Jeff Lanza
A love of trees and the outdoor life drew Jeff Lanza from
Lake Forest, Illinois, to architecture school at the UO in
1981. After two years, it drew him out of the classroom and
into his own landscape design and construction business.
When he returned to school a decade later in landscape
architecture, Lanza drew up an open-space master plan for
the City of Coburg as a fifth-year project. "One thing that
makes Coburg historic is street trees, especially big-leaf
maple," he notes. "It got me involved in community tree
issues." Since1998, Lanza has worked for Stangeland
Landscape Architecture and volunteered with the Eugene Tree
Foundation, currently as chairman of its tree-planting
committee. "I look on trees as critical public
infrastructure," he says. "I keep a journal and scout for
locations. We've planted over 1000 street trees since 1999."
Tree-planting work parties are scheduled for Saturday
mornings in the winter and early spring. The city's
NeighborWoods Program provides trees and tools. "Jeff is
tireless in getting things organized," says former ETF
president Jon Kline. "He's very knowledgable about trees and
their habitat."
happening people
photograph and story by Paul Neevel
Eugene Weekly / 30 June 2005
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