CCOG for LAT 238 Winter 2025
- Course Number:
- LAT 238
- Course Title:
- Ecosystem-Based Landscaping Practices
- Credit Hours:
- 1
- Lecture Hours:
- 7.5
- Lecture/Lab Hours:
- 0
- Lab Hours:
- 7.5
Course Description
Covers the key concepts and principles of ecosystem-based landscape design, installation, and management in municipal and residential settings for the purpose of protecting and supporting natural resources. Includes visits to several landscape installations to discuss and evaluate the form and function of site-specific designs, choice of plant material, and maintenance programs. Recommended: LAT 262 and LAT 272.
Intended Outcomes for the course
Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
- Describe the components integral to the establishment and maintenance of healthy and balanced habitats.
- Compare and contrast the different cultural and site conditions that exist within each ecosystem and the organisms they support.
- Analyze a given habitat to identify site-specific attributes and connections between the site conditions, the plants, and the organisms who reside there.
- Apply ecosystem-principled design, installation, and maintenance practices to bioswales and wildlife gardens.
- Communicate the importance of habitat-based design and maintenance on wildlife preservation.
Course Activities and Design
- Lecture and discussion.
- Hands-on guided field studies of ecosystems of the Willamette Valley.
- Field-based demonstrations.
- Student-led place-based discussions at case study sites.
Outcome Assessment Strategies
1. Attendance and participation in class discussions and activities.
2. Demonstrated competency through a final field report project.
Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)
Themes, Concepts and Issues:
- Landscape design and maintenance
- Site evaluation and observation
- Local ecosystem ecology and diversity
- Natural resources surrounding wildlife preservation
- Human impacts on urban wildlife
Skills:
- Critical qualitative and quantitative analysis of site attributes
- Evaluation and analysis of existing ecology
- Documentation a landscaping site through graphic and written means
- Selection and recommendation of eco-friendly landscaping practices