CAPPL 3200 Urban Ecological Gardening for Food and Wildlife
Welcome to Urban Ecological Gardening for Food and Wildlife. The goal of this course is to explore the inter-related issues of food justice, environmental racism, climate change mitigation and urban conservation. Urban areas are often lacking in access to fresh, local food as well as access to green spaces and the many health benefits interactions with nature can provide. The growth of urbanization (particularly in the US where over 82% of people currently live in cities) means that conservation of biodiversity also requires us to find ways to support populations of native insects, birds, mammals and other species within city spaces. Urban ecological gardening practices can help address all these issues. This course teaches the basic principles of creating garden spaces that can support people and wildlife, even in small urban patches. A large component of the course will be a service project where you collaborate and learn with local partners doing work in ecological gardening, gaining hands-on experience and contributing to local urban ecological gardening efforts. Wherever possible students will also engage with ongoing urban ecological gardening efforts on the Lesley University campus.