Native Plant Trust, focused on New England’s native plants, announces the launch of three new online courses in plant science. The first, Plant Families, begins immediately; the other two, Plant Ecology and Plant Form & Function, are open for registration now and will begin this summer. Registrations for all three are accepted on a rolling basis.

“With people at home due to the COVID-19 crisis, demand for online learning has never been higher, and with it the desire to learn more about the native plants right in our neighborhoods and in communities throughout New England. Native Plant Trust quickly transitioned existing in-person programs to online delivery, while continuing to develop more robust courses specifically for distance learning,” explains Courtney Allen, Director of Public Programs. “The three new online courses offer lifelong learners an opportunity to fully engage with Native Plant Trust’s world-class expertise in botany and horticulture, at their own pace, from anywhere in New England and around the world.”

The new courses adapt for online learning the content from three foundational programs in Native Plant Trust’s renowned Certificate in Native Plant Studies and also offer the same educational credits. Each online course takes about twelve hours to complete and can be taken at the individual’s desired pace. The courses offer several units of core material, accompanied by field and laboratory assignments, online journal space, forums for student dialogue, and quizzes. The student work is facilitated and reviewed by experienced plant science instructors, who are also available to answer questions. The three new online courses took a year-and-a-half to produce, from digital platform analysis to content creation to design. They join Native Plant Trust’s extensive in-person and online offerings of 200 programs per year.

For more information and to register, please visit www.NativePlantTrust.org.