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Expanding a landscape design or construction practice is not limited to adding another service. The durable route is to combine stronger ecological knowledge, inclusive public-realm design, artistic judgment and direct observation of built landscapes. An American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) profile of New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL) shows how one education program used virtual seminars and field-based sessions to develop those capabilities. The program described in that May 31, 2022 article is historical; its dates, locations, registration limits and continuing-education-unit (CEU) arrangements must be confirmed with NDAL or the relevant professional body before you rely on them today.
What expanding practice means in landscape work
For a landscape architect, designer, contractor or garden professional, “expanding practice” can mean moving into a new project type, taking on more complex sites, or adding value before and after construction. A firm that installs planting plans may begin advising on habitat restoration. A contractor known for hardscape may add stormwater-sensitive grading, native planting and long-term stewardship. A designer serving private gardens may develop a process for parks, schoolyards or community spaces.
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Those moves require more than a new sales page. They call for a repeatable method for reading a site, understanding ecological processes, working with communities and explaining design decisions to clients. Education that joins artistic, social and ecological perspectives can help a team make that shift without treating any one of those concerns as an afterthought.
- Ecological capability: Recognize plant communities, soil and hydrology, succession, habitat value and the difference between a cosmetic “natural” look and a functioning landscape.
- Social capability: Understand who uses a place, who has been excluded from decisions and how maintenance, safety and access affect the finished work.
- Artistic capability: Compose space, sequence views, work with seasonal change and make ecological performance legible and attractive.
- Delivery capability: Translate those ideas into drawings, specifications, budgets, construction details, maintenance plans and client communication.
The strongest expansion is therefore a capability decision first and a marketing decision second. Define what you can deliver reliably, learn what the work demands, pilot it on an appropriate project and document the results.
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What the NDAL program profile documents
The ASLA article “Avenues for expanding practice,” published May 31, 2022, describes New Directions in the American Landscape (NDAL) educational sessions planned for that summer. NDAL offered both virtual educational sessions and in-person regional sessions. The program brought together presentations on artistic, social and ecological considerations in landscape design, along with field sessions in which participants could observe and analyze real-world outcomes of ecology-based approaches.
The article says the audience included landscape practitioners, home gardeners, students and educators. It also says CEUs were available for professional sessions. That wording does not establish that every session qualified for every license or credential. A current attendee should verify the provider, approving organization, number of units, documentation and eligibility for the jurisdiction in which the units will be used.
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The article identifies Larry Weaner, FAPLD, Affiliate ASLA, as the founder of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates in 1982 and NDAL in 1990. Sara Weaner is identified as NDAL’s Executive Director. Presenters named in the profile include Darrel Morrison, Piet Oudolf, Veronica Tyson Strait, Gerould Wilhelm, Angela Kyle and Larry Weaner. These names establish who the article associated with the sessions; they are not evidence of a particular project outcome or performance claim.
Choose the learning format that matches the business problem
Virtual and field-based education solve different problems. Use the comparison below as a planning tool rather than assuming one format is universally better.
| Decision factor | Virtual sessions | In-person field sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Primary value | Efficient access to presentations, case discussions and concepts without travel. | Direct observation of site conditions, planting relationships, spatial sequence and maintenance evidence. |
| Useful when | Your team needs a shared vocabulary, an introduction to a topic or participation from several locations. | You need to improve site-reading skills or compare design intent with what actually developed over time. |
| Preparation | Arrange a reliable connection, circulate questions and assign someone to capture decisions. | Review the site context, bring field notebooks or cameras where permitted, and plan travel and access requirements. |
| Professional relevance | Can support concept development and internal training; CEU eligibility must be checked for each session. | Can connect design principles to construction and maintenance observations; CEU eligibility must be checked for each session. |
| Limits | A screen cannot reveal every seasonal, tactile or maintenance condition. | Travel, limited registration and site capacity may restrict attendance. |
The 2022 profile stated that registration for the in-person sessions was limited. It did not provide current prices, a current calendar or a guarantee that the same sessions remain available. Treat the format comparison as a way to select learning objectives, not as a current booking guide.
