Cal Poly Pomona Rakes in Landscaping Awards

Landscape architecture students from Cal Poly Pomona recently received five awards, more than any other university, in the 2008 Student Awards competition of the American Society of Landscape Architecture.

In the international competition, Cal Poly outperformed institutions such as the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, the University of Pennsylvania School of Design and Cornell University Department of Landscape Architecture, according to the university's Web site.

"Our students won an impressive 25 percent of the total awards given out this year," said Jerry Taylor, interim chairman of the Landscape Architecture Department.

"Two of the five were Awards of Excellence, which are not given out each year and honor only exceptional projects. The quality of our students and faculty advisers is truly outstanding."

One of the Awards of Excellence went to a proposed revitalization plan for a dilapidated area in South Los Angeles. It includes improvements to alleys, vacant lots and an industrial park, as well as introducing a new open-air market.

The students who conducted the project were Raphael Garcia, Sarah Lopez, Leslie Lum and Ana Tabuena. Faculty advisers were Joan H. Woodward, Ken McCown, Philip N. Pregill and Doug Delgado.

The second Award of Excellence went to the team from Cal Poly that produces Subsurface Magazine, a publication devoted to the exploration of landscape, landscape architecture, and current issues.

The students honored were Joshua Llaneza, Jennifer Rueda, Courtney Embrey, Mitch Howard, Lancelot Hunter, Joel Carrasco, Bahar Mahgerefteh, Judy Lee and Kimberley Kearney. Advisers were Andrew Wilcox and James Becerra.

Another project honored was a new waste management system for two remote Inyo County communities - Shoshone and Tecopa - that would significantly reduce their use of landfills through composting and recycling most of their waste.

Rueda completed this project, assisted by advisers Edward Fonda, Susan Mulley and Wilcox.

A fourth award went to students who proposed a plan to preserve Chollas Creek in San Diego.

The student team was Jacey Garrison, Emily Kiefer, Ceanatha La Grange, and Mario Benito. Advisers were McCown, Woodward, Pregill and Delgado.

The final prize went to a film on the Inyo County community of Shoshone.

The student team was Llaneza, Embrey and Matthew Kizu, with advisers Woodward and Wilcox.

"Students look at important issues in the world, issues that area a challenge in society," said Mulley, assistant professor of landscape architecture. "They try to come up with real solutions that people can use."