Ginger Hansen: Radical Change through Landscape Architecture

Master of Landscape Architecture

Ginger Hansen is a graduate student in Temple University's Master of Landscape Architecture 
(MLArch) program at the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Ambler. After practicing law 
for seven years, Ginger sought a career that aligned more closely with her passions—art, nature, 
and ecological restoration. With a background in art history and a lifelong love for the 
environment, she found her calling in landscape architecture, drawn to its potential for 
integrating human life with sustainable ecosystems. Her work focuses on radical ecological 
restoration, envisioning a world where humans live in symbiosis with nature.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

What is your degree program? And can you describe the chain of events that led you to Temple?

I'm in the master's program in landscape architecture. I practiced law for seven years, but I had known for a while that I wasn't feeling fulfilled in that career. I was a prosecutor for a short time in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, and when certain areas of practice began to trigger a trauma response, I knew it was time to leave. I started brainstorming, thinking back to what I loved as a child and what I knew I was good at but never thought I could make a career out of—I knew that having nature as a big part of my daily life was important to me. I also wanted to contribute to solutions for the climate and biodiversity crises. I've always considered myself an artist and a painter, and I majored in art history as an undergrad. One day, I was watching a show called Your Garden Made Perfect, and something just clicked—landscape  architecture could combine all these things that I loved but had never considered professionally. Temple’s program, with its focus on ecological restoration, was exactly what I was looking for. Cost was also a big factor, but beyond that, Temple feels like a real part of Philadelphia. Having worked in the city government, I felt a connection to Philadelphia, and Temple’s presence within the city reinforced that feeling. It just felt like the right place for me. 

What impact do you hope to have on your field of study and beyond?

Ultimately, I want to restore landscapes. I have an extremely radical vision, even among this cohort full of people passionate about sustainability. I want to see humans return to living in true symbiosis with nature, as we did for millennia—not just conserving land and restricting its access, but actively being a part of the ecosystem in a way that benefits both humans and the environment. We are extracting from it, but the way that we are extracting from it could also give back to it. I really enjoy studying what indigenous people have done in this area and what they are currently doing in other parts of the world—like in wetlands where people build floating homes out of reeds, which creates additional ecological benefits. A major motivation for me is 
addressing Philadelphia’s flooding problems. That’s why I keep returning to the idea of wetlands and designing for true symbiosis with water. It’s a specific, urgent problem that I hope to tackle through my work. Right now, we are so far from that reality that it feels discouraging. But my goal is to take baby steps toward that ideal—bringing us closer to true ecological integration rather than just preservation.

What are the big challenges you're working through in your program?

Figuring out how to make my big dreams a reality in a world that feels so far from them. The program has opened my mind to what is possible, and what I believe would be the best way forward for our species and for the planet, but it also illuminates the massive challenges in achieving those goals. It’s both inspiring and overwhelming, and that dichotomy can be difficult.

What do you consider your community here, and how has it impacted you?

My community at Temple is made up of my classmates and professors. Since we travel as a cohort, we’ve become very close, and there’s more of a colleague relationship between students and professors rather than a stratified hierarchy. Coming from law, where I had friendly coworkers but didn’t feel in tune with anyone, it’s a relief to be in a space where people share my values and interests—whether it’s gardening, environmental activism, or even just how we all wear used clothes, I love it. I’ve also recently taken on a leadership role in ASLA, the American Society of Landscape Architects. Because the landscape architecture program is so small, essentially everybody is in ASLA because it’s an opportunity to mix among cohorts and share 
information. Leading extracurricular studies, supporting incoming students, and guiding their professional development has been so exciting. I really enjoy it, and that's how I hope to give back to this community—by sharing all the things I’ve learned along the way.

What's one piece of advice you would offer to a potential graduate student?

I think grad school is special because you can take charge of your own education. You have more agency in focusing your studies, and if you're an active learner, you get a lot more out of it. I think that can make people really nervous, too. It took me probably a full semester to feel comfortable enough to do that, but now I am getting everything out of this program that I possibly can. Temple is such an enormous school that has so many resources, from the professors to the architecture school's digital fabrication lab, there are so many opportunities there. But it's not always obvious—you have to go out and seek those things, but once I started doing that, I started getting a lot more out of my education. That's what I mean by taking charge. Certain resources might not be offered, but if I'm interested and I go out and I research what Temple can do for me in regards to that interest, my whole education opens up and I'm able to take it in so many bigger, different directions.

For example, for my capstone project, I want to design a wetland where the inhabitants of the wetland are living in symbiosis with it, but I don't know how to make a reed hut appealing to the average Philadelphian. So I am trying to speak to architecture students who are doing thesis projects to see if they would be interested in taking that on. They could do the architecture part of it, I could do the landscape part of it. Along with that, I’ll need to speak to an ecologist to understand what aquatic species are suitable for cultivation in this area. These are things that I can learn on my own, but knowing that Temple already has these resources and that I can reach out and potentially collaborate to do a really, really cool and comprehensive project that's more realistic because I brought in experts from other fields, that feels mind-blowing. As a graduate student, you can do anything here if you're driving your education and seeking out the resources available to you.

Who are your mentors, or people you look up to?

I'm thinking of four people that I go to regularly and that I feel that I can reach out to them with any question and they are always helpful and wonderful. The program director, Kate Benisek, is so patient and knowledgeable and just such a good guide. I haven't even had her as a professor yet, but I still go to her constantly. Another professor is Rob Kuper—he does engineering classes. He's very practical, so if I have any technical questions, I go to him. And that's important because I don't think any big ideas can really be successful if you don't get down to brass tacks, start doing it, and see what it looks like in the real world. If I can't get details from him, then it's not a doable idea in my mind. Another professor, Baldev Lamba, I really bonded with him. He's a straight talker and I really appreciate that. Also, Nathan Heavers. He's a very abstract thinker, which is hard for me, but he's the most patient person I've ever met, a really great sounding-board, and such a knowledgeable person. Anything I'm interested in, he can always point me in the right direction. 

What's the most rewarding aspect of your program?

Getting to flesh out these big ideas—some that are so big they feel like fantasies, but I have the opportunity to take them seriously here, surrounded by people who will take them seriously with me, and I can take these ideas in any direction I want.

What's next for you?

To become licensed as a landscape architect, you have to work under a landscape architect for two years. If I can find someone who's of the same mind, I would love to work for them for a few years, get licensed, do that kind of work, and see what it looks like in the real world. That’s the practical next step. Another option is to pursue a more policy-oriented role, possibly in a think tank, nonprofit, or government setting, which could be really exciting. We have a new professor, Billy Fleming, who takes a more policy-focused approach, and he introduced me to this side of the field. It really opened my mind to how landscape architecture can intersect with policy and large-scale environmental solutions.