Above is a close-up of fallen cottonwood leaves (Populus trichocarpa) in November. The attractive (!), late-season leaf splotches are caused by a species of Marssonina fungus.
In June of 2023, I formally retired from teaching credit courses at the University of Oregon. But here's a brief summary of what had happened over the previous two decades or so.
In 2003, the dean of the then School of Architecture and Allied Arts (now the School of Architecture and Environment) at the University of Oregon asked me if I were interested in teaching a new course called Trees of Oregon through the Department of Landscape Architecture. He envisioned a large, indoor, lecture-style class of 150-plus students in which the students would learn about the trees growing on the university's campus and I would use slides to "show" them the trees.
Well! I responded to the dean's request with a counter-proposal that the class be limited to fewer than 70 students, that it include trees across the entire state of Oregon, and that at least half the class be held outdoors. He agreed, and spring term 2005, I taught the first class of what I decided to call Trees Across Oregon—affectionately known ever since as TAO.
The course rapidly gained popularity and was taught every spring term though 2023—except for spring 2015 when I returned to Europe for a visit and spring 2020 during the worst of Covid. The first five weeks focused on forests and forest practices across the state, and during the second five weeks, we looked at cultivated trees and what is called "urban forestry." The highlight of the course was the all-day field trip in May, when I took the students—half of the class one day and half the next--from the Willamette Valley, up and over the Cascades Mountains, to the dry-side ponderosa pine forests. Over the course of the day, we were able to visit five of Oregon's eight major forest zones.
In 2009, I proposed teaching a second course called The Nature of Eugene which, like TAO, would introduce students to what I call The-World-Around-Us—in this case, just within Eugene's city limits. Again, the class would take place mostly outdoors, but the new course would include a much greater variety of discussion topics, from history and geology to flora and fauna, climate, and parks management philosophy. The first class took place fall term 2010 and was very well received. It was a more intimate class setting than TAO—as it was limited to just 40 students—and more than 75 percent of the class took place outside.
Finally, I added a third course named Living Landscapes which I taught winter term. Its focus was on the design and care of nature-friendly landscapes.
(For more details about any of the three courses, go back to the menu at the top left of this page, and under University of Oregon, click on one of the three course names to view the poster advertising the class as well as the most recent course syllabus. Again, The Nature of Eugene was taught during fall term; Living Landscapes was taught in winter; and Trees Across Oregon was taught spring term.)
(This page updated 07 April 2024)