Oral Presentations - Session 1A: UC 326

University of Montana's Native Plant Landscaping: Interpretation and a Proposal for Future Educational Strategies

Presentation Type

Presentation

Faculty Mentor’s Full Name

Marilyn Marler

Faculty Mentor’s Department

Biological Sciences

Abstract / Artist's Statement

The manipulation and interpretation of landscape reflects the attitudes, values and knowledge of the people within a particular cultural context. Of the many potential educational applications for the native plant landscaping on the University of Montana campus, I am proposing a strategy for educating students, the campus, and the community about native plants and local ecology in a way which appropriately reflects the historical relations of Native American cultures with local plant communities. The Payne Center for Native American Studies is the site of extensive native plant landscaping which is currently underused for education and lacking clear, appropriate and intentional directions for maintenance and interpretation. The Payne Center landscaping is one of several proposed service learning sites for the developing Native Plant Internship Program, and while the cross disciplinary potential of the program provides a context for various types of discussion, the strategy proposed for this particular site is developed around semiotic and rhetorical analysis of the landscape as a social or cultural construction. I am proposing that internship students tend the Payne Center native landscaping in a manner which highlight local Native American cultural relevancies and aesthetic qualities, while also working to develop interpretive and educational materials which guide the interpretive and educational experience of visitors, such as signs with written information about the cultural and ecological characteristics of the plants, as well as quick response (QR) codes which link smart phones and tablets to related website content which students compile about the plants from this and other Native Plant Internship Program learning sites.

Category

Social Sciences

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Apr 17th, 10:00 AM Apr 17th, 10:20 AM

University of Montana's Native Plant Landscaping: Interpretation and a Proposal for Future Educational Strategies

UC 326

The manipulation and interpretation of landscape reflects the attitudes, values and knowledge of the people within a particular cultural context. Of the many potential educational applications for the native plant landscaping on the University of Montana campus, I am proposing a strategy for educating students, the campus, and the community about native plants and local ecology in a way which appropriately reflects the historical relations of Native American cultures with local plant communities. The Payne Center for Native American Studies is the site of extensive native plant landscaping which is currently underused for education and lacking clear, appropriate and intentional directions for maintenance and interpretation. The Payne Center landscaping is one of several proposed service learning sites for the developing Native Plant Internship Program, and while the cross disciplinary potential of the program provides a context for various types of discussion, the strategy proposed for this particular site is developed around semiotic and rhetorical analysis of the landscape as a social or cultural construction. I am proposing that internship students tend the Payne Center native landscaping in a manner which highlight local Native American cultural relevancies and aesthetic qualities, while also working to develop interpretive and educational materials which guide the interpretive and educational experience of visitors, such as signs with written information about the cultural and ecological characteristics of the plants, as well as quick response (QR) codes which link smart phones and tablets to related website content which students compile about the plants from this and other Native Plant Internship Program learning sites.