All college students, regardless of their college major, need to be able to make reasonable decisions about fiscal, environmental, and health issues that require quantitative reasoning skills. An activity based approach is used to explore numerical relationships, graphs, proportional relationships, algebraic reasoning, and problem solving using linear, exponential and other mathematical models. Students will develop conceptual and procedural tools that support the use of key mathematical concepts in a variety of contexts.

Students examine the science and profession of horticulture, including its role and importance of throughout history, current trends, and careers. Learners will identify horticulture crops, crop use and interrelationships among the environment, plant growth, and plant development.

Learn to identify the different lifecycle stages of plant pests in the greenhouse and landscape and how to control them using cultural, physical and biological control methods. Learn about beneficial insects and how to use predators, parasites and pathogens to control insects and diseases of plants.

Students will study physical, chemical and biological properties of soils. Soil conservation practices, plant nutrition and composting will be discussed in detail. Labs involve soil testing and soil improvement.

Following guidelines set forth by the national Sustainable Site's Initiative students will learn how to improve the sustainability of urban landscapes. Identifying soil conditions, capturing storm water, using native plants, composting, waste and energy management are concepts learned in this class. Students have the opportunity to analyze their own property to find ways to improve sustainability while reducing chemical inputs and maintenance needs.

Learn to identify and care for annual and perennial flowering plants. Visit local gardens and professional sites to study plants and view design styles. Graphic skills used to create professional flower bed designs is also taught. Hands on experience propagating annuals and perennials and working with tropical foliage in the Gateway greenhouse is also included.

In this course, students explore the Gateway Technical College community. They examine college resources and services, investigate skills that lead to academic success, and identify strategies for achieving educational and personal goals.