Leslie Martino, landscape designer and historian will help us celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted, considered the father of American landscape architecture.

Olmsted’s designs provided an opportunity for people to interact with nature as well as other people. He understood the impact a designed green space had on people’s social, mental, and physical health when he began designing public parks.

Explore the relevancy of his design principles and our interest in public green spaces by looking at Olmsted parks, their current issues, the newest trends in public green spaces and their role in our lives. Suffield resident George Hendee was a client of Olmsted’s firm from 1928-1929.