Novel Ecologies: Instructors: Brett Kordenbrock Tatiana Parfenova. Syllabus

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1 Instructors: Brett Kordenbrock Tatiana Parfenova Page 1 Bull Thistle Cirsium vulgare. By Peter Sforza Profiles of Spontaneous Urban Plants. By Future Green Studio, 2011 Introduction/Synopsis Description Weeds or, in more recent times, wild urban plants have become a target for eradication campaigns by municipal park departments and homeowners alike. However, with rapid climate change and increased globalization foreign and domestic species are forging ahead of natives resulting in novel ecologies groupings of species that have never before existed. Many of these species are incredibly resilient, have cultural value, and provide ecosystem services. Furthermore, we find many of these plants populating the most heavily degraded conditions within our urban fabric. They are incredibly resilient, use few resources, and commute very easily. Why are these species able to thrive versus native communities? Through an understanding of wild urban plants we may find new ways of use - to meet design objectives from a large-scale ecological urbanism perspective down to brownfield or site specific interventions. To date, there are no known studies, surveys, or projects specific to the wild urban plant matrix of Columbus, Ohio. The course would build on and polemicize with current texts and projects focused on wild (spontaneous) urban plants throughout the United States. The course would aim to understand- the value of wild urban plants in an increasingly urbanized environment, identifying dozens of species (field work), researching their characteristics, mapping through the Instagram interface, and designing for and/or with them. The use of Instagram will add to the current network of wild (spontaneous) urban plant projects, specifically the work of David Seiter/Future Green Studio. The course would then conduct several field-work sessions at a variety of sites around

2 Page 2 Description (continued) Columbus, Ohio. These may include portions of Franklinton, Scioto Mile, Downtown Business District, and the Arena District. Students will be responsible for collecting, uploading, tagging, and researching plant material from these sessions. A final project will include an analysis of conditions for these plant species and design proposals for use in urban conditions. The course would focus on readings and lectures at the onset. These readings would draw largely from Peter Del Tredici s Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast: A Field Guide as well as Weeds of the Midwestern United States and Central Canada by Charles T. Bryson and Michael S DeFelice and Richard Uva s Weeds of the Northeast. Conceptual readings would include selected essays from Ecological Urbansim by Mohsen Mostafavi, Joan Nassauer, and Kazys Varnelis The Infrastructural City: Networked Ecologies in Los Angeles. Learning Objectives The goal of the course will be to create a base of knowledge focused on wild urban plants and their respective characteristics cultural value, performative potential, invasiveness, aesthetics, etc. Students will glean from this course a critical perspective on these ecologies, the reasons they are becoming more and more important, and how they might be adapted in urban conditions. Additionally, students will gain plant identification skills as well as field research and analytical skills. Teaching Approach The course will focus on in class lectures and require students to come to each meeting having read the assigned material. Class discussions will engage students in what we are hoping to be a healthy debate over the use and existence of wild urban plants. These discussions would help guide the class to subjects important to the students with the potential to modify course schedule, readings, and fieldwork. Field trips would be conducted as a class. Students would also be responsible for their own field work/assessments as they research and analyze given plant material as they prepare for their final design proposal or similar. A conference call or skype session with David Seiter and other professionals engaged in this topic would help frame the discussion and introduce the students to other participants. COURSE TEXTS Plant-based: Del Tredici, Peter. Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast: A Field Guide. Ithaca: Cornell UP, Print. Uva, Richard H., Joseph C. Neal, and Joseph M. DiTomaso. Weeds of the Northeast. Ithaca: Comstock Pub. Associates, Print. Conceptual Framework: Mostafavi, Mohsen, and Gareth Doherty. Ecological Urbanism. Baden, Switzerland: Lars Müller, Print. Varnelis, Kazys. The Infrastructural City: Networked Ecologies in Los Angeles. Barcelona: Actar, Print.

3 Page 3 Credits Supplies The class is structured as a 1.5 credit-hour course. An opportunity will be provided to earn additional 1.5 credits. Students are required to have digital cameras, sketchpads, Smart Phone/iPads, or other device with the Instagram application. Calendar Tuesday, May 6 Week One Introduction to Wild Urban Plants Lecture (Review of projects, websites, and technology we will be using in our investigation) Discussion. Student s expectations. Video Conference/ Speaker 1 Thursday, May 8 Reading Discussion Video lectures fragments Students will be tasked with bringing photos to this class which memorialize a wild urban plant (examples will be provided to the class via Carmen or other means) Project introduction (Discussion of assignment and expectations, goals, products) Introduction to Peter Del Tredici s Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast: A Field Guide. David Fletcher s Flood Control Freakology in Varnelis, Kazys. The Infrastructural City: Networked Ecologies in Los Angeles. Jacob R. Boswell. Dystopic Verdure. Monu Magazine on Urbanism, n.11. Rotterdam: Board Publishers, August 2009, pp Saturday, May 10 (or May 17) Field Trip 1. High Street ( or Olentangy river south of the 5th ave ) Walk. Rain or sun. Plant ID Sketching Photo catalog Selected essays including the introduction from Mohsen Mostafavi and Gareth Doherty s Ecological Urbanism. Richard Hobbs Novel ecosystems: theoretical and management aspects of the new ecological world order in Global Ecology and Biogeography volume 15 (2006).

4 Page 4 Calendar (Continued) Tuesday, May 13 Week Two Field Trip 2. The Linden Air Theater or quarry Tropek, Robert, Tomas Kadlec, Petra Karesova, Lukas Spitzer, Petr Kocarek, Igor Malenovsky, Petr Banar, Ivan H. Tuf, Martin Hejda, and Martin Konvicka Spontaneous succession in limestone quarries as an effective restoration tool for endangered arthropods and plants. Journal of Applied Ecology. 47 (1): Gerhan, Sarah Cowles. Salvaged terrain: ecological and environmental practitioners bring life to derelict landscapes. Architecture Oct. 2006: 44+. Business Insights: Global. Web. 25 Jan A /a8bb5c7c 9839f68029b17c42ea53e4ee?u=colu44332 Thursday, May 15 Group/individual presentation of findings, discussion of recent readings Group/individual presentation of findings Discussion of findings and recent readings Frame discussion for final project(s) Delegate tasks for final class booklet Week Three Tuesday, May 20 Work session with open questions Class presentation on booklet format Class discussion to choose format for the class Instructors will be around to help with formatting, idea generation, etc. Meet in a computer lab Review of guides, field guides, booklets, etc. to prepare for class presentation Thursday, May 22 Field Trip 3. Abandoned rail line off Cleveland Ave Whitney, G A quantitative analysis of the flora and plant communities of a representative midwestern U.S. town. Urban Ecology. 9 (2): Kowarik, Ingo, and Andreas Langer. Natur-Park Südgelände: Linking conservation and recreation in an abandoned railyard in Berlin. In Wild Urban Woodlands, pp , 2005

5 Page 5 Calendar (Continued) Tuesday, May 27 Week Four Final Pin-up Thursday, May 29 Final Meeting Discussion of course, takeaways, and general evaluation for future growth Projects uploaded to Carmen and CD s due to instructors no later than Friday, May 30