Landscape Technician
-Environmental
Section B.101 5/2/2013
Ontario College Diploma (2 Years - 4 Semesters ) (5120)
705.759.6700 : 1.800.461.2260 : www.saultcollege.ca : Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Students who enrol in this program will gain the knowledge and practical skills relating to landscaping and horticulture with an emphasis on environmental sustainability. Graduates will be in a position to design, create and implement landscape plans using contemporary tools and techniques. Graduates from this program may use the credential, knowledge and skills gained to support other learning and/or find employment with municipalities, commercial and residential landscaping companies, garden centers, golf courses, landscape construction contractors, nurseries and landscape architects.
ADMISSIONS
MINIMUM ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
Ontario Secondary School Diploma, or mature student status.
CAREER PATHS
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:
• Apply the principles of plant, soil and environmental sciences to complete work in horticulture and landscaping.
• Apply practical horticulture skills to the production of plant materials, including herbaceous plants, woody plants, edibles and turf.
• Apply the principles of design and environmental sustainability to horticulture and landscaping. • Apply installation and construction principles and related practical skills to horticulture and
landscaping.
• Implement maintenance procedures for plants, property, and equipment.
• Apply knowledge of plant identification, usage, and maintenance criteria to horticulture and landscaping.
• Create horticultural and landscaping plans that promote healthy ecosystems and avoid environmental damage.
• Apply the principles and practical skills of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)* to indoor and outdoor plants.
• Contribute to the effective planning, implementation, and conclusion of horticultural and landscaping projects.
• Apply health and safety standards and best practices to workplaces.
• Use business practices appropriate to the horticulture and landscaping industries.
• Act in a professional manner, maintain professional relationships, and communicate effectively with clients, co-workers, supervisors, and others.
• Develop strategies for ongoing personal and professional development to enhance work performance and career opportunities and to keep pace with industry changes.
OTHER INFORMATION
This is a co-operative education program. Students are required to complete at least one co-op work placement (CWL100) in order to graduate.
For more information contact Program Coordinator Valerie Walker at 705.759.2554, ext 2464 or email [email protected]
PROGRAM OF STUDY
SEMESTER 1
CMM115-3 Communications I LDT100-3 Nursery Management
LDT101-4 Plant Identification I (Trees and Shrubs) LDT102-3 Plant Science and the Environment I LDT103-3 Environmental Landscape Design I LDT104-3 Entomology
POL110-3 Introduction to Canadian Government
SEMESTER 2
CWL100-3 Co-op Work Placement
Note: CWL100-3 is mandatory and takes place in the summer. LDT200-3 Turf Management
LDT201-4 Plant Identification II (Annuals and Perennials) LDT202-3 Environmental Pest Management
LDT203-3 Landscape Construction I
LDT204-3 Plant Science and the Environment II LDT205-3 Environmental Landscape Design II
SEMESTER 3
LDT300-4 Environmental Planting
LDT301-3 Enhanced Environmental Plant Growth LDT302-3 Landscape Construction II
LDT303-4 Landscape Design Software LDT304-3 Greenhouse Management GEN100-3 Global Citizenship
SEMESTER 4
LDT400-4 Practical Garden Design and Maintenance LDT401-4 Landscape Construction III
LDT402-4 Horticulture and Landscape Business Management LDT403-4 Environmental Arboriculture
LDT404-3 Sports and Horticulture Select one of the following:
GAS103: What in the World is Going On? GAS109: Music and Pop Culture
GAS116: Your Two Cents
GEN110: Student Selected General Education HDG122: Personal and Academic Success Strategies SSC102: Introduction to Aboriginal Peoples of Canada
Note: *Students must choose one of the identified Student Selected General Education Courses
Semester 1
Communications I (CMM115) (3 credits)
The focus of this course is paragraph writing. You will produce effective, college-level expository/response paragraphs by developing analytical skills to select and properly integrate electronic and other research materials. Writing components such as rhetorical modes, grammar, sentence structure, paragraph development, editing, and referencing are included.
Nursery Management (LDT100) (3 credits)
This course will provide students with the skills and knowledge to begin their own outdoor nurseries. Propagation and commercial growing techniques for a wide range of trees, shrubs and herbs will be the main focus.
Plant Identification I (Trees and Shrubs) (LDT101) (4 credits)
This course will provide a systematic study of structural characteristics of trees and shrubs (including ornamentals), the identification of Canadian species by leaf features, their relationships to one another and recognition of their dynamic role in ecosystem ecology. Coniferous species will be studied in considerable detail including twig, bark and growth characteristics.
Plant Science and the Environment I (LDT102) (3 credits)
Taxonomic nomenclature of plant parts from basic cell structure to specialized tissues and their functions. Introduction to ecological soil organisms and their functions in soils related to healthy plant growth. Environmental Landscape Design I (LDT103) (3 credits)
Students will develop an understanding of basic design principles and the application of these principles to landscape design.
Entomology (LDT104) (3 credits)
This course focuses on insect classification, reproduction, damage effect on plants, control, biological and chemical and inter-relationships between insects and disease. The student will study the hosts, range, life cycle, feeding type and control of problem insects, with emphasis on the immature (feeding) stage of development.
Introduction to Canadian Government (POL110) (3 credits)
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of Canadian government. The key structures of government at all levels will be reviewed; however, the primary focus will be on the federal and
provincial levels. Students will become cognizant of the impact of government on their lives and how their participation in the system can affect change.
Semester 2
Co-op Work Placement (CWL100) (3 credits)
Students will spend their first work term working in Landscape Technician - Environmental related activities at a level compatible with their skills. The student will keep an activity log and prepare a report based on their job experience. The employer will do an evaluation of the co-op employee.
