Environmental Horticulture Program Map

Award type:

AS Degree
Certificate of Achievement

The courses in environmental horticulture are designed to enable students to prepare for exciting careers in the essential and diverse horticulture profession or earn continuing education units (CEUs) for professional licenses. Career options include nursery and greenhouse management, retail garden centers, supply and equipment sales, commercial fruit and nut production, irrigation and landscape design, installation and maintenance, plant protection, interior landscaping, and ag education. Students who complete this program can expect greater opportunities in salaries and enhances an individual's opportunity to advance into supervisory positions. A two- or four-year degree is a job requirement in some businesses and government agencies.

Program detailsAward, code, department, CIP/TOP

Community of interest: ITAG Industrial Technologies & Agriculture
Award: AS Degree
Program code: 07258.00AS
Department: Environmental Hort
CIP code: 01.0601: Applied Horticulture/Horticulture Operations, General.
TOP code: 0109.00 - Horticulture*

Map Class Schedule

Program Schedule Report Meet with a counselor

Environmental Horticulture

AS Degree

The Associate of Science is typically awarded for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. Like every Butte College associate degree, it has two parts: a general-education curriculum that gives you a broad base of knowledge, and an academic program where you specialize.

About General Education. GE is an integrated program of learning designed to foster intellectual curiosity, cultural understanding, critical thinking, creative reasoning, oral and written communication, and the capacity for ethical reasoning. By graduation, you'll have developed the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, apply quantitative reasoning, understand how the major academic disciplines ask their questions, comprehend diverse cultures and historical periods, and assess ethical problems — alongside the depth you build in your major.

See the 2025-26 Catalog for official program details

Semester-by-Semester Map

Term 1

Class Schedules

14–17 units

AB 20

Careers in Agriculture, Environmental Science and Natural Resources

1 units

Meets Graduation Requirement.

This course is a study of the agriculture, environmental science and natural resources industries with a focus on career opportunities, self evaluation, and skills necessary for successful job procurement. Topics include job trends, resumes and cover letters, interviewing skills, and the types of careers available in agriculture, environmental science, and natural resources.

AET 30

Tractors and Crawlers

3 units

This course covers design principles, selection, maintenance, adjustment, and safe operation of wheel and crawler type tractors used in agriculture and in the construction industry. (C-ID AG-MA 108L).

EH 20

Introduction to Environmental Horticulture

3 units

This course is an introduction to environmental horticulture including nursery operations, landscaping, turf management and arboriculture. Topics include basic botany, cultural practices, propagation, structures and layout, pest management, planting, transplanting, container gardening, houseplants, plant identification, turfgrass installation and care, and a broad survey of the 'Green Industry' and other career opportunities.

General Education: Area 1A

English Composition

Baccalaureate-level academic writing — expository and argumentative. The foundation for every other course you'll write in.

General Education: Area 2

Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning

College-level mathematics or quantitative reasoning — the toolkit behind science, business, and informed citizenship.

Graduation Requirement Choice (See GE Guide)

Term 2

Class Schedules

13 units

AGS 20

Plant Science

3 units

Meets Area 5B/5C.

This course is an introduction to plant science including structure, growth processes, propagation, physiology, growth medica, biological competitors, and post-harvest factors of food, fiber, and ornamental plants. (C-ID AG-PS 104).

AGS 50

General Soils

4 units

Meets Area 5A/5C.

The study of soil physical, chemical and biological properties. Soil use and management including erosion, moisture retention, structure, cultivation, organic matter and microbiology. Laboratory topics include soil type, classification, soil reaction, soil fertility and physical properties of soil. (C-ID AG-PS 128L).

General Education: Area 4

Department recommends AGS 10.

Social and Behavioral Sciences

The systematic study of people as members of society — cultural anthropology, cultural geography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology — and the methods these disciplines use to ask their questions.

General Education: Area 6

Ethnic Studies

The histories, experiences, and contributions of the four autonomous disciplines: Black / African American / Africana studies, Native American studies, Chicano/a/x and Latino/a/x studies, and Asian American studies.

Term 3

Class Schedules

18–19 units

EH 26

Landscape Planning and Design

3 units

This course is a study of the principles utilized in planning and designing residential, commercial, and public landscaped areas. Topics include the fundamentals of design, the design process, and client relations. Emphasis will be placed upon the selection and utilization of plants and non-plant materials included in landscape areas.

EH 30

Irrigation Practices and Materials

3 units

This course is an introduction to the materials, equipment, installation procedures, operation and maintenance of landscape irrigation systems and their components.

Select one:

Required

3 units

Choose one of 4 choices

AGS 30
Ecology of Insect and Disease Management
3 units
course details
This course is a study of the scientific principles and concepts of ecologically based pest management, with emphasis on economically important insects and pathogens in agriculture, environmental horticulture, natural resources, parks and recreation. Included is an introduction to insects and disease organisms, their biology, identification and management, with a focus on plants of the local geographic area.
+−
EH 60
Principles of Integrated Pest Management
3 units
course details
This course covers the origin, history, and management of insect, plant pathogen, weed, and other pests of field and horticulture crops. Pest biology and life cycles are studied to demonstrate the use of various Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technologies for economic crop production. Pesticide regulations, application, formulations, and materials for specific uses are covered.
+−
EH 61
Plant Protection Materials
3 units
course details
This course will introduce the history, laws and regulations, safe and responsible use, toxicology, risks, benefits, and sustainability in the use of horticultural and agricultural chemicals including pesticides, fertilizers, plant growth regulators, defoliants, and antimicrobials. Throughout the course applied examples will be used to generate discussion and aid in the students' ability to formulate integrated agrichemical management programs.
+−
EH 62
Weed Science and Invasive Plants
3 units
course details
This course is an introduction to the classification, identification, and life cycles of common poisonous and invasive weeds. Topics include the biological, chemical, cultural, and physical control of weeds. Characteristics of weeds and their identification, and herbicide application will be examined.
+−

