2025 Promotion / Peter's Promotion to Design Coordinator!
Carducci Associates is excited to announce that Peter Stanley has taken on the role of Design Coordinator! This well-deserved promotion reflects Peter’s problem-solving skills and the impressive growth he’s demonstrated while designing a wide range of projects this year.
Peter is known for his thorough, detail-oriented approach and his dedication to continuous growth. His contributions have been key in ensuring our projects are delivered to a high level of quality. Public school projects have been particularly rewarding for Peter, as he values the opportunity to design inclusive spaces that communities take pride in. Collaborating with large teams on these projects has provided him with a deeper understanding of the many thoughtful considerations that go into every aspect of design.
Currently, Peter is working on a diverse array of projects, including community parks, outdoor sports facilities, residential subdivisions, and K-12 public schools. This breadth of experience continues to shape his expertise and expand his knowledge in the landscape architecture field. His straightforward, easygoing nature—paired with his sharp sense of humor—makes him a true asset to the team, and a joy to work with.
Congratulations, Peter! We look forward to seeing the incredible contributions you will make as you continue to grow in your new role.
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2024 Promotion / Karly Behncke is Promoted to Project & Community Development Manager
Carducci Associates is thrilled to announce that Karly Behncke is stepping into the role of Project and Community Development Manager! This promotion is a testament to her unwavering dedication to nurturing our office community, especially in the wake of the challenges posed by the pandemic. From spearheading virtual initiatives to seamlessly transitioning back to in-person engagement, Karly has poured her heart into fostering a vibrant office culture and environment for her coworkers.
Beyond our walls, Karly's advocacy for community shines in her project work as well, where she excels in outreach and connection. Through her recent endeavors in community outreach, such as her work for Fairmont Terrace Park and virtual engagement with Sunset Futsal Courts, Karly has demonstrated her ability to coordinate and lead diverse groups toward a design aimed at improving the lives of many within the community. Her current efforts extend to coordinating the design and green standards for ten schools within the Mountain View Whisman School District, showcasing her adeptness in navigating complex projects and bringing together individuals from various socio-economic backgrounds. With her approachable nature and genuine passion, she effortlessly unites people both within and outside the office.
Karly understands that a strong sense of community is essential for our team's growth and our ability to serve our clients effectively as well. She embodies this ethos through her active participation in conferences, public discussions, and her relentless advocacy for others' well-being. Indeed, Karly's recent participation at the CPRS JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Academy in Oakland underscores her fervent commitment to inclusion and her tireless advocacy for equity for all individuals.
As Karly steps into her new role, we eagerly anticipate the positive impact she will continue to make on our office and beyond. Cheers to Karly and to the bright future ahead for our team under her leadership!
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Community Impact / Why should Landscape Architects be leaders in their community and have a passion to serve? - Vince Lattanzio
Amidst the pressing challenges of climate change, the demand for environmental stewardship and nature-based solutions has reached a critical juncture. Landscape architects, with their distinctive skill set and comprehensive grasp of natural systems, are ideally positioned to spearhead this transformative journey. It's imperative to elevate the role of landscape architects in decision-making processes, given their expertise in collaborating with nature and communicating innovative solutions. As a profession, we must cultivate a fervent dedication to serving our communities and regions, crafting localized responses to global environmental issues.
Whether serving on committees, boards, or as elected officials, landscape architects have a responsibility to advocate, educate, and protect the natural world. My personal journey reflects this commitment. I initiated a Neighborhood Alliance Group (NAG) 24 years ago, comprised of eight Bel Marin Keys’ residents dedicated to safeguarding our natural environment and community. Through our advocacy efforts, we successfully lobbied for funding nature-based improvements in our region. Subsequently, I was invited to run for a seat on our community service district board, where I collaborated with experts in various fields to complete over 110 projects aimed at climate change adaptation and environmental restoration.
Our efforts were centered on revitalizing the watershed and enhancing water quality. By installing aeration systems, we aimed to boost community health and biodiversity, while employing natural enzymes to manage algae blooms. This approach fostered a robust ecosystem capable of sustaining high biodiversity levels, promoting the healing and longevity of our natural systems. Additionally, we prioritized community education on watershed protection and improvement, advocating for a strategy that embraced the "4 R's" - sediment removal, relocation, restoration, and recreational education - as alternatives to dredging, thereby working in harmony with nature.
We're incredibly fortunate to reside alongside an undeveloped watershed, offering a prime opportunity for restoration efforts. By revitalizing this area, we can return the watershed to a sustainable system, bolstering natural habitats and safeguarding against flooding amid rising sea levels and the impacts of climate change.
With the expiration of our previous 20-year funding in 2022, our community rallied together, forming a new Neighborhood Alliance Group (NAG) to educate and advocate. Through six months of concerted efforts, including door-to-door outreach and town hall meetings, we successfully passed a new tax measure with overwhelming 80% support.
While our community may be distinct, the challenges of climate change and sea-level rise resonate universally, underscoring the importance of collective action. My 38 years of volunteer experience have been emotionally and personally fulfilling, marked by collaboration, discovery, and resilience in the face of adversity. It has been a journey filled with challenges, but also with celebration, as we work together to protect and preserve the delicate balance between humanity and nature.
To delve deeper into Bel Marin Keys, take a look at this article featured in the SF Chronicle: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/bel-marin-keys-18941646.php
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Carducci Spotlight: Emma Lesser / A Culture of Change: The Inherent Power of Restorative Justice to Transform Public Schoolyards
Emma recently completed an MLA thesis entitled: “A Culture of Change: The Inherent Power of Restorative Justice to Transform Public Schoolyards” that explores how landscape architects can co-create safe and healing spaces in Oakland's public schoolyards. Her thesis topic stems from a deeply personal conviction that childhood learning environments play a crucial and protective part in a child’s experience of trauma. She first sets the scene with a review of the psychology and physiology of ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences), and how they are currently addressed by schools, focusing on restorative justice (RJ). She then investigates the current state of America's public-school spaces, their effects on students, and the politics and logic behind their designs. She presents landscape precedents that were designed with social emotional learning in mind, and their theoretical bases. Few of these precedents include schoolyards, particularly public ones, as they have only recently become the focus of landscape architects. Over the past several decades, the green schoolyard movement has grown to address heat and pollution, stormwater, community access, ecological learning, and even experimental or 'risky' play. Emma proposes restorative justice as a worthy rationale for schoolyard transformation. In doing so, she intends to not only push landscape architects towards working in support of social programs, but to also promote a more emotionally compelling rationale for schoolyard changes—and one that takes advantage of existing school social infrastructure. She concludes that RJ programming can indicate a school “culture of change” that would both more readily allow for and be supported by built environmental changes.
"Restorative landscapes might serve as "compatible" feeling spaces: where one's environment is compatible with one's emotional state. In these contexts I demonstrate how my RJ landscape principles and elements can work together. In "the grove," loneliness can be met with connection under the warm colors and diffused light of a fabric-lined structure. Evergreen trees provide further shade, seasonal interest and greater enclosure of the space."
Feature / On the Boards / People