Applied Ecology

By Olivia Kohler and Anthony Rathbone

Applied Ecology, the latest the club to be formed in the department, focuses on permaculture, emphasizing design principles for implementing principles of natural patterns and resilient features into whole systems.  Lecturer Miranda Canestro oversees the club. The majority of students in the group are Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences (NRES) majors; however, other majors also attend to learn valuable ecological information and practice restoration and gardening firsthand. The group serves to provide students with a sense of community, which Canestro describes as a sort of “social ecology.” It also gives students experience through partnerships with local organizations and provides students with valuable knowledge and skills that are broadly applicable to most, if not any, future career path. Students learn how to relate to their communities, become aware of local issues, and more deeply learn how their way of life can affect local habitats. Additionally, skills in the areas of natural ecology, such as identifying various species, wildlife restoration, botanical illustration, watershed management, and design and implementation of more “natural” buildings are shared. The club oversees the Applied Ecology Garden, located on West Creek Road off Highland Drive near the Crops Unit on campus, which has workdays every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The garden is used to build skills outside the standard ecological discussions, such as nursery, farming and gardening. To get involved, email appliedecology@calpoly.edu.

---

For more stories, read the rest of our Spring 2019 Newsletter