A year in a post-tsunami Sri Lanka“Communities, Design, and What the Buddha Inspired,” p. 16

by Jonathon Ellison ‘93

Conway School of Landscape DesignAlumni Magazine, Fall 2007

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A year in a post-tsunami Sri Lanka“Communities, Design, and What the Buddha Inspired,” p. 16

by Jonathon Ellison ‘93

Conway School of Landscape Design

The mission of the Conway School of LandscapeDesign is to explore, develop, practice and teachplanning, design and management of the landthat is ecologically and socially sustainable.

Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning, & Design

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We intend to:! Provide graduates with the basic

knowledge and skills necessary to practice planning, design and management of the land that respects nature as well as humanity;

! Develop ecological awareness, understanding, respect and accommodation in our students and project clients;

! Produce projects that fit human uses to natural conditions.

con'text Fall 2007

School News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Honoring David Bird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

A Vision for CSLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Conway and Panama: A Series of Fortunate Events . . .10

Conway Class Agents: A Pivotal Group . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Where Are They Now: Two Alums’ Stories . . . . . . . . . .15

Communities, Design, and What the Buddha Inspired:A Sri Lankan Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Highlights from Graduation 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Student Projects 2006–2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

News from Alums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Annual Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Letter from the Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Facts in BriefFounded in 1972Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Design & Planning

Ten months (September through June) of applied study in an integrated format. Core instruction relates directly to term-long projects.Emphasis. Ecologically and socially sustainable design of the land, integrated communication skills, individualeducational goals, learning through real projects with real clients.Size. 18–19 graduate students.Faculty. Three core faculty. Experienced designers, planners,and ecologists. Over sixty guest speakers, master teachers,and critics each year.Degree Granted. Master of Arts in Landscape Design,authorized by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.Accreditation. New England Association of Schools andColleges, Inc.Location. Scenic western Massachusetts near the academic,cultural, and natural resources of the Five Colleges and theConnecticut River Valley. One hour from Bradley Interna-tional Airport, Hartford, Connecticut.Campus. 34.5 acres of wooded hilltop located one-half mileeast of Conway town center.Facility. 3000 square feet with four wood stoves andpassive solar design, spacious design studios with individualdrafting stations, library, classroom, design/print area, and kitchen.

The Conway School of Landscape Design, Inc., a Massachusettsnon-profit corporation under Chapter180 of the General Laws, isa professional training school of landscape design and land useplanning. As an equal opportunity institution, it does not discrimi-nate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, age,gender, sexual orientation, religion, marital or veteran status inthe administration of the educational, admissions, employment,or loan policies, or in any other school-administered program.

Cover: Terraced Paddy Fields in Sri LankaPhoto by Jonathon Ellison ‘93

It’s been a year since our last issue of con’text and what a year it has been! Among otherthings, we sent a student project team to Panama (the first international project in Conway’shistory); saw application rates skyrocket (we have a full class of nineteen this year and havealready accepted eight people for next year); were featured in a thirteen-page spread inLandscape Architecture magazine; introduced computer-aided design software into the cur-riculum; continued to develop a vision for our campus; were given more than $50,000 forcapital improvements (used in part to replace all the studio drafting tables and chairs withnew ones and update our survey equipment with digital transits); were given a large-formatplotter; and purchased a wide-format scanner. (See various pages in this issue for picturesand details on this array of accomplishments.)

At the same time we have graduated another class of very talented and dedicated studentswho are now settling around the country, beginning to make a difference to their communi-ties, and applying their new skills.

As you can tell, these are busy and exciting times, and we at the school are profoundlygrateful for this progress—made possible by the support that all of you have given and con-tinue to give to the school. Last year, we exceeded our annual fund goal by nearly forty per-cent, thanks to your increased dollar contributions and also to a twenty percent increase inthe number of donors, both of which are very gratifying and greatly appreciated. We arealso grateful for the many other ways our alums and friends support the school.

In August, Humanities Professor Ken Byrne and I attended the annual meeting of theCouncil of Educators in Landscape Architecture in Pennsylvania. At least four universities were interested in developing cooperative agreements with our school of the type we alreadyhave with the University of Massachusetts (and which some had read of in the March 2007Landscape Architecture article on the school).

This past October, Associate Director Nancy Braxton and I had a great visit with WestCoast alums from all four decades of Conway’s history. It was held at the gracious home of alum Shari Bashin-Sullivan ’84 near San Francisco. It was inspiring, as always, to hearalums’ stories and reflections on the enormous value of their Conway education. Over andagain, we learned how the rigorous, intense year of Conway training transformed lives andprepared graduates for successful careers in a wide range of activities benefiting the environ-ment and their communities.

These stories from Conway alums are also helpful to potential applicants. They tell whatour graduates did before coming here, what they valued about being here, and what they aredoing now. These are inspiring to read and very helpful for our admissions process. We havestarted to gather stories from Conway alums that can help potential applicants get a bettersense of the school and whether it is a fit for them. One such story from David Evans ’76appears on page 15. I invite you to read it.

Would you please take five minutes to add your story to the larger story? Go to the alum-ni area of our website, www.csld.edu/alumnipage.htm, to find the questionnaire. Or you cansend your story to the school through the post office.

Watch for con’text twice a year, starting this coming spring. We will also send an occa-sional email update, so please send your name and email address to emails@csld.edu.

As always, we would love to have you stop by the school and say hello!

Sincerely,

Paul Cawood Hellmund

STAFF

Faculty

Paul Cawood Hellmund Director & President; Faculty

Ken Byrne Humanities Faculty

Kim Erslev Landscape Design & Graphics Faculty

Jono Neiger Landscape Design Faculty

Bill Lattrell Ecology Adjunct

Mollie Babize Planning Adjunct (Winter)

Administration

Nancy E. Braxton Associate Director ofAdmissions, Alumni Relations & Development

David Nordstrom Associate Director of StudentServices, Finance & Facilities

Conway School of Landscape Design332 South Deerfield RoadP.O. Box 179Conway, MA 01341-0179(413) 369-4044www.csld.edu

con'text is publishedsemi-annually by theConway School ofLandscape Design, ©2007 by Conway School of LandscapeDesign, Inc. All rightsreserved. Printed onrecycled paper usingvegetable-based inks.

Nicholas T. Lasoff Editor

Terry Blanchard Graphic Design

Nancy E. BraxtonPaul Cawood HellmundNicholas T. LasoffPriscilla MinerDavid NordstromAaron SchlechterContributing writers

What a Year!From the Director

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Generous Gifts EnableCampus ImprovementsThanks to the generosity of Eric andJane Molson in a gift granted by theLincolnshire Foundation and of long-time Conway friend and supporter,Bill Gundermann, the school wasable to undertake some significantcapital improvement projects overthe summer.

The old drafting desks, construct-ed by the Orchard Equipment SupplyCompany some thirty-five years ago,have now been replaced with May-line steel frame, adjustable table topangle, drafting desks with flat filestorage and tool drawers. New vinylboard covers and adjustable taskchairs complement the desks. Recy-cling the old desks proved an easytask. The call went out to areaalums, incoming students, andfriends of the school letting themknow that the desks were available.There was a terrific response, and we are happy to report that all of the desks found new homes.

Equipment purchases for the newschool year included a Hawk-Eyelarge format scanner capable of

In addition to the clearing and grad-ing, a stone dust walkway connectingthe deck and kitchen door to theparking area was installed. The stonebench donated by the Class of 2005was relocated from the edge of thepond and placed along the side of thenew walkway. To stabilize the area,ferns were planted along the slope at the edge of the walkway, and thenew clearing was sown with winterrye.

Finally, the weeping Japanesemaple tree on the island in front ofthe school was removed and sold toa local tree nursery, helping to offsetsome of the cost of the work. Thecurrent students will be asked tocome up with a design solution tocomplete the front yard transforma-tion. We are a landscape designschool after all!

handling thirty-six inch widepaper and producing photoreal-istic color scans as well as high-quality grayscale and black andwhite images. Additionally, sixnew South Digital electronictheodolites were delivered intime for students to survey their fall residential sites. Kudos to JonoNeiger and the rest of the faculty fortheir efforts in getting the studentstrained on the new equipment.

The outside entrance area to theschool underwent an extensive trans-formation during the summer. Cre-ating a flat area in front of theschool for outdoor classroom usemeant saying goodbye to the old frogpond. The pond was never able tohold water and a limited experimentwith a bentonite clay liner failed to correct the problem. Thirty-twoyards of loam were brought in to fillthe pond and grade the surroundingarea. Prior to bringing in the fill,some vegetation that was limitingsolar gain on the south side of theschool was removed by Conway fac-ulty and staff. A special thanks goesto the students who were availablefor brush-hauling duties that day.

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A more welcoming entrance

On September 15, I attended Exploring Our CommonGround, an annual conference sponsored by TheTrustees of Reservations’ Highlands CommunitiesInitiative (HCI). HCI is a grant-funded program thatpromotes land conservation and community preserva-tion in rural western Massachusetts. This year’s confer-ence was held at Gateway Regional School in Hunting-ton, Massachusetts. Conway paid my registration fee,and in exchange I set up an information table for theschool. It was a great opportunity to meet local peoplewith common interests, learn about HCI’s work, andspread the word about Conway. In the morning andduring breaks, I stood at the table and met severalinteresting people, including a few Conway alums(Mollie Babize ’84, Kate Kerivan ’84, and CindyTavernise ’99), and someone who thought her townmight be interested in pursuing a student project. Abroad range of session topics included “When theDeveloper Comes to Town: Protecting YourCommunity’s Interest,” “Goods from Your Woods:Growing and Gathering Understory Crops,” and“Energy Independence for Your Highlands Home,”among many others. Janisse Ray, an environmental

activist and poet, gave an engaging keynote speech,encouraging attendees to make a commitment to sup-port their local communities, and to work to stitchback together human and ecological communities thathave been fragmented.

Conway is able to cover conference registration feesfor alums who represent the school at conferences (bybringing materials, setting up a display table, speakingto conference attendees). If you are interested in learn-ing more about this opportunity, please call or emailme. Also, if you hear about other workshops or confer-ences that you think would be of interest to Conwayalums, or would be a good opportunity for Conway to spread the word, please let me know. Conferencesare a prime medium for outreach to prospective stu-dents (and prospective project clients).

If you plan to attend a conference in your area, andwould like to host or help organize an alumni gatheringin conjunction with the event, we would be happy tohelp coordinate! Contact Priscilla Miner, OutreachAssistant, at miner07@csld.edu or (413) 369-4044.

Priscilla Miner ’07

Alum Teams up with Conway at Conference. You Can, Too!

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Strategic Partnership—NEWFSThe oldest plant conservation organi-zation in the US, the New EnglandWildflower Society (NEWFS), hashad an informal relationship withCSLD for more than seven years.The society has provided speakers,seminars, adjunct faculty, and avenue for field trips. It has been anemployer of CSLD graduates and afount of potential students for manyyears. That relationship has evolvedsince the 2003 Taylor EducationAward was given to CSLD byNEWFS for a “strong and long-last-ing commitment to furthering thepublic’s understanding and apprecia-tion of native plants,” a relationshipthat has now been formalized byjoining the two organizations with astrategic partnership. This partner-ship is a critical piece of CSLD’sstrategic plan for the school that will include, among other things, an expansion of the current lectures and seminars with co-sponsorship of high-profile lectures. (See page 8 for more details about Conway2020.) During the second week ofJuly, 2007, NEWFS sponsored a pairof highly successful workshops withBill Cullina and Darrel Morison,titled: “Native Plant Materials forProfessionals” and “LandscapeDesign as Ecological Art,” respec-tively. Additionally, Sue Reed ’87,former CSLD faculty member, will be giving several courses for NEWFSduring 2007 and 2008.

In 2003, NEWFS undertook amajor expansion to the west with thepurchase of seventy-five-acre NasamiFarm in CSLD’s backyard—Whately,Massachusetts. Sharing the samewatershed as CSLD, the new NEWFSfacility was purchased and is beingoperated to supply native plants toNew England on a larger scale thanever before. In spring 2004, a CSLDstudent team created a master planfor the site. Recently, CSLD studentshave visited Nasami Farm on fieldtrips, and during this past spring two students from the class of 2007 provided garden design consulting to visitors as part of an event atNasami Farm.

NEWFS Director of Education,

faculty member and owner of Sal-mon Falls Ecological Design, organ-ized and facilitated a panel discussionabout sustainability that the SFABA’sexecutive director, Arthur Schwenger,characterized as “most informative,professional, and impressively suc-cinct.” Other panelists includedMollie Babize ’84 of Walt Cudno-hufsky Associates, Ashfield; NancyHazard, Former Director of the Tour de SOL, presently owner of WorldSustain; John Hoffman, Wilder Brook Farm, Charlemont;

Greg Lowenberg, looks forward tomore joint ventures with CSLD, par-ticularly with fee-based seminars andworkshops as well as CSLD provid-ing courses that may be applied to NEWFS Certificate Program inNative Plant Studies.

Conway Fields Panel at SFABAIn October, CSLD sponsored theShelburne Falls Area BusinessAssociation Fall Breakfast. As part of the breakfast, Kim Erslev, CSLD

Fall 2007 Lecture SeriesThe second annual fall lecture series, held on the CSLD campus and co-sponsored with The New England Wildflower Society, was a majorsuccess with the lecture room filled to capacity. Speakers and their topicswere:

Larry Weaner, Breaking the Rules: Creating Natural Landscapes in the Real World

Joan Iverson Nassauer, Cues to Care: Thoughtful Ways to Design and Present Messy Ecosystems

Dale Hendricks, Native Plants for Sustainable Landscapes

Spring 2008 Conway Public Lecture by Randall ArendtConservation planning advocate Randall Arendt will speak on behalf of the Conway School of Landscape Design and the Highlands Com-munities Initiative (of the Trustees of Reservations) in a public lecture:Conservation by Design: A Practical Strategy for Preserving Town-wideOpen Space Networks, Monday, April 28, 2008, 7pm, Conway TownHall.

Mr. Arendt is the author or co-author of more than 20 publications,including the award-winning Dealing with Change in the ConnecticutRiver Valley: A Design Manual for Conservation and Development(now in its fourth printing).

He is Senior Conservation Advisor at the Natural Lands Trust inMedia, Pennsylvania, and is the former Director of Planning and Re-search at the Center for Rural Massachusetts, University of Massa-chusetts at Amherst, where he also served as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. In2003, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute inLondon. In 2004 he was named an Honorary Member of the AmericanSociety of Landscape Architects, and in 2005 he received the AmericanInstitute of Architects’ Award for Collaborative Achievement. He receivedhis B.A. from Wesleyan University (magna cum laude and Phi BetaKappa) and his M.Phil. in Urban Design and Regional Planning from theUniversity of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was a St. Andrew’s Scholar.

See www.greenerprospects.com/bio.html for copies of reports by Mr.Arendt.

A special gathering for alums and friends of the school will take placearound the lecture. Mark your calendars and watch your mail for details!

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Chris Martin, Sunhammer GreenBuilders, Shelburne Falls; JonathanTauer, former CSLD trustee, ofCelluspray Insulation, Colrain.

Art Schwenger stated further,“Comments received from numeroussources have been entirely positive.Those in attendance have expressedappreciation for the knowledgeableand helpful presentations by every

Welcome Class of 2008!The class of 2008 continues theCSLD tradition of diversity of experi-ences unified by commitment to envi-ronmentally sound land-use planningand ecologically sensitive landscapedesign. This group of eight men andeleven women is perhaps the mostgeographically diverse group to attend CSLD with eight students

one of the panelists. … [M]any con-versations have been inspired by thepresentations especially the focus onhow the issues [of sustainability]affect our local interests and the sug-gestions about actions that can betaken to do something about it.”

The school congratulates andthanks all the participants for repre-senting the school so well.

Class of 2008 and instructorsboating on theConnecticutRiver

CONWAY SCHOOL AND ALUMS IN THE NEWS

“Ten Months, One Quantam Leap,”Landscape Architecture MagazineMarch 2007The March 2007 issue of Landscape ArchitectureMagazine contained an eight-page campus profile ofCSLD that was remarkably accurate in its depiction of the students’ experience. Though the article wasvery licensure-centric, the piece by Jane Roy Brown did a fine job of reintroducing the school to the LAMreadership with experience-based descriptions of thecurriculum, school activities, and student-level famil-iarity. Jane Roy Brown truly immersed herself in thisproject by serving as a residential client for the fallterm projects, attending a charrette with DarrelMorrison, and being a hovering observer with manyyears experience in the landscape architecture commu-nity. The 2006 article followed up on the 1985 articleabout the school in LAM that was written at a timewhen the school’s future seemed uncertain.

Also appearing in the March issue of LAM wereexcerpts, which first appeared in con’text 2006, fromDarrel Morrison’s graduation address to the class of2006.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. (Harper Collins, May 2007)Amy Klippenstein ’95 was featured enthusiastically inthe pages of Barbara Kingsolver’s newest New York

Times bestseller, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. The author describes an instance whereshe intended to impress some friends in Ashfield withher “June-ripened treasures” (tomatoes) and is over-whelmed by “the magician’s” (Amy’s) tomatoes’ supe-rior flavor and appearance. Kingsolver resolves to visit Amy’s farm, which she manages with her partner, Paul Lacinski. Her visit to Sidehill Farm in Ashfieldabounds with an amazing level of detail and loadspraise on Amy’s attention to detail, inventiveness, and expertise. Congratulations Amy!

“Wild Ideas Take Root in Garden,” The Greenfield Recorder, August 29, 2007An interview with David Jacke ’84 by reporter Richie Davis appeared in The Greenfield Recorderlate this summer. The sympathetic interviewer covers a wide range of topics from natural ecosystems toenergy use in agro-industry with a focus on Dave’sbelief that “the environmental problems we’re con-fronting in the twenty-first century call for a dramaticcultural shift” and ways of implementing that shift in our own backyards. You can find out more aboutDave’s award-winning book on the subject atwww.edibleforestgardens.com.

Aaron Schlechter

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having lived abroad and two carryingforeign passports. One student relo-cated with her family from Santiago,Chile to nearby Ashfield.

The class of 2008 contains thir-teen who have worked in landscap-ing or planning or are self-described

tions and experience, nine who havehumanities backgrounds, and anoth-er four who have experience in thefine arts.

We wish them well as they arepoised to leave their mark on CSLDas much as CSLD will on them.

