Assignments

WINTER 2007

 

HEALING GARDENS - 2006-2007- Marja Eloheimo

Assignment Calendar for Winter 2007

WEEK 1

Wednesday – 10 January

Assignments Due

· Preliminary Project Interest Forms are completed in class (general ideas are fine)

Saturday 1 – 13 January

Assignments Due

· Prior to class, if at all possible, visit the Longhouse Ethnobotanical Garden – Walk around and observe relationships between different areas and spaces. Find a space that calls you. Sit, observe, write & draw there for 20-30 minutes. Stay warm!

· Bring to class: Your journal, colored pencils, watercolors, brushes, cup & paper towels

· Reading: -Nature Journaling, Chs. 2, 4 & 5 (Chs. 1 & 3 are encouraged for
everyone, including for review by continuing students)
-Keeping It Living, pp. vii-xi
-Sweet Breathing of Plants, to page 20

· Writing: A Creation Story. Follow it with a written discussion of the values it illustrates. (The reading from Keeping It Living illustrates both of these tasks.) This will be used in seminar.

· Final Project Interest Forms are completed in class.

· Make a copy of Ch. 5 and Ch. 7 from The Natural History of Puget Sound Country which is on Closed Reserve in the Library. (Suggestion: Partners make one copy of each & share.)

WEEK 2

Wednesday – 17 January

Assignments Due

  • Reading: -Keeping It Living, Ch. 1, Introduction: Reassessing Indigenous
    Resource Management, Reassessing the History of an Idea.
    (Read to page 16)
    -
    The Natural History of Puget Sound Country
    , Ch. 5 (to page 160),
    Life on Land: Lowland Forests (follow up to Saturday’s lecture)
    -Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp. 21-33

WEEK 2 Wed., 17 Jan – cont’d

  • Writing: Weekly Reflections #1: Address the following questions –

1. Compare the descriptions of ecosystems or zones in each text

2. Discuss your understanding of relationships between natural systems and cultural systems in the Northwest

3. List the plants discussed in both texts that you can identify

4. List two or three ideas you’ve gained through the reading and Saturday activities that you could apply to work on a habitat area in the Longhouse Garden

(These are due in hard copy; also bring them in CD form or e-mail them to yourself for the Drupal Workshop. See below.)

  • Journaling: 3-4 written and drawn entries.
  • For Drupal Workshop: Both Continuing and New Students: Bring (on a CD or e-mail to your self) a short prepared autobiography that includes where you were born and grew up, something about your family and ethnicity, something about your academic and/or professional experience and goals, something about what drew you to this program, and something about the things you. New Students: Bring a photo of yourself to scan and post.

Also bring your first Weekly Reflections to post as mentioned above.

WEEK 3

Wednesday – 24 January

Assignments Due

· Reading: -For the Liberal Arts Forum: The Herbalist’s Way, Ch. 2 “The
Gamut of Herbal Possibility,” Ch. 3 “Learning Your Path,”
& Ch.4 “Considering Your Niche.”
-Keeping It Living, complete Ch.1

-The Natural History of Puget Sound Country, complete Ch. 5
-Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp.103-131

· Project Log #1 – 5 hours spent as follows:

· Meet with LHG Site/Habitat partners, get acquainted

· Spend about one hour at your site, get acquainted through observation & journaling

· Begin to review all available materials related to your site; this will include last quarter’s web page each site and area notebooks for some sites

· Complete your Project Log (include, partner(s), dates, times, activities, LEARNING GAINED, total time spent for the week

WEEK 3 Wed., 24 Jan – cont’d

  • Writing: Weekly Reflections #2: Address the following questions –

1. Discuss your understanding of relationships between natural systems & cultural systems in the Northwest, but add into the mix your new understanding of the roles you might play
as an agent of healing, that is, of your “identity” in relationship to your understandings

2. List the new plants discussed in all texts that you can identify

3. List two or three new ideas you’ve gained through this week’s readings that you could apply to your Longhouse Garden project work

  • Journaling: 3-4 written and drawn entries.

