Building pedagogical horticultural facilities for improved learning in horticultural education

In order to engage students more deeply in the learning process and to create a learning atmosphere beyond the scope of classroom teaching and textbooks, at Alnarp Horticultural Laboratory we have established a variety of Pedagogical Horticultural Facilities (PHFs). A PHF is a greenhouse or field facility where specially built horticultural arrangements are integrated with Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In these facilities, students carry out different practical horticultural tasks and experiments. These PHFs are located within an area were some of the university’s field research and development projects, together with applied projects in cooperation with companies and organisations, are carried out. Some installations that demonstrate the faculty’s main research projects are also located here. All this unites to form the physical and intellectual meeting point of Alnarp Horticultural Laboratory. Three PHFs are presented in this paper, Alnarp Salicetum, Alnarp Plant Protection Trail and Alnarp Soil Library.