“avid gardeners.” Two studentsoperated their own landscaping com-panies and have come to CSLD toenhance their skills and build theirbusinesses. Their interdisciplinarybackgrounds are extraordinary withten students who have science educa-

Since July, 1992, Ilze Meijer’supbeat, energetic personality hassupported the spirit and the mis-sion of the Conway School. Formany of us, Ilze was the warm,beating heart of the School.Nestled in her office with a view of everyone who tromped into thekitchen, a.k.a. the administrationbuilding, Ilze was the soul of

patience and encouragement and was deeply committedto helping all students make the most of our time atCSLD. How did she do the million and one things theschool required and still manage to smile and cherisheach of our little triumphs and disasters? Ilze was theultimate Earth Mother, doling out financial aid, helpwith housing, and steamy cups of soup just when theywere most needed. She was the one who unraveled themysteries of town and curriculum and made sense of itall. Did you need directions to a great swimming hole?Ask Ilze. And where could you get copies of your draw-ings made by 8 am? Ilze always knew the answer or the direction needed to find it.

Ilze worked tirelessly, devoting herself to assistscores of Conway students with everything from theirfinancial aid to putting together their presentationgraphics. In the words of a colleague, “Nothing hap-pened at CSLD without Ilze’s help or knowledge. Sheliberated us all from a multitude of small chores, andkept the school afloat by presiding over the Byzantinefederal rules of financial aid. For attending the yearlyFAFSA seminars, Ilze has earned an elevated place in heaven. The big names get the applause and theirnames in bronze. Ilze was the safety net under all of us,and her name is permanently on my list of friends.”

Two special moments remembered:

“Ilze is the most generous person I know, and my favorite times watching her were not whenshe was mega-tasking behind her desk, but whena student in crisis arrived with a child in tow. Ilze stopped all the droning adult activities andbrought out her basket of toys, the markers, the colored paper and her ingenious creativemind. Watching Ilze play always humbled me to the way she sees the world as it is made daily before her. I miss our book discussions

and I miss her insights into the people thatswirled around her.”

“As a California native, the icy plains of Conwaywere quite a shock to my system. Although I hadlived in NYC as a child, Conway’s isolation, shortdays, and lack of restaurants were a test. I recalltrudging into the kitchen after getting the firegoing for my chore one early January morningwhen it was close to eight but still inky out. Ilzestrode up the steps carrying a picnic basket onher arm; wearing a smile on her face. She hadgone ice skating the night before. She set her bas-ket on the kitchen table, and went on to share thetale. My frozen heart warmed a bit. Throughoutthat winter, whenever I felt despondent I remind-ed myself of her joy.”

Above all, Ilze wrapped us in her firm belief that wewere there for a reason and would find a way to realizeour dreams through our year at CSLD, and that whilewe were there she would do everything in her power tohelp us succeed. At graduation, she sent us forth to dogood work to help the planet, knowing that we wouldplunge into busy lives and hardly ever take the time tolook back and say thanks. So let us say THANK YOUILZE loudly and clearly now. We hope you know thatyou are part of everything we do to make the world agreener place as a result of the path you cleared for usalong the way!

Thank you to Chet Cramer (former faculty), AlmaHecht ’02, Maureen Buchanan Jones (former faculty),Robin Simmen ’01, Lesya Struz. ’01, and FrancieYeager ’01 for contributing to this story.

Ilze Meijers served as Office Coordinator and FinancialAid Advisor for Conway from July, 1992 to June,2007, and helped to ease the school through severalcrucial transitions during that time. Among them, sheassisted in the transition of two directors, and shep-herded CSLD’s physical relocation from the farmhouseon Delabarre Avenue to its present location.

Alums and friends interested in thanking Ilze for her service to Conway can send an email tothanksilze@csld.edu.

Karen Lamson ’01

A Fond Thank-You to Ilze Meijers

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Remembering and Honoring David Bird, Trustee EmeritusFrom Walter Cudnohufsky, Founding Director,CSLD

David Bird attended a grant writing workshop in the mid 1970s. He and I were teamed up by chance toshare our stories, intentions, and desires. David was an instant convert and enthusiastic supporter of the“Conway School Idea.” He was ready with challengingquestions, valuable information, insight, and connec-tions. He became a self-selected devotee to this smallfamilial design and planning school. He appreciated its dedication to sustainable environmental design andthe making of vital communities.

David became a cherished friend, mentor, facilitatorand ultimately savior of the Conway School!

The Conway School has lost its trusted coach, itsfirst and long time Board of Trustees Chairman. As isoften the case with a working board, David workedhardest himself.

It was most comforting to have him at the rudder for those many years.

David had a knack to see the truth and to serve theunderdog, the needy, and the unrecognized. He rightlytook pride in the school’s several accomplishments and in its hard won struggles. The uneven and oftenchallenging economic times did not make it easy for a school that insisted on not relying on grants withstrings attached. Legal wrangling for non-profit statusand accreditation for this unorthodox school also need-ed David’s attention.

He appeared instantly and focused when any crisiswould arise. He and Jeanne hosted trustee meetings onmany occasions. David was practical and protective and asked only to serve, which he did selflessly.

David brought students, projects, and lecturers to the school, occasionally giving a seminar himself, some-thing he enjoyed immensely. Mostly, he brought supportand wisdom! He led staff and alumni retreats andphonathons. He loved to listen to the life stories of the school’s annual crop of new graduate students.

The school and I personally have been the beneficiar-ies of uncommon generosity.

Missed most of all is David’s humanity, his ability tobe a good friend.

From Rachel Bird Anderson, David Bird’s Daughter

Several times over the years I accompanied myfather, David Bird, to the school. I am so glad for eachand every memory of the Conway School trips. Eachtrip unveiled to me just a little bit more of a vista onthe special school he cared so much about—the people,the premise, the place, the energy. Especially in the lastyears, it was one of the few places he wanted to visit—to see for himself what was happening—to be with. Itwill forever remain a special place to me, as it was sonear and dear to him.

From the SchoolDavid Bird’s contribution to the Conway School

of Landscape Design was prodigious. Indeed, it is noexaggeration to say that without David Bird, the fledg-ling school may not have survived its early years togrow into the nationally-recognized school of land-scape design it is today. Serving as Chair of theConway Board of Trustees in the ’70s and into the’80s, David marshaled his skills as a lawyer togetherwith his great determination and persistence to helpachieve legal status and initial accreditation for theConway School. After stepping down as a board mem-ber, he was named Emeritus Trustee. Among the topdonors in the history of the school, David’s early finan-cial support matched his input of time and expertiseand was critical in keeping the school afloat; his sup-port of the 2002 capital campaign for the new campuswas key, and he continued giving annually and gener-ously to Conway. Conway was honored that in thepast five years, David attended all of the school’s majorcelebrations: the 2002 brunch introducing the newSouth Deerfield St. property to alums and friends; the2005 retirement celebration honoring retiring directorDon Walker; and the 2006 inauguration of PaulCawood Hellmund as director, where he attendedand—never missing an opportunity to help the schooldefine itself and move forward—contributed to the discussion at board chair Art Collins’ workshop on“The Permanent Conway.” Thank you, David. We will miss you.

David Bird 1928–2007David Bird, age 79, died in his sleep in his South Dartmouth, Mass. home on October29, 2007. He was a linguist, specialist in eastern European affairs, political consultant,and social activist. In addition to his wife, Jeanne, David leaves two sons, Marten andMatthew, a daughter, Rachel Bird Anderson, and a brother, Charles Sumner Bird III.More details of David’s many faceted life can be found in an obituary published bythe Boston Globe. (See www.csld.edu/whatsnew.htm for link.)

The Bird family has unanimously and generously designated the Conway School as the recipient of any memorial gifts that friends may wish to make. In addition,Walter Cudnohufsky has established a David Bird Scholarship Fund for Conway students.

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California Alumni Gathering,October 2007Thanks to the gracious hospitality of Shari-Bashin Sullivan ’84 and theenergetic co-hostessing and outreach

of Donna Eldridge ’86,as well as the supportand help of their hus-bands and children,Director Paul CawoodHellmund and AssociateDirector Nancy Braxtonparticipated in a won-derful gathering ofConway Californiaalums at Shari’s beauti-

ful home in Orinda, California onOctober 27. On a sunny afternoon,eight of the fifteen Conway graduateswho currently live in Californiaattended this first-ever West Coastevent, representing eight Conwayclasses and including some whodrove several hours to be there.Attending were: Helen Anzuoni ’88,David Evans ’76 (see his note onpage 15), Jeanne Furstoss ’81 (whose daughter, Elisabeth Bowler, a prospective Conway student, also attended), Bill Halleck ’86,

As I enter their houseto pay the rent Bettyasks, “Would youlike to join us for agame of dominoes?”I oblige, and we sitaround the kitchentable for a fewrounds of MexicanTrain. Apparently,

it’s a spinoff of Chicken Foot. I’m in no position toargue, I’ve never played either. I’m just happy to beinvited.

As the nineteenth Conway student to rent from Donand Betty I can only wonder if I’m the first ever to playa game of dominoes with them. Perhaps I am, but it’shard to believe after living under the Fitzgeralds for thepast several weeks. In my short time here, they’vegraced me with an emergency roll of toilet paper, morehomegrown corn than I could ever eat, and a generousdose of Massachusetts hospitality.

Hospitality comes naturally for Betty who was bornand raised here in Ashfield, Massachusetts. Spend sometime with her and she’ll tell you the story of how sheand Don met swimming in Ashfield Lake as teenagers.That’s where fate met the young, industrious man fromGreenfield and the jovial, young lady from the Berk-shire foothills. You can still visit them today, livinghappily at the top of Norton Hill Road.

There you’ll find them in their second Ashfieldhome built by Don himself. Their first home was thetwo-story colonial next door. Don purchased it sometime ago so Betty’s parents would have a place to staywhen they visited the area. Being the industrious manhe is, he decided to remodel the house room-by-room.No sooner did he finish that house when he sold it tobuy the smaller Cape Cod next door set on a lavish

ten acres. Since it was a smaller home, Don tirelesslywent back to work by building a complete basementapartment for Betty’s parents to stay in. With bor-rowed wood from the first remodeling, the basementapartment began to take on a life of its own. It wouldlater become the second home for many Conway students.

Each year for the past nineteen years, Don and Bettyhave rented the apartment to Conway students. Betty’sparents are no longer with us but the apartment stillharbors weary, studio-trodden Conway grad students.Described in the rental guides as “highly recommend-ed,” it’s no wonder that they were the first and lastvacancy I called. Talking to Betty on the phone I wasassured that, “We have everything you’re going toneed; we’ve been doing this for a long time.” Theywere right.

Indeed, Don and Betty are no strangers to theConway School. They were there at the beginningwhen Don salvaged books from his school administra-tor’s job in Springfield and donated them to our fledg-ling library. They have donated firewood that keepsstudents warm. To this day, they’re spotted takingnotes at Mondays’ lectures and wishing the studentswell on graduation day.

Each winter they leave Ashfield for better dominoesgames in Florida while their geraniums and I will beleft behind to fend for ourselves. Together, the gerani-ums and I will be in the studio hoping to make itthrough another New England winter. I hope to returnthem come springtime in the condition they were givento me and to other students before me. Don and Bettyhave done so much for Conway and its students; keep-ing their geraniums healthy can only be a small tokenof our appreciation.

Douglas Guey-Lee ’08

Landlords for the Ages—Don and Betty Fitzgerald

They provide students witha home away from home.

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Back row: Nancy Braxton (Assoc. Director CSLD), David Evans '76, Shari Bashin-Sullivan '84, Cynthia Hayes Tanyan '95, Paul Hellmund (Director, CSLD). Front row: Donna Eldridge '86, Bill Halleck '86, Helen Anzuoni '88.

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IT IS FUN TO HEAR ALUMS SHARE REMINISCENCES oftheir days at Conway, working in the old sugarhouse on Delabarre Ave. or going to contra dances

with Walt or playing volleyball with Don and class-mates. Even more enjoyable and meaningful is whenthey say—as they often do to me—Conway changedmy life! It is clear that despite thirty-five year’s worthof changes in outward trappings, buildings, and per-sonnel, there are things that are fundamentally part of Conway, things that have always been here, thingsthat change lives. We have to make sure we never losethose elements of our school. We have to make surewe know what those elements are.

Lately, the faculty and staff have been thinkingabout the essence of a Conway education, thosethings that are at the heart of our educational ap-proach. For one thing, our curriculum will alwaysfeature working on real projects for real clients. Also,our unique emphasis on communications—written,oral, and drawing—is central and helps set the schoolapart. We emphasize rigorous design process and areskeptical of flashy, placeless design. We care aboutecological integrity and people. We want to make adifference in the world. Those things shouldn’tchange.

Within those changeless precepts, however, thereare many fresh opportunities for our school. Forexample, we are getting requests from other countriesfor design and planning assistance, and we are gettingstudents who are anxious to work in those parts ofthe world where some of the environmental andsocial needs are greatest. The school’s mission toexplore, develop, practice, and teach design of theland that is ecologically and socially sustainable hasnever seemed more relevant. We see this in the highestapplication rates in the school’s history and in in-creasing numbers of financial supporters.

There are so many positive signs about the school’sfuture, so many opportunities knocking at our door.Conway trustees, faculty, staff, and students havebeen discussing the future and invite your commentson their ideas, which are outlined on the next page.

Improving and Greening Our Hilltop CampusThe Conway School’s move to our current hilltopcampus was a giant step forward. Steadily, we have

been making improvements to our new home and con-sidering what more needs to be done to make the facili-ties and property an even more fitting setting for oureducational processes.

Over the last several years, groups of alums and stu-dents have conducted various studies that have helped us better understand the campus and our building. Themost recent campus study was carried out by the firm of William Richter ’77 of Avon, Connecticut. Starting in January 2008, a team of students will help us bringtogether all the previous studies as part of their winterterm project.

It is an opportune moment to be pursuing campusimprovement. Never has there been such widespreadappreciation for the role of campuses in sustainabilityeducation, and the Conway School has much to draw on in taking its next steps in developing its own campus.

Thinking about our campus improvements comes inthe midst of a burgeoning campus sustainability move-ment in the US and around the world, as well as wide-spread interest in sustainability in nearly every sector of society. A friend of our school, Prof. David Orr ofOberlin College, is an important leader in the campussustainability movement. He has written extensivelyabout what colleges should be doing to move towardgreater sustainability. (See, for example, his “Educatingfor Life,” www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=795.) He suggests steps that we are considering very seriously,such as reducing institutional use of fossil fuel, eliminat-ing discharges of wastes, and assessing the life-cycle ofall major purchases. Our fundamental values as a schoolhelp determine the sustainable path ahead, includinghow to pursue it. Key concepts in sustainability as weteach it include taking the long view, collaborating,being flexible and scrappy, and solving problems itera-tively, but not prematurely.

The Conway trustees recently approved, in principle,the following priorities for campus and institutionalimprovement. These will be reviewed over the comingmonths.! Make our existing school building more energy

efficient in keeping with our focus on sustainability.! Clear vegetation near the school building to provide

solar access and reduce energy use. Use these cleared areas for demonstration gardens.

! Build a trail to help pedestrians get from the hilltop into town.

! Draft a land stewardship plan for the entire property.

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A Vision for CSLD An Evolving Continuum

BY PAUL CAWOOD HELLMUND

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! Design and install a “green” modular building so we can have an adequate-sized classroom quickly, but without limiting future development.

! Raise money for scholarships.! Document baseline conditions of the school’s use

of energy and other inputs.! Research carbon neutral and other sustainable options

for the campus by looking at other relevant institutions.! Engage potential collaborators to determine shared

interests.! Continually review and revise master principles

that tie our actions to our beliefs.! Start to raise funds for implementing, as well as

maintaining, these priorities.Would you like to give the winter project student

team—and Conway staff—any suggestions about thefuture of the campus? Send your comments tocampus_plans@csld.edu.

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Our curriculum will continue to teach our core values, even asit evolves to meet the specific needs of changing times. Ourfocus will always be on our graduate program in sustainablelandscape planning and design and the life-long nurturing ofour graduates. Some of the components described below willonly become possible once the appropriate facilities exist.

The Conway School of Landscape Design will have two maincomponents, along with reorganized administrative support:

A Future toGrow into: The Existing

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1 Graduate Program in Sustainable Landscape Planning & Design Masters Degree Programwith about twenty students. It would include:

! Conway Institute Research Group, which would focus on applied landscape research. Institutepartners would be non-profit organizations, agencies, and businesses. Alums could participate in research that interests them and that draws on their practices.

! Continuing Education, which would be taught by alums and others and would include on-campusand off-campus workshops. Because of the significant number of Spanish-language alums andbecause of the heightened needs there, we would offer instruction in sustainable design in LatinAmerica in Spanish.

! Conway Visiting Design Fellows Program, which would invite accomplished designers, planners,ecologists, policy makers, lawyers, and environmental writers from North and South America fora 1–3 month residency. They would participate in instruction and pursue their own work. Therewould be 2–3 fellows per year. They would receive a modest stipend and in return contribute toteaching in the graduate program.

! Conway Design Press, which would work with an existing publisher to create a Conway imprintto disseminate books that include useful approaches to practical aspects of landscape planningand design. Work to be featured would come from the research group, alums, and student projects.

! Conway Design Professional Practice Incubator Space, through which recent graduates could rentspace and have services at the school (once there is room) for up to one year as they build theirprofessional practices. Graduates might also rent space from alums in other parts of the country.

2 The Conway Institute for Regenerative Design. It would be funded by research grants and project fees and would complement the graduate degree program. It would include:

International Service Masters DegreeProgram. 1–5 students per year whocomplete the regular graduate pro-gram, but then return after service(Peace Corps, Vista, etc.) as aConway Visiting Design Fellow.

Graduate Program in SustainableLandscape Planning & Design.18–20 graduate students per yearwho matriculate in our currentgraduate program.

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LAST SPRING, CONWAY ALUMS COULD BE FOUND

EXPLORING the sights and sounds of the rainfor-est village of Achiote on the Costa Bajo of

Panama and also working with villagers to help devel-op aspects of their ecotourism infrastructure. Thatwas only days after a team of Conway students madetheir final winter-term project presentation to anenthusiastic audience just fifty miles away, in thenation’s capital city. On that same day, MatthewArnsberger ’98 (part of the Achiote team), Conwayadvisor Edwina von Gal, and I represented ourschool’s board of trustees in presenting an honorarydegree to Panamanian sustainability expert CharlotteElton.

This hubbub of activity in Panama grew out of aseries of events and conversations with people inter-ested in design and planning in Latin America. Severalyears ago, I started collaborating with Conway hon-oree Charlotte Elton and the non-governmental

organization she works for—the Panamanian Centerfor Research and Social Action. She introduced me toa tropical native plant expert who suggested I contactlandscape designer Edwina von Gal, because of herwork on a proposed native plant park in the capitalcity. I learned that Edwina had been involved in refor-estation efforts in the interior of Panama, on theAzuero Peninsula, an area that has been heavilydeforested.

