Our people make the difference.

Trae Watson, MLA

A winding road led me to planning, but in hindsight the dots align. Much of my life I worked as an artist. Outside of that, I grew up cooling off from the hot Alabama summers in the Little Cahaba River, especially after work, sorting recyclables at Alabama Recyclery. For 8 years after college I biked the windy winters in Chicago, with occasional use of the el-train. When I moved back to Birmingham I volunteered with various heirloom seed banks, the Birmingham Bus Riders, and interned with the Cahaba River Society. I also developed a compulsion for scouting new bike trails. After finishing grad school in landscape architecture I began assisting Montgomery’s urban designer which I found to be some of my most fulfilling work. I look forward to continuing that work with Alta on a larger scale.

“I live for multimodal design, collaboration, site exploration, community engagement, seeing through formulation of the big picture, and filling it out with the nuts and bolts that bring it into being. I often seek environmental management that opens opportunities, historic preservation that creates new spaces, and development that brings about a healthy urban experience for those who need it.”

  • Registrations + Affiliations
    • American Society of Landscape Architects
  • Professional Highlights
    • Cofounder of Red Mountain Makers, 5 award Cowinner of 2022 Philadelphia Flower Show, AL ASLA Student Merit Award