Course Description
Study of the economic, environmental, individual, community, and health benefits associated with exposure to and contact with plants. Students will choose activities at the State Botanical Garden to complete twelve hours of volunteer service to gain hands-on experience with plants and observe other people around plants.
Athena Title
Elements People Plant Con SL
Non-Traditional Format
This course will be taught more than 95% online. The service-learning portion involves twelve hours of volunteer support of a community-identified need and commensurate opportunities to relate the volunteer experience to the academic content and learning objectives of the course. Service-learning percentage 25%.
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and summer
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
In this course, students will: • Explore the importance of plants to human health and well-being. • Describe and define consumer horticulture. • Identify the economic, environmental, community, and health benefits of consumer horticulture. • Identify how consumer horticulture can address a problem faced by a community or society. • Apply consumer horticulture in meaningful ways to personal lives and chosen profession.
Topical Outline
Human Health and Well-being Nutrition, Physical Health, Social Connections, Well-being, Sociohorticulture Consumer Horticulture (CH) Home Gardening, Community Gardens, Public Gardens, School Gardens, Parks/Green Spaces, and related industries CH Benefits Economic – food production, tourism, property values, entrepreneurism, reduced crime Environmental – urban environment, temperatures, water use and management, energy usage, green infrastructure Community – sense of place, relationships, volunteerism, youth, adults, elderly, at-risk youth, individuals with special needs, rural-urban continuum Health – physical, nutritional, mental, therapeutic horticulture Addressing Societal Concerns through People-Plant Connections Food insecurity, neighborhood crime, economic development, special populations, socioeconomic barriers Life Applications Finding credible horticulture information, growing plants, CH applications to personal lives and chosen profession
Syllabus