UMass soars to the top at the 2024 National Collegiate Landscape Competition : Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning : UMass Amherst

2024 National Collegiate Landscape Competition - team

Elevan UMass students from Landscape Contracting, Arboriculture, Urban Forestry, Landscape Architecture, and Sustainable Community Development competed in the National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC) at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. This annual three-day powerhouse event gathers top landscape and horticulture students from around the county to compete in a series of challenging events. NCLC also serves as the largest career fair in the industry.

The UMass team, supervised by Michael Davidsohn from LARP and Kristina Bezanson from NRC, placed 14th out of the 50 participating colleges and universities.

Student victories included teammates Nicholas Cammarano and Sean Weber who placed 3^rd in the Landscape Maintenance Operations event. This event combined a thorough understanding of maintenance equipment operation and safety. Connor Salmon placed 4^th in the Compact Excavator event showing serious skills while also placing 6^th in the Computer Aided Design event. Sean Weber and Dante Filadoro placed 6^th in the Hardscape Installation event as Henry Holmes scored 6^th in the Mini Tracked Loader Operation event and Eli Spencer placed 6^th in the Interior Design event. Nicholas Cammarano, Dante Filadoro and Braeden McKenna also placed 6^th in the Landscape Plant Installation event. June Moulis and Henry Holmes placed 5^th in the Arboriculture Techniques event as did James Walston in the 3D Exterior Landscape Design event. Henry also won 1st in the Skidsteer/Tracked Loader Operation event, helping him soar to 3rd place out of all 650 students competing at NCLC this year.

UMass was further honored when Dante Filadoro received the RP Marzilli Scholarship, awarded to him by Chris Joyce, a UMass alum and President of the National Association of Landscape Professionals Foundation.

None of this would have been possible without the support of our alumni donations, corporate donations, and the continued support of the Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals, Massachusetts Arborist Association, MA Tree Wardens and Foresters Association and New England ISA.