What is SLD?
The Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) of the University of Tennessee Department of Plant Sciences offers an innovative education in contemporary landscape studies. The concentration’s curriculum prepares students to plan, design, implement, manage, and evaluate contemporary landscapes. These landscapes manage storm water and improve water resource quality, regenerate and remediate degraded sites, and promote public health and healthy urban ecosystems while creatively shaping the aesthetics of the public realm.
The concentration is grounded in a theory original to UT SLD that the disciplines of horticulture and landscape have entered a new era of high-performance and ecologically-driven practice. In this era, landscape is operationalized as a place, idea, and strategy to address grand societal challenges, advancing the disciplines beyond their traditions in aesthetic placemaking and landscape representation.
The new era of horticulture is shaped by six defining tenets:
- The performance potentials of living systems can be engaged to address grand societal challenges that includes
- the artifact landscapes of a post-industrial economy;
- disturbed, degraded, and destroyed ecosystems;
- tension between the built environment and public health;
- threats to the health of scarce freshwater systems; and
- landscape dynamics in an era of extreme climate;
- Contemporary landscape practice occupies novel territories of practice in terms of space and scale;
- Contemporary landscapes shift from static representations to dynamic systems, elevating roles of time and indeterminacy in project manifestation;
- Plants and living materials are used in designed landscapes as performing systems and integrated communities, not individual aesthetic objects
- A shift from maintenance of static landscape representations to the management of dynamic landscape systems by working with-not against-ecological processes
- Leveraging the performance of appearance so that a high-performance, ecological landscapes will satisfy consumers’ aesthetic expectations of public space
Through a contemporary education in landscape design and horticulture that prioritizes experiential learning, and through strategic selection of elective course work, SLD graduates will be positioned for success in one of three primary career trajectories:
- Ecological Landscape Design and Management for students who envision roles in design consultancies, non-profits or public entities.
- Entrepreneurship for students who envision having their own businesses.
- Pre-Professional for students who wish to take advantage of our accelerated 4+2 advising pathway to the Master of Landscape Architecture degree available through the UT School of Landscape Architecture.
The New Ecological Horticulture is a theory of contemporary landscape practice original to the Sustainable Landscape Design concentration at the University of Tennessee.
Professor Brad Collett details this theory in this recorded lecture from PLSC 180 – Landscape Design, Function and Performance.
Concentration Faculty
Agriculture and Natural Resources, Community Economic Development
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/ThirdCreek-Landscape-Arch8crop.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/ThirdCreek-Landscape-Arch6-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Third-Creek-Landscape-Arch1-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Sedum-Shed_Ross-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/SC_KP_350-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Rain-Garden-Management-768x1024.jpeg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/OG_AA_JE_CH_UT-Arboretum-Planting_Ross-1024x768.jpeg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/KS_KFB_KK_Ross-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/IMG_9945-1024x769.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/IMG_9678-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/GREL_Experiential-Learning4-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/GREL_Experiential-Learning2-768x1024.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/GREL_Experiential-Learning-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/FW_Experiential-Learning-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/FTW-Launch-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/FieldSketching-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/editted_shaneandwetlands-1024x1024.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/CW_FTW_Build_Ross-768x1024.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/CW_CH_NV_FTW-Build_Ross-1024x768.jpeg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/CH_Launch_Ross-768x1024.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Braden-Green-Roof-Renovation_MR-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Biltmore_06-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Biltmore_05-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Biltmore_04-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Biltmore_03-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Biltmore_02-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Biltmore_01-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_13-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_12-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_11-1024x683.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_10-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_09-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_08-1024x683.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_07-1024x683.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_06-1024x683.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_05-1024x683.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_03-1024x768.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_02-1024x683.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_01-1024x683.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/AA_CH_Greenroof_Ross-768x1024.jpg)
Students in the Sustainable Landscape Design Concentration (SLD) engage in a curriculum that prioritizes experiential learning. The landscape near and far becomes a laboratory and a classroom that facilitates an understanding of contemporary best practice, promotes a culture of experimentation and innovation, and inspires the next generation of landscape designers through exposure to leading practitioners and their built works.
