Environmental Studies: 2000-2001 Programs
Ecology of Puget Sound (NEW!
Not in printed catalog)
Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Erik Thuesen
Enrollment: 24
Prerequisites: None. This all level program accepts 25 percent or 6 first-year
students.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Up to $100 in field trip fees
Internship Possibilities: Consult Faculty
Travel Component: One-day and overnight in-state field trips
This program will investigate ecological interactions of the organisms in the
Puget Sound estuary. We will examine relationships between plants, animals and
microbes in pelagic, sub-tidal and intertidal habitats. Seminars and workshops
will be used to explore fully the topics covered in lectures and readings. Weekly
field trips will take us to various locations in Puget Sound for hands-on observations
and field work, including day trips on the Evergreen boats. There will also
be one multi-day field trip to a location in northern Puget Sound. Students
will have the opportunity to improve their library research skills as they undertake
research into specific ecological relationships. Each student will give a final
oral presentation at the end of the quarter.
Credit will be awarded in Marine Ecology, Biology, and Environmental Science.
Total: 16 credits.
Environmental Analysis: Applications of Chemistry and Geology
to Issues of Surface and Ground Water
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Jeff Kelly, Clyde Barlow, James Stroh
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; college chemistry, college algebra
and physical geology recommended but not required.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Optional two-week field trip, spring quarter, to Southern
Nevada and California, approximately $500 for transportation, logistical support,
food, incidentals and personal items.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, under special circumstances with a faculty signature.
Travel Component: Optional two-week field trip to Southern Nevada and California.
This program will engage students in geological and chemical studies of ecosystems,
using theoretical and experimental methods. Topics in geology and chemistry
will be developed that are appropriate to problems of aquatic and terrestrial
pollution. The program will connect themes dealing with geology, hydrology,
analytical chemistry and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Techniques of
chemical analysis and instrumental analysis will be developed in an advanced
laboratory. Technical writing will be emphasized. Students will participate
in projects involving research on geological and chemical issues and problems
of ecological and environmental significance.
During fall quarter, the program will address topics in geohydrology, local
geological history, analytical chemistry and aquatic chemistry. Students will
participate in field trips and laboratories involving analytical chemical techniques,
GIS workshops and quantitative data analysis methods.
During winter quarter, the chemistry focus will shift toward instrumental methods
of analysis and the geochemistry of surface and ground water along with continued
work in geohydrology. Methods and procedures will be developed to analyze for
trace materials in the natural environment using atomic absorption spectroscopy,
inductively-coupled plasma spectroscopy, polarography, ion chromatography and
GC-mass spectrometry. Group projects will be developed that will carry through
spring quarter. Computers will be used extensively for data analysis, simulation
and control of analytical instrumentation as well as for continued work on GIS.
Spring quarter will be devoted largely to project work. An optional sample-collecting
expedition will be undertaken early in the quarter to obtain soil and water
samples from arid regions of the U.S. Southwest to assist in ecological analysis.
Extensive sample analysis and presentation of results in both oral and written
form will occupy the rest of the quarter.
- Credit awarded in analytical chemistry*, instrumental analysis*, geohydrology*,
Geographic Information Systems*, geochemistry* and environmental research*.
Students leaving at the end of fall quarter will receive lower-division credit.
Students who strengthen their knowledge by completing at least fall and winter
quarters will receive upper-division credit for both quarters.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in geology, hydrology,
chemistry, environmental analysis and environmental fieldwork.
- This program is also listed in Scientific Inquiry.
Field Ecology: Research Methods (NEW!
Not in printed catalog)
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Nobuya Suzuki,
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing with basic studies in environmental
science, ecology, biology, or related subject areas. Transfer students welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for field work, including possible overnight
field trips.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This program will examine the ecological relationships between organisms and
the environment through field investigation. Unlike laboratory investigators,
field investigators regularly encounter unexpected obstacles imposed by a constantly
changing environment. Logistics of carrying out field research are also often
constrained by time and space. However, ecological research conducted in natural
settings has the potential to generate powerful information that is directly
applicable in conservation, environmental, and management issues.
This program will provide opportunities for students to develop research projects
focused on birds, amphibians, mammals, and their critical habitat components,
such as snags and downed wood. Projects in other areas of ecology are also possible.
In this program, students will learn how to develop hypotheses, design and conduct
field-ecological researches, analyze data, and write scientific reports. This
learning process will closely follow the fundamental scientific method, and
the instructor will actively facilitate the process from initiation to completion
of students' projects. Students will also have opportunities to learn identification
of vertebrates in the field, including songbirds and amphibians, and to analyze
data using statistical software and other computer-based ecological programs
in the laboratory.
The instructor for this program has strong background in wildlife ecology,
conservation biology, forest ecology, forest management, and quantitative ecology.
Natural History
of the Pacific Northwest
Spring, 2001/Group Contract
Faculty: Steven G. Herman, Ph.D.
Enrollment: 10
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing. Students must complete an application
packet located outside Lab I 2012, and in the Program Secretary Office, Lab
I.
Faculty Signature: Yes
Special Expenses: Good binoculars (subject to faculty approval). In order to
qualify, new binoculars will necessarily cost no less than $100. Students must
have personal camping gear (cookware and related materials, will be provided
by the faculty).
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Transportation and campground fees approximately $200. NOTE:
All field trips are mandatory. No privately-owned vehicles allowed. Everyone
will camp out, usually on public land.
Natural History is the scientific study of plants and animals in their natural
environments. It is concerned with levels of organization from the individual
organism to the ecosystem, and stresses life history, distribution, abundance,
and interrelationships. Aesthetic values are and integral component of the discipline.
