Sustainable Horticulture, Associate of Applied Science
The green movement towards restoration and preservation of the earth's resources is contributing to the rapid growth of the sustainable landscape and horticulture industry. Homeowners, designers, and urban planners are all moving rapidly to apply these practices in order to provide functional, aesthetic, and environmentally sound designs to care for our landscapes. For those desiring to enter the industry, CCBC's comprehensive program addresses the need to understand how to manage land and water resources for sustainable production while obtaining acceptable returns with minimal impact on the earth's ecosystem. Graduates will gain a thorough knowledge and practical experience in three areas of sustainable horticulture: landscape design, restoration, installation, and maintenance; turf and grounds maintenance; and greenhouse production. To prepare students for leadership roles in these growing fields, all three disciplines will incorporate innovative strategies in sustainability principles, practices, and current industry standards.
Program objectives
Upon successful completion of this degree, students will be able to:
- Identify, explain and apply sustainable horticultural practices to landscape design, restoration projects, maintenance of landscapes, and plant production operations;
- Create landscape designs using the principles of ecological design and a variety of graphic skills;
- Identify various trees, shrubs, and perennials used in garden installations and restoration by both the common and botanical names; understand and apply the cultural requirements for each plant when selecting plants during design or installation;
- Apply basic cultural practices and perform routine operations in farm, garden or greenhouses used to raise and maintain turf and plants for landscaping, green roofs and green walls;
- Maintain plants in the residential/commercial environment using techniques such as pruning, trimming, planting, and transplanting;
- Identify pests that infest and inhibit healthy growth of turf and plants and specify appropriate Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods to control such pests.