Turf Management (LDT200) (3 credits)
Native species of grasses are efficient eco-system friendly species that can provide more “green”
alternatives to traditional turf areas. The focus of this course is to study the species and the management of common and new types of turf areas.
Plant Identification II (Annuals and Perennials) (LDT201) (4 credits)
This course will cover a wide variety of annuals and perennials their place in the gardens, planning and planting formal and mass plantings.
Environmental Pest Management (LDT202) (3 credits)
Since pesticides are harmful to the environment this course will focus on alternative methods that can be used to manage for both insect pests and pathological diseases. The student will learn the differences between abiotic and biotic disease and control.
Landscape Construction I (LDT203) (3 credits)
Students will be introduced to the safe operation of a variety of hand and power tools used in horticulture and landscaping. Maintenance equipment for managing various types of grounds keeping such as turf management equipment, hedge trimmers, clippers and other hand tools.
Plant Science and the Environment II (LDT204) (3 credits)
This course will study soil organisms and the carbon to nitrogen ratio, essential element development and availability processes including elemental properties and their chemical relationships in plant functions. Environmental Landscape Design II (LDT205) (3 credits)
Students will apply design principles to assignments pertaining to wetland reclamation, and other restoration and remediation issues.
Semester 3
Environmental Planting (LDT300) (4 credits)
Plan and plant a garden with native species that are friendly and “Green”. Replace turf areas with native wildflowers that are not invasive and are efficient feeders and conserve water.
Enhanced Environmental Plant Growth (LDT301) (3 credits)
This course will study essential elements for plant growth and the chemistry and functions of those elements throughout the plant structure. Fertilizers will be examined from an environmental perspective. Landscape Construction II (LDT302) (3 credits)
Subjects include building code compliance, framing, walkway construction and materials, retaining walls, and paving stones, small wooden structures and outdoor concrete facilities.
Landscape Design Software (LDT303) (4 credits)
Learn to use software to create professional landscape drawings and plans that can identify and place each plant species into the correct growing conditions they require.
Greenhouse Management (LDT304) (3 credits)
Learn how to propagate and grow plants, trees and shrubs in a modern commercial greenhouse setting. Using the most up-to-date equipment and techniques in the industry with careful considerations minimizing the environmental impacts.
Global Citizenship (GEN100) (3 credits)
The world is shrinking. The ice caps are melting. A sneeze, thousands of kilometres away, starts a health pandemic and technology enables us to intimately view earthquakes, tsunamis and human rights violations around the world. This reality calls for an understanding of diversity, social justice and sustainability. A global citizen is aware of the wider world, respects and values diversity, is outraged by injustice,
participates in community from the local to the global level, and feels compelled to act to make the world a more sustainable place. Global citizenship will help students gain personal meaning of themselves as citizens of the world and apply it in their own lives.
Semester 4
Learn skills to design and maintain formal, semi-formal flower and mass plantings of annuals, bulbs and perennials, and native species.
Landscape Construction III (LDT401) (4 credits)
Subjects include an introduction to surveying, fencing installation, playground equipment, rock garden construction and irrigation systems and installation. Maintenance equipment for managing various types of grounds keeping such as chain saws, wood chippers, and stumpers will also be reviewed.
Horticulture and Landscape Business Management (LDT402) (4 credits)
Learn to own and manage your own small business in the horticultural industry. Create a small business plan, promote your business and grow with the industry.
Environmental Arboriculture (LDT403) (4 credits)
This course will provide the care and maintenance of established trees. Planting and growing trees, and pruning techniques will be the focus. You will learn to safely operate a chainsaw in this course.
Sports and Horticulture (LDT404) (3 credits)
Learn how to construct and maintain soccer/football fields, golf course greens and fairways, baseball fields and heavily used turf areas.
What in the World is Going On? (GAS103) (3 credits)
This course will give you the opportunity to build a strong awareness of current global issues. You will explore various media such as radio, TV, internet, newspaper, and magazines. Through discussions, debates, and presentations, students will focus on the main international headlines. Students will discover and develop a view and understanding of the impact of events related to music, entertainment, fashion, sports, politics, economics, world issues, and human-interest stories.
Music and Pop Culture (GAS109) (3 credits)
This course will give students the opportunity to think creatively and critically about the influence of popular music. Students will explore different music genres (rock, metal, hip hop and rap), their
development and social significance. Students may explore music in film, commercials, war and protest, social and civil rights movements, and the contributions of specific artists to contemporary culture. The ways in which popular music has contributed to the current culture and, in turn, how culture has shaped popular music will be examined.
Your Two Cents (GAS116) (3 credits)
No matter one’s lifestyle, income or background, each person has experienced and developed practices to how we relate to money. This course explores our relationship and personal understanding with money, and its place and value in our culture and individual lives.
Student Selected General Education (GEN110) (3 credits) For Transfer Credit Purposes only.
Personal and Academic Success Strategies (HDG122) (3 credits)
This course will prepare you for the rigors of academic life and enable you to develop a personal profile for college and career success. The main focus of this course will include accepting personal responsibility, discovering self-motivation, mastering self-management, employing interdependence, gaining
self-awareness, adopting lifelong learning and developing emotional intelligence. In addition, you will develop and produce a `Personal Profile` that will identify your personal learning style, communication style, and personality style to enable you to achieve success in learning about, understanding, and choosing the courses and careers that will lead to personal and professional satisfaction.
Introduction to Aboriginal Peoples of Canada (SSC102) (3 credits)
This course will provide the participants with an introduction to the history and cultural survival of Canada`s Aboriginal people. Aboriginal worldview will be identified and discussed in both historical and modern perspectives. Students will review colonization, government policies and legislation, which provide a foundation for understanding modern Aboriginal life in Canada.
