Save the Date! Great Lakes Region Climate Action Seminar
January 29-30, 2026
virtual seminar

The ASLA State Chapters for Upstate NY, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota and the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects invite you to attend the 2026 Great Lakes Region Climate Action Seminar. This is the fourth event in a series aimed to explore and expand landscape architecture’s role regarding climate change impacts occurring in urban and natural systems across the Great Lakes Region.

The theme for the 2026 Seminar is Disaster & Refuge in the Great Lakes: Preparing for Vulnerability and Possibility in the Climate Crisis.

JANUARY 29, 2026

Day 1 Schedule (9 am – 2:30 pm Central Time)

1.     9-10 am CT (1.0 LACES HSW)

Keynote Title TBD Presenter: Jonah Susskind, Director of Climate Strategy, SWA

2.     10-11:30 am CT (1.5 LACES HSW)

a.     The Port Lands Flood Protection Project: Leading with Landscape, Presenter: Shannon Baker

b.     Resilient by Necessity, Successful by Design: Constructing Climate-ready Shorelines, Presenters:  Herb Sweeney, Matthew Bird, Paloma Garcia

3.     11:45 am – 12:45 pm CT (1.0 LACES HSW)

Illinois Beach State Park Shoreline Stabilization: Ecologically Driven Habitat Design Adds Value to Climate Response Infrastructure Investments, Presenters: Heidi Natura, Hannah Cusick, Jessica Gonzalez

4.     12:45-2:15 pm CT (1.5 LACES HSW)

a.     Waste to Refuge: Salvaged Wood for Climate-Resilient Design, Presenter: J. Zac Tolbert

b.     Same City, Different Heat: Designing for Climate Resiliency in the Urban Age, Presenters:  Yi Zhang

c.     MKSK Carbon Sequestration Field Guides, Presenters:  Joe Chambers, David Stokes

d.     Day 1 Closing Panel Discussion, Moderator:  Sara Constantineau, ASLA Upstate NY Chapter

JANUARY 30, 2026

Day 2 Schedule (9 am – 2:30 pm Central Time)

5.     9-10 am CT (1.0 LACES HSW)

Opening Session Title TBD, Presenter: Katrina Kelly-Pitou, Director of Climate Adaptation and Economics

6.     10-11:30 am CT (1.5 LACES HSW)

a.     Ontario Lake Huron Shoreline Futures: Managed Retreat and Commoning, Presenter: Manuel Spiller

b.     Resilient Edges: From Disaster to Refuge through Communication and Collaboration, Presenters:  Jenny Hill, Ram Espino, Semiha Caglayan, Sharon Lam

7.     11:45-12:45 pm CT (1.0 LACES HSW)

a.     Navigating Conservation Planning through Social and Ecological Structures in Northwest Indiana, Presenter: Grace Lentz, Aaron Thompson

b.     Envisioning Climate Futures in the Great Lakes: Cape Vincent, NY, Presenters:  Hamby Hamby, Robert Katz, Tess Van-Mikel, William Blackley, Marina Belotserkovskaya

8.     12:45-2:15 pm CT (1.5 LACES HSW)

a.     A Breath of Fresh Air! One Community’s Search for Environmental Justice, Presenter:  Brett Weidl

b.     Increasing Public Support for Climate Change Policies to Strengthen Resilience, Presenters:  Sam B. Lovall, John H. Hartig, Stephanie Smith

c.     Day 2 Closing Panel Discussion, Moderator:  Sara Constantineau, ASLA Upstate NY Chapter