Southeastern Louisiana University

Southeastern offers summer course on Louisiana native plants

Contact: Christina Chapple

5/31/06

     HAMMOND – Louisiana’s native plants will be the subject of a Southeastern Louisiana University summer course open to students and members of the community.

     Scheduled for 7:30-11:50 a.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning June 7, the course will be taught by Southeastern assistant professor Rick Miller, an evolutionary biologist specializing in plant systematics.

     Miller said the course may be taken as an elective by Southeastern students or for enjoyment by community members who can enroll through Southeastern’s “Special Program for Adults.” Louisiana residents 60 years of age and older can take three credit hours tuition free. Community members may choose to take the course for two hours credit.

     Students have until Friday, June 2, to apply for the summer session. For information, contact the Office of Admissions, 985-549-5637 or 1-800-222-7358 or visit www.selu.edu.

     “I expect students taking this course to come from a wide range of backgrounds,” Miller said. “The course will immerse students in the fascinating world of Louisiana's native plants. We will focus on learning area plants through field identification as well as working in the Southeastern Biology Building herbarium.”

     Miller said the course will employ lectures, lab activities and weekly field trips to locations such as the Lake Ramsey long leaf pine preserve near Covington, Tickfaw State Park, and the Bonne Carre Spillway.

     “You will be introduced to common plant families, and carry out projects related to the ecology, propagation, and restoration of native plants,” he said. “We welcome anyone who would like to be introduced to the diverse flora of the region.”

     The course will meet in the Biology Building, room 322.