My specialty, ecological design, is premised in the integration of art and science. It aims to create a built environment that is ecologically functional, contextually meaningful and personally engaging. I am a licensed professional landscape architect and a research ecologist. Current teaching includes civil engineering for designers, ecological planting design studio and sustainable site design seminar. Research focuses on how to design the built environment to promote well-being and health of humans and the natural systems in which we are embedded.

 As an ecological designer I place aesthetics—the visceral and psychological appeal of designed spaces, on equal footing with ecosystem considerations. An engaging experience with place is critical for developing a sense of stewardship because people will fight to save what they care about. In professional practice, teaching and research, I bring the integration art and science to bear on designs for the built environment- be that a flower bed or a national park.

Awards and Grants

Current and recent grants as PI:  USDA-FS, McIntyre-Stennis Award, "Supporting  Ecological Services Provided by Urban Forest Habitat in Residential Areas", (1/09 - 9/10); USDA-FS, McIntyre-Stennis Award, “Urban Forest Disturbance: Environmental and Behavioral Response to Street Tree Loss due to the Emerald Ash Borer”, (10/06 – 9/08) Lynch Mountain Community Coalition, “Lynch Mountain Study: Designs for an Ecologically and Culturally Sensitive Land” , co-PI, Pratt Cassity., UGA Public Outreach, (1/05-1/06) US Fish & Wildlife, Working Together to Restore Habitat Program for installation of raingarden with community educational component; co-Pi, Deborah Borden, environmental engineer, (1/05-9/06)

Research Interests

My research is focused on how to design the built environment to better support and promote well-being and health in humans and natural systems. Recent professional practice and interdisciplinary teaching includes designs and engineering plans for raingardens, bioswales and habitat restorations. These realized designs reside in Georgia.

Current/Recent Research

 My research follows several paths:  1) evaluating the response of people to extensive street tree loss in Ann Arbor owing to an insect outbreak; 2) evaluating the presence and benefits of urban biodiversity as a result of residential gardening; 3) evaluating the impact of residential vegetation on household energy costs; and 4) developing  a framework for garden plant selection that allows us to better adapt to the weather fluctuations produced by climate change.

Results from some of this work can be found at my website:  http://natureforcities.snre.umich.edu/

The potential of urban nature to reduce stress and thus support good health is founded in the assumption of a funcrtional mind-body connnection.  In 2007-2008, participated in U-M’s Faculty Scholar’s Program in Integrative Medicine, an NIH sponsored project to bring an understanding of complementary alternative medicine treatments to scholars from many disciplines. This one-year training program has greatly supported my interdisciplinary work on how to best design restorative spaces that are proactive in their promotion/maintainence of human well-being.

Teaching Interests

Ecological Design: My overall goals are a) to give students tools to design places that are both aesthetically pleasing and ecologically functional, and b)to help students integrate the creative self with the logical self in order to produce engaging designs that also subscribe to the technical requirements and limitations of sustainable design.

Current Teaching

University of Michigan graduate courses: Site Engineering and Stormwater Management Design, Ecological Planting Design Studio, Sustainable Site Design Seminar

Recent Teaching

University of Georgia, at undergrad level: applied landscape ecology, urban design, site planning, advanced construction; at grad level: advanced design studio; interdisciplinary ecological design course with engineering and ecology faculty and students doing outreach projects

Selected Publications:
In landscape architecture:

Hunter, M.C .  2008.  Managing Sense of Place in Transition: Coping with Climate Change.  PLACES 20(2): 20-25.

Hunter, M.C .and Hunter, M.D.  2008. Designing for conservation of insects in the built environment.  Insect Conservation and Diversity.  1(4): 189-196.

Hunter, M.C. 2007. Ecological Community Restoration. In L. J. Hopper (ed.), Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards. Pp. 792-798 in section: Restoration and Remediation. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.

Hennighan, L. and M.C. Hunter. 2006. “Biodiversity” section of Green Landscaping with Native Plants. http://www.epa.gov/greenacres/conf12_04/conf_knwldge.html. U.S. EPA.

Johnson, B.R., J. Silbernagel, M.Hostetler, A. Mills, F. Ndubisi, E. Fife and M.C. Rossiter Hunter. 2001. The Nature of Dialogue and the Dialogue of Nature: Designers and Ecologists in Collaboration. In B.R. Johnson & K. Hill (eds.) Ecology and Design: Frameworks for Learning. Pp. 305-356. Island Press, Washington, D.C.

 In the sciences:

Rossiter, M.C.  1998.  The role of environmental variation in parental effects expression.  In T.A. Mousseau and C.W. Fox (eds.), Maternal Effects As Adaptations.  Pp. 112-134. Oxford University Press

 Rossiter, M.C.  1997.  Assessment of genetic variation in the presence of maternal or paternal effects in herbivorous insects.  In S. Mopper and S. Strauss (eds.), Genetic Variation and Local Adaptation in Natural insect Populations:  Effects of Ecology, Life History and Behavior.  Pp. 113-138.  Chapman & Hall, New York

Rossiter, M.C.  1996.  The incidence and consequences of inherited environmental effects.  Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27: 451-476.

Rossiter, M.C.  1994.  Maternal effects hypothesis of herbivore outbreak.  BioScience 44:752-763.