Understanding and Evaluating Cultural Landscapes: A Two-Part Bootcamp

Thursday, July 17th & 24th | 10am - 1pm

Join us for a two-part bootcamp designed to equip preservation professionals and landscape stewards with a strong foundation in the evaluation and management of historic cultural landscapes. Go beyond the question of “what is a cultural landscape” to explore deeper issues: How do I evaluate and define the landscape? How do I understand its layered evolution over time? And how do I plan for its future growth and change? This series examines the processes used to document, evaluate, and manage cultural landscapes, with a focus on practical approaches to determining significance, guiding change, and supporting long-term stewardship.

Session one introduces core terminology and landscape types, outlines key approaches to documenting and analyzing cultural landscapes, and addresses the challenges of defining significance and evaluating integrity. Participants will learn about interdisciplinary team roles and the research tools used to evaluate landscapes. The session will also cover how the National Register framework is applied to sites that are dynamic, layered, and continually changing.

Session two builds on this foundation with a deep dive into treatment strategies, from high-level planning to site-specific design responses. Presenters will explain how documentation informs treatment decisions, explore how to balance flexibility with client and stakeholder objectives, and share best practices for collaborative planning. The session also addresses long-term maintenance and management strategies. Real-world case studies will illustrate the tools and techniques introduced throughout the series.

Speakers

Gretchen Hilyard Boyce is the founder of Groundwork Planning & Preservation, a consultancy focused on holistic planning for historic places using a cultural landscape approach. With over 20 years of experience in both public and private sectors, Gretchen has contributed to major California projects such as the redesign of the State Capitol, India Basin Shoreline Park, and Yosemite National Park’s cultural landscape evaluations. She previously held roles with the National Park Service and San Francisco Planning Department and co-authored the NPS Professional Procedures Guide for the Preparation of Cultural Landscape Inventories. Gretchen holds a B.A. in architectural history from the University of Virginia and an M.S. in historic preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. A longtime CPF volunteer, she also teaches continuing education courses and lives in Placer County, where she enjoys beekeeping, gardening, and fiber arts.

Eleanor Cox is a landscape historian based in the Bay Area with over a decade of experience in cultural resources management and preservation planning. She is a key member of the Cultural Places Studio at MIG, Inc., where she leads cultural landscape analysis and report preparation for National Park Service and other public agency projects. Her recent work includes Cultural Landscape Reports for Pinnacles and Joshua Tree National Parks and Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Eleanor holds an advanced degree in historic preservation and is committed to using cultural landscapes as a framework for understanding and managing change across layered historic environments. She also serves as Vice President of the California Garden and Landscape History Society and is passionate about community-based stewardship and inclusive narratives of place.

Rachel Edmonds is a landscape architect with 14 years of experience in project management, site design, planning graphics, construction documentation, fieldwork, and archival research, with a focus on cultural landscape preservation, urban planning, and park system design. A senior staff member at MIG, Inc., she has worked on projects for the National Park Service in the Alaska, Pacific West, and Intermountain regions—spanning sites like Yosemite, Point Reyes, Zion, and Big Bend National Parks—as well as urban cultural landscapes such as the San Francisco Civic Center and Portland’s South Park Blocks. Rachel’s work is deeply rooted in place-based research, accessibility, and the interplay between historic context and contemporary design. She has presented at national conferences and served as Vice President of Member Services for the Oregon Chapter of ASLA from 2015 to 2017.

Cathy Garrett is a principal at PGAdesign, a landscape architecture firm in Oakland, with more than 40 years of experience in historic preservation, design, and project management across California and internationally. Originally from Australia, she began her preservation career working on Olmsted parks before relocating to California in 1993, where she has led award-winning projects including the Kaiser Roof Garden, Bear Creek Redwoods Preserve, and HALS documentation for Better Market Street in San Francisco. Cathy specializes in elevating the cultural and ecological context of sites through conceptual design, and she brings a deep commitment to sustainability and the history of place to every project. She is a past president of the California Preservation Foundation, founding chair of HALS Northern California, and former board member of the National Association of Olmsted Parks and the Historic State Capitol Commission.

Petra Marar is a historic landscape architect at PGAdesign in Oakland, California, with more than eight years of experience in documentation, design, and preservation planning. With roots in upstate New York and coastal Louisiana, Petra brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her work, informed by a commitment to art, equity, and public history. Her recent work includes HALS documentation, historic landscape resource studies, and construction documents for cultural landscapes across the Bay Area. Petra serves on the board of Docomomo US/Northern California as secretary and has a particular interest in the evolving legacies of Modernist and mid-century landscapes. She continues to explore public space through walking, photography, and active community engagement.

Posted in: Historic Integrity, Landscapes, Preservation Basics, Surveys & Reports, Webinars, Workshops