· Web Page: Post Project Log & Weekly Reflections (Note that assignments are also due in hard copy)

Saturday 2 – 27 January

Assignments Due

· Reading: -The Natural History of Puget Sound Country, Ch. 7 “Lakes, ‘Prairies,” and Other
Nonforested Lowland Habitats (preparation for garden time &prairie work today)
-Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp. 132-138


WEEK 4

Wednesday – 31 January

Assignments Due

  • Reading:
    -Excerpt The Secret Life of Water, Ch. 2 “Water’s Healing Melody” (Closed Reserve)
    -Botany Excerpts (on Closed Reserve)
    -Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp.49-56

· Project Log #2 – 5 more hours spent as follows (approximate total of 10 hours to date):

· Spend time at your site working with the materials you have. Use them to help you understand your site better. And use your site to help you understand the materials better.

· Write a summary of all the materials that exist for your site. Include a list, a description of each, and assessment of the quality/usefulness of each.

· Complete your Project Log (include partner(s), dates, times, activities, LEARNING GAINED, total time spent for the week

  • Writing: Weekly Reflections #3:

This week, step back and think about what you have been doing as a whole. It is time to think in terms of synthesizing the various strands that we are engaged in. Remember that in Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom, life is not compartmentalized and learning is not divided into disciplines. We are engaging with plants and we are “cultivating” our own ability to steward places we call gardens.

WEEK 4 Wed, 31 Jan – con’td

So, your question, or rather, your task for this week (as it will be again in future weeks), is to look for connections between and within all you’ve been doing: your work in your Longhouse Garden site, your new discoveries regarding the nervous system, your choosing of one medicinal plant to get acquainted with deeply, your readings from The Natural History of Puget Sound Country, your readings from Keeping It Living, your journal work, your considerations of “identity” through the Liberal Arts Forum, your reading about water, and your discoveries about stems and roots and twigs in winter. Look for a few ways that they tie together meaningfully for you? What basket are you weaving from these strands? What insights are you gaining?

  • Journaling: 3-4 written and drawn entries.

· Web Page: Post Project Log #2, Weekly Reflections #3, and Habitat/Ecosystem or Theme

Introduction. (Note that assignments are also due in hard copy)

WEEK 5

Wednesday – 7 February

Assignments Due

· Reading: -Nature Journaling, Ch. 9 “Getting Started with Drawing”
-Keeping It Living
, Select one chapter in Part II. Concepts. Read half of it.
-Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp. 57-70

· Project Log #3 – 5 more hours spent as follows (approximate total of 15 hours to date):

· Spend time at your site. Practice plant identification. Observe and journal. Use concepts from Landscape Ecology in your observations, especially “patch,” “matrix,” “corridor,” “ecotone,” and “flows.” Optional: Engage in clean up or preparation that you wish to do.

· Using existing materials, your own observations, and additional research, write a 1-2 page introduction to the habitat/ecosystem-type or theme associated with your site. This will serve as a first draft that will then be edited and refined into a 1-2 paragraph sign text.

· Complete your Project Log (include partner(s), dates, times, activities, LEARNING GAINED, total time spent for the week

  • Writing: Weekly Reflections #4: Address the following questions –
    1. How is winter manifesting in you and in the world around you?
    2. What is your relationship with your journal? Is it deep and fulfilling? If not, what
    could you do to engage with it and learn from it more?
    3. What is medicine? What is a garden? Write a definition of each. Compare your
    definitions. Insights?
  • Journaling: 3-4 written and drawn entries.

· Web Page: Post Project Log #4, Weekly Reflections #5, and Habitat/Theme Introduction

(Note that assignments are also due in hard copy)

WEEK 5 – cont’d

Saturday 3 – 10 February

Assignments Due

  • Reading: -Horticultural Excerpts (on Closed Reserve)
    -Garden Practicum Excerpts (on Closed Reserve)
    -Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp.71-85

WEEK 6

Wednesday – 14 February MID-QUARTER

Assignments Due

· Reading: -Keeping It Living. Complete Chapter chosen from Part 1. Concepts
-Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp. 86-102

· Project Log #4 – 5 more hours spent as follows (approximate total of 20 hours to date):

· Spend time at your site. Observe and journal. Continue to work with concepts from Landscape Ecology in your observations, especially “patch,” “matrix,” “corridor,” “ecotone,” and “flows.” Optional: Continue to engage in clean up or preparation that you wish to do.

