Program Basics

This certificate program is designed for both working professionals and the non-professional who has a passion and strong interest in sustainability and landscaping. It is a 6-month program focused on developing the skills and resources necessary to enable sustainability-based decision making within a corporate, institutional, municipal, or individual site setting. Graduates of this program will be able to work with owners, project managers, architects, and contractors in a new construction, renovation, or on-going maintenance setting.

Program graduates will be able to:

  • Evaluate landscape decisions from a broad inter-disciplinary perspective
  • Establish project-specific goals and objectives
  • Analyze the costs and benefits of project-specific strategies
  • Apply relevant sustainable landscape standards and guidelines, such as LEED, GreenPoint Rated, Bay Friendly, and others

Registering for a class:

To register for classes, first go to the appropriate catalogue and obtain the course number, fees, and credit information. (See Courses By Term). You then can enroll online, or by printing the registration form and mailing or faxing it, or by calling the registration office at (707) 664-2394.

How the program is structured:

Sonoma State University offers an innovative approach to teaching the principles of ecological landscape practices. A team of permanent faculty and guest instructors cover six major topics in sustainable landscaping. Each day-long class stands on its own, and while designed for the landscape professional, offers a wealth of information, resources, and guidance to any gardener. Students thus far have included landscape contractors, architects and designers, city planners, teachers developing school garden programs, biologists, and gardeners. For those pursuing the certificate, the sic classes (each offered twice a year) and the project must be completed within one year of initial enrollment. Classes may be taken in any order, but note that there is a natural progression of concept-building over a cycle, and we recommend beginning with the first course, Ecological Principles, whenever possible.

The program begins each January and July, building a foundation of ecological principles of sustainable landscape design and practices, co-taught by landscape contractor Geoff Hall of Sentient Landscape and landscape architect Josiah Cain of Rana Creek Living Architecture. Innovative approaches to landscape design and practices inspire students' creativity, and project proposals begin to take shape. The following month we apply the lessons of the first class, focusing on site analysis with Geoff. In the subsequent months, Josiah shares new ways to think about water flow in the landscape, and students learn about soil resources and the food web with biologist Frederique Lavoipierre. Landscape designer Kate Frey explores the diverse palette of plant communities, drawing from appropriate landscapes around the world. Landscape contractor Rick Taylor, of Elder Creek Landscapes, offers innovative, practical solutions to maintenance and operations, and Frederique presents IPM for landscape applications and design strategies for habitats that provide effective pest management.

Classes often include guest speakers. We have hosted Robert Kourik, author of Roots Demystified and Your Edible Landscape; Michael Presley, meteorologist and gardener at Lynmar Winery; and Brock Dolman, director of the Water Institute at the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center. SSU garden staff, and instructors for the SSU native plant propagation course, Karen Tillinghast and Jay Pederson, led us on a field trip around campus, providing several stops for discussion. In addition to powerpoint lectures, courses include a variety of activities. Our classes meet in Darwin Hall, as well as the nearby organic garden, where the surrounding garden is being gradually transformed into a demonstration landscape and serves as our canvas for lessons and discussion. We break up into teams to brainstorm ideas for the unique set of challenges provided by the garden site. We have enjoyed matching up "before" and "after" soil samples from a variety of landscapes and explored the diversity of organisms living in soil, toured several areas of the campus, and looked at insects through the instructive lens of the microscope.

Student projects have covered a broad range of topics in sustainable landscape. Several students have developed school garden programs, from elementary through high school. One student, with a set of "traditional" landscape plans in hand, is designing an alternative, applying the principles of sustainable landscaping whenever possible. A two-student team created an economic analysis of conventional versus sustainable landscape maintenance practices. A student from the Sonoma Ecology Center implemented the design and installation of a demonstration native garden. Another is conducting research on the traditional landscaping techniques of Afghanistan and contemporary ideas of sustainable landscaping. Another is designing a landscape that will look attractive year-round for the on-site residence of a local nature preserve.

The set of six classes and the project are completed within one year of beginning the program, at which time a certificate is awarded. The certificate provides an endorsement from SSU that the student has training in a broad spectrum of sustainable landscape practices and is able to effectively work with owners, project managers, architects, and contractors in a new construction, renovation, or on-going maintenance setting. We hope that graduates will facilitate the design and implementation of the many strategies covered in the program.

In addition to the series of classes, the program also offers a forum for discussion with a network of like-minded landscape professionals. For those who graduate from the program, the website will provide resources and contacts, and up-to-date information on a wide variety of topics.

Marcia Harrigan, at sustainablelandscape@sonoma.edu
Sustainable Landscape Professional Certificate Program
School of Extended Education
Sonoma State University
1801 East Cotati Ave.
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
tel: 707-664-3011 (Sustainable Landscape Program)
tel: 707-664-2394 (SSU Extended Ed Customer Service)
www.sonoma.edu/exed/sustainable-landscape/