Registration Underway for USU's 2007 Sustainable Landscapes Conference

Registration is in progress for the 2007 Sustainable Landscapes Conference to be held Tuesday, April 17, at Utah State University. “Equality of Life: Realizing Social Justice and Human Dignity through Design” is the theme of the eighth annual gathering, which will be held from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Eccles Conference Center auditorium. Discounts are offered to conference participants who register by April 15.

 

“This year’s conference explores the role that land use decisions and site design play in reinforcing or dismantling barriers to social equity and dignity in our communities,” says conference co-chair Alissa Salmore, a graduate student in USU’s landscape architecture program.

 

Kenneth Helphand, author of Defiant Gardens: Making Gardens in Wartime, is keynote speaker for the gathering. He speaks at 3 p.m. in the ECC auditorium.

 

“Helphand will discuss his book, in which he explores the persistence of human spirit through tending gardens in extreme conditions, proving that gardens are far more than peaceful respites from the outside world,” says Salmore. “Defiant Gardens is a thought-provoking analysis of why people create natural spaces.”

 

Helphand is a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Oregon, a visiting professor at the Israel Institute of Technology, and a Fellow with the American Society of Landscape Architects. He is author of numerous articles and reviews on topics in landscape history and the contemporary American landscape. His works include the ASLA award-winning books Colorado: Visions of an American Landscape (1991) and Yard Street Park: The Design of Suburban Open Space (with Cynthia Girling 1994). A book signing will follow his talk.

 

Copies of Helphand’s most recent book are available at the USU Bookstore.

 

Other invited speakers for the one-day symposium include California architect Rafael Sperry from Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility; Jeff Sheen and Keith Christensen, researchers from USU’s Center for Persons with Disabilities; Daniel B. Hess, professor at the University of Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning; John Allen, director of USU’s Western Rural Development Center and Scott Townsend, planner with the City of Lindsay, Calif. The conference concludes with a roundtable discussion among speakers and conference participants to further explore the topics of the day.

 

Pre-registration affords a discounted fee of $50 for professionals and members of the community, $25 for USU faculty and staff, and $10 for senior citizens and students with a current ID. After April 15, the fees are $60, $30, and $15, respectively. Conference registration includes access to all conference sessions, a conference guide and continental breakfast. Participants who register by April 15 will also receive lunch.

 

Tickets are also available for Kenneth Helphand’s talk only. Cost is $5 for professionals and the general public; $3 for USU students and senior citizens. 

 

A complete conference schedule, registration forms and ticket information are available online at the conference Web site or by calling 435-797-0500.

 

Parking for the conference is available in the university’s parking terrace at 850 E. 700 North. The Eccles Conference Center is a short walk from the parking terrace. The USU campus is served by Logan Transit District Routes 1 and 4, with a bus stop at the Veterinary Science building on 700 North.

 

The annual Sustainable Landscapes conference is volunteer-run and donor-funded. This year’s conference sponsors include USU’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, USU’s School of Graduate Studies, USU’s Western Rural Development Center, the Utah Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, USU’s Center for Persons with Disabilities, the Utah Assistive Technology Program, USU’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning and private donors.

 

 

Contacts: Megan Dunford [thegroundup@yahoo.com], 801-641-0074; Alissa Salmore, 208-406-3294