MLA, Virginia Tech
BS, Virginia Tech

Alexander Darr is a landscape ecologist, arborist, and lecturer in the Graduate Program in Landscape Architecture, teaching courses in horticulture, taxonomy, and field-based plant identification. He holds a Bachelor of Science in urban forestry and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Virginia Tech. Professor Darr's areas of expertise include forest ecology, dendrology, soil science, urban forestry, arboriculture, sustainability, landscape management, and geographic information systems (GIS) applications. He has taught courses in tree identification, urban forestry, and GIS mapping and analysis; conducted workshops that increase citizen understanding of local forest health issues; and organized outreach events to engage the public in ecological design and restoration design processes. Since 2014, as a volunteer for the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, the City of Alexandria, and Fairfax County Parks, he has lead field trips and interpretive nature walks, which endeavor to connect people more deeply with their local ecosystems. A 2019 Olmsted Scholar, Professor Darr’s writing focuses on perennial and pre-colonial agricultural practices in Eastern North America; identifying patterns applicable to contemporary farming for the enhancement of environmental protection, resiliency, and human well-being. He is the co-author of Valuing Trees in the Urban Forest of the National Capital Region (2019), Native American Agroforestry of the Southeast: As observed by Hernando de Soto and William Bartram (2018), and Rediscovering Sunny Ridge: An exploration of the surviving agroforestry experiments of J. Russell Smith (2017). He has assisted in the research and publication of interpretive materials pertaining to the urban landscapes in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, including modeling and multimedia development for National Park Service initiatives. Founder and principal of Ecological Services, a studio specializing in urban forest management and wetland mitigation, Professor Darr's applied research focuses on the restoration of ecological function. This encompasses evaluating the health, condition, structure, and survivability of naturally occurring and introduced trees and vegetation; managing field surveys of forest pests, plant species, and forest composition, structure, and health; and overseeing large-scale restoration plantings. His projects in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic range from urban stream valleys, parks, and floodplains to meadows and farms. He was lead landscape architect for FutureHAUS Dubai, which was awarded first-prize in the 2018 International Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Currently, an urban forester/project manager with the Fairfax County Department of Public Works & Environmental Services, Professor Darr provides expertise for ecological restoration programs and storm water rehabilitation projects that seek to improve function, habitat, and water quality; restore floodplains and streams; and mitigate urban flooding.