Using the Rural Atelier as an Educational Method in Landscape Studies

Abstract

Drawing on experiences from a project conducted in the ‘Drentsche Aa’ area in the Netherlands, this article discusses the concept of the ‘rural atelier’ as a form of problem-based learning. The rural atelier principle was used originally in rural development planning and described as such by Foorthuis (2005) and Elerie and koopman (2008). Here, we discuss it in the context of landscape education. Experiences from a case study project are presented.

Keywords:

• Rural atelier
• problem-based learning
• inquiry-based learning
• landscape
• interdisciplinary
• work experience

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Hans Elerie, Gerrie Koopman and Tialda Haartsen for discussions, ideas, texts and comments on earlier drafts. The assistance of Tamara Kaspers in making the map is greatly acknowledged. The constructive and concrete remarks of the anonymous reviewers are greatly appreciated. The project ‘Biographies of the water of the Drentsche Aa’ was funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Waterboard Hunze en Aa's. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the PECSRL (Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape) in Lisbon, Portugal from 1 to 5 September 2008.

Notes

¹ The Veenkoloniën is a former peat reclamation area in the Northeast of the Netherlands. A pre-existing peat bog was systematically removed since the 1600s for fuel. After the removal in the 20th century, peat remains were mixed with the sandy subsoil which yielded a relatively fertile area for agricultural production (Strijker, 2008). Due to the large impact of human influence on the landscape formation process over the last four centuries, many defining landscape characteristics now are a reminder of past economies. Long canals, originally dug for the transport of peat away from the area, divide the landscape into large rectangular parcels of land and tell of a past in peat exploitation and agricultural monoculture. The landscape that has been created is vast and open or, depending on one's perspective, monotonous.

² WB21. Water Management 21st century. National policy on quantitative water management in the Netherlands, with a primary focus on climate change. European Water Framework Directive: European policy that aims for good ecological water quality.

³ National landscape. A protected landscape characterized by the specific cohesion of factors such as flora, fauna, relief, land use and built-up areas. In contrast to National Parks, these are areas in which people live, work and recreate (Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality, 2009)

⁴ Landscape biography. A historical development description of a continuously changing landscape (Elerie & Spek, 2007).

⁵ University of Groningen, University of Applied Sciences Van Hall Larenstein (locations Velp and Leeuwarden).