This year, the Annual Gathering and Awards Event was held at the Denver Botanic Gardens on Thursday, September 2. Congratulations to all of the award-winning projects!

Read on for more information about the projects.

Climate.Park.Change.

2020 was the hottest year on record highlighting that we are experiencing the impacts of climate change now. Park and recreation professionals, who serve nearly every U.S. community, are poised to advance climate mitigation and adaptation strategies to build environmental and community resiliency through the power of local parks and recreation.  However, understanding the specific climate challenges facing each community and developing associated strategies is difficult and few aggregated resources on the subject exist. Climate.Park.Change, a partnership between a national NGO and a design firm, is an interactive toolkit that overviews climate impacts and strategies to create climate-ready and resilient parks. This toolkit’s initial focus of the Intermountain West was an area identified as lacking in depth research on the impacts from Climate Change. With the goal of growing the geography,  Climate.Park. Change is the first tool to clearly communicate and showcase strategies in Operation and Maintenance, Ecological Functionality and Park Users to help communities of all sizes both mitigate and adapt their parks to combat the impacts of climate change.

Greenwood Community Park Master Plan

Within East Baton Rouge Parish sits the neighborhood of North Baton Rouge. This predominantly African American community has long seen less investment than other areas. This fact, along with long-term demographic shifts due to out-migration and loss of area institutions, has left the area under-performing in key socioeconomic indicators compared to the rest of the Parish. In 2018, BREC launched an ambitious master planning process for the largest park in the system, the 660-acre Greenwood Park, that set out to reverse the narrative and provide a community centered catalytic project that would serve as a true neighborhood amenity and a regional destination situated in the heart of North Baton Rouge. Through the largest public engagement campaign in BREC’s history, the design team set forth a vision for a multi-year implementation process that would transform the Park, which includes the Baton Rouge Zoo, into a constellation of cultural and recreation programs weaved into a robust ecological network of bayous, forest, and meadows that, for the first time ever, connected seamlessly into the surrounding context.

About ASLA Colorado

ASLA Colorado promotes the development, education and awareness of the landscape architecture profession in Colorado and Wyoming. With unparalleled professionalism, ASLA Colorado members are dedicated to inspiring the public through work that enhances natural and built environments.