ISHS Acta Horticulturae 391: Horticulture in Human life, Culture and Environment
INNOVATIVE METHODS OF TEACHING ENVIRONMENTAL HORTICULTURE |
| Author: | J.C. Dotter |
| Keywords: | Environmental horticulture, Landscape horticulture, Teaching methods, People-plant relationships, Urban gardening |
| Abstract:
Twenty years experience teaching environmental horticulture classes at community colleges, city recreation districts, and the University of California serve as the basis for this paper. Student age and ability in these classes ranges from teenager to senior citizen, amateur garden enthusiast to professional horticulturist. Some persons desire more knowledge for "do-it-yourself" landscape projects, others need additional in-service training and are looking for new professional associations. Practically all have been seeking less harmful and more sustainable ways to care for the urban landscape. These students have shown genuine interest in learning how to improve the soil, seek guidance in the selection of appropriate plants for drought tolerance, want to learn ways to achieve low maintenance, and wish to acquire the ability to plan for year-round color, fruit, and flowers which will increase the beauty, biological diversity, utility, and overall health of their gardens. Courses such as "Ecological Garden Maintenance" and "Increasing Property Values through Landscape Renovation" have attracted persons with diverse backgrounds and varied interests in urban horticulture. Comments by students in response to class evaluation questionnaires are reflected in the topics and content of new courses that were structured in response to their suggestions. The results of this course development may prove of interest to communicators of gardening information who want ideas for making environmental horticulture classes informative, relevant, and more experimental. | |
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