How can we make gardening more “green”? How do native plants fit into a broader land ethic? Sustainable landscaping means many different things to different people. A fairly useful and comprehensive definition might be: “environmentally conscientious gardening and landscaping that endeavors to conserve or restore natural resources, habitat, human communities, and ecosystem health”

Students will learn about a number of programs and organizations working to make the field of landscaping more sustainable. We will discuss things that homeowners and professionals can do to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the lands we manage. This class will mostly concentrate on small-scale residential landscapes, but many concepts will be applicable to rural and wildlands management.

Topics we will discuss include: reducing pollutants in your environment, protecting natural resources like water, soil, and air, creating habitat with native plants and conscientious management practices, managing exotic invasives, connecting people and social needs with nature, action you can take in your community, and, of course, reducing, reusing, and recycling!

ELECTIVE Class (4 credits)

Instructor: Charlotte Freeman
ELECTIVE Class (4 credits)

This course will explore the rich spring flora of Shakerag Rag Hollow, an old-growth cove forest located on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN.  Participants will be taught how to identify over 30 species of wildflowers and learn about the ecology of this highly diverse forest community.  The wildflower display in Shakerag Hollow rivals that found in the Great Smoky Mountains and this course will occur during peak flowering time.

Participants will be required to make a ½ mile leisurely trek along a moderately steep trail into the cove and then back out again.  PLEASE NOTE: People with mobility and balance issues have found this hike too challenging. Hiking shoes and rain gear will be needed.  We will meet at the Shakerag Hollow trailhead on the University of the South campus.

A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is inundated by water, either permanently or seasonally, where oxygen-free processes prevail. The course will discuss freshwater wetlands typical of this region, their role in water purification and their characteristic vegetation.  The instructor will describe the development and execution of the plan to restore the 40 acre wetland  on the Volkswagen Chattanooga campus, creating a biodiverse environment, including 167 species of birds that migrate through the property or have made it home. The last part of the course will be a tour of the now 88 acres wetland, with a discussion of how the plant communities have changed since the original restoration.

ELECTIVE Class (4 credits)

This workshop will look at the primary characteristics of Tennessee Valley area native trees such as leaf structure, branching patterns, bark, habitat and other identification features.  Dr. Craddock will also discuss tree biology, including some of the newer research on the critical nature of mycorrhizal associations in the forest, and tree care.  This workshop is part classroom and part field work, starting out with a classroom discussion and then some time in the field.  Some walking will be necessary but not physically demanding.

Students will learn about a number of programs and organizations working to make the field of landscaping more sustainable. We will discuss things that homeowners and professionals can do to have a mutually beneficial relationship with the lands we manage. This class will mostly concentrate on small-scale residential landscapes, but many concepts will be applicable to rural and wildlands management.

Topics we will discuss include: reducing pollutants in your environment, protecting natural resources like water, soil, and air, creating habitat with native plants and conscientious management practices, managing exotic invasives, connecting people and social needs with nature, action you can take in your community, and, of course, reducing, reusing, and recycling!

Instructor: Hill Craddock, PhD
ELECTIVE Class (4 credits)

In this class we will learn classic and more modern herbarium procedures, with emphasis on methods of pressing and mounting plants. We will collect, press, and mount plants, and record important information about each. We will discuss how best to preserve color and form and compare a variety of plant presses. We will peruse the Sewanee Herbarium and learn about herbaria in general and their role throughout history, as well as in current plant conservation efforts.

Instructor: Mary Priestley, Sewanee Herbarium Curator
ELECTIVE Class (4 credits)

Have you wondered how professional photographers see the world as they create amazing images? It's not just about expensive equipment!  This class will help you understand light and composition and what goes in to making great images.  Maybe as important, you will learn about common mistakes often made in photography and how to avoid them.

Instructor: J. Paul Moore
ELECTIVE Class (4 credits)

This is a core class for the Certificate in Native Plants and offers 6 credits toward the program's completion. The goal of the class is to provide students with a basic understanding of botany which is critical to understanding how plants work in the natural world.  For example, what exactly is a Plant? Here we take a look at the qualities that plants share with other living things, as well as characteristics that set them apart. We also examine the range of different organisms that make up the plant kingdom. Specific topics include: living vs. non-living things, matter, energy, chemistry, cells and their functions, photosynthesis, respiration, natural and artificial selection, and the diversity of the plant world.

Instructors: Richard Clements, Ph.D. & Mary Priestley
CORE Class (6 credits)

This course is a core course and provides 6 hours toward the completion of the Certificate in Native Plants program.  It is the second Botany course.  Looking together at plant cell types, tissue types, and major vegetative structures provides a background for understanding light and water requirements, soil preparation, composting, etc. We will also explore reproduction by examining some of the strategies and structures that plants use to continue life from generation to generation. Specific topics include: plant cell and tissue types, vegetative and reproductive organs, asexual reproduction, genetics, seeds, flowers, pollination, and fruits.

Instructors: Richard Clements, Ph.D. & Mary Priestley
CORE Class (6 credits)