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.

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.

Major Requirement | MLA-I Landscape Architecture

For much of what 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? How do they mark the passage of time, and know when to awaken? During the five-weeks of Wintersession, you will regularly observe and sketch a single tree, from root to bud. Through close observation you will come to understand your tree and how its various parts function in all weather. Class lectures and reading will inform your observations. In addition, samples of a variety of species will be brought inside so we can 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.

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.

Elective

It is estimated that since the early 1600’s, colonists and immigrants to the portion of North America known as the United States, had filled in half of all wetland habitat by the mid-1800’s, and had hunted wetland creating beavers nearly to extinction by the early 1900’s. The land bears witness to that legacy today. In this field-oriented seminar we will spend class time within these important and varied habitats, learning to see the legacy and agency beavers and plants have had in forming wetlands and supporting their biological diversity.

Wetlands are a broad habitat type that hold water on the land, hydrate soils, provide essential areas for wildlife, and support unique vegetative communities. However, the cultural legacy of viewing marshes and swamps as wasteland has, and continues, to result in the degradation and destruction of many freshwater wetlands. 

Through field immersion, students will learn to see the landscape for the evidence it holds of what wetland habitat once was. They will identify wetland plant species and become intimately familiar with the water and soil that support these plant species. Extensive reading will support field observations, lectures, and conversation. The policies that brought about wetland destruction as well as more recent protections, will be topics covered. We will also look at the science behind the ability of wetlands to store carbon and water with the potential of ameliorating on-going climate changes.

Final projects for this class will offer students an opportunity to explore how their studio work can inform others of the salient aspects of these watery worlds. 

Estimated Cost of Materials: $75.00

Elective