Nat-History-2020-Course Guide PDF

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The course guide of natural history 2020...

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Natural History 2020

Natural History COURSE GUIDE 2020

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Melbourne School of Design LARC10001

Semester Two 2020 Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning The University of Melbourne, Australia Subject Coordinator 2019: Assoc Prof Margaret Grose Telephone 8344 4898 [email protected]

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Natural History 2020

LECTURES TUTORIALS Contact/ Coordinator

Subject Description

Learning Outcomes

Wednesday

Wed, Thurs, Various Friday Assoc. Prof. Margaret Grose

At the completion of this subject students should:

•

Assessments

Lyle Theatre, Redmond Barry building Check the timetable/LMS for the location of your tutorial

This subject is natural history. This is an old, lovely, and holistic term referring to what is in the natural world. This subject joins the humanities and the sciences; it will be delivered across disciplines, with a rich and exciting mix of material and information. It is an overview of: human history and past landscapes; earth history; some soils; how plants work; material conserved in collections; the history of natural history collecting; herbaria, museums, arboretums, and national parks; Indigenous knowledge; agricultural history; ocean systems; and dealing with natural history in a designed, built, and managed future. It is suitable for all built environment majors as an Elective. Breadth students are very welcome; this will be an excellent subject for you. This subject will extend written skills and enhance appreciation of the variety of the natural world.

•

Readings

3.15pm and 4.15pm

Have a good understanding of the range of inquiry in natural history, and how these inquiries are relevant today. Have an improved ability to collect, discuss, and understand a range of materials.

On LMS or available via Library log-in to e-journals and books. See later pages. Note that there are some small changes from the Handbook entry due to Covid 19 alterations to course.

Images previous page: Banksia; image M. Grose; http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2011/05/nature-leisure-area-in-montserrat-by-emflandscape-architecture/ Assessed June 14 2018. Fox, Gobekli Tepe, Turkey; 13,000 BP

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Requirements and expectations You must attend all sessions – lectures, tutes, workshops and field trips. If you are ill, please email your tutor on the day. Attendance of at least 80% of tutorials is expected to pass the subject. You are recommended to check the LMS regularly and before each lecture. Staff expect that: • Notes need to be taken in class. • No mobiles used in class. • If you are unable to attend a session, please email as to why. • If you miss the lecture or tutorial, or most it, you will be marked Absent. If you are late, please explain why at the end of the lecture or tutorial. • If you miss the lecture and/ or tutorial or session it is up to you, the student, to find out what was said from one of your peers.

Learning approaches For most of the semester, we will be running lectures and tutorials; there are also other activities. You will need to come prepared for tutorials, having read the material for the lecture and tutorial before the day.

Learning resources Please use extensive use of the internet as a search vehicle, the library, and new magazines in the library. Please see each other as a resource to share information in tutorials.

Readings for lectures and other activities Readings are necessary for this course. There are four reasons: (i) you will see the lecture in better context, (ii) you will be able to ask questions with greater knowledge, (iii) you will be better educated about ecology and ecological implications for planning and design, and (iv) you will have more fun as a tutee in classes. You must do the Readings prior to the lecture. Only a few readings will be on LMS -- most of them will need to be accessed from the Library Search feature for e-journals and books that are online. If you have trouble with some readings, skim over them and try to get the most important points; take notes.

Academic policies and procedures Melbourne School of Design and Architecture, Building and Planning students can access academic policies and procedures on the ABP website at Academic policies cover areas such as assessment, plagiarism and academic misconduct, advanced standing, unsatisfactory progress, student grievances and appeals, assignment extensions, special consideration, subject changes and course variations, and leave of absence and discontinuation. More information on academic policies and procedures is available from the Environments and Design Student Centre, ground floor Old Commerce Building (phone 8344 6417).

