Michelle's Page

Today I finished my poster for Preservation in Your Community. It's all lovely and white and green with lots of bright photos of landscapes in Louisiana. Most of the photos are from American Cemetery where I spent a good deal of time learning about historic landscape preservation problems associated with cemeteries. Trees and shrubs are often planted at the corners to mark a plot, at the head to mark a grave, and to provide a peaceful, park like atmosphere. However, vegetation can often conflict… Continue

Last week, Debbie Smith and I visited New Orleans. The main reason for our visit was to visit historic landscapes for research. We visited several cemeteries, the City Park, and the New Orleans Botanical Garden. All good fun :)
The Botanical Garden was impressive because after Katrina, most of the the garden was destroyed. Except for major trees and structures, all the plant life died after being submerged for two weeks. Volunteer efforts salvaged the garden and I could not tell that the garden… Continue

As part of my project for the Historic Landscapes at National Center for Preservation Training & Technology (NCPTT), I will be field testing the inventory and assessment program at the American Cemetery before the end of summer. I will start with the vegetation.

I would like to know what it is important to you when you visit a cemetery.

Specifically, if you've visited American Cemetery, what are your impressions? What do you like? Dislike?


Personally, when I visit a historic site, I firs… Continue