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| BATON ROUGE – Seven LSU landscape architecture students traveled to the Rio Grande Valley during spring intersession in May as part of a two-week outdoor recreational planning and design course. The elective course, Landscape Architecture 4501, was led by Landscape Architecture Professor Bruce Sharky and offered through the LSU Robert S. Reich School of Landscape Architecture. The course gave students the opportunity to explore the roles of culture, history and environment within the lower Rio Grande Valley. Students learned how to create an appropriate design specifically for the area’s recreational needs while maintaining its natural beauty. Students studied, worked, and interacted with residents in the small community of Granjeno located between the city of McAllen, Texas, and the Rio Grande River. They also worked with public officials and the executive director of Los Caminos del Río, a bi-national cultural heritage commission. Once they returned to LSU, the students developed a design that would provide greater access to the lower Rio Grande Valley to benefit area residents and visitors. The final design proposal included a wildlife viewing tower, additional biking and hiking trails and new venues such as a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Visitor Center to promote ecotourism and outdoor education. Granjeno has lost its access to the natural environment associated with the Rio Grande River because of the building of the 20-foot Homeland Security border wall, said Professor Sharky. “This experience gave the students an opportunity to work with a real client with real needs and within a real site,” said Sharky, “They could see through first-hand experience the contributions that a landscape architect could make in resolving some real-life problems.” Students can take the landscape architecture course, 4501 Field Studies in Landscape Architecture, for a maximum of 6 six hours credit. Other trips include visits to landscape architectural offices, projects, historical sites and schools throughout the United Stawets and abroad. “I learned so much from this course and had the experience of a lifetime in only two weeks,” said Tucker Tremblay, sophomore landscape architecture student. “When you are working as a team on a real project in the Rio Grande Valley, it really gives you a feeling of professionalism.” Students were able to travel to the Rio Grande Valley as part of the spring intersession program, a condensed academic term between spring semester and summer terms. “Thanks to LSU’s intersession programs, students have the chance to travel and conduct their studies without conflicting with other classes,” said Lynn Evans, program manager of intersession. “Intersession terms give students the opportunity to take unique and exciting courses not normally offered during the regular school semesters.” For information about LSU Intersession visit www.intersession.lsu.edu/ or call 225-578-5090. For more information about the LSU Robert S. Reich School of Landscape Architecture visit their Web site at landscape.lsu.edu/. - 30 - |
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