We invited Edwina and her collaborator, Yale-trained forester Mark Wishnie, to give a public lecturein Conway on their work in Panama. Edwina told ofher transformation from a landscape designer for therich and famous (she has been dubbed a “landscapedesign diva” by the press) to one who is focused ondeveloping a biological corridor across a heavilydeforested area and otherwise improving the environ-ment. Mark described his efforts in founding Proyectode Reforestación con Especies Nativas (PRORENA)at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.PRORENA works in environmental education andreforestation. The conversations were non-stopamong students, faculty, and our visitors over thosetwo days.

Before they left Conway, both Edwina and Markagreed to serve as informal advisors to the school.They asked us to develop a winter-term student proj-ect that would help them envision a biological corri-dor for the deforested Azuero Peninsula, where theyhave been working. This became Conway’s first inter-national, student project and a team of four membersof the class of 2007 took on the work: Alicia Batista,Karen Chaffee, Brandon Mansfield, and VictoriaSchroth.

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Conway and Panama:A Series of Fortunate EventsBY PAUL CAWOOD HELLMUND

On the Chagres River

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A few short months after that initial visit by Markand Edwina, the student team was boarding a jet forPanama and a week of site reconnaissance and inter-views in both the capital city and the more remoteproject site. (See page 25 for more details about theproject.) At the end of the winter term, the studentsheaded back to Panama again, and I accompaniedthem to hear their final presentation and launch ouralum trip to Achiote. Another happy coincidence happened as we were preparing to leave. As the stu-dents and I sat in the departure area at Hartford’sBradley International Airport, up walked ConwaySchool founder Walter Cudnohufsky, who happenedto be traveling on the same plane on his way to CostaRica. That was a special, encouraging send-off.

The four students had the privilege of visitingPanama, but all of us got to learn about a fascinatingconservation effort in a challenging situation.

Conway’s Second Honorary DegreeOn that second visit, the students presented theirwork to a large and enthusiastic crowd in the visitorcenter at Metropolitan National Park, Panama City.Matthew Arnsberger ’98 was the first of the alum tripparticipants to arrive in Panama and he joined theaudience for the student presentation. After that pres-entation, he joined Edwina von Gal, me, and othersin conferring an honorary degree on Charlotte Elton.(This was just the second such degree Conway hasconferred. The first went to Oberlin College’s DavidOrr.) It was a pleasure to recognize Charlotte for herconsiderable contributions to Panama and the broad-er world. After Matthew presented her with the honorary degree on behalf of the Conway trustees,Charlotte addressed the gathering. Her comments inpart, here translated from Spanish, were:

Thank you for this great honor you have given me. Thanks to all of you here today,

my friends, colleagues, and especially my husband Rafa, who taught me to see Panamawith fresh eyes and has supported and encour-aged me in all my enthusiasms, interests, and efforts since the day we met in 1971,whether he agreed with them or not, and aspecial thank you to Panama, which, as youfrom Conway know, is a very special and welcoming place. I have always felt welcomedand have been received with open arms fromday one in 1969, when I came to work as avolunteer junior professional with the UnitedNations Development Program. And thanks tomy daughters, who have kept me sane, human,and humble, and who keep me in constant aweof the endless possibilities of creation.…

What have I learned and what am I still learn-ing about sustainable design and its potentialcontribution to sustainable development? Idon’t think I’m doing anything particularlyoriginal. I think I have been very fortunate tobe able to make interventions at key times, inspecial places, with extraordinary support andparticipation by people and institutions thatcare. Maybe that is the key, people who care—PASSION, or Mistica as they say in Spanish.

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Class of ’07 Azuero design team with planting coordinator for PRORENA, Diogenes Ibarra: (l to r) Karen Chaffee, Diogenes Ibarra, Alicia Batista, Victoria Schroth, and Brandon Mansfield

Charlotte Elton's husband, Rafael Spalding, looks on as Matthew Arnsberger ’98

presents her with an honorary degree.

We need to analyze situations at different levels, the context, the global, national, local,individual, how they all relate, which leads togreater understanding.… Without somethingmaking sense to people, there is no way theywill change. The context includes the political,socio-economic dynamics, and the environ-ment, and particularly important in this is thenon-tangible, the spiritual, ethical dimensionsof our understanding and relation to the land-scapes and surroundings we live in.…

I like to think that just maybe in the work Ihave done, for which you are conferring methis honorary degree, I and others in thePanamanian Center for Research and SocialAction have touched other people’s lives andsome places with these insights that we havelearnt along the way. Thank you for thishonor.

That night, Azuero Foundation president LuisVarela held a festive banquet at his home, overlook-ing the Bay of Panama, to honor Charlotte Elton and recognize the Conway students.

A Gathering of Conway Alums and FriendsTwo days later, our Conway group was assembled in Panama City, and we got oriented to the city andcountry, viewing the site of the new Museum ofBiodiversity (designed by Frank Gehry and nowunder construction) and the famous Panama Canallocks. In addition to Matthew Arnsberger, trip partic-ipants included Judy Gianforte ’85, Sue Crimmins’97, and Gioia Kuss ’99, and friends of the school,Laura D’Angelantonio and Susan Urich. We headedfor the tiny village of Achiote.

Achiote is a village of friendly inhabitants, whowarmly welcomed us. Also joining us in Achiote was native plant expert and advocate Marianne

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Conway's Latin American InitiativeIf you are interested in Latin America orspeak Spanish, please let us know if youwould like to help advance our efforts there.Go to www.csld.edu/alumniresources.htm and follow the link “Conway Alums in Latin America” or send us an email(Spanish@csld.edu) to give us informationabout your interests.

Conway to Collaborate on Design Workshop in PanamaAdrian Benedetti, director of Summit Park in Panama City (www.summitpanama.org),has invited the Conway School to help teacha three-day workshop at Summit in January.The three-day workshop, organized byFairchild Gardens will be taught in Spanishand will present basic concepts of landscapedesign. Conway’s Michael Cavanagh ’02 will be teaching with Fairchild’s AprilDominquez, a landscape designer who served in the Peace Corps in Panama.

Michael, who has his own design firm in Rhode Island, has been working in theDominican Republic and speaks Spanish. The workshop will be held at Summit Park in Panama City.

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Top: Charlotte Elton (l) and local guides (r) Filipe Martinez and Marianne Akers introduce trip participants,

(l to r) Sue Crimmins, Matthew Arnsberger, Laura D'Angelantonio, Judy Gianforte, and

Gioia Kuss, to the marvels of the rainforest. Bottom: Visitors (clockwise from l: Gioia Kuss,

Matthew Arnsberger, Laura D'Angelantonio) collaborate with local host Daniel Holness (r) on land protection

strategies for the Toucan Community Center.

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Akers. We were treated to natural and cultural heritage tours and then we started in on projects,

working with villagers. Gioia, Laura, and I helpedevaluate the feasibility of purchasing a property as a buffer for the community center. Matthew did ameasured drawing and materials list for reconstruct-ing the oldest home in the village. Sue and Judyplanned a permaculture interpretative trail. AndSusan helped reorganize the gift area of the communi-ty center where we stayed.

Having real projects to work on over those daysin Achiote with real people made all the difference in how we experienced Panama. We got to know villagers much better by working with them on issuesthat mattered to them. Knowing people also meantwe got to see aspects of village life that a typicaltourist would never see. It is our hope that the proj-ects will help villagers move in some small waystoward their goal of greater self-sufficiency.

Our time in Achiote seemed to fly by, and soon we were saying goodbye to our new friends and head-ed back to Panama City and our homes in the north.To a person, trip participants said they felt they hadgained much more than they had given. And I canattest that they had given much.

Another Participant’s PerspectiveFor more information on the Panamanian isthmusand an interesting perspective on the parallels to corridors in New England, see the article by partici-pant Gioia Kuss ’99 in the spring 2007 issue of theMiddlebury Area Land Trust News.

Nota BeneJust as con’text is going to press comes word of addi-tional opportunities for Conway in Panama. We havebeen invited to help teach a workshop in Panama onlandscape design. (See box accompanying this articlefor more details.) And, a person attending the finalstudent presentation for the Azuero project has askedif his organization might sponsor a future Conwaystudent project examining the feasibility of a newPanamanian national park.

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Connections: CSLD and the Peace CorpsMichele Albee Devaney ’02 is currently in Romania. Nat Goodhue ’91 and FloydThompson ’74 served in Chile. DanielleAllen ’06 was in Morroco. Some have cometo Conway after the Peace Corps, othersbefore they served.

There has been a long informal associa-tion between the Peace Corps and theConway School, and we would like to buildon those experiences. We want to attractmore students who would like to come toConway before they head out to such inter-national service. It would be helpful to beable to share with them the experiences ofalums who have already been in the PeaceCorps.

Eventually, we would like to develop amore formal relationship with the PeaceCorps, such as that agency has with otherinstitutions of higher learning.

To be able to take these steps we needmore specific information from our alumswho have served in the Peace Corps orother such service organizations.

Please go to the school website(www.csld.edu/alumniresources.htm) and click on the link at “Conway Alums in the Peace Corps” or send us an email(PeaceCorps@csld.edu) to give us yourinformation. You can also leave us a voice-mail message at (413) 853-3034.

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Far left: Judy Gianforteinspects palm fruits. Left: Laura D'Angelantoniomakes a record sketch ofPiña Beach.

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THIS YEAR MARKS THE THIRTY-FIFTH CLASS at theConway School. Thirty-five graduating classescoming out of one of the smallest graduate

schools in the country is a sure sign that CSLD’s messageand teaching process is important to many individuals.The success of the Conway School is, in part, due to thesupport from its large body of alums. Two recentlyformed groups, the Alumni Association and the classagent program intend to strengthen, even more, the con-nection between the school and its alums. In the classagent program, two graduates from each class are invit-ed to represent fellow classmates and to help maintainconnections to the school and to each other. These con-nections are made through phone calls, email, letters,and personal visits.

Class agents and alums also volunteer their time dur-ing CSLD events. Class agents for the class of 2006, IanHodgdon and Brian Trippe, organized phonathons inAmherst and Salem, Massachusetts respectively. Thesephonathons were well attended and mobilized financialsupport for CSLD and reconnected fellow classmatesand alums. (For phonathon details see page 34.)

During its first year, the class agents adopted a mis-sion statement and created a structure for helping classagents to maintain their connection with classmates. Atthe May 2007 Development Committee meeting, a classagent steering committee was formed to provide supportand direction to the larger body of class agents, developideas, and recruit new members. Also adopted were

plans to create regional meetings of alums for the pur-pose of networking, sharing professional successes, andof course, having a great time. The steering committee isaiming to hold two regional meetings in the near future.Suggested locations include the Boston and WashingtonD.C. areas. West Coast alums have recently met withPaul Hellmund, Nancy Braxton, and each other duringPaul and Nancy’s information session trip this fall. (Seerelated article on p. 7.)

Stories of class agents reconnecting with their fellowclassmates and the fruitful results from alums volunteer-ing their time during CSLD events reveal how importantand pivotal this group is as the school embarks on estab-lishing the “Permanent Conway.” Conway School alumshave always felt a deep connection to fellow alums eventhough many have never met. Class agents are beginningto create a larger dialog among alums. This deepeningdialog brings all alums closer to each other and to theConway School. The success of the class agents andAlumni Association will surely ensure the success of the Conway School.

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Conway Class Agents:A Pivotal Group BY IAN HODGDON ‘06, CLASS AGENT CO-CHAIR

Mission of the Conway AlumniAssociation and Class AgentsThe Conway Alumni Association, and theclass agents formed within, supports the continuity of CSLD’s mission by fosteringconnections among the school’s graduatesacross years, regions, skills and interests.

–Adopted December 9, 2006

Class Agents Need Your HelpWith eighteen alums currently signed up asclass agents, the CSLD Alumni Associationhas a strong core from which to grow. Weneed your help, however, in order to reachour goal of one or two class agents fromeach year. If you’re already in touch withsome of your classmates, why not expandthat circle and help ensure the success of the Alumni Association and the ConwaySchool? The school can help you with con-tact information and other means to helpyou stay in touch. Contact Nancy Braxtontoday and do your part in keeping theConway experience alive (braxton@csld.edu;(413) 369-4044 x 5).

Alum David Evans ’76Shares His Post-Conway Experience withProspective StudentsPrior to Conway, I was a studentof ornamental horticulture andpomology at Ohio State, whilemanaging the landscape maintenance staff of a thirty-acre historical estate. The day-to-day field experienceof maintaining a beautiful, mature landscape, com-bined with the stimulation of the classroom, was agreat mix that rapidly advanced my understanding andskill. Conway proved to be a similar combination ofdoing and learning. Although I didn’t have an art ordesign background, I believed that I could learn theseskills, especially within the real-world grounding of theConway School.

In 1975, the alternative nature of the school seemedrevolutionary, and a perfect antidote to the characterof traditional education. In that context, I came toConway to learn how to design and build landscapes.Although I shared the environmental values of theschool, I was most interested in design, graphics, andconstruction. The nature of the projects I chose, Walt’sgifts as a teacher, and the shared wisdom of my col-leagues, ultimately established the design foundationI’d hoped for. Walt helped me to see the range of skillsrequired of a good landscape architect, and out of that,the importance of being a generalist. Over the pastthirty years, my desire to be broad-based in my profes-sional skills has been at the heart of my career journeyand, I now see, essential to my current work as anurban designer. Another memorable learning is the ver-bal and written communication skills demanded of theprogram. Although I didn’t attend Conway in search ofthese skills, they are the most critical component of myprofessional success.

Conway is the foundation of my career. In the spiritof my desire to be a generalist, I’ve worked for multi-disciplinary design firms, owned a design/build busi-ness, worked as a development planner, designed andbuilt numerous public landscapes, and now lead myown urban design and landscape architecture practicein California. Following twenty years of professionalpractice after Conway, I received a Master of UrbanDesign from UC Berkeley in 1997. I’ve taught for sev-eral years in the UC Berkeley Extension program inLandscape Architecture, and am currently serving onthe UC Berkeley Advisory Board. Recently, I was certi-fied by the National Charrette Institute to lead highlyparticipatory community design projects, which is alogical extension of the communication skills estab-lished at Conway.

Conway is as relevant and revolutionary as ever.Knowing if the fit is right requires either a clear under-standing of what you want, or the courage to jump inand swim, and see where the “rushing” waters takeyou. Either way, it will probably change your life.

See the work of David’s firm at: www.sfedesign.com.Share your post-Conway experience with prospec-

tive students. Go to to the alumni area of our website,www.csld.edu/alumnipage.htm and fill in the question-naire. Or you can send your story to the schoolthrough the post office.

Bruce Stedman ’78, Named Executive Director of the Marine Fish Conservation NetworkThis past August, the Marine Fish ConservationNetwork (Network)—a national coalition of more than 190 environmental organizations, commercial and recreational fishing groups, aquariums, and marinescience groups—announced the appointment of BruceJ. Stedman as its new executive director. Bruce hasbeen active in marine and environmental policy formore than twenty-five years.

“Throughout his career, Bruce Stedman has showna passion for ocean conservation and an aptitude inbringing different parties together to solve environmen-tal challenges,” said Jay Nelson, president of the Net-work’s board of directors. “He brings exceptionalexperience, skills, and talent to the Network, and wecould not have asked for a better fit for this uniqueorganization.”

His love for the ocean has a long history, beginningwith salmon fishing and a trip to the Oregon coast as a child. Trained in marine biology at Friday HarborLaboratories (University of Washington), land planningat the Conway School of Landscape Design, and envi-ronmental planning at Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology, Stedman has directed five other environ-mental non-governmental organizations and compa-nies. As a marine biologist, he participated in researchprojects involving basic ecosystem analysis and animalbehavior, and was part of a four-person team thatdesigned and built The Whale Museum in FridayHarbor, Washington. He has also taught academiccourses in negotiation and conservation biology atHarvard University. Stedman is the director of the EllieDorsey Marine Conservation Fund, a small charityfunding marine research that continues the work of hislate wife. Stedman lives in Washington, DC with histwo children.

Bruce is an emeritus trustee of Conway. We con-gratulate him warmly on his new appointment. Formore information about Bruce and his work, seewww.conservefish.org.

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Where Are They Now:Two Alums’ Stories

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THE ANCIENT MONASTERIES and palaces of Sri Lanka maintain highly sophisticated land-scape designs, intentionally interrupted by nat-ural features. The Sigiriya gardens, as grand asVersailles but older by a thousand years, hasits vast symmetry broken by a meanderingstream. The main esplanade leads to a spec-tacular and chaotic tumble of caves and natu-ral outcrops, where buildings and templesappear precariously perched on boulders.1

Sri Lankans have a 2,500-year history of designinglandscapes with water, and of striving to keep in har-mony with their natural surroundings.2 And therespect for the natural environment has a spiritualconnection:

Formality often gives precedence to thevagaries of the landscape—axes shift toaccommodate boulders or streams, symmetry

gives way to a complex game of asymmetry…[which] is fundamental to Buddhist thought:that there can be no perfection in the world ofmen; imbalance is what creates all movementand energy.3

Buddhist thinking requires the Wruksha Devatadeity to be at peace before a sacred tree can be cut.For three consecutive nights, robed monks meditative-ly display poetically brilliant attitudes towards land-scape by placing lanterns around the tree to beremoved.4 When this respect for landscape is com-bined with Buddhist Sinhalese asymmetry, combinedagain with the potential of environmental design, theresults can be deeply inspiring.

Sri Lanka is currently known for its disproportion-ately high number of talented architects and design-ers. This is largely due to a vernacular renaissancethat was begun fifty years ago by architects GeoffreyBawa, Ulrik Plesner, and Minette de Silva (Asia’s firstfemale architect). They were inspired by a contempo-rary embracing of local tradition and response toplace and environment and included artists BarbaraSansoni, Ena de Silva, and Laki Senanayake, amongothers.5 All of these twentieth century greats werethemselves hugely influenced by ancient vernaculardesigns of monasteries, palaces, and traditionalSinhalese, Buddhist, Tamil, and Hindu art.

This devotion to locality inspires professionalsfrom India, Malaysia, Singapore, and beyond, lookingto Sri Lanka for influential designs speaking of place.Sri Lanka is dotted with ruins, temples, monasteries,and lost cities from before the Christian era. It has amixed population of Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, andIslamic communities of largely mixed Singhalese,Tamil, and Muslim ethnicities who speak mainlySinhala, Tamil, or English. They are some of thefriendliest people you will ever find, and it is wheremy wife Ann, our teenage sons, Jevon and Gabriel,and I lived for a year, from 2006 to 2007.

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Communities, Design, andWhat the Buddha Inspired:A Sri Lankan PerspectiveJONATHON ELLISON ’93 REPORTS ON HIS YEAR IN POST-TSUNAMI SRI LANKA

Ancient Sri Lankan design

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We started as guests for three months at the SOSChildren’s Village of Pilyandala. Housing a villageschool, administration buildings, and a makeshiftBuddhist temple, it is home to two hundred orphanedchildren, their adoptive mothers, and aunties. Butwhat stands out is the playful atmosphere of thebuildings and site, and the way they speak of familyand children. Colorful homes cluster around gardensand walkways, asymmetrically framing larger court-yards for playtime, prayers, cricket, and soccer.

