Get Connected with the BSLA on Facebook

The Boston Society of Landscape Architects has created a Facebook group to further interact with members and provide a forum for all things BSLA and landscape architecture related. Get the latest news, view event information and network with fellow BSLA members through this social web site.

To join the BSLA Facebook Group, you can search for “Boston Society of Landscape Architects” or visit our page by clicking here.

Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of other professionals.

Not on Facebook? It’s easy to join, and it’s free! Visit www.facebook.com and sign-up. Click here for a pdf which has step-by-step directions on how to join and create your Facebook page.

September 24, 2009!!
The Boston Landscape Scavenger Hunt,
Part II

The Hunt is on!!! It is time to test your knowledge about the known and not so known landscape features that make Boston the treasure it is. The Hunt is open to all landscape architects, designers and associated professionals, so the competition for great prizes will be fierce. Be sure to wear comfortable walking/running shoes and bring your camera/camera phone!

Similar to last year the hunt begins at 5:30 pm at Stantec Planning and Landscape Architecture, P.C. (141 Portland Street, Boston) where teams of 4 (either pre-formed or formed on the spot) will gather and form their strategies. Each team will get a sheet of questions and clues and have 2 hours to solve and collect as many as they can.

Teams will then turn in their answer sheets and share their photos by 7:30 sharp at Boston Beer Works (112 Canal Street, Boston), where refreshments will be served and prizes awarded.

If you can't make the hunt, meet us at the finish line! All are welcome.

Please RSVP by Thursday, September 17 to the BSLA Chapter Office (info@BSLAweb.org, 508-620-5018) to reserve a spot for the hunt. There will be a trivia night in lieu of the hunt in case of severe inclement weather.

Thank you to Landscape Forms for once again sponsoring this event.

Welcome New Members

• Alison Amherst, Heimarck & Foglia, LLC, Somerville, MA
• Kate Benisek, Jamaica Plain, MA
• Gina Foglia, Foglia Design Associates, Inc., Somerville, MA
• Catherine Garnett, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Boston, MA
• Heather Heimarck, Heimarck & Foglia, LLC, Somerville, MA
• Victoria Hibbard, VDH Design, Belmont, MA
• Joseph James, Reed Hilderbrand Associates, Watertown, MA
• Christopher Lynch, Haydenville, MA
• Scott Mulholland, MPA Design, Newburyport, MA
• Judith Nitsch, Nitsch Engineering, Inc, Boston, MA
• Ruth Raphael, National Park Service, Boston, MA
• James Wescoat, MIT, Cambridge, MA

Connecticut College Arboretum has published its Autumn 2009 Program calendar. Visit their website for more details on their offerings.

August 29, 2009
10:00 am to Noon
BAC Continuing Education Information Session

Current and prospective Landscape Institute students may join the Continuing Education staff of the Boston Architectural College for a fall semester information session. Receive general course and advising information and enjoy a tour the BAC. Landscape Institute Director Heather Heimarck will also be available to answer your questions.

Register Today!

• For Fall/Winter Courses Returning Students, please visit: http://arboretum.harvard.edu/programs/ld/registration.html
• New Students, please visit: http://www.the-bac.edu/x2763.xml

September 18-21, 2009
ASLA 2009 Annual Meeting & EXPO The annual meeting and EXPO will be held September 18-21 in Chicago and we are expecting another record-breaking attendance. The 2009 meeting theme will be Beyond Sustainability: Regenerating Places and People. Visit www.ASLA.org for event details.

September 28, 2009
Up By Roots Workshop to Take Place in Suffern, New York

On September 28th, Jim Urban, FASLA, will be in Suffern, New York to present principles form this latest book, Up By Roots: Healthy Soils and Trees in the Built Environment. Jim Urban is the recent recipient of the ASLA Honors Award for Communications for the book, which was heralded as a “must-have for any practitioner” by members of the award panel (Stubbs 2009). Other members of the awards jury predicted that Up By Roots will become “the desk reference for the profession on including trees in landscape designs.” Read more...

For more information contact, Andrew Koeser, International Society of Arboriculture

October 9, 2009
Shapers & Pioneers of New York City’s Landscape
New York Botanical Garden

The first in a series of national symposia being held in concert with the book launch of Shaping the American Landscape: New Profiles from the Pioneers of American Landscape Design Project which will be published by the University Press of Virginia in late summer 2009. National speakers will provide a context for some of the most celebrated landscapes in New York City and the immediate region including Central Park, Battery Park, Riverside Park Shoreline and Promenade, and the Merritt Parkway among others. Speakers will explore the lives and built legacies of the designers and stewards of nationally significant historic designed landscapes ranging from estates and subdivisions to parks and scenic reservations. CEUs available. Go to http://tclf.org/events/pioneers for more information.

Employment Opportunities

Instructor of Landscape Design
University of Maine

The University of Maine (http://www.umaine.edu/pse) seeks qualified applicants for this three-year, fixed-length-term position with the potential for extension depending on funding and job performance. This is a 100% teaching, academic-year position serving the Environmental Horticulture B.S. Program, (http://www.umaine.edu/lhc). Position duties and program details are provided at the above sites.

