Sustainable Sites Initiative
The Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™) is an interdisciplinary effort by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to create voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices.
Recent Updates
January 2012
The first SITES pilot projects have been certified! Three projects among the 155 participating in the pilot program have successfully documented and achieved SITES Certification. Learn more hereDecember 2011
A new SITES-inspired reference, The Sustainable Sites Handbook, has been released. The handbook contains detailed information on strategies, technologies, tools and best practices to improve the sustainability of any landscape project.October 2011
The White House Council on Environmental Quality issued the Guidance for Federal Agencies on Sustainable Practices for Designed Landscapes based in part on SITES.SITES is the recent recipient of two new awards. Click here to learn more.
Woodland Discovery Playground at Shelby Farms Park
Woodland Discovery Playground is a new kind of play space and a precedent for sustainable park design that promotes the idea of discovery and education, and cultivates healthy children’s development in an outdoor environment.Learn more (pdf)
View all certified projects
Photo: View of arbor, play “nests,” and restored woodland, courtesy of James Corner Field Operations