Caseylee Bastien, RLA, CPSI, BSC Group

Aqsa Butt, SITES AP, BSC Group

Chelsea Kilburn, Stoss

Albert Chen, Stoss

Todd Mistor, Boston Parks and Recreation Department

Access to the urban forest is essential for community health and well-being amid climate change and urban heat, yet cities face significant challenges, including canopy loss, biodiversity decline, uneven coverage, maintenance burdens, and interagency coordination. The session will start with Boston’s Urban Forest Plan, a research-driven planning effort informed by data, mapping, and diverse stakeholder engagement to promote environmental justice and tree equity. The plan informs both current maintenance as well as future planning efforts. Cambridge’s Triangle Park Urban Forest demonstration project will illustrate how ecological applications transform an underutilized traffic island into a robust and occupiable forest that supports biodiversity, stormwater management, and reduced maintenance with multi-structure successive woodlands. Finally, we will discuss two of Worcester’s innovative Miyawaki Forest installations, where dense, biodiverse, fast-growing pocket forests provide ecological and community benefits, demonstrating transformative urban greening strategies.

Phil Barlow PLA, AICP

Jessalyn L. Jarest, PLA, ASLA, Jessalyn Jarest Landscape Architecture, COLLAB Landscape Collective

Emma Schiffman Kelly, ASLA, Emma Kelly Landscape, COLLAB Landscape Collective

Have you ever wondered what it takes to start your own small business? This session will explore the structures and workings of three very different small landscape architecture offices, ranging in size from 1 to 13 people; and both residential to public sector projects. The panelists will share their stories about firm structure, the evolution of their practice, and try to answer all of your questions about small firm life.

Nette Compton, PLA, Mill River Park Collaborative

Robert Stigberg, PLA, Director of Maintenance and Capital, Rose Kennedy Greenway

Robert Adams, PLA, Halvorson | Tighe & Bond Studio

Sean Ragan, PLA, Halvorson | Tighe & Bond Studio

How do we create and sustain public open space in our cities and towns in the face of increasing competition with real estate development, limited municipal and grant funding, and high operating costs? Beyond the traditional model of a municipally created and sustained public open space lies a range of creative pathways for cities and municipalities. Based on case study examples of the Mill River Park Collaborative in Stamford, CT and The Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston, MA, we will explore creative models to structure and financially sustain public open space through public-private partnerships, tax increment financing (TIF) revenue, and other sources of revenue. The panel of landscape architects will also discuss lessons learned over time about how those operating structures inform public open space design.

Matthew Cunningham, RLA, Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC 

Lauren Stimson, ASLA, FAAR, Stimson

This session conceptualizes the farm as a place of experimentation and study that extends beyond the traditional landscape architecture studio. Two practitioners will share why they turned to the rural landscape for inspiration and how their farms have evolved into laboratories for horticulture, ecology and fieldwork, and how their research and design initiatives have informed the identity and culture of their firms.

Sebastian Gutwein, Regenerative Design Group Cooperative

Caseylee Bastien, RLA, CPSI, BSC Group

This presentation will explore how implementing the 2023 Healthy Soils Action Plan (HSAP) can transform our approach to landscape design across urban, suburban, and rural settings. We’ll discuss the profound impacts of current development practices on soil health and present practical, evidence-based recommendations for improving soil functions like stormwater management, nutrient retention, and carbon sequestration before, during, and after construction. Case studies will highlight successful applications of these practices, demonstrating how they can enhance habitats for plants, animals, and insects in diverse environments.

In addition, the session will facilitate an engaging discussion on overcoming the challenges of integrating soil health practices into landscape projects. Participants will have the chance to contribute feedback and wisdom that will shape further recommendations and best practices to be included in a “Guide for Implementing the Healthy Soils Action Plan in Design and Construction”, authored by Regenerative Design Group and other partners. The outcome of this session will be a new appreciation of the role of soil and important attendee input into the “Guide” - with the effect of having potentially large impacts on carbon sequestration, habitat regeneration, and ecosystem health across Massachusetts and New England.

Mary Lydecker, RLA, ASLA, LEED AP, Hargreaves Jones

Brian Gibbons, Rose Kennedy Greenway

Sharon Komarow, RLA, ASLA, KMDG

Landscape architects are increasingly at the foreground of projects that integrate significant public open space, multi-modal pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, and community programming with existing or reconstructed transportation facilities. This includes parks capping over or weaving below highways; the insertion of shared-use trails alongside active railways; and the re-envisioning of historic streets and open spaces to support the cultural, economic, and environmental resilience of cities. These projects deftly apply the unique creative and technical skills of landscape architects, while also emerging from inclusive and robust community engagement processes. Projects that will be profiled to explore these issues include: 

• North Meadow on the Greenway, The Rose Kennedy Greenway (Boston, MA)

• Main Street & Central Park (Johnstown, PA)

• Grand Junction Multi-Use Path (Cambridge, MA)

• I-395 Underdeck & Heritage Trail (Miami, FL)

• The Stitch (Atlanta, GA)

Nathanael Card, BSLA Plant Sourcing Task Force

Carl S. Hesselein, Pleasant Run Nursery

Donny Piccirillo, Pierson Nurseries

Jasmin Callahan, Dragonfly Natives

John Gedraitis, Van Berkum Nursery

The BSLA Plant Sourcing Task Force invites you to an open discussion with four leaders from nurseries across New England. The topic: How can landscape architects and nursery growers have a mutually beneficial relationship? We discuss current barriers to collaboration such as different “languages”, different expectations, and lack of communication. We’ll then discuss strategies to overcome them, starting with pulling back the curtain on the business pressures on the nursery industry. Our two skill sets as designers and growers must work in tandem to achieve true success for our planted projects.

