Department of Landscape Architecture
Module Information
(2023-24)
Module: LSC 411
Title: Principles of Landscape Management
Credit Value: 15
Programme: MA Landscape Management
Semester: Autumn
Module Coordinator: Ross Cameron r.w.cameron@sheffield.ac.uk
Studio Tutors:
Paul Brindley
…
CONTENTS PAGE
3.0 Learning and Teaching Approach
4.0 Assessment and Submission Requirements
1.0 Introduction
This course introduces students to the principles of Landscape Management. It highlights the principles of urban ecology and habitat management, and the specific skills sets that professional Managers require. These include, elements of management theory (team work, leadership, organisational skills), communication skills (verbal, written and graphic), ecological theories and principles and interpretation of land form and function (via Geographical Information Systems – GIS). In addition, the course introduces Managers to an investigative based approach to knowledge acquisition and problem solving skills. The course is delivered through a series of lectures, workshops and seminars
2.0 Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, you will;
- Be able to identify strategies and approaches that lead to effective personnel management.
- Have a strong grasp of key ecological theories and how they affect approaches to Landscape Management.
- Identify different urban habitat types and how effective management can promote opportunities for wildlife and ecosystem service delivery.
- Be able to utilise appropriate IT technology to interpret aspects of the landscape better, and be able to communicate these through visual and verbal media.
3.0 Learning and Teaching Approach
The unit uses interactive lectures, seminars and tutorials. The lecture series is designed to provide an introduction to the fundamental components that define a professional Landscape Manager. Essentially, this covers an understanding of management in general, honing relevant communication and IT skills, understanding ecological principles that underpin habitat management and developing investigative skills within a landscape context.
An initial lecture will introduce the theory and principles of management (Ross Cameron), briefly covering aspects such as leadership, effective communication, decision making and team dynamics. Although these are ‘generic’ management skills, examples will focus on landscape management situations and case studies.
A series of ecology based seminars will embrace the ecological principles that underpin conservation management as well as review the management of specific ‘urban’ habitats (Ross Cameron). This will include i. Definitions and principles within ecology, ii. Energy flow and food webs, iii. Communities and relationships and iv. Urban ecology.
Information from the seminars/ lectures will be utilised in GIS seminars (Paul Brindley), where students will gain skills in these techniques and use them to plan/ develop suitability mapping across the landscape. Seminars will be used to teach students about communication skills, reporting formats and the use of IT Technology for specialised management approaches. This includes an ‘Introduction to GIS’, alongside more detailed Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) for mapping suitability. Tutorials will be provided to help students with habitat survey techniques, GIS and other IT skills back-up and in the development of practical based project.
The University of Sheffield conforms to the Higher Education convention that 10 credits = 100 notional learning hours, so a 15 credit module would expect a total of 150 hours of engagement in both structured and independent learning. For this module there will be approximately 30 hours contact time (15 hours of lectures; 15 hours of tutorials) and 120 hours of independent study time. Independent study time includes work apply ecological principles to a GIS based project.
Aims:
The module has specific aims that relate to the four Learning Outcomes as follows:
LO1. Be able to identify strategies and approaches that lead to effective personnel management.
- Understand what makes an effective professional team
- Understand how personality links to teamwork
- Discern the difference between leadership and management of a team
LO2. Have a strong grasp of key ecological theories and how they affect approaches to Landscape Management. With increased understanding of:
- Life on Earth
- How it is classified
- Biodiversity
- Ecology
- Landscape Ecology
- Food Webs and Energy Flows
- Communities and Relationships
- Urban Ecology
LO3. Identify different urban habitat types and how effective management can promote opportunities for wildlife and ecosystem service delivery.
- Understand the importance of vegetation stands and ecological corridors
- Relate landscapes and species to ecosystem services
LO4. Be able to utilise appropriate IT technology to interpret aspects of the landscape better, and be able to communicate these through visual and verbal media.
- Be able to use GIS to interpret and understand the landscape
- Be able to utilise IT map based systems to inform management plans
3.1. Developing Professional Skills (module specific employability skills)
The module will include material and transferable skills directly relevant to landscape practice. These will include team management, ecological understanding, technologies that help manage the landscape as well as reporting skills
3.2. Literacy Support
There are no generic literacy support elements or requirements within this module, but examples of GIS approaches and plans will be provided.
4.0 Assessment and Submission Requirements
Please ensure you have read the assessment section of the Department’s Handbook. This is a clickable link that will take you to the assessment section in the Department Handbook that includes information about marking scales, how to submit work, applying for an extension and late penalties. Note that when an assessment includes both group and individual components, you must pass the individual component in order to pass the module.
Submission Summary
| Submission | Weighting | Group/ Individual | Submission date and detail
|
| GIS analysis of the Green Infrastructure within a Sheffield neighbourhood (3000 words or equivalent report) | 100 % | Individual work | Monday 22nd Jan 2024 – 5 pm.
PDF Report on Blackboard |
1.1. Assessment Criteria
Marks are awarded on the basis of:
- UNDERSTANDING: Demonstrated you understood both the principles of ecological principles taught on the module and that you have applied this knowledge appropriately and with suitable references.
- APPROPRIATE DATA: Collected and used appropriate and relevant information / data.
- ANALYSIS/METHOD: Analysed, synthesised and critiqued the information collected to produce sensible and meaningful output.
- PRESENTATION AND COMMUNICATION: Use of appropriate visual material for presenting your work clearly, effectively and imaginatively, in a way suited to the intended audience. This includes appropriate referencing as required (for both data and reading).
