The Scientists

In Reclaiming Ground, artists and scholars will examine and question how we might reclaim our own relationships with our food, community, and environment through one of Alabama’s popular pastimes—gardening.

SUSAN HERRINGTON
Susan Herrington is Associate Professor of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of British Columbia. She received a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University in 1991 and a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture in 1986 from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She has been a Registered Landscape Architect in the State of Connecticut since 1990. Prior to joining the faculty at UBC, she taught at Iowa State University. Her research focuses on two areas of landscape theory: the role that landscape design plays in creating developmentally supportive outdoor play spaces for children, and how designed landscapes reflect ideas regarding nature and culture.

KATIE LAMAR JACKSON
Katie Jackson is a writer, editor, and photographer for the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and Auburn University College of Agriculture, with more than twenty-five years of experience reporting on science, agriculture, and the environment. She is author or co-author of three national gardening books and countless newspaper and magazine articles. Jackson has been with the Office of Agricultural Communications and Marketing since 1988 and serves as head of the department. She has a B.S. in agricultural science/journalism and an M.A. in public administration.

CHARLENE LEBLEU
Charlene LeBleu is an Associate Professor in the Landscape Architecture Program at Auburn University. She has a B.S. in Forest Resources and Conservation from the University of Florida, and a Master of Community Planning, and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Auburn University. She is a licensed AICP planner (American Institute of Certified Planners). LeBleu's primary areas of interest and research have been focused on LEED "green" building and water quality issues in Alabama, especially issues related to natural resource based design. Other interest and research areas include bioretention, low impact development, and brownfield redevelopment.

CAROLYN ROBINSON
Carolyn Robinson is an assistant professor of horticulture at Auburn University.  She received a M.S. degree at the University of Florida and Ph.D. from Texas A&M University where she worked with Jayne Zajicek, a pioneer in the science of people-plant research, which brings together the disciplines of horticulture, educational psychology, agricultural education, sociology, elementary and secondary education, and environmental education. While at A&M, Robinson helped develop the Junior Master Gardener program, an international program that promotes gardening among youth.  Her current research continues her interest in sociohorticulture, the innate relationship between people and plants that can bring about positive changes in the lives of special groups of people.

More Science

BACKYARD WISDOM
Blogs and archives of radio shows with Auburn University faculty, AAES scientists, and ACES Specialists addressing home garden issues.

COMMUNITY GARDEN
Run by volunteers, this garden on the AU campus provides produce for the Food Bank of East Alabama.