Historical in-person locations listed by ASLA
The profile listed eight regional sessions for 2022. They are useful examples of a distributed, field-oriented model, but they should not be presented as current events:
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| Location listed in the 2022 article | What a team could have used a field session to examine |
|---|---|
| Hillsborough, New Jersey | Site-specific planting, spatial composition and the effects of regional climate and management. |
| Garrison, New York | How an established landscape expresses ecological change over time. |
| Shermans Dale, Pennsylvania | Relationships among landform, vegetation and human use in a field setting. |
| Framingham, Massachusetts | How design decisions respond to regional conditions and long-term care. |
| Stafford, Virginia | Observation of ecology-based approaches in a Mid-Atlantic context. |
| Sparta, Tennessee | Comparison of landscape performance and visual character in another regional setting. |
| Gray Summit, Missouri | How plant communities and site processes inform design interpretation. |
| Madison, Wisconsin | Seasonal and regional factors that affect planting, use and stewardship. |
The article does not assign a measured impact, attendance total or performance score to these sessions. A responsible account of them is that they offered opportunities to observe and analyze landscapes, not that attendance guaranteed a business result.
Virtual topics that broaden a practice
Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and ecological science
One virtual session, “Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Ecological Science: A Restorative Pairing,” was described as presenting tangible examples of combining those knowledge systems in ecological restoration. For a design or construction team, the practical lesson is to treat knowledge systems as sources of insight that require context, consent and attribution. Do not extract a practice, symbol or story for branding. Identify whose knowledge is being discussed, understand the limits of your expertise and involve appropriate voices when a project affects Indigenous communities or culturally significant places.
On a project, this can change the questions asked during early planning: What relationships among water, soil, plants, animals and people are already understood locally? Who has authority to speak about that knowledge? Which restoration goals are ecological, and which are cultural or community-defined? Record the answers in the project brief so they influence grading, planting, access and maintenance rather than appearing only in interpretation panels.
Inclusive placemaking
Another session, “Inclusive Placemaking: Creating Urban Habitats and Sanctuary,” featured projects using native gardens and child-friendly play designs in New York City, New Orleans and Pensacola. The description also said the discussion would consider ways to invite under-represented communities into planning. It is a description of intended session content, not an independent evaluation of those projects.
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For a practitioner, inclusive placemaking becomes concrete when participation changes the design. Map who uses a site at different times, provide more than one way to contribute, compensate community expertise where appropriate and report back on which requests were adopted or declined. Test paths, seating, shade, play edges, sightlines and maintenance regimes with actual users. Native planting can support habitat, but it does not automatically make a place inclusive; comfort, safety, cultural fit and ongoing care matter as well.
A step-by-step framework for turning education into practice growth
1. Define the capability gap
Write a one-page statement of the work you want to win and the evidence you currently lack. Examples include designing habitat-focused residential landscapes, delivering inclusive school grounds or coordinating restoration planting with a civil contractor. List the decisions your team cannot yet make confidently: species selection, soil preparation, community engagement, maintenance forecasting, construction sequencing or performance documentation.
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2. Set a project-screening rule
Choose projects whose scale, client expectations and maintenance resources match your present competence. A pilot should be large enough to test the new approach but small enough to supervise closely. Establish non-negotiables for safety, accessibility, permitting, invasive-species control, irrigation and aftercare before promising a novel service.
3. Select education by objective
Use a virtual session when the immediate need is shared concepts or case discussion. Choose a field session when the team must improve observation of mature planting, soils, hydrology, use patterns or maintenance outcomes. If CEUs matter, confirm the current approval details before registering; the 2022 profile alone cannot establish present eligibility.
4. Prepare questions before attending
Bring questions tied to your capability gap. Ask how a design was adapted to soil and water, what changed during construction, who maintained it, which users were consulted and what evidence was collected after completion. Assign one person to capture methods, one to capture risks and one to identify ideas that can be tested within your own contracts.
5. Translate learning into production documents
Within a week, turn notes into a checklist, detail, specification clause, client questionnaire or maintenance protocol. For example, an ecological-restoration lesson might produce a site-assessment sheet covering existing plant communities, soil disturbance, hydrology and invasive plants. An inclusive-placemaking lesson might produce a participation plan with outreach methods, decision points and a response log.