SLD’s emphasis on experiential learning introduces students to innovative, applied landscape practices through design/build initiatives such as the Third Creek Initiative, Green Roof Experimentation Lab (GREL), and EESRB Green Roof. The curriculum and extracurricular initiatives immerse students in the landscape of East Tennessee and beyond. Class trips expose students to native ecosystems that inspire our ethos of stewardship and serve as a reference for design and to built and disturbed landscapes that are our novel territories of design practice. Regional travel and the Landscapes Abroad Program (PLSC 491/591), the Herbert College of Agriculture’s longest-running study abroad program, offers participating students insights to precedents of historic significance and to designed landscapes of contemporary importance that advance a new, performance-driven era of landscape practice. Relationships and project collaborations with allied disciplines across campus, including the UT School of Landscape Architecture, present additional experiential learning opportunities to SLD students.
Interested in learning more about SLD’s commitment to experiential education? Contact our faculty today!
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Third-Creek-Enhancement-Proposal1024_1.jpg)
This work has been undertaken through ongoing partnerships with the City of Knoxville, University of Tennessee, and through the creativity and skill of students in SLD and in SoLA.
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/MR-FTW-Launch_Ludwig-scaled-aspect-ratio-300-300-scaled.jpg)
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/Abroad_04-scaled-aspect-ratio-300-300-scaled.jpg)
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/03/GREL_Experiential-Learning3-scaled-aspect-ratio-300-300-scaled.jpg)
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/02/EESRB004.jpg)
To seize this opportunity, Plant Sciences faculty including SLD’s Brad Collett and Mike Ross collaborated to propose a design concept that engages the project’s landscape as an infrastructure for teaching, research, and outreach, and as one of East Tennessee’s foremost examples of the new, performance driven era of horticultural practice. The concept uses the region’s limestone cedar glades as a reference landscape. Once prolific across Tennessee’s plateau and ridge and valley ecoregions, the cedar glade is now endangered by the region’s growth and land use change. Its diverse plant communities are adapted to thrive in the microclimates, soil conditions, and resource environment similar to EESRB’s perimeter gardens and rooftop, offering design inspiration for an innovative landscape that explores concepts of beauty while performing dynamic ecosystem services.
The proposal includes an innovative green roof that demonstrates Thomas Rainer and Claudia West’s theory of the designed plant community while offering allotments for faculty and student research projects. The ground level landscape includes a series of garden spaces that connect to the roof’s glade concept while also offering demonstrations of new perennialism and shade gardening methods.
Each is a venue for experiential learning and contemporary horticulture research, offering faculty and students with immediate access to innovative landscapes and opportunities to advance disciplinary knowledge while pursuing their own professional interests. These mission-driven landscapes will greet generations of campus visitors, exposing them to an exemplary demonstration of the new era of high-performance, ecological horticulture and landscape design.
Developing similar innovative concepts at discrete site scales in spatial, technical, and material terms, and effective communication and advocacy for such high performance landscapes represent aspirational skills of our graduates and outcomes of the SLD curriculum.
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/02/EESRB003.jpg)
To seize this opportunity, Plant Sciences faculty including SLD’s Brad Collett and Mike Ross collaborated to propose a design concept that engages the project’s landscape as an infrastructure for teaching, research, and outreach, and as one of East Tennessee’s foremost examples of the new, performance driven era of horticultural practice. The concept uses the region’s limestone cedar glades as a reference landscape. Once prolific across Tennessee’s plateau and ridge and valley ecoregions, the cedar glade is now endangered by the region’s growth and land use change. Its diverse plant communities are adapted to thrive in the microclimates, soil conditions, and resource environment similar to EESRB’s perimeter gardens and rooftop, offering design inspiration for an innovative landscape that explores concepts of beauty while performing dynamic ecosystem services.
The proposal includes an innovative green roof that demonstrates Thomas Rainer and Claudia West’s theory of the designed plant community while offering allotments for faculty and student research projects. The ground level landscape includes a series of garden spaces that connect to the roof’s glade concept while also offering demonstrations of new perennialism and shade gardening methods.
