Students in NDSU’s landscape architecture program are provided several hands-on learning opportunities to build skills they’ll directly apply to their future careers. Many of those opportunities are in the form of class trips.
Last semester a group of second and fifth-year landscape architecture students traveled to western North Dakota to visit the construction site of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora. The library is a $450 million project that emphasizes sustainable design practices such as green roofs, the use of sustainable materials and landscape preservation and restoration.
Pete Rasmussen, a second-year landscape architecture student from Jamestown, North Dakota, said the outing was beneficial to experiencing first-hand how landscape architects work.
“Most of my peers and myself are hands-on learners. So, to be able to go out and see instead of being stuck in a classroom is helpful,” Rasmussen said. “You can look at pictures all day long, but going out and touching and seeing what you’re learning is great.”
Second-year landscape architecture student Elizabeth Marzahl agrees.
“The Medora trip was an amazing opportunity to see landscape architecture in action. It was especially impactful to learn about a project that is so important to the state of North Dakota. Learning about all the different things landscape architects do on a project as huge as the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library made me realize how big the world of landscape architecture is, and it confirmed that I am in the right program,” said Marzahl, who is from Hawley, Minnesota.
Juncheng Lu, an assistant professor of landscape architecture, said the student experience from the trip is impactful for their professional development.
"Hands-on experience is a critical part of shaping landscape architecture students' education,” Lu said. “By directly engaging with sites and sustainable projects like the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, students can bridge the gap between theory and practice. This field trip gave them the opportunity to apply their knowledge, develop practical skills and gain insights that will be invaluable as they move forward in their careers as landscape architects."
Students directly engaged with sustainable design principles they are currently studying and collected native Canadian Wild Rye seeds for use on the library's green roof.
Fifth-year students also conducted site investigations and collected data in Medora for their landscape design projects in Lu’s performance-based design studio course, which heavily focuses on sustainable landscape design to address various environmental challenges.
Aftyn Lehman, a fifth-year landscape architecture student, said the trip was a great way to get to know his peers and professors better while gaining skills that he will apply right away after graduation.
“I am beyond happy with my choice to go into the landscape architecture department at NDSU,” said Lehman, who is from Woodbury, Minnesota, when reflecting on the experience he’s had in the program.
For his landscape design project, Lehman is working with fellow classmate Caden Allen on a design that focuses on the entryway to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Their design is looking at how to make a noticeable entryway to the park that implements the history of Medora, while also factoring in the environmental elements Medora faces, such as flash flooding.
One thing Lehman said stood out the most about the Presidential Library project is the amount of community engagement that has been encouraged.
In addition to their stop in Medora, students visited the state capitol grounds and museum in Bismarck. Craig Larson, a lecturer in landscape architecture also was on the trip.
Marzahl said her favorite aspect of the trip was getting to know others in the program, including the faculty.
“It was a unique opportunity to get to know the faculty and my peers better. You can only get to know someone so much in a classroom, and exploring Medora with my classmates and professors brought me closer to them and made me realize what great people and resources I have access to in the NDSU landscape architecture program,” she said.
Both Rasmussen and Lehman said they’re grateful for the faculty in the landscape architecture program and enjoy the expertise they bring to the table.
“I've found that they've had the experience as landscape architects so it's easy to take their word for things,” said Rasmussen. They have industry knowledge.”
Rasmussen and Lehman highly recommend NDSU’s landscape architecture program.
“What I tell everyone and everybody is, if you want something that's very student-focused and that has a really good learning environment, you don't have to look anywhere else,” Lehman said. “From the professional side of things NDSU has a really good reputation with the Landscape Architecture Department. It's a lot more problem-solving focused and the programs that are being used are preparing us for the professional world.”
“It's a really great program and a really tight-knit program, too,” Rasmussen said.
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