Not your garden-variety ecoterrorists, Yard Ops (Young Architects Resisting Destruction of Public Spaces) arrives with brooms, garbage bags and pruning shears to save the landscape. The positive approach of Chris Vela and other young architect colleagues was instrumental in helping the City of Tampa’s parks department to maintain the neglected Dan Kiley-designed park at 400 N. Ashley Drive. Their grassroots effort helped win the mayor’s commitment to protect (some of) this historic masterpiece of landscape architecture. Thompson and Grunke put together a symposium, wrote historic preservation applications, lobbied City Hall, and passionately and persuasively convinced the city and citizens to protect the Dan Kiley design. [email protected]; [email protected] -Mary Mulhern