When we first arrived, it was dusk. We left behinda landscape of cluttered streets, rickshaws, vendors,and buses exhausting thick, black plumes of carbon.We were welcomed into a tropical oasis of trees, flow-ers, courtyards, colors, candles, Sri Lankan houses,monkeys in treetops, humor, and children. Lots ofchildren. It was the full-moon Buddhist festival ofVesak Poya, and the village was aglow with lanterns.

Here, Ann gathered her Ph.D. research in secondlanguage acquisition as she worked with Sinhaleseteachers teaching English to Sinhalese children whoasked Sinhalese questions about the English teacherfrom Canada trying to speak Sinhala. It was alsowhere I became “uncle” to two hundred kids whoplayed soccer and cricket with my sons, where laugh-ter, humility, and corner kicks made up for what welacked in language.

The orphanage is associated with an SOS organicfarming project, where older boys are given thechance and experience of growing high quality, non-toxic, sustainable farming produce which is then soldin the cities. The village design was influenced byneed, by site, and by historical design aesthetics,rather than by the designs of foreign donors. Its archi-tect, C. Anjalendran, once associated with Bawa, andwhose craft has been described as an “architecture ofdignity,” explains:

Unlike all other arts, which may portray thecontradictions of daily life, in particular withunder-development and terrorism, architecturemust celebrate life. I am weary of an architec-ture which is merely serious or even just afaçade, devoid of the wit and humor of life. I also dislike insensitive impositions on thelandscape.… For me [art] is enough if it pro-vides a meditative refuge from the trauma, thetragedy, and the occasionalbomb in Sri Lanka.6

During the 2004 tsunami, almost fifty thousandSri Lankans perished, tens of thousands of childrenbecame orphans, and over one hundred thousandhomes were destroyed. Many coastal Sri Lankans willshare their stories of the horrific waves that tore aparttheir lives. Facing continuing civil conflict, they alsospeak openly about rebuilding their communities,while maintaining a general distrust of both their gov-ernment and the industry of foreign aid.

Many bemoan the highly centralized governmentmachinery, the inadequate needs assessments and con-sultation, corruption, and alack of transparency andaccountability in the devel-opment process. Many craveindependence from externalassistance, and many in thesouth worry that a pro-longed culture of dependencecould lead to unrest. Inmany places, people expressconcern about developmentorganizations carrying outrelief work with explicitmandates or implicit agendasfor religious conversions.7

But Sri Lankans gener-ally speak of Sri Lanka withpride. They know the geo-graphic, touristic, design,and cultural potential theirbeloved country holds. Manylong for a peaceful resolution between the Sinhaleseand the Tamils, but are weary of the military and thatoccasional bomb. People speak openly of the past,such as the peaceful transition from British rule, whenTamils, Muslims, Christians, and Sinhalese Buddhistsran a non-secular government, clearly separating stateand religion.8 Sadly, many Tamils are leaving forgood, sometimes followed by Sinhalese who are tiredof the army in the streets.

It was within this landscape of loss and hope,humor and design, conflict and humanity, disasterand development that I came to understand myConway School training within a global perspective.

I was hired at the Colombo School of Architec-ture where I taught environmental design and site

con'text )&

“It was within

this landscape of loss

and hope, humor and

design, conflict and

humanity, disaster

and development

that I came to under-

stand my Conway

School training within a

global perspective.”

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Empty houses and foreign aid

planning. I worked with fourth-year students, andwas design critic to fifth- and seventh-year classes.Some of the students were brilliant, budding designerswho could teach us here how to better integratebuilding and site. They were also hungry to learnmore about sustainable planning, ecological siteanalysis, and restored landscapes by design.

Our classes and tutorials focused on design devel-opment, presentation techniques, and every aspect ofplanning and landscape design. Poetry of MichaelOndaatje became culturally appropriate when discus-sing the richness and flow of presentation language.We confronted the received knowledge that the seven-teenth century French architects were the real mastersat bringing straight lines to gardens. The studentswere challenged to understand the global perspectiveof their ancient landscape masterpieces: asymmetry,devotion to environment, straight lines, and all.

We took their master plan concepts for the newNational Dance Academy,and infused ideas of recy-cled rainwater, native plantcommunities, urban forests,rooftop gardens, interactivestreetscapes, and communi-ty involvement. The stu-dents were eager to seeNorth American projects,including restored grass-lands by Darrel Morrison,and the tiny, but wonderfulurban forest gardens ofRuth Parnall and DonWalker.

As they learned aboutthe filtering qualities ofaquatic plants, some stu-dents sat glued to the inter-net images of John and

Nancy Todd’s ecological designs filtering water andwaste in the Chinese Baima canal, their harnessing of wind power on Cape Cod, or their Bioshelter onPrince Edward Island. They were intrigued with theTodds’ concept that waste is just a resource out ofplace.9 The real epiphanies were the ensuing discus-sions that the once glorious, but heavily polluted,canals and lakes of Colombo City could now be seenas having enormous design potential. And even theirbeloved Geoffrey Bawa harnessed the wind to pumpwater at his Lunuganga estate and had designed anoffice tower with windows that utilized the wind toventilate without air conditioning, even during themonsoons.

Through meetings, volunteer work, and consulting,I was involved in projects addressing the humanitarianand environmental impacts of the tsunami, and of

subsequent relief and reconstruction efforts. I wit-nessed how damage to life-supporting ecosystems(coral reefs, coastal forests, wetlands, and mangroveswamps) increased risks to human health and thelivelihoods of those in low-lying coastal areas. The res-idents of these areas, however, are some of the first toconfirm that the neglect for the coastal environment inthe past greatly contributed to intensifying the impactof the tsunami.10

Some of the projects were brilliant stories of localand foreign initiatives of appropriate humanitarian,communal and creative design. Others were costlyfailures, relying on ideas of well-intended foreign con-sultants, but devoid of community input. A recurringtheme in both environmental and conflict-impactassessment is the danger of not using long-term, coun-try-specific solutions to address specific needs:

Sri Lanka is not Bosnia, it is not Rwanda….And this is what must drive the parameters,the possibilities and the limits on developmentprogramming on the island. This is not to sug-gest that there is not much to learn from sys-tematic comparative studies between SriLanka and other violence-prone countries….But it is to say that the applicability and utili-ty of such efforts will be heavily dependent on our ability to fit those experiences into thevery particular and very specific reality of SriLanka, not the other way around.11

I helped with a foreign-funded housing initiativedesigned and built by Sri Lankans, and was privilegedto learn the concept of needs analysis relating to gen-der. The women in the village needed easy access towater and firewood; they needed issues of proximityto school, playground, graveyard and latrines ad-dressed; they needed culturally appropriate and aboveflood-level house designs; and they needed controlover their own commercial ventures. My contact withThe Shining Life Children’s Trust UK kept remindingme that if you assist the men of the village, you willmake the mens’ lives easier, but if you assist thewomen, the entire village will benefit.

A women’s cooperative of batik and craft makers,run by the talented Ena de Silva, had successfullyapplied for a grant from Canada and built a smallworkshop and restaurant that now employs fortywomen. Starting with their idea and a no-strings-attached donation, they now successfully furnishexclusively designed fabrics to top Sri Lankan archi-tects and designers, and are completely independent.

The most interesting and successful projects werefunded by foreign agencies only after they had beencontacted by the local people. They addressed needand site, and had been conceived, organized, anddesigned by Sri Lankans. These exemplified the

)' con'text

“Design is then a

solution responding

to need, to site,

to climate, to water,

and to entire

communities,

gracefully accepting

the needs of our planet

and her people as

a moral obligation.”

brilliance of Sri Lankan culture, design, and know-how, and the appropriate function of foreign aid.

Near the eastern village of Pottuvil, my sixteen-year-old son, Gabriel, and I ventured into the conflictzone as part of the educational dad trips we wouldtake after first checking with our high commission.We drove to Yala National Park, but the army turnedus away because of the conflict. We then happenedupon a monastery where Hindu monks invited us forlunch. They later directed us to a project by foreign-ers, which they had always found particularly odd.

A donated village, built prior to the Tsunami, had been located directly on the shores of the IndianOcean, using the best materials available. Proof oftheir sound engineering was they were still standingafter the forty-foot wave hit that coast, at almosteight hundred kilometers per hour. Yet, row after rowof new houses stood empty. The villagers explainedthat had they been asked, they could have told theforeign NGO not to build those culturally-inappropri-ate houses so close to the graveyard, so close to theocean, and so far from fresh water.

With Colombo architect Deepali Mody, I assisted on a master plan for the Sri Baktha Hanuman HinduTemple, surrounded by the steep, mountainous land-scape of tea. The idea was to replant native species,restore a stream, create a swimming pond, stop ero-sion, locate several buildings and create a self-sustain-ing organic farm. My experience in using Sri Lankancoconut fiber carpets to stabilize planted riverbanks inCanada and the US enabled me to introduce this idea to my Sri Lankan colleagues. Doing so encouraged SriLankan designers to use a Sri Lankan product tosolve a Sri Lankan problem. This led to a presenta-tion on bioengineering to Dr. Chitrangani Jayasekara,director of the Coconut Research Institute, and hercolleagues at Bandirippuwa Estate, in Lunuwila. Theywatched, with admiration and pride, as my laptopdisplayed their local products restoring stream bankson the other side of the planet.

Environmental design is an attempt to have sitesand buildings graciously altered by need and creativi-ty, based on ecological, location-and-culture-specificsolutions. It attempts to answer the 1994 WorldScientists’ Warning to Humanity that human beingsand the natural world are on a collision course. Itmust be recognized as one of the few remaining para-digms with a future.12

Environmental design has the added challenge ofconvincing individuals, communities, and govern-ments to allow for ecological systems to drive designand planning, through creativity and through craft.Design is then a solution responding to need, to site,to climate, to water, and to entire communities, grace-fully accepting the needs of our planet and her peopleas a moral obligation. Let us hope, it is the kind ofplanning that governments, such as Sri Lanka’s, referto when trying to develop a post-tsunami, forward-looking plan for coastal zone management.13

The opportunities that presented themselves in Sri Lanka reinforced how my Conway experience hasbecome more relevant than ever. I am particularlythankful for that inflexible part of my training thataddressed how design can be brilliant only once theneed and the site are understood.

For more of Jonathon Ellison's photos of Sri Lanka,visit www.csld.edu/srilanka.htm.

1. Robson, David. 2007. Boulder Gardens: Their Significancefor Contemporary Architecture in Sri Lanka. Lecture to RukRakaganno, Colombo.

2. Robson, David. 2002. Geoffrey Bawa: the Complete Works.London: Thames & Hudson.

3. Robson. 2007. 4. De Silva, Nimal. 1996. Landscape Tradition of Sri Lanka:

Philosophy, Principles and Practises. Colombo: DevcoDesigners and Publishers.

5. Meng, Tan Kok. 2000. Ed. Asian Architects - C.Anjalendran: An Architecture of Dignity. Singapore: Select Books.

6. Meng. 2000.7. UNEP. 2005. United Nations Environmental Programme,

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of SriLanka. Sri Lanka: Post-Tsunami Environmental Assessment,Geneva: UNEP.

8. Robson. 2002.9. Todd, Nancy Jack. 2005 A Safe and Sustainable World:

The Promise of Ecological Design. Washington, DC: IslandPress.

10. UNDP. 2005. United Nations Development Program,Disaster Relief Monitoring Unit, Human RightsCommission Sri Lanka, Colombo University CommunityExtension Centre. 2005 The Report of People’sConsultations on Post Tsunami Relief, Reconstruction andRehabilitation in Sri Lanka. Colombo.

11. Bush, Kenneth. 2001 Peace and Conflict Impact AssessmentFive Years On: The Commodification of an Idea. BerghofResearch Center. www.berghof_handbook.net/uploads/download/dialogue1_bush.pdf

12. Todd. 200513. UNEP. 2005.

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Prayers before Community Meeting

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From an Introduction by Rick Brown, TrusteeAt graduation, Rick Brown greeted the class of 2007, theirfamily, and friends on behalf of the Conway School Board ofTrustees. He then introduced graduation speaker and Conwayalumna Wendi Goldsmith, who received an honorary degreefrom the school in recognition of her leadership in ecologicaldesign, planning, and restoration. Here are some excerpts fromRick’s introduction:

Under Wendi’s leadership as president and founder of theBioengineering Group, Inc. in Salem, Massachusetts, she andher firm have gained national recognition for their work inproject design and implementation of the restoration of lakes,rivers, and tidal areas as well as land areas affected by waterbodies. Bioengineering Group is the lead firm in the redesign of the Louisiana Hurricane Protection System, created in theaftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A graduate of Yale Universityin geology, geophysics, and the environment, she graduatedfrom CSLD with an MALD in 1990. She also earned her MSfrom UMass Amherst in plant and soil science. We welcome her warmly.

From Graduation Speaker,Wendi Goldsmith ’90Never forget sustainability.Never, never forget sustainability.Never, never, never forget sustainability.

I tip my hat to Winston Churchill for the inspira-tion to keep my message as simple and succinct as his famous commencement address—Never Give Up.We’ll get back to an explanation of precisely what I mean by my message.

First let me express my congratulations to theConway School class of 2007. I have been in yourshoes, and although I recall my time here with muchfond nostalgia, I also remember the hard work, madeharder by the intimacy and intensity of the crucible inwhich this unique school conducts its program. Thereis no corner to hide in here. Everyone is always onthe spot. Always challenged to be rigorous and per-suasive, to pay attention to your project site, yourclient, your colleagues, and also other stakeholdersand applicable issues. You all deserve much credit for your accomplishments. I know of no other designschool that prepares its students so meaningfully to beeffective advocates for decisions and actions that leadto environmentally sustainable outcomes. In part, it

was this pervading ethic of stewardship that attractedme to Conway as a student.

Never Forget Sustainability. What does this mean?Sustainability has become something of a buzzword,bandied about often and seldom defined. I know forme sustainability is defined well in terms of large-scale ecosystem process. In particular for terrestrialecosystems, a landscape is sustainable when, despiteactive dynamic change, the overall pattern remainsconsistent over time. For instance a mosaic of foresttypes may exist across the region, with some patchesbeing disturbed by fire, by flood events, or landslides,but the percentages in the mosaic remaining constant.In response to disturbance, new species will be colo-nizing, stabilizing the land, maturing, adding backorganic matter to the soil, and eventually becomingreplaced by other species who thrive in the restoredconditions. This process of natural succession cantake decades or centuries, and provide complexitywhich in turn supports biodiversity. The eventual cli-max forest community may persist for centuries ormillennia. But the overall pattern and processes willendure, in theory, forever. The overall productivity ofthe area will fluctuate but it will never be systemati-cally declining. This is the core element of sustainabil-ity: a system that endures, with resiliency.

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Collaboration for SustainabilityHighlights from the 2007 Graduation Ceremony

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One of the tenets of sustainability is efficiency, and to achieve efficiency, natural systems rely uponbuilt-in recycling mechanisms. In order to have thriv-ing and efficient landscapes, water must be kept onsite, only leaving through evaporation and transpira-tion via plant tissue, or through infiltration whichalso recharges deep and shallow groundwater. In thisway organic matter accumulates in the soil, and nutri-ents are cyclically processed, regenerating and build-ing vegetation and animal biomass over time. On adaily/weekly basis all rainfall interacts through vege-tation and through the biologically rich and activeroot-filled soil layers where much biochemical alche-my takes place, capable of buffering and correctingmany water quality problems.

OK—what does this have to do with design?More often than not, nothing! That is why I am urg-ing you: Never Forget Sustainability. Most of ourallied professions have a long habit of forgetting it, or never bothering to considering it. In fact, it is onlyrecently that we have come to learn how to thinkabout these problems meaningfully in the first place.Back in the 1950s, a group of senior researchers atthe United States Geological Survey (USGS) devised a simple monitoring project to record the condition of smaller, normally ungaged streams in Maryland.Indeed, based on the stories I heard, it sounded like anifty way to get out of the beltway back near home,and enjoy some fieldwork with friends on Fridayafternoons. On occasion, beer was consumed! Muchto their amazement, after a decade of this ritual, thescientists began to notice that there was an unmistak-able trend: the streams were flooding more. Theintensity and frequency of large flow events waschanging. At first this appeared to be violating thebasic tenets of geology which require that the systemalways works in the same way, according to the prin-ciple of continuity. So if the stream behavior waschanging, it must be due to another changed variable.But what could that be? In the past major climatechange caused hydrologic regime changes that geolo-gists studied. More recently, it was understood thatforest clearing and intensive farming could causemajor hydrologic impairment. People understood thateffect. But what was new and different in the DC sub-urbs in the 1950s? It turns out that the scale and paceof new construction, especially tied to the interstatehighway system and the residential sprawl patterns itfacilitated, were making a quantitative difference inhow rainfall interacted with the landscape. This teamof researchers, which included Luna Leopold, ChiefHydrologist of the USGS and son of the conservationicon, Aldo Leopold, was shocked to imagine thatseemingly innocuous new development patterns werealtering our watersheds. I had the chance to chat with

Luna Leopold before his death about this wake-up-call moment, and I believe his land ethic and back-ground in ecology and conservation were key ele-ments in becoming aware, not just his science skillsalone. This is step one in the practice of planning anddesign in support of sustainability: solid interdiscipli-nary thought process.

The magnitude of the hydrologic impacts Leopoldand his colleagues were observing is not surprising inhindsight, however. Out of World War II came a newbreed of machines capable of performing earthmovingat a pace never previously envisioned, and the pacehas only escalated in recent decades. The agriculturaltractors of the ’30s were adapted to the tanks of the’40s, and returned from war as the bulldozers of the’50s. Families had cars, and this allowed people tolive away from where they worked, to build largerhomes with manicured yards, and a network of drive-ways, parking lots, and highways to make it all work.Even the green-lookinglawns and parks, it turnsout, shed water almostlike asphalt. So we intro-duced not only roofs andpaved areas, designedintentionally to shedwater, but also manyother areas that were dis-turbed in ways that led tothe same result. The ram-ifications were serious,and as a result floodmanagement regulationswere promulgated aroundthe nation. These rulesaddressed the issue ofdetaining peak flows inorder to prevent major increases to rare floods, suchas the 100-year recurrence interval type flood. Theserules did not address other hydrologic impacts tied todaily and weekly flows. It took until the 1980s for theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) to under-stand how much urban stormwater runoff has animpact on water quality as it rinses down storm-drains, and eventually into our streams and lakes thedetritus of urban living: oil and grease drippings,worn paint particles containing toxic metals, anti-cor-rosive materials like chrome and zinc grit, and a hostof solvents and pesticides used in maintenance. Everytime you need to repaint, why is that? Because theweathering of our construction materials scatters it allover the urban landscape. Traditional stormwater gut-ter and pipe systems conduct the materials directly toreceiving waterways. It took years for EPA to come togrips with how to handle this diffuse and ubiquitous

con'text !)

