Blogger Shereen Hughes
November 14th 2023
A year ago, in October 2022, we lost an amazing Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP), Scotty Guinn Dilworth. Scotty practiced what we preach at CCLC. She utilized the Eight Essential Elements of Conservation Landscaping long before becoming a certified CBLP.
Scotty designed beautiful conservation landscapes and utilized urban best management practices. Her passion was painting the landscape with her native plant palette, as well as personally monitoring and adaptively managing her designed landscapes to ensure they remained attractive and functional.
Meredeth Dash shared this cherished example of Scotty’s native plant Labyrinth design
According to David Hirschman, Scotty was known for “her colorful hand-drawn planting plans were beautiful, quirky, and whimsical, but also well-conceived in terms of plant choices and arrangements. The clients really connected with the sketches and also working with the artist (that would be Scotty) to bring them to life on their properties.”
Her work was award-winning, collaborative, creative and helped to grow an interest and appreciation for sustainable landscaping in central and coastal Virginia, particularly in the Richmond area and the James River Watershed. Her emphasis on funding regular maintenance during the establishment periods of her designs helped to draw attention and funding towards this critical need. Also, Scotty mentored and trained subcontractors on installation and maintenance of her projects.
PH: Shereen Hughes
Like many landscape designers and small business owners ahead of their time in this growing conservation landscape field, Scotty often had to choose work over workshops and passion for her work was prioritized over a high salary. Yet, Scotty was always generous with her time when the CCLC requested that she showcase her work and share her experiences with our CBLP trainees in the Richmond area.
PH: Timothy Harper
In honor of Scotty, CCLC has created a CBLP scholarship fund known as the “Scotty Scholars”. The purpose of the Scotty Guinn Dilworth Scholarship fund is to pay forward Scotty’s legacy as a conservation landscape designer, career-changer and small business owner to the next generations, thereby ensuring a diverse group of CBLP professionals and certificate holders.
PH: Richard Dilworth
The “Scotty Scholars” fund will provide full and partial scholarships for any CCLC/CBLP course or our biennial conference. These scholarships will offer opportunities to people who Scotty admired and supported during her career, including those who had a financial need. Examples include small business owners, those making a career change into conservation landscaping, women, mothers, students, apprentices or interns of small businesses, and non-profit groups hired to maintain best practices. CCLC membership is included and priority will be given to Virginia residents; however, anyone residing within the Chesapeake Bay watershed is eligible.
Join me and CCLC in celebrating the life and achievements of Scotty Guinn Dilworth with a donation to “Scotty Scholars”. If you are in need of financial assistance to attend a CCLC/CBLP course or CCLC’s conferences, we begin taking applications in December 2023.
Shereen Hughes, CBLP, is Assistant Director of Wetlands Watch, a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) Consortium partner, serves as the Virginia CBLP Co-Coordinator, and is a CCLC Board Member. Shereen collaborates with local governments, non-profits, private consultants, and individuals across the Chesapeake Bay Region and throughout Virginia to engage, train, align and grow a network of green infrastructure professionals.
A special thank you to Virginia Rockwell, a fellow CCLC Board member and another innovative sustainable landscape designer, small business owner, and certified Level 2 CBLP who first introduced me to Scotty in 2013 and worked to make the Scotty Scholars fund a reality.
Additional quotes provided by:
David Hirschman, CBLP, Owner of Hirschman Water and Environment
Meredeth Dash, CBLP, VA Environmental Education Specialist, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay
Brent Hunsinger, Tidal Programs Manager, State Policy Coordinator, Friends of the Rappahannock
