News Features

Natural Learning Symposium

The Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning and the Center for Engagement and Community Development (CECD) at Kansas State University are pleased to announce the 2012 Engagement Symposium will take place on April 26, 2012. This year's symposium is titled Day of Learning: Communities Engaging Landscape. The engagement symposium will be held from noon to 5 p.m. in the K-State Student Union in the Flinthills and 212 rooms. The event is free of charge and is open to students, faculty, and community members who are interested in learning how communities are engaging landscape and learning.

"CECD is very pleased to partner with the College of Architecture/Regional and Community Planning to host the 2012 Engagement Symposium," said David Procter, director of CECD, "K-State is engaged in important work related to landscape and community. This symposium will highlight the many different faculty and departments involved in this type of engaged work."

The keynote speaker for the day is Dr. Robin Moore, director of the Natural Learning Initiative at North Carolina State University. Dr. Moore is a preeminent scholar in landscape for children; he has authored numerous articles and books, including Natural Learning.

"We are extremely pleased to be able to bring in Dr. Robin Moore to talk about his Natural Learning Initiative, which promotes the importance of the natural environment in the daily experience of children, through environmental design, action research, education, and dissemination of information," said Procter.

Symposium participants will also have the opportunity to hear from experienced professors and community leaders on various topics. Presentation topics include Engaging Communities through Gardens, Learning Gardens, Community Gardens and Well Being, and Growing Food and Social Systems. In addition, participants will be able to gain practical skills and knowledge to take back to implement to their communities and organizations.

Recent research has been published on the ever-growing topic regarding the benefits of learning through landscape. Evidence suggests that individuals who engaged in learning through landscape were able to better connect and learn through nature, which may help support and encourage a healthy community. The engagement symposium will delve down into this topic and will explore many viewpoints. For more information on the engagement symposium, please visit www.k-state.edu/engagement.