How do you foster a culture of landscape performance in your organization and profession?

1 Define your goals and metrics

The first step to foster a culture of landscape performance is to define your goals and metrics for each project. What are you trying to achieve with your design? How will you measure your success? How will you communicate your results to your clients, stakeholders, and peers? By setting clear and realistic goals and metrics, you can establish a baseline for performance and track your progress over time. You can also use tools like the Landscape Performance Series (LPS) by the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) to find case studies, methods, and resources to support your performance evaluation.

2 Collaborate and learn from others

The second step to foster a culture of landscape performance is to collaborate and learn from others who share your vision and values. Landscape performance is a multidisciplinary and dynamic field that requires input and feedback from different experts and perspectives. By working with other landscape architects, engineers, ecologists, planners, and community members, you can learn from their experiences, insights, and best practices. You can also join networks and platforms like the Landscape Performance Education Network (LPEN) by the LAF to connect with educators, researchers, and practitioners who are advancing landscape performance education and training.

3 Showcase and share your work

The third step to foster a culture of landscape performance is to showcase and share your work with the wider public and profession. Landscape performance is not only a technical and scientific process, but also a creative and artistic expression of your design vision and values. By showcasing and sharing your work, you can demonstrate the benefits and impacts of your design, inspire others to adopt landscape performance principles, and contribute to the knowledge base and advocacy of the landscape architecture profession. You can also use platforms like the Landscape Performance Awards by the LAF to submit your projects for recognition and dissemination.

4 Reflect and improve your practice

The fourth step to foster a culture of landscape performance is to reflect and improve your practice based on your results and feedback. Landscape performance is not a one-time or static assessment, but a continuous and adaptive learning process that requires you to monitor, evaluate, and adjust your design over time. By reflecting and improving your practice, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, learn from your successes and failures, and discover new opportunities and challenges for your design. You can also use tools like the Landscape Performance Toolkit by the LAF to access guides, templates, and checklists to help you improve your performance evaluation skills and methods.

5 Engage and educate others

The fifth step to foster a culture of landscape performance is to engage and educate others about the importance and value of landscape performance. Landscape performance is not only a professional responsibility, but also a public service that can enhance the quality of life and well-being of people and nature. By engaging and educating others, you can raise awareness and understanding of landscape performance, build trust and credibility with your clients and stakeholders, and advocate for more support and resources for landscape performance. You can also use tools like the Landscape Performance Fast Facts by the LAF to access factsheets, infographics, and videos to help you communicate landscape performance to different audiences.

6 Stay updated and informed

The sixth and final step to foster a culture of landscape performance is to stay updated and informed about the latest trends, research, and innovations in landscape performance. Landscape performance is an evolving and emerging field that requires you to keep up with the changing needs, expectations, and standards of your design. By staying updated and informed, you can access new data, methods, and tools to enhance your performance evaluation, learn from the best practices and examples of others, and anticipate the future challenges and opportunities for your design. You can also use resources like the Landscape Performance Journal by the LAF to access peer-reviewed articles, reports, and books on landscape performance.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?