ASLA happenings during February and early March, 2008

• The green roof tours continue to be a strong draw. Recent tours included a politician interested in learning more about stormwater management, landscape architects who were visiting, and working on projects in the area. With some help from ASLA, the politician will be getting professional help to solve the town’s stormwater issues. Tours continue with at least one to two per day.
  
  
• Act before March 14! ASLA’s campaign to secure congressional funding for the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) continues. The entire ASLA membership is urged to sign onto the Advocacy Network to contact their Representative in Congress. Urge them to sign onto Congressman Russ Carnahan’s letter to the House Interior Appropriations subcommittee requesting $800,000 for HALS. To date, over 250 letters have been sent to Congress on behalf of HALS. However, more participation is needed if we are to secure congressional signatures for the Carnahan letter before the March 14 deadline.
  
  
• A big “thank you” to the Chapter Presidents, Board of Trustees, and other ASLA members for making ASLA’s second In-District Lobby Day a success. ASLA relies on your feedback about your congressional meetings to determine the next steps for staff to follow up with Members of Congress.
  
  
• The New Jersey upgrade legislation passed the Assembly Committee on Regulated Practices and Professions on February 25, despite some opposition from the landscape designers. It now awaits action on the Assembly floor.
  
  
• The Washington upgrade legislation was heard by House committee on February 28, where it stripped a controversial amendment added by the Senate. The bill now awaits action by the full House and will need to be reconsidered by the Senate due to the amendment.
  
  
• ASLA activated the Advocacy Network recently for ASLA members in Michigan to urge the Senate to pass SB 382 and SB 383, legislation that would update the state’s licensure law.
  
  
• The newsletter for the Water Conservation PPN has been posted on the ASLA website (www.asla.org). The Sustainable Design and Development PPN and the Residential Landscape Architecture PPN will have newsletters posted in the near future.
  
  
• On February 28, the National Building Museum presented the lecture, “DC Builds: What Makes Great Streets?” ASLA professional practice staff attended a panel discussion by representatives of Washington DC’s academic, governmental, business and retail communities regarding the essential components for vibrant, livable streets in Washington, D.C.
  
  
• MSN.com—one of the most visited websites in the world—promoted asla.org as a source to find professionals for landscape design. Over 30 million people visit MSN.com every day, making it more popular than all the network nightly news broadcasts combined.
  
  
• PR staff launched a press release on water-saving steps to generate additional traffic for Firm Finder.
  
  
• PR Coordinator Walker has prepared an Internet outreach plan build on ASLA’s online success.
  
  
• Staff distributed a press release on ASLA’s climate change policy recommendations. Greener Buildings, FOXBusiness, and the Biloxi Sun-Herald have already picked up the story.
  
  
• Chapters continue to send in events for National Landscape Architecture Month. Submit events by visiting the “Resources” section under “Tell us about your chapter event.”
  
  
• As NLAM approaches, PR outreach on career discovery has created nearly 800 stories reaching 80 million people.
  
  
• ASLA continues to reach out to students using social media websites, resulting in ASLA’s Facebook group which has now over 1,000 members.
  
  
• LABash was hosted by Guelph University on February 21-23. Over 600 students attended. President Perry Howard, FASLA, spoke at the Opening Session and served as a judge for the charrette. ASLA hosted two educational sessions and a Student Chapter President luncheon. LABash 2009 will be hosted by Penn State; UNLV was selected as the 2010 host school.
  
  
• The first ASLA Leadership Training workshop was held in Chicago on February 28-29; 46 attendees representing 22 chapters were present. PA/DE ASLA Chapter sent VP/Pres-Elect Rich Rausso and VP-Elect Dave Goldberg. Another training session will be set up soon. ASLA pays expenses for two members from each chapter. If interested, email the chapter: info@landscapearchitects.org
  
  
• So far, 278 exhibitors have reserved approximately 55,000 square feet of exhibit space for the ASLA EXPO in Philadelphia in October. The EXPO is 62 percent sold with 33,700 square feet still available.
  
  
• A reminder was sent to firms about the free JobLink internship posting that continues during March and April. ASLA will email students encouraging them to find summer internships using JobLink.
  
  
• Meetings Director JoAnn Brown and Coordinator Cassie Banks traveled to Philadelphia March 4 for a site visit and to meet with the host chapter.