Future Trees: Strategies for Designing and Managing Canopies for Institutional Landscapes - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Recorded On: 10/12/2025

Institutional landscapes face historic canopy decline from climate change, storms, neglect, and weak regeneration. Without decisive action, these canopies may disappear within decades. This session ignites new thinking around revitalizing institutional landscapes through strategic, long-term canopy planning. Experts share practical, action-driven strategies to prepare trees for the next 50 years.

Learning objectives:

Analyze the primary factors driving canopy decline in institutional landscapes and understand why passive regeneration alone fails to sustain healthy tree cover.
Identify critical site-specific constraints—such as irrigation, deer pressure, invasive species, and climate shifts—to guide adaptive management and planting strategies.
Compare different installation approaches (ecological vs. traditional) for achieving both immediate impact and long-term canopy resilience.
Evaluate how thoughtful species selection—balancing native genetics, climate-assisted migration, and diverse reproduction—builds a robust, ecologically resilient canopy.

Thomas Rainer, ASLA, PLA

Principal

Phyto Studio

Thomas Rainer is a leading voice in ecological landscape design and a registered landscape architect based in Arlington, Virginia. As co-founder of Phyto Studio, he creates innovative, plant-driven landscapes for public and private spaces, with notable work at the Arboretum at Penn State, Toronto Botanical Garden, and over 125 residential gardens. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Landscape Architecture Magazine, and Architectural Digest. A former instructor at George Washington University, Thomas teaches internationally and is co-author of the influential book Planting in a Post-Wild World, which explores the future of ecological planting design.

Sara Evans

Director of Living Collections and Curator

The Green-Wood Cemetery

Born and raised in Maryland, she developed a deep sense of environmental stewardship and community responsibility through her involvement in Chesapeake Bay, Patuxent River, and Potomac River conservation projects with her church and school volunteer groups. She completed her undergrad degree at Brooklyn College where she earned a BA in Urban Sustainability with concentration in environmental science and sociology. At Green-Wood, Sara’s passion for understanding intricate connections between nature, people, and their interactions comes to life. She manages the plant records of Green-Wood’s arboretum, supervises environmental research initiatives, curates the living collections, and oversees the operations of the horticulture department.

Rachel A. Heslop

Senior Project Coordinator

Oak Spring Garden Foundation

Rachel Heslop is the Senior Project Coordinator at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, set up by Rachel “Bunny” Mellon to facilitate and inspire scholarship and public dialogue on the history and future of plants. Originally from the UK, she holds a BA in Archaeology and History of Art and an MA in Egyptian Archaeology, both from UCL. After a decade in the rare book trade, she studied for a new career in the horticultural industry. On moving to the United States, she worked for the landscape architecture firm Oehme, van Sweden in Washington, DC, moving to OSGF in 2023.