Consultation time: Staff are available for discussion by appointment with M. Grose

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STAFF Course supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Margaret Grose [email protected] I grew up on the west coast dunes and it naturally followed that I went to a music school and then completed half of a music performance degree (violin) before travelling and switching to agricultural science, majoring in soil science and plant nutrition. Following that and a stint working in the Kimberley counting crocodiles, insects, and birds, I did a PhD in the ecophysiology of Australian plants, then post-docs in mathematical biology at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, where I taught in the Natural Sciences Tripos. Perhaps inspired by the fact that I got known for “drawing experiments” before I did them, I then completed a degree in landscape architecture. This is a good blend of the arts and sciences, between which I always move and see little barrier. I then worked in an environmental design practice and returned to academic teaching. I moved to Melbourne in 2007 and teach the major ecological subjects in the Master of Landscape Architecture and until this year led the Capstone in the undergraduate degree; in 2016 I was a Visiting Scholar at MIT. I currently have two PhD students, one working on yard trees in Chinese villages and the other on the use of plants in design today. I published the book Constructed Ecologies in 2017 and am currently working on two books. The first, based on work done as a Visiting Scholar at Harvard in 2018, is about the visit of a famous Harvard plant collector to Australia in 1920-21. The second, a much bigger book, is Science into Design: Searching for Method in Landscape Architecture. Both are big challenges. Tutors: Note that all tutorials will be live by zoom with your tutors Dr Mark Newbound Mark Newbound has a PhD in Urban Ecology and an Honours degree in Agricultural Science. His PhD thesis looked at the influence of cities on soil ecology, and specifically on the diversity on fungi. He has taught several subjects at the University of Melbourne, including tutoring roles with the sustainability subject Reshaping Environments and the urban planning subject Changing Melbourne. In 2014 and 2015 he was subject co-ordinator and lecturer for Plant Ecology, in the Associate Degree for Urban Horticulture. Mark also has a Masters in Film and Television (Documentary) from the Victorian College of the Arts. He has a keen interest in the intersection between human and natural systems, and how design and planning, particularly using plants, can benefit society and conserve biological diversity. Rhys Cousins Rhys is a PhD candidate in the School of Design, RMIT, building upon his earlier studies at RMIT in Bachelor and Master of Landscape Architecture. A sessional academic at RMIT and University of Melbourne, he has his own private practice, Cousins Landscape Architecture in Victoria, working across research, design and landscape. Rhys seeks to facilitate meaningful engagement between people and their environment and is a critic of forces which seek to politicalise space and the built environment. Katsiaryna Hamaniuk Since graduating from RMIT with a Masters of Landscape Architecture, Katya has contributed to many landscape and urban design projects of various scales both in Australia and internationally. She understands design as important agent of cultural change and her interests lie within sustainable practices, well-being, social and environmental security. Beau Picking Beau has a Bachelor of Environmental Science and a Master of Science. His focus is on evolutionary biology and taxonomy. Beau has considerable experience teaching in natural environments. His research speciality is mycology and he is currently researching pollen and asthma in Melbourne.

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Natural History at a glance: live by zoom Wed PM, unless stated Wed Week

General topic

Lectures Live unless stated

Delivered by

Tute

PART A: OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND HISTORY 1 Aug 5

2 Aug 12

3 Aug 19

4 Aug 26 5 Sept 2

Natural history and species

Natural history for the built environment.

A/Prof Margaret Grose, ABP

yes

Species, species distributions, Dr Amy Hahs, Ecosystem & Forest biodiversity in Australia Sciences Our evolution Who are we? Where did we come Dr Amy Prendergast, Geography and our from? ON CANVAS PRE-RECORD landscapes What landscapes have we lived A/Prof Margaret Grose in? PART B: PROVIDING and USING NATURAL HISTORY KNOWLEDGE Revealing Natural history and collecting our Dr Ken Winkel, Population and natural history medical knowledge in Australia Global Health Natural history illustration A/Prof Margaret Grose, with others NOW at 2.15PM WED AUG 19 Key Australian genera On the ground

Eucalypts and their history Banksia, Proteaceae, Acacia Knowledge of indigenous plants for design

yes

yes

A/Prof Margaret Grose A/Prof Margaret Grose Alistair Kirkpatrick, PhD student ABP; (landscape architect in practice) Dr Mark Newbound; Science

yes

Natural history of domestication; crops, -their conservation and designed futures for food security. FILM: The Seed Hunter Along the littoral

A/Prof Margaret Grose

yes

ABC Films 2009 A/Prof Margaret Grose

yes

The ocean and the designer

A/Prof Margaret Grose

The natural history of soils.

yes

6 Sept 9

Food plants and conservation

7 Sept 16

The edge and the ocean

8 Sept 23

Field trips TBC. This is left blank at this stage due to Covid-19 restrictions. We will advise in about Week 6.