Each is a venue for experiential learning and contemporary horticulture research, offering faculty and students with immediate access to innovative landscapes and opportunities to advance disciplinary knowledge while pursuing their own professional interests. These mission-driven landscapes will greet generations of campus visitors, exposing them to an exemplary demonstration of the new era of high-performance, ecological horticulture and landscape design.
Developing similar innovative concepts at discrete site scales in spatial, technical, and material terms, and effective communication and advocacy for such high performance landscapes represent aspirational skills of our graduates and outcomes of the SLD curriculum.
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/02/EESRB002.jpg)
To seize this opportunity, Plant Sciences faculty including SLD’s Brad Collett and Mike Ross collaborated to propose a design concept that engages the project’s landscape as an infrastructure for teaching, research, and outreach, and as one of East Tennessee’s foremost examples of the new, performance driven era of horticultural practice. The concept uses the region’s limestone cedar glades as a reference landscape. Once prolific across Tennessee’s plateau and ridge and valley ecoregions, the cedar glade is now endangered by the region’s growth and land use change. Its diverse plant communities are adapted to thrive in the microclimates, soil conditions, and resource environment similar to EESRB’s perimeter gardens and rooftop, offering design inspiration for an innovative landscape that explores concepts of beauty while performing dynamic ecosystem services.
The proposal includes an innovative green roof that demonstrates Thomas Rainer and Claudia West’s theory of the designed plant community while offering allotments for faculty and student research projects. The ground level landscape includes a series of garden spaces that connect to the roof’s glade concept while also offering demonstrations of new perennialism and shade gardening methods.
Each is a venue for experiential learning and contemporary horticulture research, offering faculty and students with immediate access to innovative landscapes and opportunities to advance disciplinary knowledge while pursuing their own professional interests. These mission-driven landscapes will greet generations of campus visitors, exposing them to an exemplary demonstration of the new era of high-performance, ecological horticulture and landscape design.
Developing similar innovative concepts at discrete site scales in spatial, technical, and material terms, and effective communication and advocacy for such high performance landscapes represent aspirational skills of our graduates and outcomes of the SLD curriculum.
![](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2023/02/EESRB001-1024x791.jpg)
To seize this opportunity, Plant Sciences faculty including SLD’s Brad Collett and Mike Ross collaborated to propose a design concept that engages the project’s landscape as an infrastructure for teaching, research, and outreach, and as one of East Tennessee’s foremost examples of the new, performance driven era of horticultural practice. The concept uses the region’s limestone cedar glades as a reference landscape. Once prolific across Tennessee’s plateau and ridge and valley ecoregions, the cedar glade is now endangered by the region’s growth and land use change. Its diverse plant communities are adapted to thrive in the microclimates, soil conditions, and resource environment similar to EESRB’s perimeter gardens and rooftop, offering design inspiration for an innovative landscape that explores concepts of beauty while performing dynamic ecosystem services.
The proposal includes an innovative green roof that demonstrates Thomas Rainer and Claudia West’s theory of the designed plant community while offering allotments for faculty and student research projects. The ground level landscape includes a series of garden spaces that connect to the roof’s glade concept while also offering demonstrations of new perennialism and shade gardening methods.
Each is a venue for experiential learning and contemporary horticulture research, offering faculty and students with immediate access to innovative landscapes and opportunities to advance disciplinary knowledge while pursuing their own professional interests. These mission-driven landscapes will greet generations of campus visitors, exposing them to an exemplary demonstration of the new era of high-performance, ecological horticulture and landscape design.
Developing similar innovative concepts at discrete site scales in spatial, technical, and material terms, and effective communication and advocacy for such high performance landscapes represent aspirational skills of our graduates and outcomes of the SLD curriculum.
Tennessee River Studio is led by Brad Collett, professor of Plant Sciences, in association with the College of Architecture and Design. Herbert College of Agriculture’s unique partnership offers students a natural progression into graduate study.
![Professor Brad Collett uses virtual reality goggles as a smiling students looks on.](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-26-at-3.32.16-PM-1024x677.png)
The virtual reality lab allows students to view their designs in 3D. Creative types thrive in this dynamic environment.
SLD Living Systems Lab
![A student lounges in a hammock in the Tennessee mountains](https://plantsciences.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2019-11-19-at-3.25.47-PM-aspect-ratio-700x400-1.png)