Landscape Architecture and Ecological Restoration: Designing for the Other 99.9%

LA Fall Lecture Series presents Jason Husveth
Recipient of the 2011 Department of Landscape Architecture Alumni Award

Wednesday, 11/30 at 4:00 pm
Cook/Douglas Lecture Hall
3 College Farm Road
New Brunswick, NJ

Landscape Architecture and Ecological Restoration: Designing for the Other 99.9%

Landscape Architecture is defined by the American Society of Landscape Architects as: the science and art of design, planning, management and stewardship of the land. Landscape Architecture involves natural and built elements, cultural and scientific knowledge, and concern for resource conservation to the end that the resulting environment serves a useful and enjoyable purpose. Successful landscape architecture maximizes use of the land, adds value to a project and minimizes costs, all with minimum disruption to nature (ASLA, 2011).

The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) promotes Ecological Restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture (SER, 2011).

Jason Husveth is a professional ecologist charged with the responsibility of planning, designing, and restoring diverse, complex, ecologically functioning, and sustainable natural landscapes within the Upper Midwest. While these landscapes are often used passively by and for the human population, their primary purpose is often to restore ecological structure and function for the sustained benefit of native flora and fauna. This lecture will present project examples of Mr. Husveth’s work to demonstrate the process of applying biological and ecological research to design and implement ecological restoration projects for a diverse array of native plant and animal species at various spatial scales.

Jason Husveth is Principal Ecologist and founder of Critical Connections Ecological Services, an ecological consulting firm based in the Minneapolis / St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota. A native of Somerset County, New Jersey, Jason earned his Bachelor of Science from the Rutgers University’s Landscape Architecture program in 1995. He received his Master of Science in Landscape Architecture from the University of Minnesota in 1999, where he assisted in the development of biological indicators to assess the quality of Minnesota wetlands, and investigated the relationships between watershed urbanization, stormwater runoff, and associated impacts to wetland biological communities. As a professional, Jason works at the nexus of landscape architecture and ecological/environmental sciences; always seeking to better understand the structure, function, and natural history of biological systems and the often complex relationships among their biotic and abiotic components. With this information, Jason strives to design, create, and restore complex natural systems for use by a diverse array of native plant and animal species within rural, urban, and developing landscapes of the Upper Midwest.

In addition to his professional practice, Mr. Husveth has served as board member and past President of the Minnesota Native Plant Society, is a lifetime member of the Society of Wetland Scientists, helped to establish the Midwest-Great Lakes Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), and currently serves as an appointed Manager of the Carnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District and the Superior Hiking Trial Association.