28th. Course will provide 1.0 continuing education credits. Lunch will be provided. Email Jackie Dietz with any questions at jackie.dietz@forms-surfaces.com.

October 3 | 12:00-1:00pm

Center for Architecture & Design

Brian D Roth, Chapter Trustee

August 2023

Join us in Minneapolis! The advance rate deadline has been extended to September 12! Please register before the next price increase. The field sessions are selling out fast, secure a place today. 

If you are interested in what ASLA national has been up too this past month and what opportunities ASLA is offering, please visit FULL TRUSTEE REPORT

Highlights:

• Upon learning that West Virginia University (WVU) has proposed elimination of its undergraduate and graduate programs in landscape architecture, President Emily O’Mahoney, FASLA, and CEO Torey Carter-Conneen submitted a  letter of support for the programs on behalf of ASLA, joining several WVU alumni and allied organizations who have provided enthusiastic support for WVU landscape architecture; the university’s LA program leadership will submit an appeal to the university.  
• CEO Torey Carter-Conneen has been busy visiting chapters and other locales this week. Carter Conneen first visited the Illinois Chapter in Chicago, August 10-11, where he provided a short update on ASLA’s key issues and then participated in their awards ceremony. On August 16, Carter-Conneen was the keynote speaker for Building Connections: The Role of Parks and Open Spaces in Climate Action, presented by the MetroParks Toledo and SmithGroup. The event culminated with a peer-to-peer discussion on climate action related to resilience & carbon, assessing and mitigating risk, and community & partnerships. The day concluded with a tour of the Glass City Metropark.   
• Following those visits, CEO Carter-Conneen continued onto the Indiana Chapter for its awards reception and 50th anniversary celebration. Carter-Conneen was the keynote at the event. After, he moderated the panel, Nurturing Growth: Diversity in Leadership and Landscape Architecture. Panelists included: SuLin Kotowicz, FASLA, ASLA President-Elect; Meg Storrow, FASLA; April Westcott, FASLA, VP Elect of Membership; and Ali Khan, Student ASLA. On August 17, Carter-Conneen was the morning keynote, where he presented Landscape Architecture: A Solution to the Climate Crisis.