Send Us Your Testimonials

As part of our campaign to attract new members we have begun to collect testimonials from our current members. Please help us in our effort to spread the word about the benefits of becoming a member by sending us your testimonials. They can be as brief or detailed as you would like. We would really like to hear from you.

Some questions to think about about when writing your testimonial:

1. What do you like best about The Underground?
2. How has The Underground been useful to you?
3. Any suggestions for improving The Underground?
4. What do you like best about our monthly programs?
5. How have our programs been helpful to you?
6. What program topics would you be most interested in seeing?
7. Any suggestions for improving our programs, our website, or anything else?
8. Would you recommend The Underground to others?
9. What else can you tell us?

So please help us out won't you? Tell us how The Underground has benefited you.

Please send them to us via our website at http://theunderground.pbwiki.com

From Parking Lot to Wetlands

The Wellesley College Campus master planners sought to restore and renew the landscape with respect to the college's site-sensitive needs and rich tradition. Attendees with an interest in sustainable landscape design, restoration, and native plants were encouraged to attend "From Parking Lot to Wetlands".

The guest speaker was Andrew Gutterman, Michael Van Valkenburg Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA

Landscape architect, Andrew Gutterman, from Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., and a major player in the design and implementation of this award winning landscape surrounding the new Campus Center at Wellesley College explained how it all evolved. The designers wrestled with brownfield problems, major stormwater management and reconstruction of an original wet meadow. Mr.Gutterman described the design process and lead a tour of the new elevated wetlands, rolling meadows and extensive plantings of native trees and shrubs. This program had something in it for everyone from designers to landscapers to arborists.

Andrew Gutterman has been a guest critic at the Harvard Design School, the Boston Architectural Center and the Rhode Island School of Design. Andrew received a Bachelor of Science degree in ecology at the University of Connecticut in 1996 and a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the Harvard Design School in 2000, where he was awarded the Charles Eliot Traveling Fellowship.

American Society of Landscape Architects General Design Award of Excellence 2006. For more information visit http://www.asla.org/awards/2006/06winners/309.html

Annoucing Our New Forum Moderators

We would like to announce that we have two new forum moderators. These moderators are experts in their fields and active Underground participants who you may already know.

Please give a warm welcome to Jay Bearfield who will lead the Ponds and Water Features Forum, and Derek Walters who will lead the Landscape Lighting Forum. They will be happy to facilitate discussions and answer your questions about these very interesting
topics on our online forums.

Thanks to everyone who has registered for our forums so far. We will try and keep things interesting and lively and add more expert moderators as we go along.

Hey I just recently visited The Mount. Check out my pictures at the online forum in the Great Places to Visit section!

Visit http://theunderground.pbwiki.com and register today.

Do you have a special interest or expertise in a certain area of landscape? Let us know if you would like to become a forum moderator. We welcome your contributions and participation in The Underground Forums.

New Online Forums

Our new online forums are now open and available at our wiki website. To get to the website go to http://theunderground.pbwiki.com. Click on "Members Please Register Here" link to register. Please note that your registration will require validation before you can post messages to the board - we will do this as promptly as possible.

The forum will offer a few features that are not currently available at our Yahoo group. The forum will allow for easier online viewing and searching of message threads. All messages will appear in appropriated forum categories. You will be able to upload photos and other files. Customize your avatar (signature). Post your questions, help wanted and for sale ads and more. There is also a handy calendar to add upcoming events. Leave us your feedback, give us your testimonial - we want to hear from you.

On The Underground Forum includes:
Announcements from The Underground
Steering The Underground
Getting Started

Our All about the Biz Forum includes:
General Discussion
The Landscape
Specialty Services
Ecological Practices
Plants
The Toolbox
Business Practices

Our Community Forum includes:
Network with Members In Your Area
The Voting Booth
Project Showcase
Great Places to Visit
The Marketplace
Feedback

Register Today! Then get started by browsing the information in the Getting Started forum. Take our poll and help us choose program topics for next season.

Announcing Our New Wiki Website

We are very pleased and quite excited to announce the launch of our new members "wiki" website.

What's a wiki you ask? The term wiki comes from the Hawaiian word wiki wiki which means quick. A wiki is a kind of website that is written collaboratively and that multiple people can edit easily and quickly.

Our new members wiki website is a public informational website that can only be edited by The Underground Admin. It will provide information to the public about our group, our programs, and how to become a member.

The wiki was chosen for its ease of maintenance and updating. We welcome your comments and feedback about our new site.

Thanks,
Bridget McManus
For The Underground Steering Committee