This summer, ASLA launched its DREAM BIG with Minecraft Design Camps for 125 middle and high school students in Sacramento, California and Washington, DC. The program expanded on ASLA’s Career Discover effort to introduce students to landscape architecture with its 2021 Minecraft Design Competition where students from Miami, New York, and Washington, DC convened virtually in a 6-hour design-off.

ASLA’s 2022 camps allowed students from diverse backgrounds to collaborate with local ASLA chapters and immerse themselves in design learning around outdoor spaces. Mentor Skip Mezger, FASLA held design workshops for students at West Campus Engineering School, and University of Georgia student Alexis Summer Kellner, ASLA, led students in investigations of outdoor spaces and design at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science.

        Photo: ASLA Minecraft Design Camp at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science

 
   Photo: ASLA Minecraft Design Camp at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science

Students learned about ASLA’s mission areas, including green infrastructure, equity in design, climate resilience, transportation for all, water and stormwater, and parks and recreation. Working in teams, students applied design concepts while building an outdoor space of their choice. All students presented their designs at the end of the camp.

The camps were part of ASLA’s pre-event celebrations for PreK-12 Summit, DREAM BIG with Design, scheduled for Thursday, September 22 and Friday, September 23.

Sign up here to learn more about DREAM BIG with Design 2022.

Please direct questions about ASLA Career Discovery and Diversity to Lisa J. Jennings, Senior Manager, Career Discovery and Diversity at discover@asla.org. 

About Minecraft
Created by Mojang, Minecraft requires players to design and break apart a variety of blocks in three-dimensional worlds to create living and community spaces and structures. Microsoft designed a Minecraft Education Edition in 2016 that is now used by school communities globally through Discovery Education.

About ASLA's Inaugural PreK-12 Summit, DREAM BIG with Design
In 2021, ASLA launched its inaugural PreK-12 Summit which included two full days of exciting virtual sessions led by landscape architects from Legoland Florida, Walt Disney Imagineering, the Boy Scouts, the Environmental Protection Agency, and more. ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen kicked off the event which included program highlights such as Story Time (presented in Spanish, Mandarin, and American Sign Language), an educator session on STEM and Next Generation Science Standards from the Chief Learning Officer at the National Science Teachers Association, and a surprise appearance from award-winning children's musician, Billy Jonas who led our prek-grade 5 attendees into their conference break with his hit song L-M-N-O-P Break.

If you missed ASLA’s Inaugural PreK-12 Summit -- DREAM BIG with Design: a Showcase of Landscape Architecture and PreK-12 Design Learning -- you may access the recordings.