Transform urban spaces into thriving ecosystems and resilient communities. Learn to design sustainable sites that harmonize nature with human development.
Explore the critical aspects of Sustainable Site Design in this comprehensive course, focusing on principles and practices that foster environmentally responsible and economically viable urban and rural development.
This course delves into innovative strategies, beginning with an essential understanding of stormwater management. Learn to mitigate runoff, improve water quality, and enhance ecological resilience through green infrastructure solutions such as rain gardens, permeable pavements, green roofs, and bioswales. Discover how these techniques not only protect our waterways but also offer significant economic benefits by reducing infrastructure costs, cooling urban environments, and increasing property values.
The curriculum further explores the significance of ecological considerations in site design, highlighting the critical role of biodiversity and habitat preservation. Understand how integrating native plants and creating pollinator-friendly landscapes contributes to thriving ecosystems, supporting beneficial insects like bees, butterflies, and bats—essential for food production and ecosystem health. Delve into the distinction between greenfield, brownfield, and grayfield development, analyzing their unique challenges and opportunities for sustainable urban growth and community revitalization.
Finally, the course addresses the evolution of urban mobility, moving beyond car-centric planning to embrace walkable neighborhoods, micro-mobility, and mass transit solutions. Explore how thoughtful design can create multimodal transportation networks that enhance public health, foster community engagement, and reduce environmental impact, emphasizing the creation of accessible, vibrant, and sustainable communities.
Upon completion, you will be equipped with the knowledge to:
Join us to transform your understanding of site design and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Online Courses for Engineers
HalfMoon Education is a nonprofit continuing education provider offering live webinars and on-demand courses for engineers, architects, landscape architects, land surveyors, attorneys, paralegals, accountants and others. Since 1996, we’ve helped thousands of professionals nationwide stay current with industry standards and codes, earn CE hours, and advance their expertise through practical, expert-led learning experiences. Learn more about us at: www.halfmoonseminars.org
Executive Director with Urban Climate Nexus
Dr. Jairo Garcia develops innovative policies and educational programs to make communities and cities cleaner, sustainable, resilient, and equitable. He is the lead author of Atlanta’s Climate Action Plan, and he led a collaborative effort with more than 40 stakeholders to the 100 Resilient Cities application, awarded to the City of Atlanta in 2016. Dr. Garcia is a member of the Georgia Research Roadmap steering committee, an initiative of the Georgia Climate Project lead by University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Emory University, which has a goal of improving understanding of climate impacts and solutions in Georgia. He received the Individual Climate Leadership Award by the EPA in 2017 and the Green Ring Award by the Climate Reality Project. These awards recognized Dr. Garcia’s leadership in addressing climate change and engaging organizations, peers, and partners. He represented the Mayor of Atlanta at COP23 in Bonn, Germany, and he presented at an event organized by the International Urban Cooperation Programme related to global cooperation to address climate change. Dr. Garcia’s publications on urban sustainability, climate change and sustainability education are numerous. His academic experiences include a position as a research assistant and two teaching assistant positions at Columbia University, a faculty adjunct and thesis advisor position at Concordia University, and faculty adjunct positions for the UCLA‐Extension Program, the Georgia Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Garcia holds an engineering degree, an MSc degree in Management of Information Technologies, an MSc degree in Sustainability Management, and a doctoral degree in Educational Technology and Sustainability.
Program Director at SGLA LARE Prep and Senior Landscape Architect at Thuilot Associates
Ms. Gronquist has been a licensed landscape architect since 2004. She has been teaching landscape architecture since 2006, working with Ray Freeman’s LARE Preparatory Courses. She has served as an adjunct professor at many Bay Area institutions, including UC Berkeley, UC Extension, Merritt College, and Berkeley’s Owner Builder Center. Ms. Gronquist also developed online courses in grading and drainage for San Francisco’s Academy of Art University, with separate tracks for undergraduates and graduate students. After earning an undergraduate degree as a sculptor, she quickly became interested in applying her design skills on larger scale projects. She earned her M.L.A. degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and then made her way to California. Since that time, Ms. Gronquist has worked on a wide range of design projects, including private residential gardens, creek restorations, affordable housing developments, public park settings for monumental sculptures, and commercial mixed‐use permitting and master planning. She was an 5 early adopter of Alameda County’s ReScape (formerly Bayfriendly) landscape sustainability rating program. She was a member of the first class of Bayfriendly Qualified Landscape Professionals back in 2006 and continues to volunteer and teach at ReScape events throughout California. As a lifelong learner, Ms. Gronquist is also an enthusiastic teacher.
