With finals week looming and spring break just around the corner, students are starting to consider their spring term classes with an eye to the weather.
Spring term lasts from March 28 to June 10, and usually brings with it significantly warmer weather in comparison to fall and winter terms. As the temperature rises and the skies clear, students and faculty alike will spend more time outside, creating an increased interest in University spring term classes held outside. Courthouse Garden, Urban Farm, Trees Across Oregon and Plants: Spring are all outdoor courses offered through the Department of Landscape Architecture next term.
“Those classes always fill up every season,” landscape architecture associate professor and department head Elisabeth Chan said. “I think it has to do with the weather, but even more so it’s pretty unique to have courses that teach you how to grow food at a university in a city.”
The Urban Farm is a two-acre outdoor garden classroom with organic garden areas, orchard spaces, greenhouses and perennial planting beds. The course gives students hands-on experience mostly related to growing food, and is the largest outdoor course offered through the landscape architecture department with 80 “seats” available in the class.
“We pack as many students as we can, and it fills in a matter of hours. I could do twice as many if they gave me more room,” Urban Farm Director Harper Keeler said. “The landscape architecture department also offers another outdoor class called the Courthouse Garden. We host a ton of students there as well.”
The Courthouse Garden course, with only 42 seats available, is significantly smaller than the Urban Farm course. Located at E. 8th Avenue and Ferry Street, the U.S. District Courthouse offshoot is a humanitarian project where the food grown during class time goes to local relief agencies in the Eugene/Springfield area such as the Eugene Mission, the HIV Alliance, the Farm to School program and Looking Glass.
Besides the plant classes, which are offered fall, winter and spring, none of the other outdoor landscape architecture courses are taught during winter term.
“The weather and the fact that there is not a lot growing in the winter in the Willamette Valley are the main reasons that we don’t offer as many courses,” Chan said.
A new Urban Farm greenhouse might change this, as there have been talks about expanding the course into winter term and educating students about growing food in the winter.
And the landscape architecture department is not the only department expecting increased spring enrollment. The physical education and recreation department at the University is also noticing a similar trend in enrollment for outdoor fitness classes.
“Our enrollment is always largest in spring term,” Associate Director of Physical Education and Recreation Peg Rees said. “Last year our spring enrollment was 5,477, which was an increase of 755 over winter term. That’s the equivalent of 29 classes.”
Running and walking classes are offered every term and meet outside, but fewer outdoor classes have been offered this term because of the cold winter weather.
“I registered for a P.E. and business (class). I need both of them for my degree, but they won’t be too hard,” University freshman Chris Dalton said. “I can’t wait for this term to be over and spring break to start, though.”
However, enterprising students like University senior Jennifer Butler will not be able to enjoy the outdoor classes during their final push to graduate on time.
“I need to take the final classes for graduation, so I’m taking all upper division classes spring term,” Butler said. “In the past I used to take easy classes during spring term, but I really can’t afford to do that this term.”
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