2011 Fall Conference
The ASLA Iowa Chapter Fall Conference took place last Friday, December 2nd at the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. This was a well attended event with a good cross section of speakers and presentations. The morning session started off with a brief Chapter Update by Michael Gaunt, Chapter Past President.
Jeremy Boka, a local landscape construction specialist presented a discussion on the challenges faced when coordinating construction work with plans and specifications when materials or timing don’t align with schedules and deadlines. This included discussion on common specification practices that don’t always fit with the industry standards for construction.
Brandon Renouf, a lighting engineer followed with a presentation on LED Lighting for Pedestrian and Pathway Lighting. Presented in Webinar format, Brandon discussed the development of LED lighting fixtures, the science behind color rendering and how it affects perception, and application uses for certain types of fixtures.
The afternoon session featured an in-depth presentation by Kevin Drees, Director of Animal Care and Conservation at the Blank Park Zoo. Kevin’s talk covered everything from the early development history of the Zoo to the projects completed this year and planned for the coming years. He also spoke briefly on the transition of the zoo from a public to a privately held entity and how that change has effected financing and fund raising.
The conference closed with a walking tour of new exhibit at the zoo including the newly remodeled Australian Experience, the Pinniped Exhibit (Sea Lions and Seals), and a look at where the Jaama Kwa Africa Exhibit – Phase 1 will soon start construction.
The next Chapter event will be the Winter Social, tentatively set for February in Ames. Look for more information to be posted as soon as it’s available.
As always functions like this would be difficult, if not impossible without our vendor sponsor's support. We would like to specifically thank the following companies for sponsoring this fall's event:
Platinum Level Sponsors
Bronze Level Sponsors