This class will explore the botanical, horticultural and ecological aspects of plants and plant communities. Through lectures and field trips, students will become familiar with the form, physical qualities, identifying characteristics, seasonal aspect, preferred growing conditions, native habitats and ecological function of common plants of New England. In addition, lectures will focus on contemporary ecological theories around disturbance ecology and ecological succession to gain an understanding of how designers can work with these forces to shape landscapes over time.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

This class will explore the botanical, horticultural and ecological aspects of plants and plant communities. Through lectures and field trips, students will become familiar with the form, physical qualities, identifying characteristics, seasonal aspect, preferred growing conditions, native habitats and ecological function of common plants of New England. In addition, lectures will focus on contemporary ecological theories around disturbance ecology and ecological succession to gain an understanding of how designers can work with these forces to shape landscapes over time.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Landscape Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

For much of the period of time we in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere call winter, the trees around us appear lifeless. But are they? Dormancy in trees is a slowing of metabolic function, brought on and maintained by a combination of temperature and day length. Each species has a different response. The shortest day of the year marks a turning point for the plant world, as from that pivotal point day length steadily increases. So what are trees doing in January and February? In this class you will make daily observations and sketches of a single tree, from root to bud. Through daily observation and documentation you will really come to understand your tree and how its various parts function in all weather. Online class lectures on biological function will inform your observations. In addition, samples of a variety of species will be brought inside to observe their responses to warmer temperatures. Each species' response will be documented through sketches and measurements of change in bud size, and emersion of leaf and/or flower. By observing the response of different species to increases in ambient temperature, we will become more informed about the implications of dramatic fluctuations in winter temperatures for trees in the future.

Elective

For many of us, the planted and cultivated landscape of urban environments captures our attention. However, the city greenscape is so much more than that. All around us seeds have found their way into spaces created in the cracks and crevices formed within seemingly impermeable urban surfaces. If ignored, and left undisturbed by human activities for any length of time, they transform the soil and set in motion processes of succession which eventually can create urban woodlands. Through this course, we will discover what those species are, and discuss how their growth habits and life cycles are particularly well suited to growth and reproduction in urban environments. What benefit these plants could potentially provide has long been ignored, and we will assess the ability of various species to sequester carbon, filter air, slow stormwater runoff, and provide the cooling effects of shade, as well as habitat, cover, and food for wildlife. Students will learn to identify common urban plants, and create a personal herbarium collection of 15 species. Through a combination of sketches and photographs, the class will document where species are growing within the urban environment. To highlight and bring attention to the ecological role these tenacious wild plants play, students will be asked to explore ways in which plant growth habits can be applied to their own work. The class will be organized around a combination of independent outdoor field work in all weather, and remote synchronous lecture. Students studying remotely will be required to identify and locate wild plants growing in urban contexts within their own communities. Support for plant identification will be given to all students through shared photographs and the use of localized plant identification apps and field guides.

Prerequisite: HPSS-S101 for Undergraduate Students

Elective