There are many different clubs on campus, but the ASU chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects works to help students stop and smell the roses.
Landscape architecture is the design and development of land — outdoor or indoor — for environmental and aesthetic purposes. It can include the building of parks, urban planning, and environmental restoration.
Kaylee Colter, a landscape architecture senior, is president of the ASU chapter of the club and said the group provides a great opportunity for students.
“The goals of our chapter are to serve landscape architecture students by facilitating education, bridging the gap into the professional world and advocating for the profession,” she said.
One of the group’s biggest goals is to plan and participate in community outreach events that serve the environment, Colter said.
“A lot of people think that landscape architects just design front and back yards. But landscape architects do much more than that,” she said. “People are becoming more interested in ‘green’ walls, rainwater harvesting, urban farming — and landscape architects design those kinds of projects.”
Anyone who is interested in how humans can live more harmoniously in the environment should consider joining the organization, Colter said.
Trish Nhan, a landscape architecture junior, is currently the club’s secretary and hopes to be president in the fall.
“One goal is to promote landscape and getting people to know what it is and the importance of it within the community and society,” she said.
Nhan said the organization is a lot different than others on campus.
“We’re bringing nature into their (students’) lives,” she said. “It’s different because we go into the real world to change lives and the way they live for the better.”
Valerie Ahyong, a graduate student studying landscape architecture, is the treasurer of the ASU club and said it covers a lot of different areas.
“Some people could have a different undergrad,” she said. “You could go into ecology and design zoos, in accommodating wildlife.”
As treasurer, Ahyong manages the organization’s finances, and like other organizations, the club needs money to operate.
“We’re in the process of improving financial aspects to provide money for our members to do things,” Ahyong said.
Those things include events, registration fees, traveling and permit fees, she said.
Ahyong said her favorite part of the organization is the involvement with other people, she said.
“We learn from others and educate others,” she said. “It is important to be involved with your community, the club is an outreach to the community.”
Nhan wants to keep members and other students informed of the organization.
“It’s not just about making things pretty — there is a lot that goes into it,” she said.
Reach the reporter at mmbarke1@asu.edu
