Module ANT3054 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
ANT3054: Gardening, Wellbeing and Community
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
This is a practical module set within an academic context. To that end, you will apply knowledge you acquire through the study of: agroecology, ethnobotany, soil ecology, nutrition, health and well-being. You will network with food practitioners in public institutions, private enterprises, third sector organisations and social enterprises with an interest in alternative forms and methods of producing food, as well as with academics studying these. The skills acquired will enable you to pursue careers in gardening and/or growing food in public institutions, private enterprises, third sector organisations and social enterprises. You will learn how to use gardening/growing food within a range of contexts, including working with school children; working in community development; or working to promote well-being and support people with mental health challenges.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Develop a high level of practical skills in the design and management of a range of growing techniques 2. Recognise and assess the causes of success and failure associated with particular growing techniques |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. Recognize and differentiate a range of culturally-variable food sources and food-growing methods and produce accounts of these 4. Understand how food procurement and production fit within the broader natural environment and provide analysis of these |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. Assess both the benefits and difficulties associated with different forms of own-growing, such as promoting well-being, fostering community, or providing education in settings such as schools and forest schools 6. Develop and cultivate a professional network with key individuals and organisations that practice these growing techniques |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following themes with scope for individual students to focus on elements of their choice:
- How to record information than could affect growing food successfully, such as soil testing and using exiting vegetation as a proxy for the land’s status
- How to design a food production area
- How to build up organic matter in soil, including traditional composting, no-dig, and permaculture methods
- How to grow food using various methods, from raised beds to forest gardens
- How to obtain food, from foraging, perennial and annual food resources, to typical garden flowers
- How to plant particular crops, from annuals to perennials (including trees)
- How to care for particular crops and prune perennials (particularly trees)
- How to manage a productive area
- How to develop a harvest plan
- How to manage bee hives
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 75 | 75 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 60 | 30 x 2-hour sessions of supervised practical work in the garden |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 15 | Fieldtrips |
| Guided independent study | 30 | Reading |
| Guided independent study | 45 | Preparation of gardening journal and project presentation |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