Edward Kutchmanich, MCH, ISA & MCA certified arborist, AOLCP, Botanica Land Care

Madalyn Becker, MCH, AOLCP, Botanica Land Care

Bryan Obara, BOLD Meadows

Andrew Korzon, PLA, Larry Weaner Landscape Associates

As a team of designers and land care professionals, we are examining the complexity of meadow requests by clients and designers. In an effort to encourage designers to either begin or continue including meadow-type components, we will provide examples of common challenges and offer possible solutions. We will provide specific examples of different typologies including: site conditions, species selection, implementation and maintenance. We will offer insight for client education, managing expectations, and examine commonly asked questions.

Sohyun Park, PhD, ASLA, SITES AP, University of Connecticut

Zahra Ali, PhD Student, University of Connecticut

Anna Hilary, Undergraduate student, University of Connecticut

Taghreed Hussein, Undergraduate student,University of Connecticut

Biodiversity is a broad and increasingly important concept in landscape architecture and beyond. However, addressing biodiversity challenges and achieving meaningful outcomes requires collective efforts from individuals, organizations, agencies, and clients. While planting native species is valuable, true biodiversity-centered design goes beyond that. This presentation will explore the integration of diverse living organisms that form entire food webs and species interdependencies in every designed space—large and small, visible and invisible, widely recognized or overlooked. It will highlight the importance of a multispecies approach, showcasing biodiversity-positive projects and addressing implementation challenges. The discussion will cover pathways to biodiversity-centered design, including developing species-specific habitats, integrating monitoring mechanisms, collaborating with scientists before and after projects, and setting measurable biodiversity goals. Additionally, it will examine the role of system-level changes, such as zoning regulations and municipal design guidelines, in mainstreaming biodiversity-focused design. The talk will conclude with a call for stronger land stewardship and collective action to support thriving biodiversity systems through design and policy.

Luis Perez Demorizi, Parks, Rec & Culture Dept, City of Newton

Max Rome, PhD, Charles River Watershed Association

Indrani Ghosh, PhD, Weston & Sampson

Cassie Bethoney, RLA, Weston & Sampson

The Albemarle Field Project is a bold, collaborative effort to revitalize Cheesecake Brook, a key urban tributary of the Charles River. Led by the City of Newton, with the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) and Weston & Sampson Design Studio, this initiative addresses environmental challenges from urbanization—flooding, pollution, and habitat degradation. The project uses innovative solutions like subsurface infiltration systems, bioretention basins, native plantings, and creative design of recreational amenities to improve water quality, boost biodiversity, and strengthen climate resilience. Initial planning was supported by a $1.4 million Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant, while detailed design was funded by a 2024 Coastal Zone Management (CZM) grant, highlighting the strength of municipal, state, and federal collaboration for sustainable development. Beyond environmental restoration, the project focuses on community enrichment through upgraded recreational facilities and improved accessibility in Albemarle Park, blending ecological health with public use. Set for phased completion by 2026, the Albemarle Field Project serves as a dynamic model for urban stream restoration and climate resilience.

Click here to view slideshow.

Kelsey Kern, EIT, LEED AP, Nitsch Engineering

Hillary Waite, Town of Braintree, MA

Max Rome, Ph.D., Charles River Watershed Association

Newton Tedder, U.S. EPA New England

Stormwater quality and quantity have been large concerns for environmentalists and allied professionals for decades. Many regions have made great strides towards cleaner water with data to prove it, but have these efforts been enough to combat the effects of climate change? This session will demonstrate that water quality is an indicator of climate health and help to explain the complex relationship between water quality and climate change. Because stormwater has measurable parameters, this data is being used for regulatory purposes. This session will outline current and draft regulations compared to forecasts related to climate change. The speakers will present an overview of anticipated regulations in Massachusetts by MassDEP and the EPA – especially related to the Boston metro area. The speakers will then share thoughts on the role of landscape architects in accomplishing water quality goals along with necessary tools. The session will include a panel discussion of stakeholders advocating for and implementing stormwater regulations. The panel and audience will discuss opportunities and challenges related to stormwater management, how landscape architects can support or lead projects necessary to meet and exceed regulations, as well as educate site users and the public about the necessity of those regulations.

Emily Hunt, PLA, ASLA, CPSI, Copley Wolff

Brandon Kunkel, RLA, Weston & Sampson

This session will highlight two recently completed universal design playgrounds - the Louis A. DePasquale Universal Design Playground at Danehy Park in Cambridge by Weston & Sampson and the McGlynn School Universal Design Playground in Medford by Copley Wolff. Emily and Cheri will review key tenets of inclusive design, how they were applied to these projects, and key lessons learned.