APL8020 : Design with Plants and Ecological Greenspace Management
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Professor Maggie Roe
- Lecturer: Mr Clive Davies, Professor Catherine Dee, Ms Stef Leach
- Owning School: Architecture, Planning & Landscape
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
To introduce students to the range of scientific and horticultural knowledge applicable to designing with plants and ecological landscape management. To introduce and develop skills in planting design and an understanding of the role of landscape management in the care of land to ensure that landscapes can fulfil needs and aspirations in an effective and resilient manner for present and future communities of users (human and non-human).
Outline Of Syllabus
The module covers the following:
Introduction to the principles of botany, ecology, horticulture, geology, soil science and climatology applicable to planting design and management.
Introduction to plant materials for landscape design, and the concepts and art of designing with plants (including the use of a reflective sketch/notebook to record the development of ideas, thinking and analyses).
Selecting appropriate material for site and environmental conditions.
Strategic planting planning at a landscape scale
Aesthetic considerations in planting design: scale, texture, colour, form etc. Functional aspects of planting: shade, shelter, structuring space, groundcover, screening etc. and the role of planning planting to regenerate landscapes
Ecological principles relating to planting design, planning and management
Introduction to planting plan conventions and plant schedules.
Consideration of the role of planting in the climate and biodiversity emergency including biodiversity planning, carbon storage/capture/absorption by planting materials, soils etc.
Consideration of the long-term management and maintenance of public spaces.
Students will go on short, guided walks around the campus and city centre, looking at examples of planting. There will be a day visit to a nursery and/or a botanic garden.
Students will complete a Landscape Planting Strategy and a Landscape Management Plan for a designed landscape. Aims and objectives of the designed landscape are linked to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: 3 (good health and well-being), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), 12 (responsible consumption and production), 13 (climate action), 14 (life below water) and 15 (life on land).
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 6 | 2:00 | 12:00 | Present in person. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 3 | 2:00 | 6:00 | PIP practical sessions conducive to the production of a landscape management plan. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 3 | 2:00 | 6:00 | PIP in studio planting design tutorials in small groups. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 2 | 8:00 | 16:00 | Site Visit |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 160:00 | 160:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The module is structured around a lecture course which introduces students to a range of sciences with a bearing upon designing with plants, strategic planting planning and long-term management and maintenance of landscapes.
The development of the Strategic Landscape Plan Landscape requires Landscape Planning and Management students to work alongside landscape architecture students and the development of skills of working collaboratively and synthetically.
The development and production of the Landscape Management Plan for a designed landscape requires individual investigation and synthetic learning through personal investigation, and small group discussion with colleagues and tutors.
Site visits guided by local professionals (e.g. to local planted schemes and/or nursery) give students the opportunity to connect their theoretical knowledge to real life scenarios.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Examination | 240 | 1 | M | 40 | Presentation of Landscape Planting Strategy (group work carried out with Master of Landscape Architecture students). |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical/lab report | 1 | M | 60 | 2000 words. Landscape Management Plan associated with a designed landscape & a reflective sketch/notebook recording analytical thinking throughout the module. |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The acquisition of knowledge and skills is assessed through two projects. The projects are devised to test the extent to which students are able to synthesise knowledge gained over the course of the module.
The critical reviews for Project 1 are linked to summative assessment. Project working and the reviews are carried out in groups. Assessment is through review.
Project 2 is a landscape management plan for a designed landscape, which tests individually the extent to which students are able to use knowledge gained over the course of the module, plus understandings of the nature and structure of landscape management plans relevant to specific landscapes and sites. Assessment for project 2 Landscape Management Plan is via on-line submission.
Students are required to submit their reflective sketch/notebook to demonstrate their analytical approach to site-based working throughout the module. Reflective sketch/notebooks are handed in separately.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- APL8020's Timetable