Headwaters thinking: The role of ecological design in uncertain times

An illustrated talk by Paul Cawood Hellmund, ASLA

This talk explores the design implications of the statement by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (April 2014) that “...thousands of individual site-level development and design decisions can help achieve emissions reduction benefits, and not just large scale planning decisions.” If that statement is true, then there is special impetus for ecological design and planning of sites everywhere. It’s not just climate destabilization that demands such whole-systems considerations in designing even small sites, but also food and water insecurity, species loss, and rapid urbanization.

The talk will be presented by Professor Paul Cawood Hellmund, who is the president of the Conway School and director of its graduate program in sustainable landscape planning and design. Much of his professional design career has focused on the re-imagining and reuse of contaminated lands. The Conway School, which offers a ten-month, intensive master of science degree in ecological design, is the only institution of its kind in North America. As a central part of their education, its graduate students work on real projects for real clients, and graduate with a portfolio of near-professional level work.

Professor Hellmund is also co-author of Designing Greenways (2006) and he co-edited Ecology of Greenways (1993), which was recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects with a national award.