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Native Plants and the Regional Environment
COURSE CLOSED In this course students will study the many benefits of native plants to the environment and will investigate threats to native plant communities including competition from invasive species. Native plants suitable for erosion control, wildlife habitat, and lawn alternatives will be identified, observed and photographed at several different field sites. One local school district’s efforts to create a nature trail on school property in support of PDE environment and ecology standards will be visited, and funding strategies for such endeavors will be explored. The best online sources for regional plant information will be identified and used, along with students’ own digital images, to produce a PowerPoint presentation and teaching unit on a planting designed to improve the environment. Students will design an environmentally friendly planting and develop an environmental curriculum module for use in their programs. Basic instruction on the use of the camera and on information literacy will be provided. Requirement: Students are expected to use their own transportation to field sites within a 20 mile radius of Neumann University. Materials supplied: Digital cameras for use during the course and at students' home institutions; native plant/ invasive plant references (hard copy). Addresses Pennsylvania Department of Education Academic Standards for Science & Technology: 4.1 Watersheds and Wetlands; 4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions; 4.7 Threatened, Endangered and Extinct Species; 4.8 Humans and the Environment. Limited to 16 participants. Course Coordinators: Patricia
Fallest-Strobl, Ph.D., Alice Waegel, Ph.D., Mary McCoy, Ph.D. |
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