SITES AP Credential Holders Bring Nature-Based Solutions to Landscape Design
6/13/2023Leave a Comment
EYP project in Hackensack, New Jersey. Photo credit: Halkin Mason Photography.
The SITES Accredited Professional (SITES AP) provides professionals with the opportunity to increase and demonstrate their knowledge, expertise and commitment to sustainable land development. The SITES AP credential applies to landscape architects, sustainability consultants, planners, ecologists, urban designers and others interested in nature-based solutions, optimizing ecosystem services, and overall, ensuring outcomes of a development project are sustainable, resilient and regenerative.
Jessica A. Petro, PLA, ASLA, SITES AP, is the lead designer and landscape architect spearheading architecture and engineering firm EYP’s focus on creating high-performance landscapes. She spoke with SITES on her plans for their practice.
“Including a sustainable landscape design discipline into EYP’s services allows us to incorporate our sustainable practice from the ground up, leading to healthier, more productive environments for clients, our communities and the site itself,” Petro explains. “Being in-house allows us to be ‘at the table’ during initial decisions. SITES’ prerequisite of having an integrated team approach is vital, enabling designers to influence key decisions early in the design process that can continue to inform sustainable decisions throughout the project. A diverse perspective, influenced by many, provides a richer outcome where humans and nature can flourish.”
Petro looks for opportunities to incorporate the SITES framework into each project. She achieved her SITES Accredited Professional, or SITES AP credential, to provide expertise on client projects, aid in the project’s certification, and leverage the knowledge and resources that accompany the credential for continual learning and best practices.
"I appreciate that SITES is performance-based and not prescriptive, which enables the design team to make informed decisions and leverage innovative solutions,” notes Petro. “SITES serves as an incredible resource throughout the project.”
Learn more about the SITES AP credential, which establishes a common framework to define the profession of sustainable landscape design and development.
ASLA members receive a discount on the SITES AP exam. Enter your ASLA member ID on the SITES AP exam registration page for the discount.
Author: Sumner Byrne, the Sustainable SITES Initiative
Jessica A. Petro, PLA, ASLA, SITES AP, is the lead designer and landscape architect spearheading architecture and engineering firm EYP’s focus on creating high-performance landscapes. She spoke with SITES on her plans for their practice.
“Including a sustainable landscape design discipline into EYP’s services allows us to incorporate our sustainable practice from the ground up, leading to healthier, more productive environments for clients, our communities and the site itself,” Petro explains. “Being in-house allows us to be ‘at the table’ during initial decisions. SITES’ prerequisite of having an integrated team approach is vital, enabling designers to influence key decisions early in the design process that can continue to inform sustainable decisions throughout the project. A diverse perspective, influenced by many, provides a richer outcome where humans and nature can flourish.”
Petro looks for opportunities to incorporate the SITES framework into each project. She achieved her SITES Accredited Professional, or SITES AP credential, to provide expertise on client projects, aid in the project’s certification, and leverage the knowledge and resources that accompany the credential for continual learning and best practices.
"I appreciate that SITES is performance-based and not prescriptive, which enables the design team to make informed decisions and leverage innovative solutions,” notes Petro. “SITES serves as an incredible resource throughout the project.”
Learn more about the SITES AP credential, which establishes a common framework to define the profession of sustainable landscape design and development.
ASLA members receive a discount on the SITES AP exam. Enter your ASLA member ID on the SITES AP exam registration page for the discount.
Author: Sumner Byrne, the Sustainable SITES Initiative
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