“I know of no other

design school that

prepares its students

so meaningfully to be

effective advocates for

decisions and actions that

lead to environmentally

sustainable outcomes.”

form of pollution. And the solution to this pollutionis nothing other than sound planning and design inthe first place. We must provide the space and thetime on sites to mimic the natural pattern of rainwa-ter handling. That’s where all of you fit in.

At this point, you should be starting to share myconcern for incorporating sustainable patterns ofhydrology into the built environment, finding a place,even in the most dense urban settings, to allow natu-ral processes to perform their cleansing cycles ofbreakdown and conversion of pollutants. I am happyto report that many effective—and appealing—meth-ods exist. I realize many Conway students have beentrained in some of these. But to plan and design themeffectively requires true collaboration between differ-ent disciplines, including ecology, hydrology, soil sci-ence, engineering, and landscape architecture. Let metell you a tale to illustrate how these practices haveevolved, what they often consist of, and most impor-tant, what really makes a difference in the outcome:

My firm was added late to the design team for theSouth Central Connecticut Regional Water Purifica-tion Facility and Park during 2001, after the designhad commenced. Although the initial image of“green” was present in the concept design, it lackedfunctional definition. For instance, the architects likedhow a green roof looked but did not know how tohandle its design in a purposeful way. All the designteam members were interested in incorporating sus-tainable design into the process, but no one was em-powered to play this role, and to define what wouldbe needed to achieve this, and to follow through torally all the design team members to accountability inits pursuit. After the project was complete, we weredescribed by several teammates as the firm that kept

the large team working together, understanding eachothers’ roles and identifying and implementing com-plementary strategies, and our role was defined as“sustainability consultant.”

Our main focus was to set the key design parame-ter for the entire site as a full replication of the prede-velopment hydrology. This approach required that thedesign keep all water up near the rooted zone of thesoil where evapotranspiration and nutrient removalcan happen, and to provide time and space for infil-tration and groundwater recharge, while also address-ing runoff management, chiefly by avoiding letting ithappen in the first place. Because our approach wasfounded on watershed stewardship, which was part of the client agency’s mission, our design elements,including a magnificent green roof, wet-meadow vege-tated bioswales for collecting and conveying runoff,and a sculpturally elegant pond with diverse habitatfeatures, all survived multiple rounds of a value-engi-neering process. Additionally the project was con-ceived and implemented to conserve energy, reusematerials, and indeed recycle the site itself which hadbeen used intensively for industrial and infrastructurepurposes since the time of Eli Whitney.

The project as originally planned in a differentform was initially resented and opposed by the neigh-boring public, but has become a welcomed resourcewith a strong purpose in setting a living-laboratoryexample of how to build in urban settings with lowenvironmental and community impacts. The design is the winner of numerous awards, including mostrecently the American Institute of Architects presti-gious Committee on the Environment Award. Key tothis success story was a strong community engage-ment process linked to clear design principles and asound interdisciplinary process that resulted in pridefor the Bioengineering Group along with Steven HollArchitects, Michael van Valkenburgh Associates,CH2M Hill and other team members as well as theproject owner whose purposes it fulfills magnificently,right down to saving money! As I have often ob-served, by embracing sustainable design fosteredthrough a sound interdisciplinary process, the teamoften manages to find the “sweet spot” where manyseemingly intractable details fall magically into place.

I hope I have given you a view into how sustain-able design gets done. When I say the key is NeverForget Sustainability, it is often the one and key stepthat needs to be taken—the start of a process thatdevelops a life of its own. Each project is a chance to transact restoration. We just have to trigger theprocess to bring people together to work out context-sensitive and site-tailored solutions to design. Weshould no longer be living in a world where develop-ers and industry are bad, and some environmental

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Director Paul Hellmund holds a photo of the class of ’73,CSLD’s first graduating class.

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good guys operate in a separate sphere. This ap-proach never worked. Saying “No!” does not edu-cate, inspire, or produce the funding to make changehappen (except in rare and special instances). Saying“Here’s how…” engages people and helps them meettheir needs while causing less impact, or better yetcorrecting and healing past impacts. We can help spinoff these developers, highway departments, and largebox retailers as agents of restoration.

All projects have a budget, and you can help iden-tify how to spend it wisely, but don’t forget to addresssustainability, especially in terms of water function.Focus on the water, and my experience shows thatother parameters fall into place. Often you will find

yourself to be the only one at the table in possessionof the knowledge or perspective to find the opportu-nity to transact sustainable design. You will have tobe advocates and facilitators, as well as designers,throughout your careers. The Conway School hasgiven you the background you need to be articulatecommunicators, through written, oral and graphicpresentation. You already are well equipped, and youwill need to continue to add to and refresh yourknowledge over time. You will also need to simplyNever Forget Sustainability, and to help remind othersevery chance available.

Thank you and good luck to you all!

con'text !"

In addition, Paul and Nancy had a delightful meeting with SusanRosenberg ’95 in her Palo Alto homeon Friday evening, October 26, andNancy was given a marvelous andmemorable tour by Tom Sargent ’79of his latest project, developing aconference center at a former armybase, Ft. Baker, Sausalito on Mon-day, October 29. Thank you Susanand Tom! It’s terrific to be in closertouch with so many of our WestCoast graduates, and we hope to seemany of you at the Conway campusin the near future!

Departing TrusteesWe wish to express our heartfeltthanks to two trustees who have contributed their time, wisdom, andenergy to further the goals of theConway School. Joining the board in 2004, Clémence Corriveau ’02conceived of and implemented theCSLD silent auction in 2005. Her

Alma Hecht ’02, and Cynthia HayesTanyan ’95. The gathering wasremarkable for that high-volume,non-stop, animated exchange ofintroductions, ideas, and work thatoccurs whenever Conway alums get together! It was tremendouslyrewarding for Paul and Nancy tohear passionate accounts of the valueand impact of the rigorous Conwaytraining on the careers and lives ofthese alums. In addition, Paul pre-sented the draft Conway CampusStudy, some preliminary ideas formaking the facility and campus moresustainable, and the Conway 2020Vision (see pages 8–9). They receiveda range of terrific suggestions for thefuture of the school, including work-shop offers and outreach ideas. Welook forward to continuing the vitali-ty of the exchange that began on thishistoric occasion. Thank you Shariand Donna, and thanks to all forcoming.

efforts resulted in contributionsamounting to nearly ten percent of unrestricted giving for that year.Owner of Ecological LandscapeDesign in West Hartford, Connect-icut, Clémence has, more recently,hosted Conway students during theirGreat River Road Trip. Also joiningthe board in 2004 was DonaldRichard ’77, Vice President of JohnG. Crowe Associates, Inc., Belmont,Massachusetts. Besides his work onthe board, he has served as a criticfor CSLD formal presentations. Weare grateful to both of these individu-als for their hard work and dedica-tion to the school. We look forwardto a continuing relationship witheach. Thank you Clémence and Don!

New TrusteeRobbin Peach ’78 will join the CSLDBoard of Trustees in February 2008.Read about her in the upcomingissue of con’text, summer 2008.

School News | continued from page 7

Graduates from left to right: Sarah Hills,Brandon Mansfield, and Karen ChaffeePhotos: Mieke Zuiderweig

Vince O’Connell and Kathy Swanson’s home sits alongthe top of a north-facing ridge in a small clearing onthe southern end of their property, surrounded by ahealthy, mixed evergreen and deciduous forest. Muchof the northern end of their twenty-eight-acre lot,which borders a state forest, has been designatedpotential habitat for rare or endangered species.Stonework abounds on the site, including an historicalstone wall marking the western property boundary.

The clients sought a design to accommodate deliv-ery trucks for their home business, provide orderlyparking for three cars, screen an undesirable view ofthe garage from the house, create clear pedestrianpathways, and define separate outdoor spaces for private and public use.

In the final design, public and private spaces areseparated by a variety of native trees and shrubs thatprovide food and cover for birds. Many existingshrubs are relocated and massed, while an area northof the house is transformed into a low-maintenancezone of managed succession. Selective thinning of treesallows more light onto the site, encourages growth ofunderstory plants, and creates a more interesting andvaried forest edge. A large white pine south of thehouse is topped and limbed at a safe height to createstanding dead, vital, and interesting habitat.

The drive is relocated, separating it from the pri-vate space of the house by a narrow band of trees. A glimpse of the house is afforded through the treesen route to the garage, where comfortable parking and

turnaround for three cars or a shipping vehicle areprovided. A stone entry pathway, announced by astone landing and wide arbor, leads down several stepsto the eastern door, while a stone patio on the southside of the house, shaded by large beech trees, offerseasy access to the kitchen and living spaces.

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Student Projects 2006–2007

FALL PROJECTS. CSLD students begintheir year working with area clients on theirresidential properties. Projects may involvesiting a new house, reducing erosion, reori-enting driveways, or making a propertymore habitable for wildlife. Through carefulobservation, students come to understandthe relationships among natural systems.

Although the focus is on a small area,the residential project is never simple.Students learn design principles throughapplication of a problem-solving process.This involves eliciting and interpreting clientneeds, developing a proposal for designservices, analyzing and assessing site condi-tions, researching legal constraints, concep-tualizing design solutions, and developingspecific plans and recommendations.

This section shows the dormer on the south side of the garage creating a welcomingarrival and allowing light in to the upstairs space. The roof over the front door deflects water shed by the main roof and announces the entrance to the business.

Room for Birds and BusinessThe O’Connell/Swanson Residence, Plainfield, MassachusettsDesigner: Nicko Rubin

Separating Public and Private Spaces

The O’Connell/Swanson Residence—Final Plan

Though it comprises just one percent of the world’stotal landmass, the isthmus of Panama is home to astaggering eight percent of the world’s known species.Increasingly, however, vital connectivity throughoutPanama is being lost, causing species to becomeextinct or endangered at an accelerated rate. TheAzuero Peninsula, which extends ninety kilometersinto the Pacific Ocean from central Panama, includesa variety of ecozones, ranging from dry tropicalforests to cloud forests to mangroves, and providescritical habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna,many of which are endemic and some of which areendangered.

The degraded condition together with the remark-able potential of the landscape in the southern Azueroled the Azuero Foundation, a nongovernmental or-ganization with conservation aims, and Edwinda vonGal, a landscape designer, to commission a feasibilitystudy from CSLD for a biological corridor in theregion. Biological corridors can combat habitat frag-mentation by acting as “hallways” through whichwildlife can move between habitat areas. Corridorscan support migration, genetic exchange, and escapefrom degraded areas.

The student team traveled to Panama to becomefamiliar with the landscape and to meet with scien-tists, landowners, ranchers, developers, governmentofficials, and environmental organizations. Localcommunity members described the ecological changesthat had occurred during their lifetime and expressed

a strong interest in trying to reverse the effects ofdeforestation. This community input, along with areview of case studies of other biological corridors inLatin America, helped the team develop a set of con-servation principles related to ecology, scale, and par-ticipation that guided their design process.

Strategies for establishing a corridor in the finalplan include targeting riparian corridors and existingforest blocks for preservation, restoration, and expan-sion; introducing silvopastoral systems; reforesting;expanding and diversifying living fence systems;developing economic incentives for environmentalservices; and creating educational programs withvocational components to foster awareness and stew-ardship of the environment.

WINTER PROJECTS.In the winter term, projectsincrease in scope and com-plexity and are undertaken by teams of students for public and nonprofit clients.Students identify and mapnatural resources and im-merse themselves in localgovernment issues, state reg-ulations, and regional con-texts. The long-range plansthat result conserve fragileecosystems and place humanactivities where the land cansustain them. This winter,CSLD undertook its first international project.

Landscape profile illustrating the pastoral matrix on the AzueroPeninsula: One corridor design strategy could be to plan landuses in highland areas in order to minimize erosion and runoffand avoid mudslides, floods, and other potential problemswhich could severely affect the lowlands.

Silvopastoral System Schematic: A silvopastoralapproach introduces trees into cattle pastures. The trees not only improve the soil, but they also provide habitat for wildlife, lumber, and food for cattle or humans.

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A Bridge for BiodiversityAzuero Foundation, Panama, and Edwina von Gal, Landscape Designer Designers: Alicia Batista, Karen Chaffee, Brandon Mansfield, and Victoria Schroth

A Conceptual Plan for a Biological Corridor in the Southern Azuero Peninsula, Panama

Student Projects

Uniquely located on a narrow man-made island in thevillage of Turners Falls between the Connecticut Riverand a hydroelectric power canal, the Griswold Millproperty—active between 1874 and the 1940s—waitsto be reinvented. The client sought a design formixed-use development of the 2.91-acre site, whichincludes two brick buildings, the larger of which haspartially collapsed. Less than an acre of the site is per-vious—the southern third of the property is entirelypaved. This project explored the possibilities and limi-tations of the property with an emphasis on stormwa-ter management, site restoration, access and circula-tion for pedestrians and vehicles, and connectionsbetween the site and the local community.

The Griswold Cotton Mill site could become a keyhub of activity in an island greenway that serves bothfuture residents of the former mill and the greatercommunity. To explore ideas about the future of thenorth end of the island, twenty-four people who liveor work in Turners Falls participated in a short, inten-sive design workshop. A conceptual island greenwayincorporates many of the ideas expressed at the meet-ing, including adding bike paths to connect green

spaces, residences, and new retail and business loca-tions; reopening and retrofitting bridges that link theisland to the village center; defining green spaces thatprovide opportunities for recreation, reflection, andpoints of interaction with the river; and transformingthe northernmost end of the island into a public park.

The final plan provides for separate housing andcommercial spaces. Intensive and extensive greenroofs, a rain garden, and a retention pond collect,retain, and recharge water on site, while a shaded,porous parking area with bioretention islands helps to collect and process stormwater runoff. A naturalplayground area includes creative landforms, nativeplantings, and natural materials like boulders and logs to stimulate children’s creative play and curiosityabout the natural world. A public path along the eastern edge of the property next to the canal pro-vides access to the mill for residents and an invitingspace that connects to the rest of the island anddowntown Turners Falls.

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SPRING PROJECTS. CSLD student teams spend the third term workingwith community and nonprofit clients to develop site-specific design plansfor parks, town centers, and riverways. Students base recommendations on ecological conditions and on assessed community needs. Final designsillustrate foot and bike paths, planting choices, and other relevant details.

Adaptive Reuse of an Industrial Mill SiteKosudaville, LLC, Turners Falls, Massachusetts Designers: Kate Dana, Priscilla Miner, and Annie Scott

Design Feasibility StudyAn island greenway could connect green spaces on the island

from tip to tip. Pedestrian and bicycle links, public access to thewaterfront, and year-round, diverse functions would help to

knit the village together with the historically industrial island.

Design Detail for Green Roofs: Both intensive and extensive green roof systems are proposed for the building. In the proposed plan, approximately half of the roof is covered with decks for residents to relax and enjoy the view. The intensive roof garden design could include some seasonal food production and outdoor sculpture.

WINTER PROJECTSEarthlands: Petersham, MAJennifer Campbell, Kate Dana Earthlands, an intentional communityand social justice activist organization,seeks to educate in sustainable tech-nologies, conserve its land through aland trust, and model ecological, resi-dential living. The plan identifies clus-ters for development of the ProgramCenter, University of the Wild, and res-idential community, while preservingsurrounding land and providing bound-aries of noise, activity, and privacywithin the 355-acre property. Brush Mountain II: Northfield, MANicko Rubin, Ross WorkhovenRequesting a study that examines thehabitat, environmental, and recreation-al values of a 123-acre parcel, theMount Grace Land Conservation Trustproposes to identify areas for limiteddevelopment and conservation restric-tion. As part of the planning process,the student team also sought to engagerealtors so that they are betterequipped to inform their clients of con-servation options and benefits and helpsell land with conservation restrictions.Open Space and Recreation Plan:Leicester, MAPriscilla Miner, Annie ScottThe update of this rural town’s previ-ous OSRP included identification ofwater, agricultural, and recreationalresources as well as an assessment ofprogress in reaching the goals of theprevious OSRP. The projected planprovides specific but flexible recom-mendations for preservation of naturaland cultural resources, provision ofrecreational opportunities, remediationof degraded lands, and education tobuild a strong constituency of openspace and recreation advocates.Master Plan: Middlefield, MAKathy Connor, Sarah HillsA small Berkshire hilltown with largetracts of state-owned and protectedlands, Middlefield has a small tax base,but values its rural character and isconcerned about an influx of residen-tial development. In spite of aging facil-ities, the residents place protection ofnatural resources as their highest prior-ity. The Conway team’s contribution tothe master plan identifies natural, his-torical, and cultural resources, as wellas land use.Wapack National Wildlife Refuge:New HampshireBrian McGowan, Sean Roulan, Andrew WardThe refuge encompasses 1,700 acres insouthwest New Hampshire, adjacent toMiller State Park and other protectedlands. The student team contributed to

includes the integration of a residentialcommunity and a new University of theWild, an alternative higher educationdegree program promoting “global eco-logical citizens.”Allen’s Meadow: Wilton, CTJennifer Campbell, Karen ChaffeeThe Parks and Recreation Departmentof the town of Wilton, Connecticutrequired a master plan for the 72-acreAllen’s Meadow Park. Most of thepark is taken up by ball fields, but theperiphery is home to diverse riparian,meadow, and scrubland habitat, wheresome rare and endangered birds arefound. The program involves creatingtrails and shade, and defined spaces fora vast array of user groups.French Park: Egremont, MAVictoria Schroth, Andrew WardA 40-acre recreation area—including ahorse ring and two baseball dia-monds—a wetland, and a woodlandcomprise this 153-acre town park.Meetings and surveys identified a needfor a trail system, expanded parking,outdoor classrooms, and a designatedcamping area. The master plan recom-mends improved legibility and access aswell as the connection of the two dis-tinct park segments through ecological-ly sensitive trail design and a compre-hensive management plan.Strathmore Campus Master Plan:Turners Falls, MAKate Dana, Priscilla Miner, Annie ScottThe Swift River Development Groupsought to transform the former Strath-more Paper Mill complex, comprised often buildings with an area totalling over250,000 square feet, into a campus thatwould support a film school and pro-duction studios. The master plan forthe site examines use of outdoor spaces,including rooftops, pockets of land sur-rounding the buildings, and pedestrianand bicycle paths. Connections to thedowntown area, Franklin County Bike-way, and Great Falls Discovery Centerare recommended.Millers River Site—FeasibilityStudy: Montague and Erving, MAKate Dana, Priscilla Miner, Annie ScottThe Swift River Development Group(SRG) wished to consider the purchaseof a 49-acre property on Millers River.SRG asked the team to explore thepossibilities and limitations for envi-ronmentally sound development, in-cluding potential uses for storage,parking, and recreation. The feasibilitystudy includes analysis drawings of theproperty and alternative conceptual siteplans. Legal restrictions, zones of use,vehicular and pedestrian circulationand access, and other influencing fac-tors are addressed.

the park service’s 15-year Comprehen-sive Conservation Plan for the refugewith a chapter on the affected environ-ment and management alternatives forthe refuge. Issues of trail erosion, trailaccess, public-private partnerships, andstaffing and budget constraints areaddressed.

