Sustainable Site Initiatives Wins Gold Medal Award

AUSTIN, Texas — The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) earned the 2011 Gold Medal Award from the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) in recognition of outstanding, long-term contributions to the green industry at the PGMS annual awards ceremony in Louisville, Ky.

SITES is a partnership between the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center of The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden. It formed in 2005 to create a voluntary rating system and performance benchmarks for sustainable landscapes of all types, with or without buildings.

“[SITES] fills a critical gap for information outside the building skin related to the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes,” said a statement from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

In May 2010, SITES selected more than 150 pilot projects in the United States, Canada, Iceland and Spain to test out the rating system and performance benchmarks. Pilot projects include the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture, New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward Sustainable Infrastructure Project and the visitor and research center at Mesa Verde National Park, along with educational centers, transportation corridors, botanic gardens, industrial complexes and private residences.

Susan Rieff, executive director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, accepted the award at the awards dinner on behalf of the partners.

“It is a tremendous honor for this initiative to be recognized by professionals who understand the value of using sustainable approaches to land management,” Rieff said. “Whether by recycling trimmings from vegetation on site, adopting organic approaches to pest management or re-using gray water, how a landscape is maintained can have a significant impact on human health and the environment.”

The partners are currently working with a diverse group of stakeholders to implement the voluntary rating system, according to the statement.