February 8, 2024
Landscape architecture and regional & community planning department receives national funding
The landscape architecture and regional & community planning department at Kansas State University recently celebrated its new funded collaboration with the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program.
The department had a two-day visit from National Park Service landscape architects David Thomson and Kat Schiffler from the Midwest Region office in Omaha, Nebraska.
On Wednesday, Jan. 24, students and faculty gathered for a charrette to develop ecology-, transportation- and visitor-experience-focused interventions for Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and its shared boundary with Strong City. The charrette was co-led by the National Park Service guests and a group of students who visited Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve to conduct inventory and analysis a few days prior. The proposals generated will inform long-term visioning conversations among the program's team, the preserve's superintendent and other stakeholders about the preserve. Following the charrette, students and faculty were able to speak one-on-one with the National Park Service guests about internship/employment and collaboration opportunities, respectively.
On Thursday, Jan. 25, Thomson and Schiffler delivered a presentation on National Park Service career paths and the national reach of Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program's work. Afterward, they visited classes to see student projects, discuss software they use, and answer any remaining questions about the program's work. These events were jointly supported by the program's cooperative agreement and the Susan and Paul Kissinger Award.
National Park Service's Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program provides professional planning, design and technical expertise to help community groups; nonprofit organizations; tribal governments; national parks; and local, state and federal land management agencies with conservation and outdoor recreation projects. Per the department's cooperative agreement, the program annually funds an account to cover time, travel and other project-related costs that faculty and students incur in providing services for projects. Funding is currently $10,000 and can be increased as needed.