Congratulation to our summer 2022 intern Safiyya Smith for successfully completing her internship and winning our hearts. We have not doubt Safiyya is on her way to making a difference in this world built upon the new term she coined “pecological artscapes.” Pecological means people + ecology. Pecological artscapes elicit emotional response, promote ecology, incorporate art and bring communities together. While assisting with project work, Safiyya honed her technical skills and completed a conceptual park design for a Rainier Valley neighborhood through the study of park precedents, models, a site study and public outreach. We hope her experience serves as a launching pad for Safiyya’s future endeavors.

This is our second year of participating in the Diversity by Design internship program through the Landscape Architecture Program of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. The mission of the program is to prepare students from underrepresented communities to become landscape architecture leaders. This amazing program has produced more African American landscape architects than any other accredited degree program in the country. Go Aggies!