Learning Landscape Tours

Event Details

Date: Friday, September 28th, 2012
Time: 12:00 AM- 11:00 AM
Location:

 

Cost: Suggested Donation $10 | RSVP Required | Space is limited

Facilitator: Christie Green, Landscape Designer

For more information or to RSVP contact:
marissa@aloveoflearning.org or 505.995.1860

Note: Informal sack lunch 12:00-1:00 PM (lunch not included)

 

TOUR DESCRIPTIONS

Join us for our series of four seasonal tours, a guided one-hour exploration of the Academy’s innovative Learning Landscape.

A living tribute to Ernest Thompson Seton, the visionary naturalist whose home and land we began stewarding in 2003, the Learning Landscape blends designer Christie Green’s experience and vision with the Academy’s transformative education principles. By observing the land carefully, we have begun to discover its patterns and unblock and support the expression of its emergent healthy life.

SPRING: What’s Emerging?  •  MAR 22

Our spring tour, the first in a seasonal series of four, will explore the following questions, among others:

  • How have the native species born the brunt of the weather?
  • Have our efforts to encourage natural soil development been successful?
  • How have our erosion control and rainwater harvesting systems worked?
  • Are we ready to move into the next phase, including the Seton Castle gardens?
  • And, of course, what can be done with the gophers?
SUMMER: What’s Blooming?  •  JUN 15

Well into the growing season, this summer tour celebrates the “fruits” of our plantings from our first growing season. Guided by Christie, we’ll examine the benefits of new shade from fully-leaved sycamore, ash, oak and crabapple trees, and note the growth of coniferous pines and juniper. Special attention will be focused on the following:

  • How have the native and adapted plants helped the soil, damaged by years of human-caused erosion, rebuild?
  • What natural dams and swales are in place for the coming monsoons?
  • What species of wildflowers and grasses have flourished—and which have struggled?
  • What evidence do we have, if any, of the success of our efforts to rebuild native habitat and repopulate the area with birds, mammals, amphibians and the all important bees?
FALL: What’s Going to Seed?  •  SEP 27

Autumn: time to harvest the season’s bounty, reflect on growth and prepare for dormancy of winter. Our Autumn tour offers an opportunity to reflect on what has thrived or struggled during the spring and summer, and consider what we ought to do next year, to help the land best take care of itself. As we tour the land with Christie, we’ll look closely at the following topics:

  • What have we learned about the life cycles of annuals and perennials?
  • Where do plants, trees and animals invest energy during the summer, and how will they store it in the winter?
  • What seeds, fruits and plants can be harvested to be enjoyed now, or planted in the spring?
WINTER: What’s Taking Root?  •  DEC 13

The short, cold days of winter lend themselves to reflecting on the year’s growth, and looking ahead to the coming year’s landscape implementation. In this tour. Christie will take us on a brisk walk through the area as we explore what’s happening beneath the surface:

  • How are plant roots nourished, irrigated and pruned—by human or by natural forces—during the winter?
  • How can dormant plants help form “microclimates” that create the conditions for extended growing seasons?
  • What is the long-term vision for the Learning Landscape, including “hardscaping,” the Center Courtyard, and steps toward a Heirloom Orchard?
  • How does “process-planning” design differ from traditional, results-oriented landscaping?

Please dress in layers, as temperatures can change dramatically. If you’d like to spend more time with Christie Green following the tour, bring a sack lunch and join in an informal lunch conversation from 12:00-1:00 PM

Cost: Suggested Donation $10 | RSVP Required | Space is limited

Facilitator: Christie Green, Landscape Designer

For more information or to RSVP contact:
marissa@aloveoflearning.org or 505.995.1860

Note: You are welcome to bring a picnic dinner. We will store it while you are on the tour.

Description
Please join us for a Twilight Tour….when all the little live things emerge.
That time of morning/evening that is the edge of day and night, a fertile time for activity – and beauty.

You are welcome to stay after the tour to enjoy a picnic on the grounds, watch the sunset and the (almost) full moon rise.

Click here to learn more about The Learning Landscape: A Living Tribute

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