Partners in Tijuana River Action Month (TRAM) – Maria Lopez Vazquez – Landscape Architecture 2026
My work with Lorena Warner-Lara has allowed me to participate in planning the Tijuana River Action Month (TRAM), and it’s incredible how many ideas come up during these sessions. Besides the brainstorming and collaborations between organizations, there is a lot of resource sharing. In this meeting, we were hosted by Living Coast, where we set up our in-person meeting and were able to interact with the partner participants in person.
Besides enhancing the estuary and community outreach, every organization has its specific focus within the reserve, to mention a few:
I have been a member of San Diego Audubon for years, and it was nice to invite them to join forces with Tijuana River Estuary to raise awareness of the many birds that inhabit the estuary year-round and its importance in the Pacific flyway for migratory birds. I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend Karina Ornelas planning fantastic events for the birds and community.
In the last meeting, I spoke with Lynn Reizer-Heftmann, the president of The Tijuana River Valley Equestrian Association (TRVEA), and learned so much about horses and the importance of trail etiquette: Since the trails are used by horse riders, pedestrians, and cyclists, it is vital to understand how to interact with each when encountering them at the same trail. Horses are beautiful animals that need their space.
I am fortunate to be in an organization where it is easy to ask questions and meet new people and how this network grows.
Seeing the ‘Change’ | Upasana Pandey | Masters of Industrial Design 2025
Hello all, as I finally begin writing, it feels like a lot has been done in these 2 months already! Though I am originally from India, I had never been to Bengaluru before. I flew in 2 days before the start of my internship and I am staying with a friend – funnily an hour away from my office. Its been a new experience with new food, new language and new geographies.
I am doing my fellowship with Let’s Be The Change, an organization in Bengaluru India, which deals with Solid Waste Management. This blog covers my exploration of the office and the work they have been doing in the first 2.5 weeks.
My first day at work was at Intel!
Let’s Be The Change (LBTC) collaborated with Intel to organize a cloth repurpose drive at Intel campus on World Environment Day (June 5th). The goal of this initiative was to foster a sense of responsibility among Intel employees regarding the pressing issue of textile waste, encouraging them to embrace a low-waste lifestyle and sustainable fashion practices.
The drive was organized across three rooms at Intel: a donation room where clothes were collected, a room for making coasters, and another for sewing tote bags from old T-shirts. All rooms were led by women tailors from low-income communities to teach these skills to Intel employees.
15 Intel employees participated in the event, donating their old or damaged clothing items that they no longer needed. Volunteers learned to repurpose their garments creatively, crafting various types of bags suited to their personal needs. The drive resulted in the collection of over 12 kgs of textile waste.
Additionally, we set up an educational stall where I spoke with Intel employees and volunteers about the detrimental impact of fast fashion on our environment.
Operation Repurpose at Banashankari
Over the weekend, LBTC conducted Operation Repurpose for the residents of Banashankari 2nd stage.
Residents were informed prior via WhatsApp about the event so they gathered to drop off their collected waste. In exchange, they could choose a few of sustainable items as a reward for their effort.
The collected waste was then given to the local raddiwala/dry waste collectors (15kgs) and nearly 118kgs of dry and recyclable waste was given to Ecocrew (a dry waste collection startup) for further processing and recycling.
It was beautiful to see how the neighborhood gathered to dispose the waste effectively, as well as the volunteers who showed up to help carry the event. The event aimed to encourage community participation in recycling efforts while promoting environmentally friendly shopping choices.
It is particularly to be noted that Banashankari is a high-income neighborhood and seeing the rich take actions of their waste was much appreciated by all. At the same time, a smaller slum in another neighborhood adopted by LBTC called as Mestripalya/Bisleri Slum was more successful at segregating waste effectively for 1.5 years consecutively.
Appreciations and Goodbyes at the Bisleri Slum, Koramangala
Bisleri Slum, a LBTC adopted low-income community under BOSCH CSR has been regularly segregating their waste in 2 bins – 1 bags; wet, dry and hazardous waste. Each day, the waste picker gives them scores on their segregations. This segregation has been surveyed since 1.5 years.
Later that week, the community women of Bisleri Slum were rewarded with goodies to acknowledge their commitment and encourage them to sustain their efforts. The women were very happy to receive plates. They also mentioned that due to proper segregation, the waste dumps in the neighborhood has been reduced thus reducing the mosquitoes in the area.
