2026 ASLA Oregon Design Symposium
Saturday, April 25th, 8:00am - 5:00pm @ the World Forestry Center
Click here to register TODAY! Early Bird registration is available until March 30th.
Generation: RE
What does it look like to design regeneratively? How can we move beyond mitigation to actively restore ecological systems, repair social and cultural relationships, and strengthen the capacity of landscapes to evolve over time? “Generation: RE” aims to advance landscape architecture as a catalyst for ecological and social renewal.
Landscape architects are uniquely positioned to work across scales, linking plants, soil, water, biodiversity, infrastructure, and community knowledge to deploy regeneration for maximum impact. The symposium brings together practitioners, researchers, and fellow travelers to examine how regenerative thinking can be embedded in design processes, policy, and built work. It asks critical questions: Whose knowledge guides regeneration? How do landscapes heal? And how can design support living systems working within an extractive-based world?
See below for our speaker lineup!
Alpha lo
Alpha Lo is a scientist specializing in water research. He leads the Climate Water Project, where he writes the project’s newsletter and hosts its podcast of the same name. He has taught water-focused content in Permaculture Design Courses, including how designing landscapes to infiltrate rainwater can enhance precipitation recycling (aka the small water cycle). He has studied physics and geography at the graduate level, where his research explored how water in the landscape influences rainfall.
dan Chase
Daniel Chase serves as Director, Fisheries, Aquatics and Design for the Western Region.
Daniel woodroffe
As President and Founder of dwg., Daniel is a leading voice of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at a global scale with offices in Austin and London. His award-winning work operates at the interplay of nature, art and science where Landscape Architecture has the power to create positive change and encourage social engagement. By advancing environmental stewardship he is passionate about creating landscapes that are not only spaces for meaningful connection between people and the environment but are also performative and resilient.
His work spans a multitude of scales and reflect a passion for the honest use of authentic materials, local crafts and trades that leverage a rich sense of place and distinctiveness that is unique to each project.
Daniel currently serves as Interim Chair of Design Austin and has previously served as the President of Texas ASLA and Chair of the ASLA Central Texas Chapter He has also served as a board member of the Downtown Austin Alliance and AIA Austin, the President of the Austin Parks Foundation and the Chair of the Waterfront Planning and Advisory Board in Austin. He is the recipient of the 2021 Kay Tiller Texas ASLA Chapter Service Award.
David montgomery
David R. Montgomery is a MacArthur Fellow and professor of geomorphology at the University of Washington where he studies landscape evolution and the effects of geological processes on ecological systems and human societies. He has investigated geological controls on the height of mountain ranges, how forestry practices affect landsliding on steep slopes, and how farming practices that degrade soils limit the longevity of human civilizations. His award-winning popular-science books include Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, The Hidden Half of Nature, Growing a Revolution, and most recently What Your Food Ate: How to Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health. Combining ancient wisdom with modern science, his books show how regenerative practices are good for farmers, consumers, and the environment.
Matt taylor
Panel moderator.
Matt Taylor is a nonprofit leader with over 30 years experience in environmental education, recreation, and conservation. Matt previously served as executive director of the Adventure Sports Center International (2007-2012) and Westwind Stewardship Group (2012-2020), and before that worked as a middle school science teacher. Throughout his career, and now with Portland Botanical Gardens, Matt connects people to nature through conservation work, experiential learning, and inclusive programs. Matt holds a degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies from Yale and is a two-time Olympian in canoeing.
