The Home Landscape Lab: Unlocking Small Business Opportunities for a Biodiverse Future - 1.25 PDH (LA CES/HSW)

Recorded On: 10/12/2025

Using their home landscapes as test plots, three sole practitioners showcase how everyday urban and suburban lots can drive biodiversity and environmental change. Discover lessons learned through hands-on experimentation and how to amplify them into business opportunities, scaling impact through advocacy and partnerships.

Learning objectives:

Learn how three landscape architects integrate biodiversity in their home landscapes across different urban and climate contexts, challenging the norm of the “perfect lawn” in everyday American residential properties.
Explore lessons learned through hands-on experimentation with planting and seeding native species, including documenting plant establishment, growth evolution, and maintenance efforts.
Learn how to apply these lessons to help clients navigate the process beyond design, including initial investment, funding opportunities, and maintenance requirements—ultimately setting the course for a successful business.
Explore how to scale the impact of pilot projects on biodiversity by leveraging partnerships with homeowners associations (HOAs), local environmental groups, land trusts, conservancy agencies, and contractors.

Wanjing Ji, ASLA, PLA

Founder and Principal

Ping Design LLC

Wanjing Ji is the founder of Ping, a landscape architecture firm with a purpose of celebrating everyday design object and bringing design excellence to a larger audience. Her practice focuses on creating meaningful spaces that enrich urban living and promote environmental sustainability. Known for her ability to lead complex teams, she balances rigorous design exploration with efficient project management. In addition to her practice, Wanjing is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota. She also actively engages in the ASLA community by serving on the National Education Advisory Committee and as co-chair of Education and Professional Development in ASLA Minnesota.

Emily Milliman, ASLA, PLA

Owner / Landscape Architect

Milliman Design Studio PLLC

Emily is the Owner of Milliman Design Studio, a landscape architecture practice that crafts vibrant outdoor spaces through tailored material and planting solutions that respond to local ecologies. She has over a decade of international landscape architecture experience working on adaptive reuse, mixed use, neighborhoods, and urban landscapes. A registered Landscape Architect in North Carolina and Virginia, Emily holds an MLA from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a BA in Architecture from Miami University. Emily's work has been recognized by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects, ASLA, and the City of Raleigh’s Sir Walter Raleigh Awards.

Jessica Wolff, ASLA, PLA, LEED AP

Owner

Lupine Site Design

Jessica Wolff, a registered Landscape Architect (PLA) in southeastern Pennsylvania, is the owner of Lupine Site Design. Inspired by Pittsburgh’s industrial heritage and familial coal mining roots, she focuses on transforming brownfield sites into sustainable spaces. Passionate about “learning landscapes,” she recently led a rain garden project at her children’s school. Her work includes urban streetscapes, park sites, residential properties, stormwater management sites, and wildflower meadows. An educator for 11 years, she has taught design and graphics at The BAC, Thomas Jefferson University, Northeastern University and Longwood Gardens, earning teaching awards and publishing her thesis at Harvard GSD.