It was a humbling experience to visit the slum and see how everyone managed and took responsibility of their waste. This event was a farewell event as LBTC was not needed anymore as the slum was self-sufficient in managing their waste. What a beautiful change!
Visit to Kalika Kendra, HSR
Finally, to end the exploration phase of the organization, I was suggested to visit Kalika Kendra, a park that has been made to teach sustainability, waste management and using eco-friendly practices.
One of my project (will cover this in upcoming blog) is to make Knowledge Hub at the LBTC office, so this was a visit to see existing places to take inspirations.
The First Page of a New Chapter–Mary Seol, B.Arch24
Hello from Atlanta! Summer back home has been wonderfully busy at the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking.
My time began with orientations around the facility, which includes: galleries and exhibition space, a classroom for workshops, the rare book library, and collections. Check out the GIANT Samson Paper Press in the lobby and Mr. Papermaker in the museum’s permanent collection gallery. Within my first week I was assisting with papermaking workshops for tours. I was pleasantly surprised by the range of ages visiting the museum from young elementary to adult.
The museum defines paper as meeting three qualities: paper must be made of plant material, macerated or beaten into a pulp, which is then (dispersed in water and) pulled into a sheet with a mould. During tours, guests are challenged to examine the role of paper in our lives. This is always one of my favorite moments as I can see visitors slowly realizing how frequently we encounter paper every day, ranging from books to cardboard boxes to currency. I believe the combination of tours and workshops where guests physically pull their own sheets of paper challenge the museum audiences to reconsider paper– both traditions and industries behind its production, and its possibilities as a healthier, renewable, and reusable alternative to other materials.
I was also excited to contribute my architectural knowledge by helping to model and draft the museum’s gallery spaces. For this project, a trusty tape measure and a laser measuring tool quickly helped me record measurements of the space. As it was my first time using SketchUp, I was quite nervous. Fortunately, I found myself quickly acquainting with the program. It was quite rewarding to later virtually tour a team of artists preparing for a 2025 exhibition, where I walked them through the gallery remotely. Hopefully, these models and plans will remain with the museum to aid in exhibition planning. Perhaps in the future, I may even host a workshop where I teach SketchUp to interested museum staff and volunteers.
Another exciting event was the virtual talk by guest artists James Ojascastro and Cekouat Elim León Peralta. Throughout the summer, the museum is hosting a series of virtual talks in conversation with its Bark Rhythms exhibition, featuring both traditional and contemporary pieces and artists on bark paper and bark cloth from around the world (Mexico, Hawaii, the Polynesian Islands, Indonesia, and Uganda). It was insightful to hear the artists discuss the role workshops and art played with engaging in their communities and their botany research on the traditional plants used for amate. For those interested, you can watch a recording of the talk, browse the museum website to watch other past talks, or register for the final talk of the Bark Rhythms virtual series on Hiapo from Niue & Hawaiian Barkcloth (August 07, 2024).
In the upcoming weeks, I will be learning and collaborating with the team on the upcoming fall exhibition on cardboard. We have started brainstorming fonts for the title wall, which I drafted into quick iterations on Illustrator and made a physical test with scrap cardboard. I’m looking forward to settling in more with the team, the space, and diving into the collections in the future.
Getting everyone together -Maria Lopez Vazquez -Landscape Architecture 2026
These past weeks have been inspiring.
I helped support the workshop in developing protocols and strategies for binational emergency response for Mexican decision-makers.
Government officials from different levels, non-profit organizations, and additional local stakeholders participated in a workshop to develop best practices for responding to emergencies involving flooding and landslides in the nearby urban canyons.
Listening to every work table conversation was exciting. People identified issues and informed one another with their expertise on how conditions could be improved. It was nice to humanize government officials, doing their best to collaborate and understand issues they were unaware of.
Due to my language skills, I felt very appreciated and able to contribute. Besides my boss, I am the only one on the team who speaks fluent Spanish. I had met many participants before and was able to address questions and concerns about the activities.
Tijuana River Action Month (TRAM) is in September and is dedicated to action and advocacy with the community and local partners. It was great to support and facilitate the first meeting, where we identified what possible events to host, who the partners are, and how we are going to engage the community on both sides of the border.
The second meeting is approaching, and I’m eager to hear what activities the partners have in mind.
The Grand Brainstorming – Alex Hogue, BRDD Illustration 2026
Hello! I’m super excited to update! Over the past couple of weeks, I have gotten into a good rhythm with The Grand Adventure; I’ve learned a lot more about the organization and its various programs, and I’ve been brainstorming what form my project should really take!