4.2 Feedback
Summative Feedback – we aim to provide summative feedback against the assessment criteria within three weeks of the report hand-in.
Formative feedback – provided via tutorials
4.3 Use of Unfair Means
The department takes the use of unfair means in an assessment i.e. cheating, very seriously. We follow University guidance and investigate suspected cases and take action depending on the seriousness and any previous warnings or penalties you may have had. All cases of unfair means are recorded. You must ensure you understand what the use of unfair means is and how to avoid it. This is a clickable link that will take you to guidance on the University website which you should read. If you are not sure how this applies to this module then you must ask the module coordinator.
Attention is drawn to the specific assessment criteria relating to correct referencing and reduction in mark if failing to reference properly. Students are reminded to reference and cite work done by others including authors, other students etc. This includes publications, images, diagrams, websites and other resources which should also be properly referenced e.g. using the Harvard referencing conventions. For information about this form of referencing please visit the University of Sheffield guidance via this hyperlink: https://librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.html
5.0 Resources
Module resources can be found in the weekly content on Blackboard.
Reading list includes
- Benson, J and Roe, M (2007) Landscape and Sustainability, SPON Press, Oxford.
- Cameron, R & Hitchmough, J (2016) Environmental Horticulture: Science and Management of Green Landscapes CABI.
- Dempsey, N., Smith, H. & Burton, M. (2014) (eds.) Place-keeping: open space management in practice, London, Routledge.
- Dunnett N (2019). Naturalistic Planting Design The Essential Guide: How to Design High-Impact, Low-Input Gardens. Filbert Press. ISBN-13: 978-0993389269
- Forman, R.T.T (2014) Urban Ecology: Science of Cities, Cambridge University Press
- Hiron, A.D. and Sjöman, H. (2018) Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure: A Guide for Specifiers, Trees & Design Action Group. https://www.myerscough.ac.uk/media/4052/hirons-and-sjoman-2018-tdag-tree-species-selection-1-1.pdf
- Hitchmough, J.D. (1994) Urban Landscape Management. Butterworth Heinemann, Sydney.
- Hitchmough, J.D. et al (2010) Environmental Standards for Gardens and Parks. National Trust, [available online] https://ntenvironmentalwork.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/national-trust-environmental-standard-for-parks-and-gardens-2012.pdf
- Hitchmough J.D. et al (2006) Making contracts work for wildlife; how to encourage biodiversity in urban parks. CABE Space, London, [available online] http://downloads.gigl.org.uk/website/making-contracts-work-for-wildlife.pdf
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee (2012) UK Post 2010 Biodiversity Framework [available online] http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-6189
- Krebs C.J. Ecology: Pearson New International Edition: The Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance, 23 Jul 2013. ISBN-13: 978-1292026275
- Sheffield City Council (2009) Sheffield’s Great Outdoors: Green & Open Space Strategy 2010-2030, Sheffield City Council, Sheffield. https://sheffield.citizenspace.com/place-planning-1/2016-parks-countryside-customer-survey/supporting_documents/GreenandOpenSpaceStrategy20102030pdf405mb%201%201.pdf
6.0 Health and Safety
You should read and follow the guidance given in the department’s Postgraduate Handbook and the module specific risk assessment which is located on Blackboard in the Welcome section. This is a clickable link to the guidance in the Department Handbook.
7.0 Attendance and Extensions
You should refer to the Postgraduate Handbook for guidance on what to do if you are unable to attend a teaching session or experience extenuating circumstances that may require an extension. This is a clickable link to the guidance.
Timetable
Autumn Semester
| When | What | Details |
| Week 1
Monday 25th Sept 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio |
INTRODUCTION
& S – PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT 1 |
Principle and skills of Landscape Management (RCam):)
– What is Management |
| Week 2
Monday 2nd Oct 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio |
S – ECOLOGY 1
|
Seminar – Ecology 1 (RCam) Definitions and Principles within Ecology
|
| Week 3
Monday 9th Oct 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio |
S – ECOLOGY 2 | Seminar – Ecology 2 (RCam) Energy Flows and Food Webs |
| Week 4
Monday 16th Oct 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio |
S – ECOLOGY 3 | Seminar– Ecology 3 (RCam) Communities and Relationships
|
| Week 5
Monday 23rd October 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio |
S – ECOLOGY 4 | Seminar – Ecology 4 (RCam) Urban Ecology |
| Week 6
Monday 30th October 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio / Floor 10 Computer Room |
GIS1 | Lecture – Introduction lecture to GIS (PB)
Computer session – Introduction to GIS (PB) |
| Week 7
Monday 6th November 14.00-17.00 |
No class – whole school event | |
| Week 8
Monday 13th November 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio / Floor 10 Computer Room |
GIS2 | Lecture – Data and where to find it (PB)
Computer session – Making your first maps (PB) |
| Week 9
Monday 20th November 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio / Floor 10 Computer Room |
GIS3 | Computer session – GIS analysis 1 (PB)
Tutorials (PB) |
| Week 10
Monday 27th November 14.00-17.00 Floor 10 Computer Room |
GIS4 | Computer session – GIS analysis 2 (PB) |
| Week 11
Monday 4th December 14.00-17.00 AT Fl11 Sem Studio / Floor 10 Computer Room |
GIS5 | Computer session – GIS analysis 3 (PB)
Tutorials (PB) |
| Week 12
Monday 11th December 14.00-17.00 Floor 10 Computer Room |
GIS6 | Computer session – GIS help session (PB) |