6. Pilot and document
Choose measurable, project-appropriate indicators without claiming more than they show. Photograph stages from consistent viewpoints, record planting dates and maintenance actions, note user feedback and track changes to water, shade, access or habitat objectives when those measures are part of the contract. Keep a record of assumptions and conditions so a later comparison is honest.
7. Build the offer around outcomes you can support
Describe the service in terms of decisions and deliverables: site assessment, habitat planting plan, participatory design process, construction coordination or stewardship training. Avoid promising a guaranteed ecological or social outcome. Explain what the client receives, what depends on weather and maintenance, who makes decisions and how follow-up will occur.
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8. Review after maintenance begins
Schedule a post-occupancy or post-establishment review. Compare the design intent with what survived, what users changed and what the maintenance team can realistically sustain. Feed those findings into the next estimate, specification and staff-training session. This closes the loop between education and practice instead of treating attendance as the achievement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Build a team that can deliver the expanded scope
Ecology-based and socially responsive work often crosses disciplines. Clarify responsibilities among the landscape designer, landscape contractor, civil engineer, arborist, ecologist, maintenance provider, owner and community participants. Put handoffs in writing: who verifies soil preparation, who approves substitutions, who monitors establishment, who communicates changes and who controls the maintenance budget.
Train field crews as well as designers. A sophisticated planting concept can fail if crews receive unclear installation depths, soil-amendment instructions, protection requirements or weed-management guidance. Conversely, crews often notice drainage, compaction and access problems before they appear in a drawing review. Create a route for those observations to reach the designer and client.
When working with Indigenous knowledge or under-represented communities, define ethical and practical boundaries early. Obtain permission for stories, images and data; credit contributors; avoid implying representation you do not possess; and compensate specialist participation where appropriate. These are project-governance decisions, not decorative additions to a presentation.
How to evaluate an education opportunity today
Because the NDAL schedule described by ASLA was for summer 2022, check current information directly before making travel, budget or licensing decisions. Use this checklist:
- Is the session currently scheduled, and is the date and location confirmed?
- Is the delivery virtual, in person or a combination, and what access or travel requirements apply?
- What is the stated audience and prerequisite knowledge?
- Are CEUs offered for the specific session, by which organization, and with what documentation?
- What topics, instructors and site visits are actually included in the current description?
- Are registration limits, cancellation terms, accessibility arrangements and fees stated?
- Can the learning be translated into a live project without breaching client confidentiality or community protocols?
The 2022 article does not supply current prices or comparative costs, so any present budget should be based on the provider’s current notice rather than an old listing.
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Common expansion mistakes and their fixes
Calling a planting style an ecological service
Aesthetic resemblance is not proof of habitat value, resilience or restoration. Fix: define site conditions, ecological objectives, establishment care and the evidence you will collect.
Assuming one workshop qualifies every license
CEU rules vary by credential and jurisdiction. Fix: verify approval and retain the attendance record required by your licensing body.
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Treating community engagement as a single meeting
One presentation rarely changes who has influence over a project. Fix: plan participation at briefing, concept, review and post-occupancy stages, then report decisions back.
Ignoring maintenance capacity
Native or complex plantings still need establishment care, monitoring and knowledgeable intervention. Fix: price the maintenance tasks, assign responsibility and explain seasonal expectations before construction.
Overstating educational case studies
The ASLA profile describes session content but provides no attributable impact statistics or independent evaluation. Fix: present examples as learning material, then gather project-specific evidence before making performance claims.
Further reading named in the profile
The article names Larry Weaner’s Garden Revolution: How Our Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change, published in 2016. It says the book received an American Horticultural Society Book Award in 2017. The title may be useful as optional background on ecological landscaping, but the profile does not establish its current price, stock or a particular edition’s availability.
Use education as a disciplined avenue, not a shortcut
Education expands a practice when it changes how a team scopes, designs, builds, maintains and evaluates work. The NDAL model described in 2022 is valuable because it paired ideas with observation and included artistic, social and ecological concerns. For a construction or landscape business, the next step is to choose a defined capability, verify current learning opportunities, test the method on a suitable project and publish only the evidence that project can support.
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