Ann Kearsley is a registered landscape architect and urban designer and the owner and founding principal of two landscape architecture firms, Ann Kearsley Design (AKD, est. 1983) and No-Man’s Land Design (est. 2024), both based in Portland, ME. AKD is a full-service landscape architecture firm specializing in ecologically based design, linking landscape form and spatial structure to the dynamics of a site’s natural systems and the enhancement of ecosystem function. No-Man’s Land Design is a research practice centered on the integration of human and wildlife habitats using the Rights-of-Nature as an ethical framework supporting biodiversity and intentional interspecies sharing of environmental resources in the built environment.
Kearsley holds master’s degrees in both landscape architecture and urban design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and an AB in English and comparative literature from Dartmouth College. She is a frequent presenter at local and regional conferences on ecological landscape design and stormwater management and has chaired numerous workshops and symposia on the integration of landscape architecture and ecological restoration at the Society for Ecological Restoration’s international and European conferences (Vancouver 2024, 2021/Virtual, Iceland 2018, Brazil 2017, Germany 2016).
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
LDAR 2252-01 - PLANTS: BOTANY AND ECOLOGY
LevelGraduate
UnitLandscape Architecture
Subject Landscape Architecture
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LDAR 2252-01
PLANTS: BOTANY AND ECOLOGY
LevelGraduate
UnitLandscape Architecture
Subject Landscape Architecture
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: W | 11:20 AM - 4:20 PMInstructor(s): Ann Kearsley, Hope LeesonLocation(s): Weybosset St Studios, Room 105B; Weybosset St Studios, Room 105AEnrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Closed
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This class will explore the botanical, horticultural and ecological aspects of plants and plant communities. Through lectures and field trips, students will become familiar with the form, physical qualities, identifying characteristics, seasonal aspect, preferred growing conditions, native habitats and ecological function of common plants of New England. In addition, lectures will focus on contemporary ecological theories around disturbance ecology and ecological succession to gain an understanding of how designers can work with these forces to shape landscapes over time.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department.
Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture
LDAR 2252-02 - PLANTS: BOTANY AND ECOLOGY
LevelGraduate
UnitLandscape Architecture
Subject Landscape Architecture
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LDAR 2252-02
PLANTS: BOTANY AND ECOLOGY
LevelGraduate
UnitLandscape Architecture
Subject Landscape Architecture
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: W | 11:20 AM - 4:20 PMInstructor(s): Ann Kearsley, Hope LeesonLocation(s): Weybosset St Studios, Room 105B; Weybosset St Studios, Room 105AEnrolled / Capacity: 12Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This class will explore the botanical, horticultural and ecological aspects of plants and plant communities. Through lectures and field trips, students will become familiar with the form, physical qualities, identifying characteristics, seasonal aspect, preferred growing conditions, native habitats and ecological function of common plants of New England. In addition, lectures will focus on contemporary ecological theories around disturbance ecology and ecological succession to gain an understanding of how designers can work with these forces to shape landscapes over time.
Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department.
Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture
LDAR 2253-01 - PLANTS: FORM AND SPACE
LevelGraduate
UnitLandscape Architecture
Subject Landscape Architecture
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatStudio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LDAR 2253-01
PLANTS: FORM AND SPACE
LevelGraduate
UnitLandscape Architecture
Subject Landscape Architecture
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatStudio
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: T | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PMInstructor(s): Ann KearsleyLocation(s): Weybosset St Studios, Room 105AEnrolled / Capacity: 16Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will explore the use of plants as a design medium while balancing the horticultural considerations. There will be analyses of existing gardens, field trips, and the creation of schematic and detailed planting plans for different types of sites. Topics such as seasonality, texture, color and form will be discussed.