No

9 Sept 30

Spatial understanding

yes

Spatial geometries for designers and others Re-wilding and landscape design

A/Prof Margaret Grose A/Prof Margaret Grose

NON-TEACHING WEEK 10 Oct 14 11 Oct 21

Field trips TBC. This is left blank at this stage due to Covid-19 restrictions. We will advise.

no

Displaying and seeing natural history

Dr Dermot Henry, Melbourne Museum A/Prof Margaret Grose

yes

12 Oct 28

Natural history continuing for designers

Prof Alex Felson, ABP Chair of Landscape Architecture A/Prof Margaret Grose

no

Museums of natural history: what, when, and how, now? National Parks, geoparks, starparks. Natural history in landscape architecture practice today Summary of course & your feedback; Fill in SES in tutorials

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Schedule of Assignment submissions in brief:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Assignments

Due Week

%

3 exercises Short report on landscape design projects Catalogue and report Photo-based study Short report on a field trip or lecture Essay on set topics derived from lectures Tutorial participation

3, 4 and 5 6 7 9 10 12 All

20 10 20 10 10 20 10

NB: Hurdle: Normally the hurdle is field trips, but TBC in view of

Hurdles

Covid-19. At time of writing in July, we will advise later on in semester.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Many of your references for lectures are on Canvas-LMS but some are also only available via the library as an e-book. MG has been questioned in the past by some students as to why I do not download all references for you and put them all on LMS. Answer: You need to learn to search for e-references and download them if you wish; this also allows you to browse in other chapters, when a book, and likely see other books around that topic that will be of interest. In doing so, you take some responsibility for your own learning. Most of the articles that have been placed on LMS are difficult to get, from odd journals, or simply not available online in any format.

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COURSE IN MORE DETAIL PART A: OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND HISTORY WEEK ONE Natural history and species LECTURES: 1. Natural history for the built environment. Assoc. Prof. Margaret Grose (MG) 2. Species, species distributions, biodiversity: fundamental ideas that underpin design. Why Australia is unique. Dr Amy Hahs Key words: evolution, species, genus, binomial, biodiversity, Gondwana, Aristotle, science into design Background for your first tutorial: • Watch: Aristotle’s Lagoon. BBC. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN8ortM4M3o • Darwin, C. (1859). The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Read “An Historical Sketch” and the Introduction and note anything of interest. e-book in library. In the TUTORIAL: 1. You will discuss the set-up for the semester with your tutor. 2. Come prepared to discuss Aristotle’s Lagoon and the search for classification. What is the important act in science that Aristotle did not do? 3. How do we now name species? What is the advantage? WEEK 2 Our evolution and our landscapes LECTURES: 1. Who are we? Where did we come from? Who are we related to? Dr Amy Prendergast 2. What landscapes have we lived in? MG Key words: hominin, hominid, Pleistocene, Holocene, refugia, TUTORIAL READINGS: • Darwin, C. (1859). The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. Read: An Historical Sketch + Introduction. e-book via library. (if you did not in Week 1) • Grose, M. (2017) Chapter 3, pages 53-bottom of 72 in Constructed Ecologies. Critical Reflections on Ecology with Design. Routledge. e-book in library. Questions for tutorial: 1. What are refugia? 2. What is the difference in the terms: hominin and hominid? 3. Why were early humans living in the places that they were? 4. What did the opening and closing of land-bridges facilitate in human history?

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PART B: NATURAL HISTORY KNOWLEDGE Week 3 Revealing natural history: collecting and drawing LECTURES: 1. At 3.15PM Collecting natural history and medical knowledge in Australia. Dr Ken Winkel, Population and Global Health. 2. AT 2.15PM Natural History illustration. MG; MG in conversation with Dr Bernadette Drabsch and Dr Andrew Howells, University of Newcastle. Key words: snake, taxidermy, sketchbooks, Dampier, Lear, illustration, botanical collections TUTORIAL READINGS:

•

NEW READING: Ricci (2019) The inquiring eye. Chap 17 in Andrew Male’s book A Companion to Illustration, Wiley. On Canvas LMS

•

Line in the Sand. Article in Weekend Australian May 2018. On LMS.

