Certificate in Holistic Landscape Design

Mission: The certificate in holistic landscape design program allows students to build upon their knowledge of medicinal and edible plants and apply this knowledge to building sustainable landscape solutions that benefit the earth and the human community.

The courses in the certificate in holistic landscape design program are offered on evenings and weekends. The program instructs students on permaculture concepts and cultivation of medicinal and edible plants. Students who complete the program are able to develop sustainable landscapes that benefit the environment and provide utilitarian resources for the community as a whole.

Expected Program Outcomes

Following are the learning objectives for students in the holistic landscape design program:

• Have ability to create a landscape design that enhances the natural landscape and reflects the health of all of the beings that utilize it, as well as the health of the planet.
• Apply sustainable landscape measures creatively, designing for biodiversity, therapeutic utility, and aesthetics.
• Integrate permaculture techniques and principles for sustainably modifying land and implementing designs.
• Understand importance and elements of soil science and how to utilize this knowledge in horticultural methods.
• Enhance knowledge of practices that support seasonal and sustainable cultivation of food and medicinal plants.
• Practice therapeutic plant propagation and cultivation from native and analogue climates for landscape design as well as nursery or market production.

Admissions 

Applicants must have a minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA. Prior to enrolling, students must have completed 90 quarter credits (60 semester credits) of college-level coursework. Including one Introductory Botany course, or equivalent.

Prerequisite Course

^{Must cover basic plant morphology and physiology, classification, plant evolution, terminology, and ecology, no labs required.}

Strongly Recommended Courses

Though not required for admission, the faculty recommends that students complete biology, chemistry, public speaking, and general education coursework in addition to the botany prerequisite requirement. These courses will substantially enhance students’ ability to be prepared for the concepts covered in the holistic landscape design program. Please see additional details regarding these recommendations:

• Biology – covering cell and plant biology, no labs required
• Introduction to Botany – basic plant morphology and physiology, classification, plant evolution, and ecology, no labs required
• Chemistry – survey-level to cover general inorganic and organic concepts, no labs required
• Public Speaking - coursework or experience
• General Education - including some humanities, English, natural sciences and social sciences courses