Forty Under 40: Jenny Burbidge

Benefiting the community by creating outdoor spaces for people to enjoy together is how Jenny Burbidge sees landscape architecture.

Originally from Fort Smith, Burbidge graduated from the University of Arkansas with a landscape architecture degree in 2010, then was a designer for Guest Reddick Architects.

Obtaining her licensure in 2012, she became a landscape architect for Harrison French & Associates in Bentonville before joining CEI Engineering, where she managed 120 projects for big brands nationwide. In 2018, wanting to impact local projects, Burbidge transitioned to Ecological Design Group. She was the project manager for Bella Vista’s Blowing Springs trail and project manager and lead designer for the Network Building and Bauhaus Biergarten, growing the business to $500,000 in design fees.

In her work, she pushes developers to see the bigger picture, providing connectivity and space for recreation through sustainable design. “That’s the balance of my world, the development world and the conservation world. I live that holistically through anything I develop.”

Needing “a sabbatical to find my own voice,” Burbidge started Prism in September 2022. She said it took a lot of courage but “is liberating and fulfilling.”

President of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Arkansas chapter, Burbidge is passionate about balanced land development and the environment. She’s served on the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust board since 2018 and is in her second year as board president. She’s on the Illinois River Watershed Partnership (IRWP) advisory committee. She volunteers with her husband’s company, Ozark Adventure and Recreation, with Beaver Watershed Alliance and Girl Scouts of America to host river cleanups.