BIOL3630 - Hands on Plants (SNF Paideia Program Course)

This course will focus on plants and climate change in the urban setting, specifically the city of Philadelphia. We will examine the role of plants in urban food, ancestral traditions, community, health & wellbeing, also the ecosystems benefits of plants. We will explore challenges faced by plants and ecosystems due to environmental changes, land use change, and differential access to green spaces. We will discuss plant biological, genetic, breeding, and ecological solutions for enhancing plant resilience. Students will gain hands-on experience, engage in dialog with farm, garden and ecosystem practitioners, as well as city officials and other support systems, NGOs and small businesses. Dialog will occur both on visits to local gardens, farms, or parks with representatives and stakeholders or on campus with guest speakers and each other. Students will develop project ideas, educational materials, plans, or designs that detail possible solutions to problems identified during their investigations. Activities will intersect with to those of PlantARC https://web.sas.upenn.edu/plantarc/