Landscape Design Courses Provide Opportunities for Service Learning

The Environmental Horticulture Departmentʹs landscape design course at the University of Florida included a service learning component in which student teams completed the design process in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity, an international service organization. Students designed a landscape plan for a local Habitat client and, working with other community volunteers, installed the landscape. The course, like other landscape courses, provided students the opportunity to integrate their horticultural knowledge, graphical and communication skills, and the design process. The service learning component, however, expanded their appreciation of giving to the community as volunteers while gaining needed hands-on experience.