Three WRT projects—Otay Valley Regional Park Trails, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, and Quarry Falls—received Merit Awards from the San Diego chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. The awards were given as part of the chapter's 2009 Design Awards program.

"These are three very diverse projects, and therefore reflect the wide range of WRT's multidisciplinary practice," said WRT Principal Kathleen A. Garcia, FASLA, LEED AP.

The Otay Valley Regional Park, located four miles north of Mexico, is managed by a consortium of the cities of San Diego and Chula Vista and the County of San Diego. WRT prepared design and construction documents for trails and related facilities for an 800-acre portion of the park in Chula Vista. The project's improvements include a staging area, over nine miles of trails constructed through sensitive habitats, and numerous crossings of streams, ponds, drainage ways, and seasonal wetlands.

The Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area commands a prominent location in the Los Angeles Basin. WRT's efforts revitalized the natural landscape and provided overlooks, trails, and related site facilities for the 57-acre portion of the park and the new facility designed by Safdie-Rabines Architects. The trails are designed to provide distinct experiences for visitors moving through the sequence of spaces defined by sculpted landforms and plant composition.

Quarry Falls is a proposed mixed-use development in San Diego's Mission Valley that was awarded Gold in the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) sustainability rating system. The project will be infill development at what is currently a sand and gravel quarry, and will take advantage of existing utility infrastructure and multi-modal transportation options. Its high density and mix of uses will reduce the need for occupants to use personal motor vehicles to work, shop, and play. The project's open space design will provide parkland, recreation opportunities, and on-site stormwater management. WRT led the LEED-ND process as well as designed the open space and streetscape system.