Dr. Marietta Loehrlein, Professor of Horticulture
Western Illinois University Horticulture Professor Marietta Loehrlein announces new website on sustainable landscaping practices. (http://sustainablelandscaping.us)
Dr. Loehrlein is teaching a new class called Sustainable Landscaping Practices, in spite of the fact that there is no textbook on the topic that is appropriate for such a class. “The technologies are developing very quickly, and our students need to learn about them before they get into the job market,” explains Loehrlein.
She decided to design a website that could be used for teaching and that would also serve as a learning tool that students could use to learn more about the technologies discussed in class. She also wanted to make this information available to students and instructors at other Universities, as well as the general public.
“Getting a textbook published will take too long, our students need this information now”, said Loehrlein. She goes on to explain that many university classrooms are already equipped to access information on the internet. This website will make it easier for both instructors and students to access the information in an organized manner.
There are books, articles, and websites devoted to one or another of the technologies being used, but this website addresses all of the pertinent issues, from alternative energy and landscape equipment, to creating wildlife habitat, from pesticide use to recycled landscape materials. It is arranged like chapters in a book, and eventually will have hands-on activities and problem sets designed for classroom use.
Other topics that are covered on the website are irrigating with gray water, constructed wetlands, and using plants to mitigate environmental factors, especially sun and wind. Dr. Loehrlein has been awarded a stipend from the WIU Foundation and Office of Sponsored Projects in 2010 to support her work developing the website.
