The Master's Project of MLA graduates Jennifer Dowdell, David LaClergue, Emily Marshall, and MS/MLA student Rebekah VanWieren was recognized with an International Federation of Landscape Architects Jury Award in the international student competition this month. The studentsí¢â‚¬â„¢ project, was one of 10, and the only North American entry, honored out of 170 entered. Their faculty advisor was Professor Joan Nassauer, and their work was funded by the Genesee Institute in Flint, MI. Their project, "Futures: Time and Space as Dynamic Elements in Sustainable Brownfield Redevelopment," which addresses alternative futures for the Flint í¢â‚¬Å“Chevy in the Holeí¢â‚¬  site, is available online.

The Master's Project of MLA graduate Katherine Foo, and SNRE MS graduates Heather Gott, Meredith Haamen, and Suzanne Perry was recognized with an ASLA National Student Honor Award. The project was is entitled, "RESPOND: A Residential Oil Spill in St. Bernard Parish, LA". Their faculty advisors were Professor Bunyan Bryant and Gregory Button. The project produced an interdisciplinary handbook that uses citizen science, community-based design, and community organizing techniques to assist residents in making informed rebuilding decisions after a million gallon oil spill that occurred during Hurricane Katrina. It introduces the precautionary principle in risk assessment, fills informational gaps about health risks, and provides design and organizing tools for moving forward. It also creates a model for responding to residential oil spills in other communities. The project is now available online.

In addition, Professor Joan Nassauer was named Distinguished Scholar of Landscape Ecology at the 2007 World Congress of Landscape Ecology in Wageningen, Netherlands. The award noted that she, "has made major contributions to both teaching and research, particularly in interdisciplinary work.í¢â‚¬ 

Finally, both Donna Erickson and Joan Nassauer were named Fellows of Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) at the 2007 CELA meeting. They are among the first 25 landscape architecture faculty in the nation to be named fellows. Donna remains an adjunct member of the landscape architecture faculty after moving to Missoula, MT, to work with the Five Valleys Land Trust.