MORRIS ARBORETUM TOUR
NJASLA Educational Field Trip
May 30, 2012, 10 am to 3:30 pm
Register Here
Participants are responsible for their own travel to and from the Arboretum.
Meet at Widener Visitor Center
Please arrive on time!
ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED TO 40 PARTICIPANTS

A lesser-known fact is that April also is Landscape Architecture Month.

Today, we mark the 190th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted, father of the American landscape architecture, and architect of some of the most widely visited parks in the nation.

Olmsted’s style was defined by natural rolling landscape, plantings of various species and subspecies of trees and shrubs, the consistent use of curved footpaths and roadways, and often the addition of animals in a natural habitat.

Our area is blessed with many expressions of this healing landscape design philosophy, connecting community life to open space, and physical activity with positive natural settings that encourage healthy outcomes for all age groups.

The most obvious example is Central Park, a New York City icon of positive open space in an urban context.

The park’s construction began in 1858.

Through his design, Olmsted believed that the common green space must always be equally accessible to all citizens.

This principle is now fundamental to the idea of a public park.

This week, New York and New Jersey chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects have coordinated several events highlighting the works of Olmsted and other prominent landscape architects within the metropolitan area.

Many of the planned activities are in or near parks and green spaces designed by Olmsted, from Central Park and Prospect Park in New York to some New Jersey locations.

In Somerset

Today, at Colonial Park, 156 Mettlers Road in Somerset (Franklin Township), you can join with NJASLA members in opening a new playground.

For more information, call 732-873-2459 or visit www.somersetcounty

parks.org/parksfacilities/colonial/

Read article at MyCentralJersey.com

New Jersey Landscape Architects “Get Physical” in activities to join national celebrations highlighting the profession and its contributions to public health during Landscape Architecture Month this April.

New Jersey, April, 26, 2012 – Landscape architects in New Jersey will join others from Honolulu to Vermont and gather today on local street corners, in parks, and on trails in celebration of National Landscape Architecture Month (NLAM). The original “Green Design” profession, landscape architects will demonstrate how they design the environment by preserving nature, creating active ecosystems, enhancing biodiversity, contributing to cleaner air and, in particular, encouraging healthier lifestyles.

“Landscape architects create spaces that promote physical activity, including parks, recreational facilities, bicycle paths, walking trails, and transportation corridors that offer alternatives to a reliance on cars,” said Susan Hatchell, president of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

Activities in New Jersey sponsored by the New Jersey Chapter (NJASLA) include:

Branch Brook Park, City of Newark, April 15, 2012 – Six students of the landscape architecture program at Rutgers University’s School of Environmental and Biological Sciences participated in the Cherry Blossom 10K Run at the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park, host of an ornamental cherry display rivaling Washington, DC.  The Run through the cherry tree groves in this USATF-sanctioned race included a 1 Mile Children’s Fun Run and a Race for the Disabled.  A portion of the race proceeds benefit the Special Olympics.

Derek Cowell, Michael Cucinotta, Erin Greenwood, Alex Kozar, Kim Richmond, and Maria Torres formed our running team.  The six students sported “Designed by a Landscape Architect” T-shirts in honor of the designer of Branch Brook Park, Frederick Law Olmsted a founder if the American landscape architect profession and “Ask me about LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE” buttons. Student Chapter President Erin Greenwood exclaimed, “It was a blast!”

Colonial Park, Franklin Township, Somerset County, April, 26, 2012 – For 2012, in keeping with the Healthy Community Design theme, Somerset County will open a newly renovated Morgan Pellowski Playground at Colonial Park for the enjoyment of the public.  The renovation of the began with the intent to provide a safe, friendly and inclusive play environment for children.  The play equipment was selected with input from professionals with expertise in therapeutic recreation.  Play areas have been designed to be age specific by national standards and regulations; with equipment designed for specific age groups 6 month to 24 months, 2 years to 5 years, and 5 years to 12 years.

Based upon physical and emotional development, each age group has been given a specific space within the playground to explore and play.  The older age group has been given the most challenging pieces of equipment and the younger groups will use smaller pieces, closer to the ground, but still offering challenging activities.  A large planting area in the center of the playground provides physical separation between the different age-appropriate play areas.

Ecological systems are also a theme that has been incorporated into the design of the playground space.  Rain gardens have been installed to absorb stormwater.  Native plants have been used throughout the playground; many selected to encourage pollinating insects and birds.  Once the plantings are established, song birds will be frequent visitors to the playground along with children and caregivers.  Accompanying care givers are given opportunities to sit and oversee the children playing in the playground.  Paths leading from each of the parking lots have been designed and constructed to provide accessible routes to and from the playground. The designers will be on hand to discuss the innovations of the new playground.

National events include landscape architects sketching new designs to better their neighborhoods or leading bike- or walking-tours that showcase examples of landscape architecture’s contributions to local communities.

The 26^th marks the 190^th anniversary of Frederick Law Olmsted’s birthday, considered the father of American landscape architecture. Olmsted designed such iconic spaces as Central Park, and his son helped found ASLA in 1899.  In recognition of the great strides made by the Central Park Conservancy to restore Central Park, NJASLA is sponsoring a walking tour the morning of April 26.  All proceeds going toward future improvements and maintenance of Central Park.

Said President Hatchell “This day of action is indicative of our membership’s commitment to educating the public on how design tackles issues from obesity and heart disease to climate change.” A new ASLA brochure, “Designing for Your Health and Well-Being,” describes the ways that landscape design can promote healthy living.  Since Olmsted’s time, the field of landscape architecture has led environmental solutions and prompted new, healthy approaches to civic planning with such design innovations as green roofs, partnership in sustainability certification, and green infrastructure solutions.

View all scheduled nationwide events via Google maps. Learn more about landscape architecture by visiting www.asla.org/design.

Both Governor Christie and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno officially proclaimed April, 2012 as Landscape Architecture Month in New Jersey, “in recognition of the significant achievements of landscape architects throughout the Garden State.”

The Governor joins a long line of past NJ leaders in praise of the profession since the inception of a national Landscape Architecture Month over ten years ago. This administration’s approval of the profession solidifies its pledge to preserve the health, safety and welfare of residents of the Garden State. As regulations to clarify practice responsibilities of licensed landscape architects are being developed from approved legislation of 2009, it is especially heartening to hear these words of encouragement from New Jersey’s Chief Executive.

To read the full Proclamation, go to 2012 Proclamation.