SPRING PROJECTSHayden Woods: Lexington, MASarah Hills, Brandon Mansfield Hayden Woods, a 79-acre conservationarea, is topographically and composi-tionally diverse, with upland areas andlow-lying wetlands, comprising severaldifferent ecosystems and forest types.The design set includes highlighting theecological and historical aspects of thearea, delineating access points andpotential new trails, determiningappropriate uses, providing educationalopportunities within the site, and link-ing the site to other open space.The Great Pond Conservation Area:Waltham, MAKathy Connor, Brian McGowanThe Waltham Land Trust wished todetermine if a 25-acre wetland shouldbe conserved and how it should bemanaged. In spite of dense urban devel-opment and areas of disturbance whereinvasive plants have taken hold, thewetlands and adjacent Hardy Pondoffer excellent habitat for 140 speciesof birds. The management plan offersmeans for restoring trails, diminishinginvasive plants, and easing the conflictbetween the proposed conservationarea and adjoining urban areas.Yestermorrow Design/BuildSchool: Warren, VTAlicia Batista, Ross WorkhovenThe Yestermorrow School is undertak-ing a 5-year plan to expand its pro-gramming and double its number ofstudents. Focusing on the 5-acre“school zone,” the master plan for the35-acre campus addresses spatial con-cerns such as the need for new build-ings and more parking in a way thatreflects the school’s sustainable design-build mission while considering theenvironmental, functional, and legalissues affecting the site.Earthlands Institute forEnvironmental Awareness:Petersham, MASean Roulan, Nicko RubinEarthlands IEA seeks to become amodel for sustainable living throughinnovative green buildings, renewableenergy, and local food systems. Themaster plan for its 355-acre propertysupports the institute’s mission of “pro-moting living and learning in harmonywith the earth and all life.” The plan

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Other Community Projects 2006–2007

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1974Floyd Thompson writes from Warrenton,VA, that he continues as National ProgramLead for Tourism, Recreation, and BywaysPrograms. He coproduced the award-win-ning video, Lifelines, Your National ForestRoads. He is a national implementationteam member for the USDA Forest Servicenew Open Space Conservation Strategy.1975Class Agent: Betsy Corner(corner75@csld.edu)

1976David Evans—See article on p. 15.1977Class Agent: David Painedavidp@rlaland.comWilliam C. Richter, Vice Chair of theConway Board, has just started the next$25 million phase of The Hartford River-walk along the Connecticut River. The northportion of the Riverwalk has been fully com-pleted and has received accolades. His sec-ond granddaughter, Alexa, is a new joy inhis life. And he just received the commissionto prepare a renovation master plan andconstruction documents for Bushnell Park,the significant historic city center greenspace in Hartford, CT to also include newwater features as part of the city's cleanwater project.1978Class Agent: Susanna Adams(susanna.adams@earthlink.net)

the City and County of Durham. Mike is asenior project manager with Chas. H. Sellsin Cary, NC.1982Class Agents: Suzanne Barclay (smbarclay@optonline.net), Susan Van Buren (susanvb@verizon.net)David Myers has retired from 24 years ofteaching English as a Second Language atthe University of California Riverside (UCR).During those 24 years, he and his wifeSandy have adopted a son, become verycommitted Christians, and have becomeproud grandparents of two lovely little girls.He describes it as a great life. While his timeat CSLD did not result directly in a career inlandscape design, it was instrumental in hisgetting that position at UCR. It also afford-ed him the opportunity to design a few per-sonal landscapes, including where they nowlive in southern California. The design capa-bilities acquired at CSLD have also given himan eye for design in several extracurricularareas, including a bit of furniture design andconstruction and a growing interest in digi-tal photography. (Grandchildren, remem-ber!) He reports having very fond (thoughfading!) memories of the Conway experi-ence with Walt and Don and the tiny facilityon the river. ! After a twenty-five-year ca-reer, Peter Van Buren has left the winebusiness to form a new company that hasnothing to do with alcoholic beverages.Together with two architect partners, hestarted TerraLogos Green Home Services.Designed to eventually be a one-stop shopfor homeowners interested in greening theirdwellings, they are initially focusing onHome Energy Inspections. The inspectionsidentify a home's hidden energy leaks andthen provide customized recommendationsfor fixing them. Their solutions reduce ahome's energy usage, energy bills, and envi-ronmental impact as well as make the hous-es more comfortable and healthy. He states,“It's great to get back to what I really wanted to do!” ! Susan Van Buren, aConway trustee, has joined the board ofdirectors of 1000 Friends of Maryland, dedi-cated to promoting statewide policies topreserve open space and revitalize commu-nities. Her daughter Adrienne moved toBristol, England, with her family, and herdaughter Melissa had a second child, a littleboy named Nilo (named after his Italiangrandfather).1983After six years with Sustainable Ireland andCultivate Sustainable Living Centre, Erikvan Lennep has moved on to set up anew venture, TEPUI Design, a Europeanconsultation and design collaborative creat-ed to research, promote and apply livingtechnologies as concrete responses to climate change, beginning with energy,

See the article on p. 15 about BruceStedman’s appointment as ExecutiveDirector of Marine Fish Conservation Net-work. Additionally, his son, Connor, is a second-year student at Hampshire College,and his daughter, Nora, is a junior at SandySprings Friends School.1979Class Agent: Lila Fendrick(team@fendrickdesign.com)

1980Class Agent: Byrne Kelly(kelly80@csld.edu)Sharyl Green and Peter have recentlymoved to Burlington, VT to be part ofBurlington Cohousing East Village, billed as the most complex, dynamic housing proj-ect Burlington has ever seen. It opens inNovember 2007. She writes, “We’re veryjazzed to be reducing our footprint on theplanet and creating a village as well—mixedincome, quite sustainable.” Sharyl continuesteaching third grade in Jericho, which hasmade a big commitment to place-basededucation at a new local park called MillsRiverside Park. She did a climate-changestudy at the park last year with her stu-dents, who embraced the concepts fully,built models and painted huge murals,wrote and performed, created Power Pointshows laced with art and their own writing,and explained the carbon cycle to their families. Their son Aaron is twenty and willgraduate from NYU in May with a degree in metropolitan studies, focus on culturalanalysis and change, globally, of course. !Alongside various residential projects, MaryParker has been on the lecture circuit inwestern Mass., where she has given talkson garden design as well as Italian, British,French, and Japanese gardens. She has alsolectured on Edith Wharton’s gardens inNewport, Lenox, and France.1981Class Agent: Elizabeth French Fribush (elizabeth.fribush@phra.com)Mike Gibbons, ASLA, married JuliaMullen this past May. They reside in Raleigh,NC, where Julia is an attorney working in

News from AlumsIf you didn’t meet the deadline to get your news into this issue of con’text,you can still let your friends and classmates know what you’ve been up toin the spring issue of con’text. Mail your news to Nancy Braxton at theschool or submit it via the web at www.csld.edu/alumnipage.htm. Lookon the left-hand side for a link to the survey.

And don’t forget, if you enjoy keeping in touch with your classmatesand the school, you’re invited to become a class agent. Ideally, we’d liketwo for each class. For an update on class agents and the alumni associa-tion, see the article on page 14 or get in touch with Nancy Braxton,Associate Director of Admissions, Alumni Relations & Development, at braxton@csld.edu or (413) 369-4044, ext. 5.

Many of the firms and individualsmentioned in the News from Alumshave websites. We regret that spaceand typographical issues do notallow us to include them in theNews, but links to firms where CSLDalums are prominently featured canbe found at www.csld.edu. If yoursite is not listed there, we encourageyou to contact the webmaster forinclusion. Links to further newsabout alums are also included on theCSLD site and are referenced in thissection of con’text.

News from Alums

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waste, and water issues. Living technologiesinclude green roofs, living walls (for air fil-tration), living machines (water purification),and other strategies and systems whichcombine technology as we imagine it in thetwenty-first century, with ecosystem func-tions as Nature has imagined them from thebeginning. Erik writes, “It is an exciting andsomewhat daunting move, and typical ofmy life, after a period of information intakeduring which a lot of inspiration and datahave settled into place, I have now jumpedin with both feet to create something new.Well, I do think it's important to reinventoneself periodically, and seven years seemsto be my own cycle for this.” Check out thelink to his website on the school’s webpage.! Peter Owens has signed onto a researchteam from the Hood Center for Families and Children at Dartmouth Medical School,where he’s looking at the relationship of the built environment to adolescent health.Examining 26 towns and schools across NHand VT, his work focuses on developing andtesting environmental measures of commu-nity form and key physical characteristics.The project is funded by the NationalInstitute of Environmental Health Scienceand the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.1984Class Agent: Kathleen Kerivan(Kathleen_Kerivan@antiochne.edu)Jane (Sexton) Hemmingsen has helpedwith Nashua, NH’s tree inventory and con-tinues to add to the Nashua Public Library’sperennial gardens, including a garden forand maintained by the handicapped.1985In July, Judy Zimicki Gianforte startedhalf-time work as the first staff person forher local land trust in Cazenovia, NY. Herjob is to run the stewardship program forthirty easement and in-fee lands as well asto develop new easements and purchase ofdevelopment rights for farmlands. She ex-pects to spend lots of time raising funds, re-structuring the board and helping all thoseinvolved return to their mission and intent.1986Carrie Makover states that she still hasn’tfigured out how to be "retired" and so con-tinues working part time doing websitedesign and management, including servingas Conway’s webmaster.1988Class Agent: Will Waldron (waldron88@ csld.edu)Although life got her sidetracked, HelenAnzuoni has accomplished one of hergoals since attending Conway: to become aregistered landscape architect. She hopes toreceive reciprocity in the state of Californiaso that she can work in the entire region ofLake Tahoe, where she lives.

opportunity todesign a bicyclepump track in aresidential back-yard landscape,which was fea-tured on a leading pump track website(leesbikes.com). The green roof and mead-ow project she completed last year was pro-fessionally photographed by Saxon Holt andwill be featured in an upcoming book onmeadows (Timber Press).1996Last year, after living in Seattle for eightyears, Sheila E. Finn Page and family,Matt, Declan, Oliver, and the dog, moved to Natick, MA, and she writes. “Yup, I amofficially a Page. Although we miss ourhouse and friends, we are very much enjoy-ing being near old friends and family. Mattis going to law school while I am busy withthe kids and, of course, landscaping ournew yard.” She would like to catch up with old school buddies: finnpage@finnpage.com.1997Class Agent: Susan Crimmins(sbcrimm@crocker.com)Candace Currie has been promoted toDirector of Planning & Cemetery Develop-ment at Mount Auburn Cemetery, whereshe’s responsible for the construction of aninnovative approach to memorialization andburial—granite inscription panels—whichwill enhance the perimeter of the cemeteryas well as extend the life of Mount Auburnas an active cemetery. ! Serge van derVoo has completed Healthcare GardenDesign Certification with the ChicagoBotanic Garden. He is a member of the'Country and Eastern' music groupOrpheum Bell which just released its debut CD "Pretty as You". He is planning a mini,East Coast tour for fall '08 starting inBrooklyn. “Iron Horse…here we come!”1998Class Agent: Matthew Arnsberger (arnsberger@mindspring.com)Jim and Christine McGrath ('97) continue to live in Pittsfield, MA with son,Ian, and new baby, Kyle. Jim recently leftthe helm of the parks department and nowheads the city's new Park, Open Space andNatural Resource Program. Christine contin-ues to practice landscape design, freelanc-ing for a number of firms in the area whilealso maintaining a steady stream of her ownclients. ! This year has been a wonderfulmixture of new and old adventures for

! Deborah LeaDoran is now ahypnotist, certi-fied with theNational Guild ofHypnotists. Her practice, Flowing Stream,LLC, is located in Groton, CT.1990Edward Landau writes that he is verybusy, but reports no significant changes,while Patricia Finley writes “Old age dictates changes! Now I wield oil paint andpastel rather than chisel and mallet. Andcreativity abounds in other forms: twogreat-granddaughters delight and amazeme.” Her attempts at a Conway-approvedgarden still provide dirty fingernails andaching joints. ! Chris Vance was recentlyfeatured in a Miami Herald article about hiscollection of European and Turkish pots thathe has installed as part of designs “at thehistoric Taurus bar in Coconut Grove (nowCefalo's in the Grove), as well as on anestate on Indian Key and houses on KeyBiscayne and in Coral Gables and theVenetian Isles.” (Miami Herald) ! WendiGoldsmith—See graduation speech on p. 20.1991Class Agent: Annette Schultz(schultz91@csld.edu)Kent Freed has just passed his fifthanniversary at H+L Architecture, and nowhas six LAs working with him in a firm ofover one hundred. Their work is primarily in healthcare and education projects inColorado. This year, they designed their firstgreen roof for a high school in Monument,Colorado.1993Class Agent: Amy Craig (amy.craig@verizon.net)Jonathon Ellison—See article on p. 16. ! Monika Taylor-Schreiber is now inPortugal. 1994Katherine Anderson is about to start a certificate program at the University ofWashington in Therapeutic and HealingGardens. She states, “I am reviewing thereport for Gould Farm, the winter term proj-ect I did with Grey and Daniel, in prepara-tion. I must say, it’s pretty good!”1995Class Agent: Art Collings (otter@mac.com)Cynthia Ella Tanyan (formerly Hayes) has changed her name by taking her great-grandmother's name Tanyan. She had the

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Wynne Wirth. It began by getting backinto the work scene after two years of fulltime mothering and homesteading, whileworking part time for Energyworks (Pat'srenewable energy contracting business) aspart of the startup crew at the new branchin Portland and living part time in the city.She also picked up some landscape designwork for Thomas Wirth Associates’ busyseason in the spring and volunteered forHabitat for Humanity’s Green Build project,as part of a team doing the first LEEDEnergy Home in Maine. She continues, “By June, we were back on the farm fulltime, cultivating our gardens, raising chick-ens, living the ‘simple’ life, and enjoying thegrowth of my now growing pregnant belly.This fall, we are stocking lots of beautifulfood away for the winter, and the baby isdue around Halloween. Owen (my three-year old) thinks it's a girl, but we will see.Our most exciting adventure of all is ourinvolvement in a core group starting up acohousing community in Belfast, ME sincelast April. I have been visiting many commu-nities on the East Coast and doing tons ofnetworking to educate myself and make ourproject fly. We have land under contract. Iwill be the landscape designer for the proj-ect. If all studies and marketing go asplanned, we will have 150 acres surround-ing the community of agriculturally pre-served land (functioning farms) and 30 acresfor the ‘ecovillage.’ We are planning to betwenty-six households (super energy effi-cient/affordable) and a common house withgardens, orchards, and small-scale livestock.See mainecohousing.org to follow ourprogress. Finally, we (Pat and I, along withcohousing peers, architect, and builder) arebuilding a prototype house for the commu-nity on our land here in Liberty, which weplan to live in for the next few years whilethe community takes shape (a 2-3 yearprocess). In summary, the cohousing projectalong with a new baby and building ahouse promises a challenging and excitingyear of growth ahead!”1999Class Agent: Cindy Tavernise(tavernise99@csld.edu)Unable to resist the lure of the wide openspaces and big sky, Kathleen and PaulEsswein uprooted themselves once againand migrated to Carson City, NV, wherethey’re nestled up to the eastern front ofthe Sierra Nevada. They’ve been here a yearand think this will be home for the foresee-able future. They have ample opportunity to bike, hike, ski, and snowshoe, while stillbeing able to enjoy a very active arts sceneand some very good cuisine. Paul is em-ployed as the Planner for Lyon County, NV,just to the east of Carson City, where he is

year 2030, GreenBridge has just completeda year-long strategic planning process, set-ting forth a new mission and set of values,as well as a commitment to three new ini-tiatives and three ongoing programs: a newBrooklyn Urban Gardener certificate pro-gram to train community volunteers; a newcommunity gardens program emphasizingfood and environmental horticulture; a newStreet Tree Stewardship initiative in conjunc-tion with Million Tree NY and PlaNYC 2030;the Brooklyn Compost Project; the GreenestBlock in Brooklyn Contest; and MakingBrooklyn Bloom, an annual communitygreening symposium.2002Class Agent: Michael Cavanagh(info@cavanaghdesign.com)Cindy Bright has a new part-time positionas the Five College Coastal and MarineScience Program Coordinator: “It's been fungetting back to academic life, and a bitchallenging technologically. But I like it, andI'll be happy to have summers off.” In hernew job, she’ll be working closely withJoanne Benkley, whose husband, MarkBenkley, graduated CSLD in 1993. !Michael Cavanagh has completed masterplanning and initial installation for WaldorfAssociation School, a 28-acre site in Rich-mond, RI. He participated for the first timein the Rhode Island Flower and GardenShow, Providence, RI and was awarded firstprize in design creativity. He was awarded acontract for and began work on a 6-acrewildflower meadow and public park installa-tion for the Town of Middletown, RI. He hascontinued master planning on the 42-acreocean front, historic Castle Hill Inn andResort, Newport, RI. When home, he wascontinually chased around the house by anuncontrollable two-year old boy. ! MicheleAlbee Devaney and her husband arepresently serving in the Peace Corps inRomania until at least May 2009. They havebeen living in a medium-size town (50,000residents) for five months and are just nowstarting to work on some projects. She isworking with the local city hall on publicparticipation, public awareness, and build-ing public-private partnerships. Long-term,she hopes to help the staff write a generalplan. Her husband works with the localunemployment office and is working toimprove their quarterly job fairs. They havealso reached out to the community and areworking with a local youth organization, theRotary Club, and some high schools. ! Anarticle about Alma Hecht and her gardenswill appear in the May issue of NaturalHome magazine. She won the Best SmallResidence remodel award from Build ItGreen and was runner-up in People'sChoice. ! Laurie Tanenbaum writes,“I've continued working on/expanding the

responsible for current and long-range plan-ning. Lyon County has been among thefastest growing counties in the country forthe last five years and is just beginning tounderstand the consequences of an anti-planning attitude, both in terms of its fiscalimpact and degradation of the environment.The department's challenge is to develop acounty-wide master plan that puts forwardeffective policies and objectives to directgrowth in a responsible manner along withthe planning tools that will provide theincentives and mechanisms to enable theplanning commission, board of supervisors,and the development community to achievethe county's long-range vision. As is to beexpected in that part of the country, wateris a big issue and perhaps the most compli-cated they have to deal with in planning,aside from local politics. Paul has completedseveral courses and training workshops onwater law in the west, and hopes to com-plete AICP certification within the next year.! Gwendolyn Nagy-Benson writes,“While I have spent the past seven yearsraising my two daughters at home, this yearI took on a hefty volunteer project organiz-ing and overseeing a weekly farmers' mar-ket at my church. All products were grownor made in Connecticut and ranged fromorganic produce to honey and maple syrupto free-range beef and eggs. It was a suc-cessful first run and I hope to help it contin-ue in future years.” ! Cindy Tavernisehas done a number of residential designsand paintings and received the 2007 WestHartford Art League Open Juried ExhibitionAward. Check out the link to her websiteon the school’s website.2000Janet Curtis is a policy coordinator withEnvironmental Justice and Urban Environ-ments at the Mass. Executive Office ofEnergy and Environmental Affairs. ! TreesaRogerson has had an incredible year surf-ing, traveling, and making music. Shetaught board surfing in Hawai’i, successfullycompeted kayak surfing in Basque country,and realized a dream by performing hermusic in public.2001Class Agents: Chuck Schnell(schnell01@csld.edu), Robin Simmen (simmen01@csld.edu)Robin Simmen married her longtimesweetheart, Michael Conway, on the beachin Southold, NY this summer, accompaniedby lightning, thunder, shafts of sun, and adouble rainbow. For pictures, visit small-fryphoto.com/RobinandMichael. Robin isnow the director of GreenBridge, the com-munity environmental horticulture programat Brooklyn Botanic Garden. With 500,000new residents projected in Brooklyn by the