Develop a draft list of plants present and plants desired in your site based on observation and all materials available.

· Revise and begin to shorten your 1-2 page Habitat/Ecosystem or Theme Introduction. Prepare to receive editing from Marja to integrate with your revisions.

· Complete your Project Log (include partner(s), dates, times, activities, LEARNING GAINED, total time spent for the week

  • Writing: Weekly Reflections #5: Address the following --
    Write a 3 page on the chapter you chose from Keeping It Alive
    Page 1: Summary
    Page 2: Response (Open)
    Page 3: Connections to the Longhouse Garden and/or your site

  • Journaling: 3-4 written and drawn entries.

  • Personal Garden Assignment: Part 1 (Site Description and Vision. May be done in journal)

  • Plant Monograph Draft Due (REQUIRED: HARD COPY ONLY)

  • · Web Page: Post Project Log #4, Weekly Reflections #5, Revised Habitat/Theme Intro, Plant
    Lists (Note that assignments are also due in hard copy)

    ***BRING VALENTINE’S DAY TREATS TO SHARE: SWEETS, SNACKS, TEAS, BEAUTY, ETC.***


    A DRAFT FOLLOWS. DETAILS & HANDOUTS WILL BE GIVEN OUT LATER IN THE QUARTER:

    WEEK 7
    Wednesday – 21 February
    Assignments Due
    Reading: -Keeping It Living. Select one chapter from Part II. Case Studies. Read first half.
    -Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp. 139-180
    Project Log #6: 5 more hours spent as follows (approximate total of 15 hours to date):
    (Structure materials into a chapter outline, Intensive maintenance begins,
    Research into plant procurement, Plans for Action!)
    Writing: Weekly Reflections #7: Address the following -- To be announced
    Personal Garden Assignment: Part 2 (Theme, Plant List Brainstorm. May be done in Journal)
    Journaling: 3-4 written and drawn entries.
    Web Page: Post Project Log #2, Weekly Reflections #3, and …

    Saturday 4 – 24 February
    Assignments Due
    Reading: -Keeping It Living. Finish selected chapter from Part II. Case Studies.
    -Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp. 181-210

    WEEK 8
    Wednesday – 28 February
    Assignments Due
    Reading: -Keeping It Living. Part III. Conclusions
    -Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp. 211-230
    Project Log #7 – 5 more hours spent as follows (approximate total of 35 hours to date):
    (Plant List, Plant Procurement, Sign Text, Weeding, Plans, Chapter)
    Writing: Weekly Reflections #4: Address the following – To be announced
    Personal Garden Assignment: Part 3 (Design and Care Plans. May be done in Journal)
    Journaling: 3-4 written and drawn entries.
    Web Page: Post Project Log #2, Weekly Reflections #3, and ---

    WEEK 9
    Wednesday – 7 March
    Assignments Due
    Reading: -Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp.231-246
    Project Log #8 – 5 more hours spent as follows (approximate total of 40 hours to date) –
    (To be announced)
    Writing: Weekly Reflections #9 (To be announced)
    Garden Assignment: Transcribe previous work into a document
    Journaling: 3-4 written and drawn entries.
    Web Page: Post Plant Study/Monograph, Project Log #2, Weekly Reflections #3, and …
    Plant Study/Monograph (web & hard copy)

    Saturday – 10 March
    Assignments Due:
    Presentations, Chapters & Potluck (non-presenters)

    WEEK 10
    Wednesday – 14 March - 5:30 - 9:30
    Assignments Due
    Reading: -Sweet Breathing of Plants, pp. 264-278
    Feedback to one group’s chapter/presentation
    Web Page: Final posts & Reflections
    Evaluation Drafts

    ***

    FALL 2006

    Assignment Overview for Fall 2006

    Preliminary Project Interest Form: Completed during the first night of class

    Final Project Interest Form: Completed during the first Saturday class

    Readings: See syllabus for title and author information; see calendar for due dates

    Drupal Workshop: Preparation for writing a short bio, including bringing a photo of yourself to scan and post

    Drupal Web Page: Develop and maintain several sections

    Reflections: On a weekly basis, you are expected to post a somewhat in-depth look at what you have been doing, thinking about, discovering, and learning that week. It should draw upon and synthesize all areas of the program: class activities, readings, journal work, and project work. It should NOT be a list or chronology but rather and integration that demonstrates an on-going process of deepening understandings. This will provide me with an important assessment tool for your evaluations.

