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We can create a more sustainable, just, and resilient future.

Our patterns of development need to change in a way that reimagines how we relate to our environment, our resources, and each other. Landscape solutions – how we arrange and design our cities, communities, and their outdoor spaces – are fundamental to creating this alternate future.

LAF’s work is founded in optimism, driven by passion, and sustained by the collective efforts of all who believe that landscapes have the power to affect the world and change people’s lives.

People sit by the restored Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul at night
Together We Can Transform the World Through Design

About LAF

Landscape architecture has an essential role to play.

Uniquely trained to design for natural resources, natural processes, and people, landscape architects play a fundamental role in solving the complex, interrelated environmental, social, and economic problems we face today.

From our very first initiative in 1966 to our current call to action, LAF is identifying priorities and strengthening the discipline to take on defining issues like climate change, rapid urbanization, species extinction, and inequity. By investing in research, scholarships, and leadership, we work to increase the influence and impact of landscape architects to create a healthier, more equitable and sustainable world.

30 members of the LAF board and staff smile on a roofdeck overlooking the Washington Monument

For over 50 years, LAF has provided leadership and resources to empower landscape architects to use their unique skills to change the world.

The mission of the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) is to support the preservation, improvement, and enhancement of the environment. Through its leadership and philanthropic activities, LAF advances the body of knowledge and supports innovative projects and initiatives needed not only for the landscape architecture discipline but for the many other individuals and organizations who share LAF’s mission and are critical to its success.

LAF invests in research, scholarships, and leadership initiatives to increase the capacity of the landscape architecture discipline by:

  • Bolstering the profession to broaden and deepen the pool of talent, drive innovation for improved practices, and create new business opportunities for the landscape industry
  • Providing support for students to diversify the pool of talent and increase academic opportunity
  • Investing in research to expand our knowledge and help designers, policymakers, non-profit organizations, community leaders, and advocates make the case for more sustainable policies and solutions
  • Championing emerging issues and new modes of practice
  • Communicating the value of landscape architecture and exemplary design

The landscape architecture profession — whether public, private or academic — needs an unbiased voice to give us a neutral, clear vision of what’s important. LAF is that voice: multilateral, inclusive, listening, and effective at developing effective messages, accessible tools and products that support our practice.

Joseph Brown, FASLA

Our Impact

Through thought leadership, signature programs, and strategic initiatives, LAF provides resources, knowledge sharing, and inspiration to help landscape architects make their vital contribution.

Our annual reports offer a snapshot of significant activities and accomplishments. In 2022, LAF continued to empower the next generation and invest in the future of landscape architecture. Highlights include:
- $422,000 given out through our signature programs
- 400+ attendees at our Grounding the Green New Deal Summit
- $167,000 in scholarships awarded to 27 students
- Marking 15 years of our Olmsted Scholars Program and 5 years of the LAF Fellowship for Innovation and Leadership

See the boxes below for more about our ongoing programs.

Stephanie Rolley, President of LAF, makes her closing remarks from a podium at the LAF Annual Benefit while a large group of student leaders looks on

LAF is grateful to the many individuals and organizations that provide financial support towards fulfilling our mission to support the preservation, improvement, and enhancement of the environment.

Much of what LAF is able to accomplish would not be possible without the thought leadership and financial investment of our major supporters, including ASLA, which provides over $125,000 of in-kind support annually.

Supporters