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Paseo Prairie Garden in its third year, andwe're about to build a performing deck,tables, and benches. Next to a heavily usedelevated entry, bus line, and a wonderfulmulti-generational mural, the garden watch-es a thousand commuters a day come andgo. Having witnessed my first schoolyardlandscape suffering the effects of 90 degreedays without enough watering, I realized itwas time for school and community-basedtraining programs. I'm working on thatgrant with the same community organiza-tion, Logan Square Neighborhood Assoc.,that collaborates on the Paseo PrairieGarden. The primary components of theprogram will teach school parents andunemployed neighbors how to research theenvironmental justice issues of their neigh-borhood, design, installation, hardscape,and landscape maintenance. Very exciting!Eldest daughter, Cory, received her master’sdegree in restorative justice in education,and the youngest, Megan, prepares to enternursing school to better put her interests incommunity health to work. My husband,Nick, continues supporting doula programshe designed in the Chicago area as well astraining in other states.”2003Class Agent: Lauren Wheeler(lauren@naturalresources.com)Madeleine Charney continues as libraryliaison to the Stockbridge School of at theUMass Library. She was recently selected as book review editor for the Journal ofAgricultural and Food Information and isengaged to be married to Rudy Perkins. !Matthew John Farrington works for aprivate landowner helping to manage sever-al properties totaling approximately 750acres of woodland and farmland. They havereclaimed abandoned farmland for raisingbelted Galloway cattle and have rebuilt sev-eral historic post-and-beam structures. Hiswork ranges from creating and managingmaps of the properties to installing salvagedtrim in period structures to building fence.His wife, Andrea, is busy with two-and-a-half-year-old Graham and Milo, born Sept.25, 2007. ! Bill Joyce writes, “I have beencontinuing my apprenticeship with IsabelleGreene. I have been on my belated honey-

spend staring at a computer screen!” She’sworking two other part-time jobs in plan-ning and landscaping and otherwise practic-ing positive visualization to help her sell her house and find a job somewhere west-ward—the northwest coast, preferably. !Robin MacEwan and Fritha have movedback to the Pioneer Valley and are happilysettling in to their new home and recon-necting with old friends. For the time being,she continues to work for Jones & Stokes asa restoration planner.2005Class Agents: Linda Leduc(plantlady0@charter.net), Sandy Ross (rosslandscapedesign@gmail.com)Shawn Callaghan writes, “In August Igot married to Jaime Smith at HarknessState Park in Waterford, CT. We spent twoweeks island-hopping in Hawai’i for ourhoneymoon and enjoyed hiking the diverseecosystems of this amazing part of the plan-et. EarthView Design is continuing to growand create wildlife habitat in the Bostonarea. ! In southeast PA, Eric Korn, Presi-dent of Natural Land Designs, Inc., remainsbusy designing and installing rain gardens,emphasizing native plants, installing patios,ponds, and restoration projects for residen-tial clients. A recent vacation brought Ericand his girlfriend to VT where they hikedand camped along the Long Trail nearStowe. ! Nick Lasoff has been workingwith the Town of Bennington, VT on severaldesigns for improving streetscapes and the appearance of public facilities. He wasrecently featured on a television broadcastof the Vermont Master Gardeners. His workwith the CSLD board of trustees and devel-opment committee continues, and he’sentering his second year of editing con'text.Solo appearances with the BattenkillChorale in Cambridge, NY have been wellreceived by critics and the public. He andBarbara are still enjoying summer visits toPrince Edward Island. ! Todd Lynch says,“Howdy!” and writes “Janet and I movedfrom Cambridge, MA to Haydenville, MA a few months ago, and I recently began the two-year MLA program at UMassAmherst in Ecological Landscape Planningand Design. It has been great to be in thevalley again among the bears, coyotes andturkeys.” ! Del Orloske works for NewEnvironments in Norwalk, CT. His projectshave ranged from mitigation for Con Ed toresidential projects. In May, he made a pres-entation on sustainable design for EarthPlace in Westport, CT at the Eco-fair. Delcontinues his association with the ashram inCatskill, NY and continues to pursue land-scape design as a healing profession. !Lincoln Smith writes about his firmGraham Landscape Architecture, “We are at the forefront of ecological landscape

moon to the Grecians islands! Finally! I havepassed four out of five of the landscapearchitecture exams and am taking the fifthin December.” He hopes to be a licensedL.A. by early 2008. ! Heather Nichols-Crowell and family have been in Edin-burgh for two years now and are planningto stay one more year. Aaron is still workingat EDAW. Rowyn is four years old and hasacquired a slight Scottish accent! Heather is a landscape designer working with DirectGardens, a small design-build company thatdoes mostly small urban gardens. Energy isexpensive, outdoor space is at a premium(90% of designs include siting the clothes-line!) She is getting an interesting perspec-tive and will be returning to the States with lots of inspiration. ! Lauren Wheelerwrites, “Jenny Reed and I have beenworking hard with our company NaturalResources Design, Inc. Eighty percent of ourbusiness is residential design, but we haverecently been awarded a grant by Washing-ton, DC Department of Environment toinstall eight 'Green Yard Clean Stream'demonstration gardens in each of our eightwards. NRD worked with local municipalitiesand environmental organizations to intro-duce ("daylight") a stream and LID in localparks. NRD has had our work featured in Landscape Architecture, WashingtonGardener, and Smart Homes and we antici-pate an article on school rain gardens inOrganic Gardening. Lauren has been theon-screen landscape designer for CurbAppeal (HGTV), providing sustainable solu-tions for the 2007–2008 season.”2004In December, Joshua Clague and his wife,Tracey, welcomed a new arrival to their family, Ewan Nathaniel Clague, and havesince been very busy learning parenthoodon the fly. Josh continues to work for ScenicHudson (NY) as a conservation planner andGIS specialist. He recently completed a sce-nic and natural resource analysis of proper-ties along the Hudson River that has beenused to establish land acquisition prioritiesfor the organization. ! Lupin Hill is enjoy-ing her new job as a design assistant withHuntington & Kiest Landscape Architects, asmall residential LA firm in Portland, OR. !Crystal N. Hitchings is still working asassistant planner to the City of Augusta.She’s mainly responsible for processingdevelopment applications, making sure theymeet land use ordinance criteria, and pre-paring staff reviews for the planning board.She’s also been doing a lot of research forupcoming ordinance revisions, includingTraditional Neighborhood Design standardsand buffer yard standards, which, she says,“are both right up my alley and a lot offun—aside from the hours upon hours I

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Alma Hecht '02 in a garden designedby Shari Bashin-Sullivan '84

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architecture in Annapolis and DC. We're awonderful, small office, based in historicAnnapolis, specializing in high-end residen-tial design.” ! Johanna Stacy and herpartner have bought a house not far fromAcadia National Park in ME. She has taken a job as an assistant nursery manager atA.C. Parsons Landscaping on Mt. DesertIsland, where she maintains nursery stockand creates designs for residential clients. ! Chris Stevenson is an environmental

planner for Cal-Trans in downtown LosAngeles, CA. In the office he writes, meetswith citizens, and works with architects; healso gets to work in the field.2006Class Agents: Ian Hodgdon (ian.hodgdon@yahoo.com), Brian Trippe (trippe06@csld.edu)Since graduating from CSLD, Clare Bootlehas joined the APA and continues to workas a planner for a regional planning organi-zation in Vermont. She currently manages abrownfields assessment program, coordi-nates disaster planning efforts, and is activein regional housing initiatives. In the spring,she was appointed to the Montpelier TreeBoard, a volunteer position which, shewrites, “will hopefully help me learn mytrees!” She is currently volunteering herCSLD skills to help the City of Barre toundertake a trail-planning project. Lastlyand most recently, Mike and she were mar-ried on a lake in central Vermont and hon-eymooned on the west end of Jamaica.“Now my life is settling back into its regularroutine!” ! Ian Andrew Hodgdon is currently working in a land surveying officethat also delves into publishing booklets ofhistorical maps of New England. One of hisduties entails creating overlay maps of Ver-mont towns by editing ancient and modernmaps to the same scale. These maps arethen used by towns to identify ancient andmodern town roads that may be on privateproperty. He also practices sustainable land-scape design on the side and is working ona design for a 7-acre property on rural agri-culture land outside of Albany, NY. Hewrites, “I stay close to CSLD in many ways. I am a class agent of '06 and an AlumniAssociation Co-chair, so I am at the schoolevery month. I live in Greenfield, MA withJanna Thompson, and we enjoy attendingCSLD public lectures and formal presenta-tions. I hope to be around CSLD for manyyears and to ensure the school’s successthrough volunteering my time.” ! JenniferMcElligott states, “Life has been so busyand so good to me. I took a job as Environ-mental Protection Assistant with the NPSand I'm really enjoying it. I'm an assistantplanner, working on environmental compli-ance for projects in the park. Josh and I

looking for opportunities to plant trees inthe sidewalks of the city. In 2008, Aliciahopes to make her great escape, either backto western Mass. or to a more livable city(Portland?). Alicia recently attended asuperb two-day workshop on grading,which was taught by Sue Reed ‘87. !After taking the summer off to catch up on sleep and refuel the batteries, JenniferCampbell worked on some design andinstallation work for a few of her ownclients. Much more interesting for her hasbeen working with Chris Conners, a visitinginstructor at CSLD and incredible landscapedesigner in New Hampshire, as well as anew position with designer Julie Messervy in Vermont. ! Since graduation, KathyConnor has been doing residential designwhile looking for a planning job and work-ing on her 175-year-old house. ! BrianMcGowan has started work with SethWilkinson ‘99 doing restoration design and project management on Cape Cod. ! Driving cross country in Ross

Workhoven’s and Kelly Morris’s(2007 Conway Design Fellow in Residence)(cursed?) Subaru, Priscilla Miner reports,“We had a swell time visiting small cities,national parks, and various mechanics along the way. We also saw BrandonMansfield in his new old home in Jackson,Wyoming. Brandon has formed an LLC todo design-build work and is hoping to buy a native plant nursery in the area. [He’s alsoa partner in a steel fabrication business andis working on starting a biodiesel coopera-tive as well as a non-profit focused on sus-tainability.] When we (gratefully) left the carin Portland, Oregon, we saw Ross and Kelly,who are settling back in, and spent a daywith them on the coast.” ! Nicko Rubinwrites, “I am living in Montpelier, VT. Thissummer I have had opportunities to volun-teer at two music festivals. At the NortheastKingdom Music Festival, I worked with theCardboard Tech Instantoot and also helpedset up the Rise Up Music Festival. I have leftIron Bridge Woodworkers and have found afew small but interesting landscape relatedjobs in the area, consulting, as well as laborat a wholesale nursery in Craftsbury, VT, and harvesting produce on an organic farmin Plainfield. I spent a couple of days help-ing with the permaculture class at Yester-morrow. There is an active and excitedgroup of permaculture heads in the area I have been able to meet. I am taking aweekly course on ancestral skills with Earth-walk, a wilderness awareness programbased in Plainfield, VT. My sister, who livesnext door, recently had her second baby,Sadie Anne Kitchen who is beautiful andhealthy. I am also planning on starting worksoon with Whole Systems Design inMoretown, VT.”

started building a light-straw clay cabin onour property. It's a stick-built frame withlight-stay clay-filled walls. You can see theentire process on our wedding web site(jenniferandjoshua.wedquarters.com) underthe ‘Our Land’ tab. We'll start applying theearth plaster this weekend. Josh and I weremarried in Olympic National Park on beauti-ful Lake Crescent. It was so much fun!! I did get to attend a NEPA training in Bostonlast month and brought together Hannah,Danielle, Adam, and Brian (we called littleGreg to chat with him on the phone). It wasreally great to be back on the East Coastand see the classmates.” ! Brian Trippeis a project engineer at the BioengineeringGroup in Salem, MA: “Although initiallyhired to perform work relating to recon-struction efforts since Hurricane Katrina inNew Orleans, I've stepped into more of aproject management role. I'm currentlyworking on a civil engineering site redesignusing a bioretention basin to capture all site runoff and infiltrate it directly to theground…keeping it on site. The other twoprojects are with the Army Corps of Engi-neers in New York. There, we are doing saltmarsh rehabilitation studies in Jamaica Bay.In our personal lives, there haven't been toomany changes. We’ve sold my condo inCambridge. My wife, Robin, is doing well.She is training for the NY Marathon inNovember as a runner for the Children'sHospital Charity Team.” ! Greg Walzer isthe head designer and project manager forthe oldest and largest landscaping companyin Colorado Springs, Robertson's Landscap-ing. Although he has to work with non-native plants, many of his clients do requestpockets of native areas, which he alwaysappreciates. Since joining the company hehas drawn over sixty residential designs. !Hannah Whipple loves her full-time jobas a project designer with the Rose KennedyGreenway Conservancy. She was sad to saygood-bye to her part-time position with theCity of Gloucester Conservation Depart-ment, “which was a tremendous learningexperience.”2007Class Agents: Alicia Batista(batista07@csld.edu), Priscilla Miner (miner07@csld.edu)After driving from Massachusetts to Port-land, OR this summer with classmates KateDana and Priscilla Miner, AliciaBatista flew back to New York in Septem-ber and reluctantly accepted an entry levelposition at a Manhattan landscape architec-ture firm. The reluctance arises not from thejob, or the firm, both of which are quitenice, but from the fact that she is now backin the insanity that is NYC. Although shenow spends much of her time outdoors,

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STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2007(with comparative figures for 2006)

FY 2007 FY 2006UNRESTRICTED PUBLIC SUPPORT AND REVENUEContributions 99,244 65,742 In-kind contributions 41,150 1,200 Tuition and fees 407,800 414,800 Project fees 80,835 62,913 Grant income 0 4,600 Workshop fees 0 8,190 Investment income (net) 13,386 12,831 Net realized and unrealized gains/loss on investments 0 (8,104)Net realized gain on sale of property 0 500 Miscellaneous income 3,085 2,222

Total Unrestricted Support and Revenue 645,500 564,894Net Assets Released from Restrictions 5,495 3,509

TOTAL UNRESTRICTED SUPPORT AND REVENUEAND NET ASSETS RELEASED 650,995 568,403

EXPENSESSchool activities 443,772 444,645 Administration 97,994 92,703 Fund-raising 33,404 36,856 Other expenses 55,000 6,250

TOTAL EXPENSES 630,170 580,454

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS 20,825 (12,051)

TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETSContributions 49,187 1,579 Investment income and interest earned—scholarship/loan fund 1,936 1,070 Net assets released from restrictions (5,495) (3,509)

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS 45,628 (860)

NET ASSETS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR 950,505 963,416

NET ASSETS AT END OF YEAR 1,016,958 950,505

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS 66,453 (12,911)

Summary of Operations FY 2007The overall financial health of theschool is good, as fiscal year 2007saw a $66,435 increase in total netassets, while operating expensesremained at the same level as theprevious year. In addition to atwenty-eight percent increase inproject fees, there was a $33,502or fifty-one percent increase inunrestricted contributions—thehighest unrestricted giving level inthe school’s history. Restricted con-tributions included generous capi-tal gifts totaling over $51,000 aswell as a gift earmarked for projectdevelopment. Additionally, theschool received in-kind donationsamounting to half the costs of amajor FY ’07 capital initiative, thecampus master plan study. At theend of the fiscal year, the school’stotal assets had not only reachedbut exceeded the one million dol-lar mark, and we are very gratefulto all who made contributions tothe Conway School of LandscapeDesign in FY 2007.

Annual Report Fiscal Year 2007

FY 2007 Restricted GiftsCAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS. The board of trustees,faculty and staff of the Conway School of LandscapeDesign are deeply grateful to Eric and Jane Molson ofQuebec, Canada for a major gift of $46,346, grantedby the Lincolnshire Foundation. This gift was used tounderwrite a range of physical improvements to theschool that have greatly facilitated students’ work andwork product and have enhanced everyone’s entranceexperience. (More details are found in the article onpage 2.) We also wish to extend our continuing deepgratitude to Bill Gundermann for his 2007 gift of$8,000 pursuant to his 2002 ten-year capital pledgeof $50,000, which further contributed to these won-derful improvements.

MASTER PLANNING. The Conway School is alsograteful to Bill Gundermann for an additional gift inthe amount of $5,715. Inspired by Paul Cawood

Hellmund’s Designing Greenways, this gift wasoffered on a matching basis to support a Conwaystudent project, a planning manual for towns in NewYork, Massachusetts, and the larger New Englandregion. We are working on finding the best partnersfor such a timely initiative, which will result in a prac-tical product of wide-spread use.

CONWAY SCHOLARSHIPS. In 2001, the CSLD Boardof Trustees established two $500 scholarships: theWalter Cudnohufsky Scholarship, awarded to a stu-dent continuing in the field of landscape design, andthe Donald L. Walker, Jr. Scholarship, awarded to astudent newly entering the field. Each scholarship isbased on need and merit, including the promise of ahigh level of success in the Conway Master of Artsprogram as well as an expectation of contributing tothe field of sustainable landscape planning and designin line with the school’s mission.

