2023 RRSLA Internship Blog

Hey  y'all !      I hope this finds you well and I' m  looking forward to more posts and updates from you guys. As some of you know, I started working at Hoerr Schaudt on their Continuing Landscape Management (CLM) team! I've been here for about a month and I've already seen and learned so much.      The CLM team is something a little different – not a lot of firms have a whole team dedicated to continuing management and maintenance. Between seasonal rotations for containers and plant beds, design and planting enhancement plans, tree care and maintenance, and just general upkeep, our team is always busy!      I've gotten to work on a range of projects and I've been out on site a lot since I started working. I've been to a few sites around Chicago and its suburbs, including North Park University and Graceland Cemetery, I've been to estates in Michigan with views out over the lake, and I've been to a few houses in Newport, Rhode ...

Hello again! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life. Here is what I've been up to. I spent the month of June in Cambodia volunteering with some missionaries. It was an experience I will never forget. Very hot weather. Chaotic traffic. Really tasty tropical fruit. Some of kindest people.  One day while I was there, I got to visit a university in Phnom Penh that has an architecture and urban planning school. It was neat talking to the students and seeing their work. Several times while I was there, we would take a ferry across the Bassac River to visit schools in the province. Pretty cool, but a little sketchy.  After returning to the United States, I spent time with family for a few weeks, packed up my things, then moved to California! I found a job and a place to live in Santa Maria, which is close to where my girlfriend lives. I started work at PleinAire Design Group in August, and it's been good so far! I'm biking to work since I don't have a car yet, but the...

Hi, my friends. I leave for Lesotho on September 22 and am living at my parents' houses until then. I started off my summer doing some organic farming around Baton Rouge, and it was a fulfilling way to earn a few bucks. I killed 75 chickens in a day and learned how to butcher, I installed irrigation lines, and I picked watermelons, corn, cucumbers, beans, squash, tomatoes, and more. I really think that my long-term vision involves farming. It is a hard life, but worth it. The middle of my summer was divided into a number of small trips. One was to visit ya boy Logan in Asheville, then attend the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference with Eric Vanbergen and Will Reinhardt. Will is such a lad, equally professor and friend. As part of the Microsoft shutdown, I ended up stuck in the Atlanta for 30+ hours. Fortunately though, I made some friends from London in the process. Another voyage was to Colorado with my friend Chingyu. I came to many conclusions throughout our conversations together...