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Horticulture and Sustainable Landscape Design Course Updates for 2024-2025

Steve Waddell • June 7, 2024

Today we are taking a look at our Horticulture and Sustainable Landscape Design course, which we are updating for the 2024-2025 school year. Landscape design and horticulture is a big business and a great STEM career option for students. This industry has always been a place for those who love nature, design, and working outdoors. We are excited to offer students brand-new features that will introduce them to this exciting career pathway.


Horticulture is the science and art of the development, sustainable production, marketing and use of high-value, intensively cultivated food and ornamental plants. According to the latest research, the horticulture market, valued at $31.5 billion in 2022, is expected to grow to reach $54.1 billion by 2030. The landscape design industry, which includes landscape maintenance, lawn care, pest management, irrigation and water management, arboreal services, hardscapes, and landscape design and construction for both residential and commercial properties, is currently valued at $153.5 billion and that number is only expected to grow. 


Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword but an important concept to help clients build outdoor spaces that are long-lasting, budget-friendly and require minimal maintenance. Industry best practices include smart plant choices that keep water usage, maintenance cost and chemical use to a minimum. 


Course Overview

If you are looking for a STEM-rich curriculum for students who love nature, working with their hands, and want to make the world a more beautiful and healthier place, our Horticulture and Landscape Design course is for you.


Horticulture and landscape design is a blend of science and art. Throughout the course, students create stunning and sustainable designs for clients. They learn how to make optimal plant choices, predict and model plant growth, and test the impact of year-round sun, shade, and water usage. Through interactive tutorials, they learn plant science and soil science that they can apply to the design decisions of the current project. 


Your students learn that design is not just about creating solutions but also about the ability to communicate and sell their ideas. Interactive tutorials teach them 2D/3D sketching and drafting skills as well as how to create plans tailored to their clients' needs. Optional tutorials can help you incorporate 3D CAD, although students can complete the course without diving into this section. They practice creating detailed documentation and plans to accurately communicate the implementation of their creative vision. In the real world designers always work within constraints, and your students learn how to source materials, analyze labor costs, and stay on budget. Throughout the course, they learn presentation skills and how to sell their ideas. 


Our course is delivered as a "Virtual Apprenticeship," a project-based learning experience that simulates a real workplace, complete with meetings, co-workers, a supervisor, and customers. Students gain industry insights and explore careers through interviews with industry experts. By the end of the course, students will have a career-ready portfolio of design projects and an understanding of how to succeed in a landscape design career. 


The course comes with several certificate opportunities for students. First, they will receive a course completion certificate, documenting achievement in this career-focused course. Additionally, they have the opportunity to earn two career preparation certificates: Ethics in the Workplace and Critical Thinking in the Workplace. Both of these certificates are valuable resume and portfolio builders, highlighting key characteristics that employers seek. The course allows students the freedom to work at their own pace, but they must complete the course projects and activities as assigned prior to getting authorized to sit for the final certificate exam.


As with all of our courses, you, the educator, are in control. You can use the whole curriculum as the course, or you can curate what projects and tutorials to use and when to blend our content with your own activities. 


2024-2025 Update Highlights

  • Five unique projects that incorporate the Virtual Apprenticeship are included: Curb Appeal, Retirees, Hospital Courtyard, Urban Park, and the Challenge Project:
  • Curb Appeal – Your students' first virtual apprenticeship project involves assisting a home builder in creating sustainable landscape designs that add curb appeal to his new homes. These must not only add value, but need to be seen by the potential homeowners as sustainable, low maintenance, attractive and with low water requirements.
  • Retirees – Two recent retirees want to transform their backyard into an accessible outdoor living space for their family. The space must accommodate for a new medical diagnosis.
  • Hospital Courtyard – A hospital needs help to design a family-friendly space for the hospital's new memory care unit, promoting family interaction and support for cognitively challenged patients.
  • Urban Park – A non-profit needs help to design a new community space on a vacant urban lot, transforming blight into a park representing a vibrant community.
  • Challenge Project – Your students find a live project on their own where they must enhance property value and curb appeal, using their design skills for families, churches, local businesses, or schools.
  • New and updated interactive tutorials include:
  • Integrated Pest Management
  • Plant Science 
  • Soil Science
  • Urban Agriculture
  • Nursery and Greenhouse Practices 
  • Edible Landscapes and Foodscaping
  • Medicinal Landscapes
  • Design Concepts, Styles and Trends
  • 2D Sketching and Drafting
  • 3D CAD Tutorials (Optional)
  • Trees and Arboriculture
  • Sustainable Landscapes, Water Management and Xeriscaping
  • Budgeting, Planning and Project Management
  • Ethics in the Workplace Certificate
  • Critical Thinking in the Workplace Certificate
  • New Landscape Designer Mobile Web App


Like all of our courses, this course is PC, Mac, and Chromebook ready. There is nothing your students will need to download. As our clients know, our legendary teacher support is at the core of what we do. When teachers have a question, they call members of our development team directly to receive guidance. 


Contact Us For a Free Demo

Interested in learning more and seeing a free demonstration of the course or any of our other courses? Contact us today by clicking here or calling us at 913-764-4272.





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We look forward to helping you and your students.

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