Thank You One and All!

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FY 2007 WISH LIST RESPONDERS. We had a worthyresponse to our School Equipment Wish List pub-lished in the Fall 2006 con’text. These gifts greatlybenefited Conway students and staff. We extend ourthanks to Bill Richter, who donated a plotter, and toTodd Lynch, who gave the school a laptop and a laserprinter.

FY 2008 Development InitiativesFY 2008 ANNUAL FUND APPEAL. We need yoursupport to achieve the board-established goal of$86,500 in unrestricted giving in order to balance thebudget this year. Although ambitious, the response tothe FY ’07 annual fund appeal makes us certain thatthis goal is attainable. Please join the Conway boardand others who have responded to date! Send yourgift in the enclosed envelope, or you can make a cred-it card donation on our website (www.csld.edu)through PayPal. You may also receive a call from aclass agent, classmate, or alum during one of severalphonathons to be held this year. Thank you in

Jennifer AllcockMatthew ArnsbergerMichele BongiornoKenneth BotnickPeter BowryNancy BraxtonDavid BuchananJoan Allen CaseyDonald ChamberlainJill Ker ConwayPhyllis CroceAbbie DuchonChristopher ElkowCarolyn EllisJonathon EllisonPaul EssweinKent FreedSean GaffneyAlma HechtCarl HeideFaith IngulsrudDavid JackeJudith JanoiwakJames JensenAnnice KenanKathleen Hogan Knisely

We extend our gratitude to Randy Griffith, MarciaCurtis and Nancy Knox, whose contributions to theScholarship Fund during FY ’07 were of great valuein supporting this ongoing scholarship program.Thank you! As we enter the eighth year of theschool’s scholarship initiative, please consider makinga restricted donation to the Conway ScholarshipFund.

Alumni FY 2007 Annual Fund Kudos!TRUSTEES. This year, the Conway Board of Trusteesresponded unanimously and generously to Develop-ment Committee Chair Rick Brown’s request to setthe tone and pace of the FY ’07 annual fund drive bymaking pledges and gifts at a leadership level. By theend of the calendar year, at-large giving ultimatelyproduced the highest giving level in the history of theschool. Thank you, Conway Trustees!

PHONATHONS: The FY ’07 Phonathons held onSaturday, December 9, 2006 in Amherst and onSaturday, February 24, 2007 in Salem Massachusettsonce again proved to be important vehicles for theannual fund. They raised $11,200 or twelve percentof the FY ’07 unrestricted giving. We are grateful tothe alumni volunteers and those who made their facil-ities available for these efforts, and we extend particu-lar kudos to co-class agents Ian Hodgdon ’06 andBrian Trippe ’06, who organized the Amherst andSalem Phonathons, respectively, and to Trustee/Development Chair Rick Brown, who rallied thetroops at the Salem venue.! Amherst, MA, at the office of Blair, Cutting

and Smith Insurance Agency: Carla Cooke, SueCrimmins, Ian Hodgdon, Kate Kerivan, NickLasoff, Chuck Schnell, Cindy Tavernise, JannaThompson, Nancy Braxton, Ilze Meijers, PaulCawood Hellmund

! Salem, MA, at the Bioengineering Group office of Wendi Goldsmith ’90: Judy Thompson, WendyIngram, Adam Bossi, Ben Groves, Ian Hodgdon,Wendi Goldsmith, Lauren Snyder Lautner, JannaThompson, Brian Trippe, Rick Brown, NancyBraxton

END-OF-YEAR CHALLENGE. In April 2007, as the endof the fiscal year approached, an anonymous alum ofthe school volunteered a large donation on a match-ing-challenge basis to rally alums’ giving to the annualfund drive. Two other anonymous alums joined thisinitiative with major pledges, and a $10,000 alumnimatching challenge was issued. The response wasbeyond gratifying—it was awesome! The followingindividuals (also included in the annual fund donor

list on page 36) came forward with gifts that, togetherwith the initial challenge, came to $17,050 or eight-een percent of unrestricted giving in 2007. This amaz-ing show of support for the school was instrumentalin producing the highest unrestricted giving level inthe history of the school and surpassing the annualfund goal. We offer our happy and grateful thanks foryour belief in the mission and ongoing curriculum ofthis unique graduate school.

Charles LeopoldMark LeuchtenJude LichtensteinTodd Lynch &

Janet BertucciDean MaynardAnn Georgia McCaffrayAndrea MorrisJohn NuzziDel OrloskeRobbin PeachBarbara PopolowLinda ProkopyVirginia RaubAlison ReddyWalter Reynolds

Design AssociatesTeresa RogersonClarissa RoweD. Thomson &

Barbara D. SargentBruce StedmanRobert Edson SwainAlison TrowbridgeMrs. M.E. Van BurenLaurence ZuelkeA

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School Equipment Wish ListOver the years Conway’s graduates and friendshave been very generous in sharing computers and other equipment that they may have out-grown. Please contact David Nordstrom (nord-strom@csld.edu, (413) 369-4044) if you have any of the following and would like to make adonation to the school. Such donations may betax-deductible for you. Please don’t mail or deliveranything to the school before finding out if it isstill needed. Thanks! Your gift could make a bigdifference.

We especially need a large-format color plotterbecause of our growing use of digital products.

Furniture and miscellaneous equipment:! Barcode reader (for use in the library)! Binoculars (for field trips)! Soil auger (e.g., 4" regular,

with extension and cross handle)! Power drill (for general building maintenance)

Computers and printers:! Large format color plotter

(Epson 2400, 2200 or R1800 or Hewlett-Packard, other than HP 10, 20, or 30ps)

! Laptop computer running Windows 2000 or XP,with DVD/CD-ROM writer (docking stationwould be helpful, but not required)

! Apple laptop computer (G4 or newer)! Apple tower computer (running Mac OS 10)

advance for supporting Conway’s 2007–08 programsthrough your generous donation!

ENDOWING CONWAY’S FUTURE: PLANNED GIVING.As we conclude Conway’s thirty-fifth anniversaryyear, please consider a planned gift to the school.Planned gifts will be used to launch a Conwayendowment fund to ensure the perpetuity of thisunique institution. The Conway endowment willenable us to realize such goals as providing substan-tial student scholarship support and underwriting thecampus/facility master plan now in process. Thus, inmaking a planned gift to Conway, you are helpingensure that the school’s important mission of sustain-able landscape design will be carried out into thefuture.

As a donor, you can make a planned gift in anumber of ways that can provide benefits for you andyour family as well as for Conway, such as a bequest,life income gifts, charitable remainder trusts, or chari-table gift annuities. Bequests are the most simple andstraightforward way to endow Conway’s long-termfuture. Educational institutions have found that abouteighty percent of all planned gifts they receive come inthe form of bequests.

Bequests are the easiest planned gift to accom-plish. Without parting with a current asset, andregardless of your age, you can include the ConwaySchool of Landscape Design in your will. Any assetmay be used, and a charitable bequest has many additional benefits:! Unlimited federal estate tax deductibility! Confidentiality! Simplicity! Revocability! Minimal cost

Your bequest to Conway can take several forms:! An unconditional outright gift! A residuary gift, i.e. a gift of all or a portion of

the assets remaining after specific bequests havebeen made

! A bequest designated for the Conway endowment:Conway will invest your gift in its endowment fundand can credit the interest to the annual fund inyour name each year

THE CONWAY LEGACY CIRCLE. Through the Con-way Legacy Circle, the Conway School of LandscapeDesign recognizes the leadership, commitment, andgenerosity of those alums and friends whose bequestsor life-income gifts ensure the future of the school andadvance the quality of a Conway education. By pub-lishing the names of these donors, we would like tothank them publicly and encourage other members ofthe Conway community to follow their lead.

We welcome all alums and friends who have madeplanned gifts—regardless their size—into the ConwayLegacy Circle, and we invite all of you to considertaking steps to accomplish your personal, family, andphilanthropic goals through gift planning.

If you have provided for the Conway School ofLandscape Design with a planned gift and wish toadd your name to the list of Conway Legacy Circlemembers, or if you would like further information toassist you in your planning, please contact AssociateDirector of Development Nancy Braxton. As with anygift to the school, a request for anonymity will behonored. braxton@csld.edu; (413) 369-4044 x 5.

AnonymousJennifer Allcock ’89David Bird,

Trustee EmeritusRick Brown

Susan Crimmins ’97Bill GundermannAnna James ’99Carrie Makover ’86Bill Montgomery ’91

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John F. AhernJennifer AllcockJames AllisonKatherine AndersonGeorge AnzuoniHelen AnzuoniMatthew ArnsbergerHenry Warren ArtMollie Babize & Mary

QuigleyGary BachmanJack BarclaySuzanne Barclay Hatha Gable BartlettMark BethelDavid BirdCynthia BoettnerMichele Logrande

BongiornoClare BootleCharlie BossonKenneth Botnick &

Karen WernerJames BouwkampPeter BowryNancy E. BraxtonRichard K. Brown &

Anita Loose-BrownDavid BuchananKaren Burnier KianpourJerrilee CainAnne CapraJoan Allen CaseyDonald ChamberlainSeth ChardeJoshua ClagueDavid ColemanArthur CollingsArthur CollinsCarolyn Collins &

Dorothy VaronJill Ker ConwayCarla Manene CookeEmma CookeClemence CorriveauSusan Ernst CorserJames CowenSusan Crimmins

Phyllis CroceWalter CudnohufskyCandace CurrieRuth CutlerD. Alex DammanEsther DanielsonAnya Darrow & Louise

HarrisonSunnifa DeehrDennis DelapBrian DobynsHarry DodsonDeborah DoranGregory DrakeAbbie DuchonMark EdelmanMarlene EldridgeDonna EldridgeJon & Barbara ElkowCarolyn EllisJonathon EllisonPaul EssweinBenjamin FalkElizabeth FarnsworthMatthew FarringtonLila FendrickPatricia FinleyDonald & Betty

FitzgeraldErin FlatherGeorge & Kristen

FlatherKristin FletcherAdeline FortierMary A. FowlerAndrew FranchKent FreedElizabeth French FribushFriends of Yanner ParkSean GaffneyEsta Gallant KornfieldMary Garrett WilsonDennis GemmeMichael GibbonsElisabeth GickWendi GoldsmithNat Goodhue

Bradford GreeneGreenfield Savings BankRandy Griffith &

Marcia CurtisBenjamin GrovesAlice & Jim HardiggLynn HarperCarl HeidePaul Cawood HellmundJane Sexton

HemmingsenBrian HigginsLupin HillIan HodgdonDavid & Marcia HoldenBetsy HopkinsJeff HortonIBMWendy IngramFaith IngulsrudDavid JackeLeslie A. JakobsJudy & Bob JanowiakJames JensenDaniel KadenBarbara Keene BriggsAnnice KenanKathleen KerivanRobert KilroyJohn KlauderAmy Klippenstein &

Paul LacinskiCynthia KnaufKathleen Hogan KniselyNancy KnoxGary KollerClaudia KopkowskiSelina LambEdward & Sandra

LandauElsie H. LandstromNicholas LasoffLauren Snyder LautnerRichard LawRobert LemireCharles LeopoldMark LeuchtenJude Lichtenstein

C. Todd Lynch & Janet Bertucci

David LynchBarbara MackeyWilliam MacLeishCarrie MakoverMargaret MaleyRobert MarquandTerry MarvelDean MaynardHope McAndrewAnn Georgia McCaffrayHeather McCargoTom & Susan McCarthyTim McClaranJack & Tip McIntoshJanet McLaughlinThe Reverend Canon

Robert J. MinerWilliam & Melody

MontgomeryTerry MooreAndrea MorganteAndrea MorrisDarrel MorrisonMoser, Pilon, Nelson

ArchitectsJames MourkasMelissa MourkasMichael NadeauGwen Nagy-BensonJennifer NawadaKristin NelsonMarilyn NordbyJohn NuzziGary & Mary OggianiDel OrloskePeter OwensWendy PageMary ParkerRobbin PeachMartha PetersenRoger PlourdeBarbara PopolowJanet PowersLinda ProkopySteven ProthersHeidi PutnamGinny RaubPeg Read Weiss &

Frederick WeissAlison ReddySue ReedSarah Drew ReevesSandra RelyeaWalter Reynolds Design

AssociatesChristopher RiceRichter & Cegan Inc.William & Sally RichterAnn R. RobertsAndrew RobertsonMelissa Robin &

Michael CaplanGary RobinsonTom RobinsonTeresa RogersonSusan Rosenberg

David RosenmillerAl & Selina RossiterSelina Rossiter &

Alexander H. P.Colhoun

Clarissa RoweJoel RussellThe Sallie Mae FundD. Thomson & Barbara

D. SargentSheafe SatterthwaiteJohn SavesonAaron SchlechterCharles SchnellBarbara ScottAngela SeaborgGordon H. & Joy Shaw Robin SimmenAngela SissonRobert SmallAndrew & Nancy SmithKaren BessLincoln SmithPeter SmithRichard SnyderSusan SpaceBruce SpencerJohanna StacyBruce StedmanJohn SteeleDanny StrattonLesya Struz & Joris

NaimanVirginia SullivanRobert Edson SwainJanet TaftBrian TamulonisCindy TaverniseBetsy TaylorThomas J. Fredrick,

CPARichard ThomasJudith ThompsonMichael ThorntonKaren TeideJanna ThompsonBrian TrippeTurner TrippeAlison TrowbridgeJean TuftsMrs. M. E. Van BurenPeter & Susan Van

BurenLiz VizzaMarcella WaggonerWill WaldronDonald Walker & Ruth

ParnallJ. Jackson WalterHap WertheimerMiles WestonBob & Judy WilkinsonSeth WilkinsonWynne WirthAmanda WischmeyerMarion WitheGwendolyn WoodEric & Barbara YoungLaurence Zuelke

Donors FY 2007This was an extraordinary year in Conway’s annual fund histo-ry. The level of giving exceeded our goal by 26 percent withdonations approaching $100,000, and the number of alumsand friends who supported the school increased by 20 percent.This outpouring of generosity underwrote 17 percent of theschool’s operating expenses and made it possible to offer an-other excellent year of our unique graduate program. Theboard of trustees, faculty, and staff of the Conway School ofLandscape Design extend deep appreciation to the followingindividuals and organizations for their contributions creditedto the school’s 2007 fiscal year. This list includes unrestrictedannual fund/phonathon gifts, gifts-in-kind, and restricted dona-tions (except capital campaign gifts, reported on page 33). We extend our warm and whole-hearted thanks to all of you.

We make every effort to acknowledge everyone’s generosity. If a mistake has been made, please accept our apology and contact us so that we may correct the error in our records.

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BOARD OF TRUSTEESArthur Collins II ’79 (Chair)Collins Enterprises LLCStamford, CT

William Richter ’77 (Vice Chair)Landscape ArchitectWest Hartford, CT

John AhernUniversity of Massachusetts, LARPAmherst, MA

Henry ArtWilliams College Biology Dept. Williamstown, MA

John S. BarclayUniversity of Connecticut, Wildlife Conservation Center Storrs, CT

Richard K. BrownDarrow School New Lebanon, NY

Nat Goodhue ’91Goodhue Land Design Stowe, VT

Amy Klippenstein ’95Farmer Ashfield, MA

Nicholas T. Lasoff ‘05Lasoff Landscape Design Bennington, VT

Robbin Peach ‘78Independent Advisor Mattapoisett, MA

Allen RossiterBuckingham, Browne and Nichols School Cambridge, MA

Aaron Schlechter ‘01Ecological Consultant Norwalk, CT

Virginia Sullivan ‘86Learning by the Yard Conway, MA

Susan Van Buren ‘82Rawlings Conservatory & Botanical Gardens Baltimore, MD

Seth Wilkinson ‘99Wilkinson Ecological Design Orleans, MA

EMERITUS TRUSTEESDavid Bird (dec. 2007)Gordon H. Shaw ’89Bruce Stedman ’78

PAST DIRECTORSWalter Cudnohufsky (1972–1992)Donald L. Walker, Jr. (1992–2005)

ADVISORSJohn Hanning ’82GIS Database Specialist Montpelier, VT

Richard HubbleExecutive Director, Franklin Land Trust Shelburne Falls, MA

David Lynch ’85MA Capital Asset Management Watertown, MA

Carrie Makover ’86Planner, Web Designer Fairfield, CT

Darrel MorrisonProfessor Emeritus, University of Georgia New York, NY

Ruth ParnallLearning by the Yard Conway, MA

Joel RussellLand Use Attorney Northampton, MA

Steven StangInvestment Advisor Hartford, CT

Dear Conway Friends:

How do you measure success? At Conwaywe measure our successes every day. This yearwe have had the highest number of applica-tions for enrollment in the history of theschool; the annual fund achieved the highestlevel of giving ever with the trustees leadingthe way in contributions; the projects weremore numerous than any year to date; the school sponsored its first trip to Panama for students and alumni in March; and Landscape Architecturemagazine published a major article on the school. And best of all, a cam-pus study was presented to the board in May that illustrates the potentialfor the future of the school. The Conway message for environmental con-science and sustainable design is being broadcast nationally. That is suc-cess, but we have much more to do.

Yes, this is an exciting time for the Conway School. In his third year,Director Paul Hellmund and his capable faculty and staff are initiating newprograms to complement the core curriculum. They have developed soundfiscal controls, overhauled the school’s catalogue, and developed new formsof communication, including website postings and the con’tours newsletterin electronic form. The dedication and hard work of the staff, faculty, andtrustees is bearing fruit and we thank all those who have contributed andare contributing.

Conway now has a thirty-five-year track record to build on and a mis-sion that is deeply relevant to the world in which we live. From humblebeginnings in 1972, the Conway School has emerged as potentially theonly graduate program in the country teaching a holistic approach to landplanning and sustainable design. The results speak for themselves. Conwaygraduates are now making a difference in a wide range of careers fromcommunity and urban development to wetland and habitat restoration toopen space planning for towns and land trusts.

Our successes are part of the initiative to create the “PermanentConway.” That is the initiative that will ensure the school will have theresources to go another thirty-five years and beyond. There is unprecedent-ed support from an action-oriented board of trustees to accomplish thisgoal and you will hear more about this in the months to come.

It is an exciting time for the school and I hope that you will visit soonand witness the success that is Conway.

Faithfully yours,Art Collins ’79

Chair, Board of Trustees

Letter from the Chair

The Class of 2007

Front row (kneeling): Ross Workhoven, Karen Chaffee, Sean Roulan, Kate Dana, Andrew Ward,Priscilla Miner.Back row: Victoria Schroth,Nicko Rubin, Sarah Hills,Annie Scott, Karen Reedy,Jennifer Campbell, Alicia Batista, Kathy Connor,Brandon Mansfield, Brian McGowan, Ken Byrne (faculty), Paul Cawood Hellmund(Director)

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