Instructor:

Don Rakow

dr14@cornell.edu

Teaching assistants: 

Syllabus

About the class

Public gardens include botanic gardens, arboreta, historic landscapes, conservatories, and display gardens. These gardens focus on display, evaluation, conservation, and research of plants in landscaped and natural settings. This course will address the management practices integral to successful operation of such gardens. This overview course will cover history, collections, landscape management, conservation, education, interpretation, visitor services, funding sources, administration, financial management, and careers in the public garden field.

Course Aim

Through critical thinking exercises and the application of concepts, theory, and methods covered in the course, students will better understand the complexity of how public garden are managed and will be better prepared for careers in or related to the field.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will:

• Define and describe the field of public garden management.
• Describe the niche that public gardens occupy in the field of horticulture.
• Identify the diverse roles that public gardens play and their contributions in our lives, our culture and our global environment.
• Recognize and describe the benefits and challenges of assembling and working with a multidisciplinary team of professionals.
• Recognize and describe specific components of a successful public garden.

Class Format

We will meet for two lectures and one lab each week. During the lab period we may take field trips to Cornell Plantations or local gardens, have guest speakers, and/or engage in lab activities that will illustrate a particular topic.  We will also take a multi-day trip as a class to botanic gardens of a selected metropolitan region, to meet with and learn from professionals at these institutions.