National Landscape Architecture Month
A couple of weeks ago I received a very excited phonecall from Cornelia Oberlander. She wanted to tell me that April 2008 – the very month my biography about her was being released – had been declared “National Landscape Architecture Month”. The reason? The American Society of Landscape Architects wants to encourage students and parents to “Discover Careers in Landscape Architecture”.
That was part of why I wrote Love Every Leaf: the life of landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander too. I wanted people to know about this remarkable woman and the work she has done (and continues doing on into her 80s!) And I wanted young people contemplating their future careers to be aware of the landscape architect option. “It’s a magnificent profession,” says Cornelia.
The ASLA chose April as National Landscape Architecture Month in part because it encompasses Earth Day and landscape architects are hugely aware of their opportunities and responsibilities to help take care of the planet. Cornelia (a member of both ASLA and CSLA, the Canadian counterpart) is one of the profession’s pioneers in this way of thinking.
The president of the ASLA has launched an “Each One, Reach One” campaign, challenging each of the Society’s 18,200 members to reach out to at least one K-12 student during April to introduce them to careers in landscape architecture. What better way for them to do it than by buying all those students a copy of Love Every Leaf!
Since that call from Cornelia, she has sent me an email telling me that the International Federation of Landscape Architects has all kinds of events planned for World Landscape Architecture Month! Why not make reading Cornelia’s biography one of them?!
Share this post:
Kathy Stinson is the author of the classic Red Is Best and the award-winning The Man with the Violin. Her wide range of titles includes picture books, non-fiction, young adult fiction, historical fiction, horror, biography, series books, and short stories. She has met with her readers in every province and territory of Canada, in the United States, Britain, Liberia, and Korea. She lives in a small town in Ontario.
Hi Kathy!
I think having students read the biography would be a terrific way to inspire them into action!
Janet Lee
I'm reviewing Love Every Leaf for SLJ, and I have a question — on page 7 you cite the repayment by Germany of loans made by other countries. I thought the other nations charged Germany with reparitions that had to be paid.
I am loving this book (I love to garden and have since the second grade!).
Hope you have time to get back to me,
Fran
You could well be right, Fran. I would have to check my research notes to let you know the source of my information. But however we interpret the background events, the important thing is that a weakened economy was an important contributor to Germany’s vulnerability to Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies.
A review for School Library Journal? I hope you will send me a copy – especially as you are loving the book!
Happy reading and happy gardening!