We know from studies by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan of the University of Michigan that the landscape, whether cultivated or natural, strongly affects people's moods, behavior, ability to focus and ability to cope with everyday situations and human interactions.

The goals of all of our landscaping efforts have been to create places where peoples can interact with each other and with nature, places for reflection and study, pleasant places to walk through, and places that celebrate learning and expression of the human spirit.

One of the University's greatest material and visual assets is the mosaic created by its strikingly original modern buildings set in a pastoral landscape of old stone walls and open fields. Recognizing the agricultural history of the University's land, improvements to the landscape have integrated the campus' bold architectural design with its agricultural history and the familiar New England landscape. This juxtaposition of formal architecture to natural settings has provided the guiding principle for landscape improvements to this campus.

Process:

Landscaping at UMD is a curriculum-based, service learning experience. It is integrated into courses such as "Landscape and Garden", "Horticulture", and "Plants and Landscape: Theory and Practice in Service to the University."

In these project-learning activities, both the design processes and the landscape outcomes are considered of equal importance. Students gain valuable experience in consensus-building techniques, personal and group interactions and planning while developing their group designs.

 Last Updated On: 2/25/04