2025 Fellows: David Watts, FASLA, Southern California Chapter
California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, CA
David Watts' commitment to child development, social justice, and international engagement has led to extensive research, publications, and practice of his "Active Nature" theory. He has provided significant new knowledge on the interconnected aspects of children's health, resilience, and physiological growth and endorses the intentional integration of natural elements within play settings that are affordable and equitable. David's important work on Active Nature has spanned decades and has been published in multiple journals and books and earned him recognition with the Cal Poly University's President's Award for Service Learning. David has taken his program and his students to South Africa where he has led design-build initiatives for the development of sustainable and inclusive outdoor spaces that promote social interaction and well-being. Among those projects was the creation of a large community playground under existing utility power lines for the Ratang Bana Orphanage using limited vernacular materials. This project was awarded the 2014 ASLA Award of Excellence to Student Community Service. Closer to home, he has worked with students to conceptualize, create, and construct landscapes that contribute to building in a meaningful and purposeful way. Overall, through David's service-learning initiative, over 40 students from five separate service-learning internships built more than 12 different projects and examined the significance of intercultural sensitivity and design applicability. As a faculty member, David has been an invaluable mentor, teacher, and adviser for both students and faculty. He goes above and beyond what's expected in order to help his students understand and advance the practice of landscape architecture.
