Join us in congratulating Adele Ashkar, CPS Associate Dean for Academic Excellence, for receiving the 2017 Marcy Damon Conservation Landscaping Award. She was honored by the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council (CCLC), a regional non-profit, for her long-time devotion to sustainable landscaping and excellence in education.
She is the third recipient of the annual award, which was presented at the Council’s kick-off ceremony for their sustainable landscaping conference on Nov. 2.
Dr. Ashkar, who holds the industry-specific distinction of Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects(FASLA), has been a dedicated advocate for the principles and practice of conservation landscaping through her many years directing the Landscape Design and Sustainable Landscape programs at George Washington University. Under Ashkar’s guidance, GW established a unique master’s degree in Sustainable Landscapes, bringing that program to the cutting edge of sustainable design theory and practice. Currently Ashkar teaches design courses at GW and serves as an adviser to faculty and students in the Sustainable Landscapes Certificate Program.
Her dedication to sustainable landscapes and conservation landscaping continues through her efforts in support of the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional Certification pilot program.
Prior to joining GW, Ashkar practiced landscape architecture at the Office of Dan Kiley in Charlotte, VT, then at the design firm HOK, Inc., in New York City and Washington, DC, where she managed large design and installation projects.
She has authored several books on landscape architecture and design and she is a frequent speaker at conferences and events, including previous CCLC conferences, and has served as design studio critic for Master of Landscape Architecture programs at Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland.
Ashkar is actively involved in GW’s interdisciplinary campus sustainability efforts and she helped lead the award-winning Team Capitol DC’s project in the 2013 Solar Decathlon.
The Marcy Damon Conservation Landscaping Award was established by the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council to honor former Council chair and Maryland naturalist and educator, Marcy Damon. Damon, age 64, passed away in June 2013. Damon spent the last 12 years of her career contributing to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s effort to “Save the Bay,” but it was a life-long love affair with nature that inspired her personal and professional dedication to sustainable landscaping, habitat preservation, and environmental education.