Date Posted: 08.17.2017
Mithun landscape architects Debra Guenther and Jason King are among the first class of SITES® Accredited Professionals (SITES AP). The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) introduced the 60-person cohort on the Land blog: “These SITES AP credential holders are the first in an elite group of professionals dedicated to elevating the value of landscapes in the built environment.”
The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) is an interdisciplinary effort by the ASLA, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance. Debra Guenther represented ASLA on the SITES Steering and Technical Committees to develop the tool. In addition, Mithun’s Louisiana Children’s Museum at City Park and Chatham University Eden Hall Campus were SITES pilot projects, helping to refine the tool. The projects used SITES best management practices in the design and implementation process.
The new credential establishes a professional framework for sustainable landscape design and development. SITES APs possess the knowledge and skills to support the Sustainable SITES certification process, including participating in design and development, encouraging integrated design, managing application and certification, and providing advocacy and education for the adoption of SITES.
