A love of nature is at the heart of my expertise in sustainable and educational landscapes. At the core of my work is the integration of ecology into the built landscape to create vibrant and evolving places. This includes attention soil systems and the integration of native plants to create drought tolerant landscapes and vital habitat for animals and humans. I believe that nature provides important benefits for humans and should be celebrated by providing signage, art and other educational opportunities.
I enjoy the design process from master planning and conceptual design through the development of details and construction documents. I find that working collaboratively with our partners results in a dynamic planning process and impressive results. I also have extensive construction experience, working in the field to ensure that the design intent is successfully translated into the finished product.
A LEED Accredited Professional since 2002, I have been a leader in the sustainability community, both nationally and in Baltimore. I served on the Board of Directors of the US Green Building Council’s Maryland Chapter as well as the Sustainable Sites Technical Advisory Group of USGBC National where I worked with a many like-minded professionals to contribute to the development of the LEED rating system.
I presented several seminars for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on “Conservation Landscaping for Federal Facilities”. I also wrote and produced a popular brochure “Bayscapes – A Homeowner’s Guide to Designing your Property” for the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay which has been in publication for over 10 years.
I have designed and coordinated volunteer installation of numerous
gardening projects that served to educate the public and to demonstrate
sustainable landscaping techniques to homeowners. Demonstration gardens were
installed as several U.S. Postal Service sites as well as the National Naval
Medical Center. In addition, Ms. Russell was a contributor to the United
States Postal Service’s Sustainable Site Guidelines.
I love to share my experience at conferences and have also authored numerous articles for publications including Landscape Architecture Magazine. I currently serve on the planning committee for the Green School Summit and the USGBC MD Program Committee. I also share my love of nature with children and adults in volunteer planting event. I am a volunteer gardener and sustainability advisor at Roland Park Elementary Middle School in Baltimore.