This position requires an MLA in Landscape Architecture, MS in Horticulture, or PhD in Horticulture with an emphasis in Landscape Design. We seek a candidate with professional experience, a strong background in landscape design and the use of modern computer-assisted design technology, excellent teaching skills, excellent written and verbal communications skills, and the ability and desire to work closely with students, faculty, alumni and industry professionals.              

Interested individuals may contact Dr. Gregory Porter, Chair, Department of Plant, Soil and Environmental Sciences, 5722 Deering Hall, Orono, ME 04469-5722, (207) 581-2943, porter@maine.edu. Review of applications will begin on October 1, 2009. Please include a letter of intent, CV, and academic transcripts. Three reference letters must be sent directly to the department chair. The University of Maine is an Equal Opportunity /Affirmative Action employer.

Opening Available for Chief Estimator

Company Description:  The Company has been in business for over 20 years and is one of New England’s premier full service providers of landscape services that include masonry and hardscape construction, landscape installation, arborcare, and other related services for large residential projects in the Boston Metropolitan area. The Company’s main mission is to focus on customer satisfaction, employee training, and to employ an ownership spirit so they can provide quality work, and an excellent product as a team. The Company is anticipating growth in its core business and has asked GreenSearch to assist them in locating a fully qualified individual for the newly created Senior Position described below.

Job Title:  Chief Estimator

Job Description:  The Chief Estimator position exists to assist the company by handling the volume of work that is anticipated due to growth.  It exists to nurture current relationships and perform precise and detailed estimates of designs consisting primarily of custom masonry and stone hardscape but will also extend to other large hardscape and softscape projects.  The position also entails preparation and follow-through of estimates, bids, contracts, and developed outsourced designs for customers and clients.  The Chief Estimator will also be responsible for managing one or more estimators that will assist in the estimating process.

Job Requirements:

• Ideally possesses a four (4) year degree in Landscape Design or Architecture, Ornamental Horticulture, or a closely related field.
• Possesses a minimum of 8 - 10 + years experience in the landscape or construction industries specifically performing estimates of projects that contain extensive use of large-scale masonry, stone, and other hardscape features.
• Experienced in managing a team of estimators.
• Possess experience in all aspects of estimation and contract development.
• Must be able to understand some systems applications for designs.
• Possess a working knowledge of New England plant materials.
• Must be proficient in the use of basic word processing and spread sheet programs.
• Experience and full understand Fulfills detailed and precise estimates in a high volume setting.
• Completes estimates, designs, contracts, and follow-up on all jobs done.
• Coordinates/schedules installation with assigned job supervisor.
• Maintain a customer/client file and periodically makes follow-up contact with past customer/clients.
• Support, encourage and enforce all Company policies, programs, rules and regulations.
• Carry out all functions as required by his/her immediate supervisor.
• Possesses self-discipline to manage multiple assignments and changing priorities.

Initial Compensation Package:
Annualized Base Salary Range -   $85,000+/year
Annualized Incentive Compensation Range – Production incentive available based upon attainment of agreed upon financial and non-financial objectives.
Employee Benefits – Medical, Life and 401(K) provided upon meeting applicable eligibility periods
Company Vehicle – Access to Company vehicle provided.
Paid Time Off – Vacation and other time off
Communication Devices - Provided
Approximate Number of Employees Supervised -  2

Application Instructions:  Interested parties should contact Bob Witherington, Vice-President, GreenSearch, either through e-mail at bob@greensearch.com or direct phone at 770-565-6530.  A current resume will be required and should be e-mailed to the address above.

To find out more about GreenSearch, please visit our web site at:  greensearch.com .

Sponsor an Issue of the Monthly BSLA EBulletin
Sign up to sponsor an issue of the monthly BSLA EBulletin and have your ad prominently displayed here - with a link to your website ($175 per issue). For more details...

Only 3 sponsor placements per issue. Contact Christy Griffith, BSLA Chapter Office - Graphics and Web, griffith@BSLAweb.org, 802-438-9858.

Thank you to the ASLA's "50 by 2010" Licensure Campaign contributors -

• Reed|Hilderbrand
• Bartsch & Radner Design, Inc.
• Sasaki Associates, Inc.
• Hugh J. Collins, Jr. Landscape Designer, Inc.
• Halvorson Design Partnership
• Bellalta 3 Design
• Stantec Planning and Landscape Architecture, P.C.
• Joseph Hudak, L.A
• Weston and Sampson
• Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture
• Dodson Associates
• Hines Wasser & Associates, LLC
• HNTB Corporation
• Pressley Associates, Inc.
• Terrence J. DeWan and Associates
• AMES A/E
• Steven W. Ribble, RLA, ASLA
• Crosby Schlessinger Smallridge
• Robert LaRoche
• SMRT, Inc.
• Mohr & Seredin Landscape Architects, Inc.
• WBRC Architects / Engineers Inc.
• Lawrence Johannesman
• Mitchell & Associates
• Mercer Bonney, RLA
• Shadley Associates, P.C.
• Clyde & Patricia Walton
• Beals and Thomas, Inc.

BSLA appreciates their commitment to this cause.

• Bartsch & Radner Design, Inc.
• Stantec Planning and Landscape Architecture, P.C. Consulting
• Halvorson Design Partnership
• Reed | Hilderbrand
• Shadley Associates, P.C.
• Copley Wolff Design Group, Inc.
• Keith LeBlanc Landscape Architecture, Inc.
• Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
• Elliott Brundage Landscape Design