A Community Service Approach for a Landscape Design Course: Design and Installation of a Habitat for Humanity Residential Landscape

• Published in: HortScience Vol. 30; no. 4; p. 901
• Main Author: Davis, Gregory L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.07.1995
• DOI: 10.21273/HORTSCI.30.4.901B
• ISSN: 0018-5345

Landscape design courses typically include real-life projects in which students integrate design principles and selection of plants and materials. Such projects also allow students to sharpen their graphical and interpersonal communication skills; they draw plans to satisfy a client. For one project in our course, students do all of that work plus contribute to the off-campus community via the Habitat for Humanity program. Students gain not only the traditional experience of designing a residential landscape on a strict budget but also the experience of competing to create the plan to be chosen by a committee of decisionmakers. The students gain further practical hands-on experience because they install the landscape. This type of community service project allows horticulture students to earn the satisfaction of seeing a site evolve from an empty lot to a finished landscape, knowing they are enhancing a homeowner' s and the community's environment.