Four years ago I was spending 40+ hours a week at “work” and 40+ hours a week getting my hands dirty somewhere – digging in our garden, helping friends with garden designs, volunteering for the farmers market, etc. It was clear that I needed to make a choice between those two lives. I chose the one with dirt under my nails. I turned in my
My Graduate Thesis: Equal Access
For three years I have been diligently working toward a masters in landscape architecture degree. This past week I had the pleasure of presenting my masters thesis to the department. Next week I will walk across the stage during commencement and accept my degree. My thesis is titled Equal Access: Providing Urban Agricultural Benefits to Under-Served Communities. It will be available through interlibrary loan, so
Aaaaand collapse…
Juniper and I just returned from a long week in Eugene. I presented my graduate thesis yesterday to a great crowd of faculty, classmates and friends. The feedback I received was all very positive – almost surprisingly positive – and it felt great to share my research with the outside world. I’m pretty under the weather, as I came down with a horrible virus promptly
Portland Prospects
Although I am in the midst of writing my thesis, I am already looking ahead toward June when I get to walk across that stage and accept my masters degree in landscape architecture. Focusing on graduating is helping my motivation stay strong amongst the many distractions around me – namely the baby kicking my rib cage. Last week I had the pleasure of shadowing a
Fall Studio Wrap Up
I finished my LAST design studio of my grad program a couple weeks ago. Woohoo! Only a couple classes and my thesis stand in the way between me and graduation this June. We had a hypothetical project this past term involving high-speed rail. I worked with a great team of other landscape architecture grad students – Brigitte Huneke and David Fothergill – to plan the
Mendocino Woodlands Design
Spring term of my graduate program is not officially over, but it’s 95% over for me. Yesterday was my final review for my spring design studio and it went really well. The project this term was the Mendocino Woodlands, which is a historic camp in northern California. The camp was built in the 1930’s and early 40’s as part of FDR’s New Deal. It is
Chartreuse and Purple Garden
Everyone has their favorite color combination and mine is blooming around town this spring: chartreuse and purple. For me, chartreuse is a beautiful hint of spring – something new, young and vibrant. Purples feel soothing to me, calming and tranquil. When it comes to my backyard haven, I would love to lounge around in a place that feels fresh and calm. It’s funny that I
Fall Term Design Studio
As winter term of my landscape architecture program kicks in, I realized I should do a decent job recapping my project last term! I got to explore beneficial insect-attracting plants, plant species that do well in swales, and other fun ecological issues. I had the pleasure of working with a couple architecture students on the project, which was a challenging but fun learning experience. The
Spring School Project
I can’t believe I made it through this year! School was wonderful, interesting, challenging – everything I hoped it would be. Jay living 3,000 miles away, taking on a huge writing project, and working side jobs complicated things a bit. I somehow managed to keep all those balls in the air and still have time to feed myself. This term our studio project was the