Questions to think about for tutorial: • Why were collections being made? What sort of knowledge was being sought? • Many snakes in Australia are highly venomous. Do you know what to do if someone is bitten by a snake? See: https://www.stjohnvic.com.au/news/snake-bite-first-aid-tips/

Week 4 Natural history of Australia’s plants: major genera LECTURES: 1. Eucalypts and the history of the eucalypts. Beau Picking. 2. Banksias and the Proteaceae, and Acacia. MG. Key words: Myrtaceae, Proteaceae, mallee, mallett, marlock, mulga, proteas, proteoid roots TUTORIAL READINGS: • River red gum consciousness. pp 197-229. In Colloff MJ (2014) Flooded Forest and Desert Creek. Ecology and History of the River Red Gum. CSIRO Publishing. E-book in library. • Grass and fire: pages 71-86 in Lowe, P and Pike, J. (1994) Jilji. Life in the Great Sandy Desert. Magabala Books. On LMS • Ens, Walsh and Clarke (2017) Aboriginal people and Australia’s vegetation: past and current interactions. Chapter 4 in Keith DA (Editor) Australian Vegetation. Cambridge University Press e-book in library. THIS IS NOW UNAVAILABLE. I leave it here because is good. If you wish to look at the changes in Australia’s animals, see Johnson, Chris 2006 The Pleistocene megafauna. In Australia’s mammal extinctions: A 50 000-year history. Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne, Vic. Chapter 2 on LMS. Questions from lectures: • What genera of the Proteaceae family live in southern Africa? What traits do they have?

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Week 5 On the ground LECTURES: 1. Knowledge of indigenous plants for design. Alistair Kirkpatrick 2. The natural history of soils. Dr Mark Newbound Key words: endemic, indigenous, provenance, fungi, bacteria, viruses, TUTORIAL READINGS: • Kate Herd & Jela Ivankovic-Waters (2017) Native. Art and Design with Australian Plants. On LMS • Travis Beck (2013). Chapter 6: The stuff of life: promoting living soils and healthy waters. pp 125-152 in: Principles of Ecological Landscape Design. Island Press. E-book in library. Questions from lectures: • Name your 5 favourite plants and why? How do they grow? What do they need? • What are some common issues in urban areas for soil organisms and plants?

Week 6 September 9 Food plants and conservation LECTURES: 1. Natural history of domestication, crops, --their conservation and designed futures for food security. MG 2. Film: The Seed Hunter. ABC Films. Key words: domestication, landraces, food security, Vavilov, centres of origin, cultivars TUTORIAL READING: • Pollan, Michael 2001 Desire: Sweetness/Plant: The Apple. The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. Random House. On LMS • Seeds and damper. Pages 106-119 in Isaacs. J. (1987) Bush Food. Aboriginal Food and Herbal Medicine. Lansdowne Press, Sydney. On LMS • Extract from Virgil’s Georgics. Awaiting item for LMS. Questions from lecture and movie: • What approach does Pollan take to the story of the domestication of the apple? • Who is domesticated — the dairy cow or the dairy farmer? Or both? • Where can you find information on bush tucker foods? Have you encountered them being sold in some form?

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Week 7 September 16 Natural history of the edge and the ocean LECTURES: 1. The littoral. MG 2. The ocean and landscape design. MG. Key words: Ian McHarg, Design with Nature, littoral, inter-tidal zone, succession, benthic, octopus TUTORIAL READINGS: • TBC Awaiting an item from library • Moore, Capt. Charles (2012) Plastic Ocean. How a Sea Captain’s Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the Oceans. Capt. Avery, New York. Chapter 6: The Plastic Age. On LMS. QUESTIONS to consider: • Can an animal with its brains wrapped around its throat be really smart? Aristotle did not think so, but is it not just design? (and what animal is it?) • Why will merely containing plastic on the ocean itself not solve the problems of plastic?

Week 8 ACTIVITIES WEEK field trips or self-guided TBC This week will likely be replaced with a lecture and tutorials. Week 9 Spatial understanding of plant and animal behaviour LECTURES: 1. Spatial geometries, otherwise called “the wolf lecture” by previous students. MG 2. Re-wilding and other landscape initiatives. MG Key words: connectivity, patch, matrix, edge, stepping-stones, landscape ecology, re-wilding, feral an...