Start Date
04/13/2025
End Date
04/12/2026
Description
General Note: As we have for many years, BSLA is pleased to be a program partner of the "Evenings with Experts" series by Grow Native MA. This free lecture series is open to all and features some of the nation's best experts on the ecology of native plant landscaping. As part our service to our members and the landscape architecture professional community, BSLA will provide LA CES for this series.
The program will be conducted online. The full recording will be posted after the session.
Session Description:
In a time of mass extinction and climate change, how and for whom we garden matters more than ever. Our built landscapes reflect the dominant ethos of our society—they are too often made to meet the needs and desires of humans without consideration for the diversity of other species with whom we share our planet. What would happen if our society not only developed compassion for other species but recognized and advocated for their inherent worth? Benjamin Vogt will explore why our gardens are ideal settings to cultivate this compassion, and how they can help us grow into our fullest potential as stewards of life.
In addition to A New Garden Ethic, Benjamin Vogt is the author of the forthcoming Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design. Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, he owns Monarch Gardens, a prairie-inspired design firm. His work has been featured in The American Gardener, Fine Gardening, Garden Design, Horticulture, and Midwest Living.
Distance Learning
Yes
Course Equivalency
No
Subjects
Sustainable Development & Design
Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Hours
1.50
Learning Outcomes
• Consider the ways in which our built landscapes reflect the deeply anthropocentric nature of our society and culture, and how they are part of a broader pattern of human activity that is driving mass extinctions.
• Explore why a major shift in our society towards recognizing the inherent worth not only of all humans but of all species may be vital in solving our environmental crises.
• Discuss how our gardens and other managed landscapes can be ideal settings for fostering compassion for and value of non-human species both in ourselves and in our communities.
Instructors
Benjamin Vogt, Author, A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future
Course Codes
Provider
Boston Society of Landscape Architects