hey Guelph hort students :)

This is a shout out to you U of Guelph Hort Cert. students who've been dropping in lately. Thanks for coming by and hope you're having a blast in your courses!

I took the "Naturalized Landscape" course in the Sustainable Landscapes Certificate a few years back. Learned a lot! Still use the materials for reference. Donna Havinga taught it back then. She and Jean Marc-Diagle wrote the text, and Lorraine Johnson edited it (the text book alone was worth every penny. I don't think you can buy the textbook outside of the course). It was one of the best courses I've ever been in. Assignments were practical and focused on each person's bio-region. Also, it was my 1st time as a student in an online learning /distance education format and as it turned out, the medium and flexibility really worked for me. And so did the fact that i had to concurrently learn how to independently suss out and get handy with online resources - skills in themselves which remain useful. And i loved Donna as an instructor too.

The text book was based on Donna's and Jean-Marc's earlier book "Restoring Nature's Place" (revised edition 2000. it's a must read in Ontario, and endorsed by the Society for Ecological Restoration International). It's become increasingly difficult to find (even in libraries), but if you're interested, you might still be able to buy copies for approx. $40 + $8 shipping and handling, by contacting Ecological Outlook at 905-939-8498, toll free 1-877-467-2079 or info@ecologicaloutlook.ca

oh, hey - is the online "coffee shop" still there? I missed that patch-of-ether when the course ended. Coincidentally, i just got an email from a native plant geek friend I met in there. :)

BTW: if you have criticism or suggestions for this site, pls lemme know. Thanks again, and good luck w/ your assignments!