Select one:

Required

3 units

Choose one of 2 choices

EH 23
Fall Plant Identification
3 units
course details
This course is a study of identification, growth habits, culture and ornamental use of fall landscape and indoor plants adapted to climates of California. Plants emphasized will come from the current California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC) and California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Certification Test Plant Lists. This course covers those plants best observed and studied in the fall of the year. (C-ID AG-EH 108L).
+−
EH 24
Spring Plant Identification
3 units
course details
This course is a study of identification, growth habits, culture and ornamental use of spring landscape and indoor plants adapted to climates of California. Plants emphasized will come from the current California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC) and California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Certification Test Plant Lists. This course covers those plants best observed and studied in the spring of the year. (C-ID AG-EH 112L).
+−

General Education: Area 1B

Oral Communication and Critical Thinking

Baccalaureate-level oral communication and/or critical thinking — speaking with structure to a live audience, analyzing arguments, identifying assumptions.

General Education: Area 3

Arts and Humanities

How people and cultures, across time, respond to themselves and the world through artistic and cultural creative production. Visual and performing arts, art history, foreign languages, literature, philosophy, religion.

Term 4

Class Schedules

15 units

EH 28

Turfgrass Management and Equipment

3 units

This course is an introduction to establishing, maintaining and managing turfgrasses for sports athletic fields, golf courses, parks, cemeteries, and commercial and residential lawns. Emphasis is placed on identification of various turfgrass species, installation of proper irrigation, environmental requirements, and maintenance practices.

EH 72

Landscape Business Management

3 units

This course covers the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in a management position for a landscape company, public/private park system, golf course and other 'Green Industry' operations. Emphasis will be placed on operational procedures of the business such as determining annual overhead, planning for recovery of that overhead, hiring and managing procedures of employees and determining 'true' profit. This course is also designed to encourage development of 'take-off' and bidding skills for the construction industry.

EH 74

Irrigation System Design

3 units

This course is a study of the design of irrigation and drainage systems. Emphasis will be placed on pipe sizing, friction loss calculations, pressure requirements, pumping stations, points of connection and backflow prevention devices. The students will learn mathematic equations/calculations used for proper design and installation.

EH 99

Work Experience-EH

0.5–8 units

Work experience is an experiential course where students apply what they have learned in the classroom to a work environment. The course offers students the opportunity to develop technical skills, explore possible career choices, build confidence, network with people in the field, and transition into the world of work. Work experience may include paid or unpaid employment. Students may earn one semester unit of college credit in this course for every fifty-one hours of work experience. Students may enroll in this course up to 8 unit(s) to complete the entire curriculum of the course. A maximum of sixteen units can be earned in work experience courses during a student’s enrollment with Butte College.

Prerequisite: Permission of Work Experience Education instructor and employment supervisor

Select one:

Required

3 units

Choose one of 2 choices

EH 38
Greenhouse Production
3 units
course details
This course is a survey of the greenhouse industry. Emphasis will be placed on analysis, description, and operation of greenhouses and other forcing structures. The relationship of light, temperature, moisture, aeration, and humidity to plant growth will be described. Emphasis will be placed on potted plants grown for foliage or flowers, cut flowers and bedding plant production.
+−
EH 70
Plant Propagation and Nursery Practices
3 units
course details
This course is an introduction to plant propagation and production practices with emphasis on nursery operations including sexual and asexual reproduction, planting, transplanting, fertilizing, plant pest and disease control; structures and site layout; preparation and use of propagating and planting mediums; use and maintenance of common tools and equipment; regulations pertaining to plant production. (C-ID AG-EH 116L).
+−

Elective (any course numbered 1-99 or C1000-C1999)

Only necessary if the 60 units needed to graduate have not been completed. Consider taking a Cal-GETC General Education course. Visit www.assist.org to see options.

Career Connections

2-Year Degree Paths

Entry points students may pursue after associate-level study, technical preparation, or licensure pathways.

No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset point cleanly to an immediate 2-year outcome for this program.

4-Year Degree Paths

Roles that more often open up after transfer and a bachelor's degree.

No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset are grouped into the 4-year pathway for this program.

Graduate School Paths

Advanced roles commonly associated with graduate, professional, or post-baccalaureate study.

No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset are grouped into the graduate-school pathway for this program.

Source Notes

Course sequencing is generated from the Acadia Program Mapper cache. Career groupings use local CIP-to-SOC mappings and BLS occupation data when available. Confirm education plans with Counseling and Advising.

No NCES/IPEDS CIP-to-SOC mapping was found for this program's CIP code.

Last generated 2026-06-12T23:20+00:00

Program Snapshot

Next Steps

2-Year Degree Paths

4-Year Degree Paths

Graduate School Paths

Source Notes