third space resolution
We recognize that our society is still treading water.
Dividing people into groups of a majority first space and a minority second space. This outdated practice continues to marginalize by sensitive topics like race, gender, ethnicity, self-identity, age, religion and income.
We believe we must do better.
And maybe there is another space we can look to for evolution, unity and equality. A kind of third space, that is the intersection, mixing and merging of all of these significant topics. Where BIPOC, LGBTIQ, and anyone else that was once on the fringe feels heard, celebrated and respected. A big glorious mess of all things happily interconnected and thriving. Not fully work and not all home, a space that combines the best of both worlds.
A safe place to be yourself.
From this moment forward, we are re-defining our studio
as sacred ground, our very own third space.
Here, we will push beyond our society’s, and our profession’s bad habits.
Here, we have no room for implicit bias because we are anti-racist.
Here, we stand for diversity, inclusivity, equity are a culture that encourages
the truest sense of self.
We are grateful you have all decided to work alongside us.
Lauren and Stephen Stimson
August 22, 2020
BLACK LIVES MATTER ACTION PLAN
Recruitment and Culture
We are committed to creating a more ethnically and racially diverse studio.
We have been working internally on restructuring our review and interview process. If we want to encourage more diversity, we need to be proactive. Just because we are not hiring at a particular moment doesn’t mean we can’t do interviews with strong candidates, especially those who identify as BIPOC. We have a protocol in place now for welcoming and interviewing potential applicants,
regardless of vacancies.
We have added STIMSON to a public list of BIPOC owned firms (50% ownership by a woman of color), which is curated by ASLA Adapt. This has already sent at least one BIPOC candidate our way. It is exciting to see it working
as a resource for students and recent graduates.
We have recognized Juneteenth for the first time in 2020 and in perpetuity
in our benefits package as a paid national holiday.
Research and Development
We have always had a position called Marketing Coordinator. As many of us know, this position wears so many hats. We are redefining this role to include research and development. A portion of this position’s monthly hours will focus on initiatives related to BIPOC projects, recruitment, and scholarship. Projects, both short and long-term, are being identified, and will become engrained as part of a
permanent job description in our studio.
We are in the process of founding an internal publication that will occur annually. This will be a self-edited journal that everyone in the studio has the opportunity to contribute to. Various topics related to life in and out of the studio will be covered, but a portion of the content will always feature environmental injustice, race and space. This publication will be made available to clients, collaborators, colleagues and the greater public. We’ve already had a running start to this internally with a bunch of STIMSON crew writing, editing and contributing.
We will continue to support our team internally in the education of issues and topics related to diversity, ethnicity, race, social and environmental justice, among other things. We encourage our team to continue to share ideas with colleagues (via T@3) but also to become more active at even presenting at conferences and other venues. We will also continue to support the attendance of conferences, workshops and seminars that help us grow collectively in this complex and sensitive arena.
We are developing an active library of reading materials related, but not limited to, the following topics: race and ethnicity in design and planning, the social construction of space, environmental and social justice, and intersectionality. These resources will be shared in our library and can also be found here.
Collaborations
Where we have opportunities to partner with other artists and consultants on particular projects, we will make more effort to seek out BIPOC collaborators, especially as it relates to indigenous stories, untold histories
and ethnic landscapes.
Whenever possible, we will advocate for Black-owned and minority-owned contractors and tradesmen and women, to build our work.
Community
Once our farm studio at Charbrook is constructed, we will continue to host a Rural Walks and Talks lecture program. A portion of the lectures may expand beyond the field of landscape architecture to include other environmental, agrarian and rural subjects that amplify BIPOC and other minority stories.
Donations and Charity
To date, STIMSON has donated to Color of Change, NAACP, Feed America, and participated in the Design Yard Sale with a donation to the Bail Project and Colloqate Design. We stand by our offer to match anyone in the studio that donates to similar non-profit organizations. Anyone on our team should feel free to share other creative donations options with us for consideration.
Scholarship
Steve, Lauren, Eddie, Greg and many others in our studio over the years have graduated from the Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Department at UMass Amherst. STIMSON has a life-long relationship with the program. We have taught there, designed the landscape for the new Design Building, hire interns annually, serve as studio critics and collaborate with faculty. Because of our love for UMass, we have decided to lead an endowment for the first scholarship for students of color studying Landscape Architecture at UMass Amherst. STIMSON is kicking off the scholarship fundraising with $25K. We will be leading an aggressive
campaign to raise $200K for this endowment for 2021. More details on the GARDEN x GRAPHITE Scholarship can be found here.
For the Next Generation
We also want to engage with a younger generation, BIPOC middle and high school students, to introduce them to landscape architecture and related fields
within environmental design and planning.
Leadership from STIMSON (Glen, Laura and Sara) have joined the BSLA K-12 Outreach Committee. This is an important resource for firms to come together and share outreach initiatives. Post Covid-19, our hope is to have physical outreach occur at schools local to both the Cambridge and Princeton studios in order to spread the word on “this is landscape architecture.” If we don’t start with the younger generation, how are we ever going to hope to increase the
percentages of minorities in the profession?
The BSLA K-12 Outreach Committee has a good grasp on the Boston and Cambridge area, but a gap remains in the Worcester county area and STIMSON can help bridge it. We hope to establish a partnership with an environmental program in Worcester County that focuses on BIPOC adolescents. There are several local groups we have already reached out to such as the Regional Environmental Council and YouthGrow Organics in Worcester. This effort will support middle school and high school
BIPOC students in our own backyard, through lectures,
workshops and field sessions at STIMSON.