The Maryland Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (MDASLA) presents: "Leading Locally: Our Responsibility to the Community, Climate and Ecosystem".

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Leading Locally: Our Responsibility to the Community, Climate, and Ecosystem examines the ethical and professional responsibilities of landscape architects to protect health, safety, and welfare through local practice. Drawing on examples from Maryland’s City, Coast, Piedmont, and Mountain regions, the conference explores how landscape architects address community needs, climate impacts, and ecological systems within different regional contexts. Presenters will discuss practice-based considerations related to professional ethics, decision-making, and accountability, supported by case-based examples and facilitated discussion. Participants will gain insight into how regional conditions influence professional responsibility and how ethical frameworks can be applied to everyday practice.

 

Secure your spot today and be part of a dedicated community that values innovation and collaboration. Full day attendance at the presentations is required to receive LACES 6.0 PDH (HSW). Partial credit will not be provided.

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Location: Vectorworks

8621 Robert Fulton Dr Suite 200, Columbia, MD 21046

Saturday, February 28, 2026

8am-5pm

 

CONFERENCE AGENDA

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM  BREAKFAST & REGISTRATION  

 

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM KEYNOTE KICKOFF 

Ecological Design as Garden Art

Speaker: Larry Weaner, FAPLD

Ecology-based design need not be a bitter aesthetic pill that your clients must swallow to do the right thing. The order inherent in our wild native landscapes is widely considered beautiful. By translating that ecology-based order into the aesthetically based language of fine garden design, the results can be more universally embraced. Larry will illustrate how this confluence of approaches can yield landscapes that are both ecologically productive and beautiful. He will also discuss how to effectively communicate the experiential difference between an ecology-based approach and traditional landscape design to your clients.

 

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM  LIGHTNING TALKS

Making Place Happen — designing and building sustainable community visions for public art and placemaking

Speakers: Graham Coreil-Allen, Zoe Roane-Hopkins

Learn how design-build agency Graham Projects helps communities realize their sustainable visions for public art and placemaking for pedestrian safety and play. Oftentimes proposed public space improvements are designed to address urgent community needs but are too expensive or complicated to execute in an expedite time frame. Find out how Graham Projects collaborates with local leaders to Make Place Happen: leveraging participatory design to develop practical, quick-build plans that encourage sustainable forms of transportation; and then working with residents

to actually construct these creative ideas for safe, accessible, and beautiful streets and green spaces.

 

Designing for Mental Health — What We’re Not Talking About

Speaker: Mackenzie Twardus, Hanbury

We often talk about health, safety, and welfare in landscape architecture. When we say “health,” however, we rarely mean mental health. Even as wellness becomes a common design goal, mental well-being remains the part we frequently gloss over, despite its deep relevance to the communities we serve.

 

This talk reframes mental health as a core environmental and community responsibility by looking closely at Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park, a 500-acre natural landscape now being shaped into a regional asset for healing, reflection, and ecological renewal. Preserving its woodlands, streams, and meadows has already created measurable value for the community, climate, and ecosystem. Equally important is the work of acknowledging history, reducing stigma, and designing spaces that quietly support emotional resilience.

 

Using Crownsville as a lens, we will explore how mental-health-centered design emerges at multiple scales, from trail networks and gathering spaces to memorial landscapes and restored habitats. These everyday decisions can reduce psychological stress and strengthen community connection. Attendees will leave with a clearer sense of how local landscape projects can meaningfully advance mental health equity while also delivering environmental and climate benefits.

 

12:15 PM – 1:15 PM  LUNCH/EXPO 

 

1:15 PM – 2:15 PM  National ASLA Professional Roundtable Discussion

Moderator: Om Khurjekar, PLA, ASLA, Vice President of Government Affairs at ASLA, Principal at Hord Coplan Macht

Kona Gray, FASLA, Immediate Past President of ASLA, Principal at EDSA
Bradley McCauley, FASLA, President of ASLA, Managing Principal at Site Design Group
Gretchen Wilson, PLA, ASLA, President-Elect of ASLA, Principal at Dig Studio

 

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM  KEYNOTE

Opportunities Born of Disaster: Learning from Ellicott City

Speaker: Tom McGilloway, ASLA Principal, Mahan Rykiel Associates

Historic Ellicott City, MD was devastated by two “one thousand-year storms” in a period of two years. One in July 2016 and another in May 2018. Following the storms, Howard County has adopted and is in the process of implementing both its EC Safe and Sound Plan and the Ellicott City Watershed Master Plan. The Safe and Sound Plan addresses flood mitigation and safety and the master plan-in addition to flood mitigation and safety-addresses preservation of community character, placemaking, environmental sustainability, economic development, transportation, and parking. By considering multiple facets of community recovery and not just flood mitigation, the County is taking a holistic approach that is already creating opportunities for a safter, stronger, and more vibrant community. Drawing upon the Ellicott City Watershed Master Plan, this presentation will highlight the importance of the collaborative process, balancing multiple-and sometimes conflicting goals, and follow-through in implementation. 

 

3:15 PM – 3:30 PM  SNACK BREAK

 

3:30 PM– 4:30 PM  Landscape Performance to Demonstrate Impact
Speaker: Meghan Barnes, Landscape Architecture Foundation

Understanding the environmental, social and economic benefits of sustainable landscapes is essential for designers, developers, and policymakers who influence land development and want better results. This session introduces and explores the concept of landscape performance and why it is critical to achieving sustainability and reaching key decisionmakers. Learn how LAF’s resources can be used to help evaluate performance, show value and make the case for sustainable landscape solutions.

 

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM  Closing Reception / Happy Hour – Sponsored by Bear Metal Design and Div32

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Thank you to our sponsors!

Bear Metal Design, LLC

Divison32

Pleasant Run Nursery, Inc.

Vestre

All Recreation

Country Casual Teak

ForeverLawn Capital District​

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Interested in becoming a sponsor? Email sponsorship@marylandasla.com or president@marylandasla.com

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