Mar 29, 2024  
University Catalog 2021-2022 
    
University Catalog 2021-2022 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

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SCI-3070: Leimert Park Living Lab: Native Plant Assessment and Restoration

This course in the science of plant biology and native plant restoration offers students an experiential, hands-on learning opportunity on-site at Leimert Park’s new People Street Plaza. Leimert Park is widely regarded as the vital heart and soul of African American music, arts, and culture in Los Angeles, sometimes dubbed as the black Greenwich Village. (It is located just 4 miles from the AULA campus.) The new plaza created by closing off vehicular traffic is being designed by local artists to include large planters that define the perimeter of the plaza where the plants native to the area will be restored. Students will identify and document these native plants through photography and plant sampling. They will learn basic scientific observation, research and documentation techniques, as well as urban ecological processes and problem solving. This project will raise awareness of the role of plants in peoples daily lives by illustrating some of the most common and interesting traditional use of these native plants in the Leimert park area. Through this learning process, students will also have the opportunity to make a concrete contribution to the cultural development of this vibrant location by working with local community members. This course uses a Living Lab teaching model. Living labs are real-life innovative spaces where students, faculty, and community members can address a current problem in order to develop as well as test possible sustainable solutions. Living labs also provide many opportunities to teach, co-create, design, and implement solutions that involve many disciplines and they often have open-ended applications. This course will also provide an opportunity for artist and scientist to collaborate and encourage student driven scientific and ecological inquiry in public spaces. The students will be asked to observe the natural phenomena in a living system as well as reflect on this experience.
Min. Credits: 3.0 Max Credits: 4.0
Credit Basis: Quarter credit
Location(s): Antioch Univ Los Angeles
Method(s): Classroom
Faculty Consent Required: N
Program Approval Required: N
Course Type Liberal Arts, Science & Social Science



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