I’ve made quite a few smaller illustrations over the past weeks and explored visual communication related to my interests in scientific illustration, but I haven’t quite felt like my work was as impactful as I wanted it to be. So, I’ve started really thinking about the organization’s program and what might make a tangible impact in the program and the children’s experience. What has really stuck out to me is the impact that can be made through the act of art making itself…
The in-person programming hasn’t quite begun yet for the summer, but “Boundless” has been in full swing. Boundless is the virtual pediatric program with interactive patient-directed experiences and flexible programming that support children who are unable to travel due to ongoing cancer treatment. This program involves partnering with various local organizations based in Jackson Hole and Yellowstone such as the National Elk Refuge, Avalanche Dogs, The National Museum of Wildlife Art, and much more. For kids who may be “bound” to their hospital room or home due to treatment, this program is incredibly accessible.
However, even though this program is quite engaging with the interactive staff who guide the children through the virtual experience, there are certainly limitations to this virtual format, and I’ve been brainstorming ways to make this program more interactive and hands-on for the kids. Inspired by one of the children who spontaneously decided to create an illustration of the wildlife during one of the Boundless sessions (see pic in my last post), I’ve come up with the idea to create some sort of coloring book that relates to the Wyoming landscape and topics of the programming. I think art can be a powerful tool, and this way, the children can engage with the program more actively and even continue to engage with it once a session is over!
Another exciting thing I was able to be a part of was celebrating one of the kid’s final cancer treatments! I was able to meet her on the Boundless sessions, and she has been a part of The Grand Adventure programs for the past couple of years. It was so exciting to see the impact that this program has had on her and the network of people in the organization who care about her and have supported her throughout the years. To celebrate the end of her treatment, she chose her favorite organization to do a special celebratory program just for her! She chose the Teton Raptor Center, which makes sense because she knows so much about raptors!! (meanwhile I didn’t even know what a raptor technically was before this… but it is a bird of prey, like hawks, eagles, falcons, and owls) Anyway, I once again learned so much! But to celebrate, I made a little raptor illustration for her, which she loved – again art can make an impact.
I look forward to continuing being a part of The Grand Adventure this summer and working to bring art to their amazing programs!! I will be traveling to the mountains for the in-person program– Inspiration Point– this week, and I look forward to updating with everything I see and do and exploring how this might shape the work I create in the future!
Touching Ground in Ghana – Denzel Amoah, MLA Landscape Architecture 2024.
This Monday officially marks the third week I have been in Accra, Ghana working in partnership with the Ghanaian Youth Environmental Movement (GYEM) and it has been an interesting journey so far. I landed in Accra the night of June 8th and was greeted by a relative who I hadn’t seen since I was much younger. After this reunion I was taken to Achimota, the peri-urban area of Accra that I would be stationed in for the summer.
This first week was one in which I felt myself begin to acclimate to what it means to be an Accra local. This meant adjusting my relationship to time in terms of both recovering from jet-lag as well as coming to terms with what locals call GMT (Ghanaman Time). Different from the Greenwich Mean Time Zone allocation, Ghanaman Time refers to how lateness is typical and to be expected. I found this frustrating at first but also came to terms with the fact that I should not be imposing my Western relationship with time and promptness onto others.
Outside of my very much needed adjustment period, the first week consisted of not only meeting with the GYEM team and getting an understanding of what the summer would look like but also exploring the many different parts of Accra.
Being a part of the operations at GYEM has been an insightful experience so far. GYEM is really active in local climate and pollution advocacy efforts and being able to experience the gravity of their work firsthand was empowering. I was able to attend two major climate and pollution events that GYEM had been a part of. The event titled “Kokuromotie for Climate Awards and Climate for Peace Dialogue took place at the British Council located in Accra near its National Theatre. This event consisted of a discussion panel of different experts and community stakeholders ranging from artists to ecologists. The event was followed by a speech given by Joshua Alabi, a member of former President Mahama’s cabinet, about climate change and the futurity of Ghana. The second conference, Climate Ghana Conference 2024, took place later that weekend at the Accra World Trade Center in which similar discussions regarding climate action took place. One major difference between this CGC 2024 and Kokuromotie was that there were more community organizations present which allowed me to gain an understanding for the wide array of different types of climate change based organizations in Accra.
Outside of working with GYEM and adjusting to the local GMT, Accra has been a wonderful city and I have been enjoying connecting with the local artists and designers.
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