    As part of the Reflections, you will have a weekly Garden Topic to consider and explore. It should be woven into your reflective writing.

    Nature/Garden Journal: At least 3-4 written AND drawn entries each week; focus on your Longhouse Garden area, your habitat field visits, your Community-Service Garden, and other experiences/observations of the seasons

    Plant Study: For this assignment, you will first be given an opportunity in class to discover a plant that calls you without necessarily knowing who it is. Then you will explore the plant intuitively before being introduced to a formal method for carrying out plant research, which you will draw upon according to your background. You will also be asked to make a preparation with the plant, if at all possible. I expect that this assignment will be adapted individually on the basis of previous knowledge and experience.

    Project Work (Total time expectation is 35 hours outside of class activities between Weeks 2 & 7, which averages 5 hours per week)

    1) Longhouse Garden Project: (See Longhouse Ethnobotanical Garden Project handout for details.) Expectations include: 1) Getting Acquainted and Introducing Your Site; 2) Getting Acquainted and Introducing Your Habitat Type; 3) Hands-on Care and Development of your Site; 4) Future Goals and Plans Development; 5) Maintaining a Learning/Activity Log. All of these are to be posted in the Longhouse Garden portion of the class web page as on-going documentation as well as refinement into a quality web page section, hard copy for a Garden Notebook, and end-of-quarter presentation.

    2) Community-Service Garden Project: (See Community-Service Garden Project handout for details.) The purpose of this project is two-fold. It is to enable you to gain perspective through exposure to a garden project that is different from the Longhouse Garden, and it is to give you the experience of entering into and participating – if briefly – in a garden project based in an aspect of the greater community that is personally or professionally meaningful and interesting to you. Expectations include: 1) identifying a garden and making contact with a garden liaison; 2) discussing with the garden liaison the scope of your involvement (observation and volunteer assistance) during Weeks 4-7 of the quarter; 3) both you and the liaison signing a contract that outlines mutual expectations and plans (to be turned in as hard copy on Wednesday of Week 3, 11 October); 4) carrying out your observations and volunteer assistance; 5) obtaining a brief statement of evaluation from your garden liaison and turning it in by Wednesday of Week 9, 22 November (the day before Thanksgiving).

    End-of-Quarter Presentations:

     

    1) Longhouse Garden Area Group Presentation: This end-of-the-quarter Group Presentation will introduce all of these aspects of the Longhouse Garden Project work. The presentation should have a professional flavor and should provide an introduction to the habitat type, the areas (sites) that represent that type, plants present, horticultural techniques used, future goals and plans, AND highlights of your experiences, learning and meanings found. It should draw from the work posted in the Longhouse Garden section of the Web Page. In fact, this Web Page work can be the visual accompaniment to the presentation, or you can create a Power Point presentation (which then would also be posted on the Web Page).

     

    2) Individual Presentation (Recommended): This is a five-minute creative presentation that you are encouraged but not required to do. It allows you focus on, refine and share WHATEVER has been the most meaningful to you this quarter. It could be a Power Point presentation, a play, a story, a song, artwork, plant creations… It could incorporate your journal work directly into images accompanied by music through Power Point, for example. I VERY MUCH hope that you will ALL enjoy this opportunity to share ways that you have grown or some “aha” moments or just some fun you’ve had!

     

    End-of-Quarter Potlucks: Students who are NOT presenting during either the last Wednesday or last Saturday class will prepare a potluck dish to share with the rest of the class.

     

    Self- and Program Evaluations: For continuing students, you may write informal evaluations for the purpose of recording your perceptions while they are fresh and incorporating later into formal evaluations. Students leaving the program must write formal evaluations on appropriate Evergreen forms.

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