The Landscape Nerd

05/10/2024

In DC?! Come see , Carl Brass, and I talk about neurodiversity, design, and community!

It's my second year speaking at the ASLA conference and it is such an honor. It's an incredible opportunity that I still have to wrap my head around. People want to hear about making our profession and work more inclusive.

I am finding my voice with the help of all of you. Your feedback and encouragement helped shaped what The Landscape Nerd is and will be become. Hope to see you all there 😊

04/07/2024

I'm known for being nerdy and bringing awareness to neurodiversity and inclusion, but I am also talking about disability. Neurodivergence can be disabling and can be considered a disability. It depends greatly on how performing neurotypical standards impacts your life. We can honor these different lived experiences bringing more awareness to them and celebrating those points of view!

Disability not inability. Different not deficient.

Color guide:

Red - physical disabilities
Gold - neurodiversity
White - invisible disabilities and disabilities that haven't yet been diagnosed
Blue - emotional and psychiatric disabilities, including mental illness, anxiety, and depression
Green - for sensory disabilities, including deafness, blindness, lack of smell, lack of taste, audio processing disorder, and all other sensory disabilities

18/06/2024

I'll be giving the presentation July 10th at 5pm
Registration link in bio

15/06/2024

I refuse to stop taking pictures of gardens and flowers whenever I can. I hope they brighten your day!

Swipe to the end for a sweet surprise

11/06/2024

Being a nerd about nature.
Very fortunate to have friends to adventure with (and keep you safe when curiosity takes you to the ledge)

A series of photos taken in the Ohio landscape.
Image 1: shows a woman dressed in a plaid skirt and a denim shirt peering over the ledge of a small waterfall
Image 2: photo taken for the ongoing Autism Eye Project deep forest grove, young growth forest with lush canopy
Image 3: a close up of a toad in leaves
Image 4: a shale waterfall with water flowing steadily. Photo taken at Bridal Veil Falls
Image 5: a must covered Stonewall with a fern growing centrally
Image 6: a close up of a moss covered log sharing space with false turkey tail fungus.

17/05/2024

When you get a call from , you take it!
Thank you again for the opportunity to be nerdy at this scale and share the magic that is landscape architecture.

Link to the article in my bio!

23/03/2024

Let's all talk about advocacy! This episode is a recording from the 2024 New Jersey Chapter ASLA Annual Meeting! The session you will hear today is a panel titled Future Forum: The Journey From Advocacy to Leadership.

I've gotten a lot of questions and have had amazing conversations about this topic! I am really glad there was an opportunity to share one of them with you!

The panel:
Gina Ford, co founder and
Marc Miller, former president of , and pofessor at Penn State University
Su Lin Kotowicz, ASLA President

06/03/2024

It's a big question! This Women's History Month I want to advocate for awareness in all forms.

This is more of a thought exercise rather than a call to action, but if you want to share your ideas in the comments, please do!

At the rate in which we are losing voices in this world I'd like to know ways we want to honor and share them, now.

Beyond social media, how can we amplify voices? (Says the podcaster)

I think there are a million ways to communicate stories and amplify voices everyday. Even if it's just telling a friend about someone you admire.

06/02/2024

Thank you and it's an honor!

20/01/2024

Out now in the January issue of LAM! Link in bio

It's always an honor to write about neurodiversity and landscape!

11/01/2024

The first 10 daily poems. For me, the practice of writing poetry makes me a better designer and.... a better person.

Trying to sort out my own emotions and creativity needs helps me be more empathetic and understanding to the needs of others and those we are designing for.

It's becoming a part of my design process.

As I said in the stories when I proposed this daily poem journey, I don't expect them to be any good! But I am glad that they exist.

Daily poems in posted in the stories, then posted in groups of ten.

02/01/2024

Daily poem #2
Went on a spontaneous excursion with the many generations in my house. We ended up at a beautiful place that has quickly taken my breath away.

I took so many pictures! Great job !!!
Seriously, beautiful.

16/11/2023

ASLA members have free access to the recorded sessions from the ASLA 2023 Conference on Landscape Architecture until December 3, 2023!

Use the code: ASLA2023MinneapolisEncore

Thank you to everyone who attended the the session in person but I know it isn't feasible for most! Luckily, there is an opportunity to relive some of the magic of the weekend!

and I are super grateful!

02/11/2023

Thank you doesn't quite express how grateful I am to you all, but it will do.
We demand a lot of ourselves and of each other- which can lead to us putting up walls and distancing ourselves from one another. Over the weekend I saw a lot vulnerability it gives me hope that we are increasing our capacity to care and express compassion as a profession.

Again, thank you.

28/10/2023

So grateful for the chance to present with my brother .
This was a unique opportunity to bring our two fields of expertise together. Plus, I got to make fun of my big brother on stage (for educational purposes)! My inner 7-year-old is very happy about that.

20/10/2023

Looking forward to seeing you there! I'll be speaking at the 2023 conference on landscape architectureb with a familiar friend of podcast, Myron Nelson, psychotherapist and my big brother.

We are taking the Imposter Syndrome episode to the stage and discussing mental health in the profession. I hope you can join us!

Swipe for throwback picture!

27/08/2023

Thank you for inviting me to speak at this year's Design Summit and discuss how storytelling can lead to better projects.

We learned a lot together and had sincere conversations about mental health, neurodivergence, and inclusion.

Here, was the first time someone said to me "I googled you!"... I immediately befriended that person.

This was also the first time I introduced myself as autistic...it needed to be done and seemed to go well!

A special thank you, Katie for being supportive of my dreams to make the profession (and world) more accessible. You rock 🪨.

29/07/2023

Thank you for turning my morning around!

Enjoy the rainy scenery and I hope your weekend is off to great start.

23/07/2023

I'm really proud of these!!!
Candying flowers.....not the most exciting pastime but still cool....right?!

No one in my family really eats them, who wants them?!

Daylilies (hemerocallis fulva), nasturtiums and their variegated leaves.

22/07/2023

22/07/2023

Flowers for your feed 😊

09/07/2023

Love watching landscapes at work. Especially musical landscapes. There's so much consideration that goes into the experience for everyone! I was trying find info about any landscape design history...but this is what I got...

According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History (one of my favorite websites) The architectural firm of Shafer, Flynn and Van Dijk (see PETER VAN DIJK) designed the structure in collaboration with acoustician Christopher Jaffe and German recording engineer Heinrich Heilholz. Built into the hillside, the pavilion is made of slate and tubular steel, and seats 5,700 people. Behind the pavilion is a general-admission lawn section which can accommodate an additional 14,000.

05/07/2023

NERD ALERT!
For my first ever article, and I showing some Landscape Architects how to have some fun and build some character.....get it?!

A little table top role playing humor to get you through the Wednesday.

Pick up this month's and find out more!

29/06/2023

Use public art to turn friends into landscape nerds.
Beautiful install by at the

26/06/2023

At its core, Dungeons & Dragons is a game about bringing people together. I wanted you to meet the people who keep dungeon dragons fun for me! ( Sorry, Chad I couldn't fix your picture)

Hopefully, this inspires you together up your own adventuring party.

Keep swiping for the most EPIC final role of the campaign. I rolled a natural 20 with 9 spell slots left to expend on a Divine Smite.