AIA Arizona Committee on the Environment (COTE) + ASLA Urban Ecology Hike

Explore landscape as infrastructure on an urban ecology hike of Indian Bend Wash with AIA Arizona COTE + ASLA. All are welcome! What can we learn when we stop thinking of nature as something to design around—and instead begin designing with it? All are welcome on Thursday, October 15 at 4:30PM, for a guided walk through Scottsdale’s Indian Bend Wash, a landmark example of how landscape can function simultaneously as infrastructure, habitat, and public amenity. Led by urban ecology experts, we will explore the ideas and ecological principles behind this innovative landscape, including nature-based infrastructure, flood resilience, and multifunctional landscapes. We’ll consider how designing for water can produce landscapes that are not only more resilient, but also more vibrant, accessible, and enjoyable. Once envisioned as a conventional flood-control channel, Indian Bend Wash was transformed into a connected network of parks, greenbelts, golf courses, and open spaces that accommodates periodic flooding while creating valuable places for people and wildlife. Presented by AIA Arizona Committee on the Environment (COTE) and AZASLA, this walk offers an opportunity to step outside the traditional boundaries of architecture and landscape architecture and consider ecology as a design partner, one that can help shape more resilient, adaptable, and connected places. Urban Ecology Hike Facilitators: • Dr. Dan Childers, Professor, School of Sustainability at ASU and Urban Ecologist • Harry Cooper, Director of Water Conservation Innovation for the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative (AWII) • Luke Ramsey, PhD Student, School of Sustainability at ASU Participants will meet at El Dorado Park (1637 N 77th St, Scottsdale). Attendees will receive 1.0 HSW LU from AIA. For ASLA members upon request you can receive a certificate of participation to use towards continuing education. All are welcome to attend. Please register in advance. Free for AIA and ASLA members. Non members can attend for $10.