If you are looking for Tyler School of Art and Architecture Landscape Architecture junior Lindsay Slusser, you’re as likely to find her in the Ambler Arboretum gardens as you are to find her in the design studio.
“I currently work in the Ambler Arboretum as a student gardener, and I love it! My work involves seasonal maintenance and care of the gardens — weeding, mulching, planting, pruning, and assisting with tree maintenance, from watering and mulching tree rings,” said Slusser, who transferred to Temple from Bucks County Community College “I also support the Arboretum’s full-time staff during volunteer sessions of all sizes and help with special events such as Ambler in Bloom. This position has given me a chance to learn directly from the Arboretum staff about proper horticultural techniques and plant identification while seeing how the gardens evolve throughout the seasons.”
Slusser is combining experiences both inside the classroom and outside in the landscape to refine her skills and prepare her for a successful future in the Landscape Architecture field.
“Alongside my work with the Arboretum, I’m currently part of the Landscape Architecture Junior Design-Build Studio, which is collaborating on Temple’s design for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show,” she said. “Our class is helping design and will later work on building the exhibit. We also just wrapped up a real-world project designing a new schoolyard for Adaire Elementary School in Fishtown, Philadelphia, which focused on creating spaces for outdoor learning, play and performance.”
Through these real world, hands-on learning experiences, Slusser said, “I’ve gained a lot, not just in plant knowledge and design skills, but in understanding how ideas move from concept to construction.”
“Getting to physically work with the landscape has really deepened my appreciation for the labor, timing and observation that go into keeping these spaces thriving. I think hands-on learning opportunities are invaluable for students like me, especially in landscape architecture,” she said. “They bridge that gap between classroom theory and the living, changing environments we design for. Working in the Arboretum and participating in the amazing projects that our studio courses have to offer has made me a better observer, collaborator and, I think, a more thoughtful designer.”
According to Slusser, what drew her to her major was that during the COVID-19 pandemic, “I realized there was a need for people to be outside.”
“I’m a non-traditional student so I decided it was time for me to make a change. Seeing that need during the pandemic and wanting to make a career change, to me Landscape Architecture seemed like a perfect fit,” said Slusser, 43. “I love the outdoors and love nature. I love the blending of creatures, people, everything in nature being together — I recognized the need for accessible outdoor spaces for everybody to co-inhabit together.”
Discovering that Temple’s Landscape Architecture program focused on the art and science of the craft, “I knew it was the best fit for me,” Slusser said.
“My father is a Temple graduate so it’s nice to continue that legacy as well. I love that the Ambler Campus is close to my home — I feel really at home here,” she said. “I love that it is a suburban campus and that you are able to go to Main Campus if you want to. After graduation, I’d like to work in a firm in the Philadelphia area that focuses on ecological restoration, going back to my original thought of people, animals, insects, plants, everything co-inhabiting and using space together in an accessible way.”
Having taken courses at both Main Campus and Temple Ambler, adding her experiences in the Arboretum “has been a wonderful experience,” Slusser said.
“I love that aspect of working in the field out in the Ambler Arboretum as well as having lectures on campus,” she said. “I’m learning the theory behind the design and then going out and actually doing it — touching plants, learning plant characteristics, things like that. I just think it works well for any type of learner.”
Outside the classroom, Slusser has also become an essential part of the Ambler Campus community.
“I try go to every event that Student Life has as much as possible. It’s a great way to get people who aren’t in classes together — you learn from different people and what their majors are,” she said. “I also did some volunteering for the Philadelphia Flower Show, last year which helped prepare me for what’s in store this year. You’re meeting students that aren’t in your classes and you’re coming together with a purpose.”
Being part of a closeknit community, Slusser said, “has definitely benefited me.”
“I’m learning, I’m growing. It kind of shows that if you’re a non-traditional student you’re accepted,” she said. “I have not met anybody here that has not been kind. I just feel like I’m one of the community and I think everybody feels that way here. All I see is forward movement because of Temple Ambler.”
Every person at the Ambler Campus “has been a resource for me,” Slusser said.
“Every person that I’ve met has made a positive impact. Even the smallest questions that I’ve had, everybody’s a wealth of knowledge in everything that they do,” she said. “Everybody has my best interests at heart. It’s wonderful being surrounded by people that do that, that are that way because it just makes everything easier, and it makes you feel good. They want you to do well.”
If asked “Why should I go to Temple Ambler,” Slusser said, “my answer would be ‘Why wouldn’t you want to go?’”
“I think it’s wonderful and I keep saying that because I just feel at home here. I’m getting a quality education. I’m learning from people who are the best in their field,” she said. “I’m learning inside the classroom, outside of the classroom, and it honestly makes me want to learn more and to push myself further.”