This field-oriented Group Contract has a long history at Evergreen, and is
designed to teach students the history and practice of natural history, including
especially identification skills. Working in a variety of landscapes, students
will learn how to identify wild native vertebrate animals (with emphasis on
birds) and major trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers. Means by which naturalists
study these organisms (e.g., census techniques, bird netting and banding, small
mammal trapping and marking, vegetation survey techniques, the importance of
quantification) will also be covered.
The functional nucleus of the program will be the rigorous maintenance of a
field journal according to a system established by a pioneer California naturalist,
Joseph Grinnell.
Lectures and seminars will cover the history of natural history exploration,
basic ecological principles, taxonomic considerations, and published descriptions
of landscape characteristics in the Pacific Northwest. Laboratories and museum
instruction will stress identification techniques.
Schedule: Lecture, Laboratory, Museum, and local field trip: MWF 0800-1200.
Major Field Trips: 11-13 April: Desert Wildlife Area, Central Washington; 25-27
April: Washington Coast; 15-18 May: Central and Eastern Washington: 21-31 May:
Southeastern Oregon.
Texts :
The Field Naturalists' Journal (and designated materials)
The National Geographic Field Guide to North American Birds
The Birder's Handbook
Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast
Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia
Natural Vegetation of Oregon and Washington
Sources of the River
Singing Grass, Burning Sage: Discovering Washington's Shrubsteppe
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
NOTE: Faculty and students will negotiate a covenant describing mutual
obligations and governing various kinds of program behavior. One of the obligations
will be to maintain an up-to-date field journal and species accounts at all
times, and to complete a detailed self-evaluation according to a format prescribed
by faculty.
Total: 16 credits, upper division science.
From Public Issues to Public Policy: Environmental Activism
and the Welfare State
Fall, Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Cheri Lucas Jennings
Enrollment: 24
Prerequisites: None - All level
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
* This program accepts 6 Freshmen and 18 Sophomores
(or above).
So, hundreds of millions are invested in dredging channels for Weyerhauser,
at the same time as endangered Coho salmon are dumb-waitered to a distant inlet.
To what extent do environmental issues contend with other public issues such
as education, welfare, or economic development? Increasingly, government policies
are at cross-purposes as competing issues vie for attention and scarce public
resources. Is the Pacific Northwest losing its rich stock of natural resources
that once attracted investment capital and prosperity? How can the Washington
legislature possibly accommodate both economic development and the environment?
Is a diminishing and slightly impoverished human population a necessary prerequisite
to enhanced, sustainable natural resources in the Northwest? How can policy-makers
reconcile mammoth expenditures toward mutually exclusive goals?
This sophomore-and-above-level program in environmental studies and the social
sciences examines these and other questions as it explores the formation, implementation
and effects of public policy at all levels. Policy topics will include welfare
policy and environmental policy. The program theme will be the tension between
social goals (such as clean water or healthy children) and individual rights.
An important focus of the program will be the ways public issues or problems
evolve into public policies. We will study policy from the viewpoint of the
executive and legislative branches of government and at the local, state and
federal levels. This program is designed to help students improve their general
academic skills and to develop the specific skills of public policy analysis.
Consequently, students will cover statistics, quantitative and qualitative
research methods, and expository writing for a policy audience. The fall quarter
will emphasize analytical tools that will be used in the winter quarter, when
the focus will be the state legislature, and in the spring quarter, when students
will develop public policy research projects. The year will conclude with a
policy conference featuring panels of policy-makers and students’ presentations
of their research.
- Credit awarded in public policy analysis, economics, environmental policy,
political science, statistics, research methods, expository writing and public
policy.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in public administration,
environmental studies, the social sciences, law and social research.
- This program is also listed in Social Science.
Indigenous Peoples: Identities and Social Transformation
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Carol Minugh, Angela Gilliam, Kristina Ackley
Enrollment: 75
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. All students participating in community service
at a detention facility for juveniles must have a police clearance.
Special Expenses: Travel expenses to community service project sites and potential
overnight field trips.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, spring quarter with faculty signature.
Travel Component: Overnight field trips.
This program is designed for students interested in learning about the cultural,
social and political struggles of Native Americans and other indigenous people.
The curriculum will focus on identity: “How are these people identified,
by themselves and by others?” and “What does it mean to be identified
as indigenous to insiders and outsiders?” The program will address the
myriad of other social and political issues related to identity and social change
experienced by people who have been invaded and colonized. Contemporary issues
surrounding indigenous peoples will be addressed along with the economic/political
ramifications of colonialism. The linguistic and cultural genocide experienced
and the resulting cultural changes will be highlighted throughout the year.
Students will be given the opportunity to share what they are learning about
other cultures with incarcerated youth.
In addition to the academic program, some students will participate in community
service working with incarcerated youth. A major focus of this service will
be providing cultural classes, assisting in the “Gateways for Incarcerated
Youth” project. Students will take a leading role in identifying opportunities
to build on what the youth want to learn as well as strengthen individuals and
community through learning about culture and heritage and the stresses between
races. One of the project’s goals is to bridge the gap between incarceration
and college. Students must pass a police clearance to participate.
- Credit awarded in Native American studies, cultural anthropology, indigenous
studies, modern colonialism and practicum in juvenile justice.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in social work, community
organizing, juvenile justice, politics, anthropology and cultural studies.
- This program is also listed in Culture, Text and Language, Native American
and World Indigenous Peoples Studies and Social Science.
Introduction to Environmental Studies: Land
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Martha Henderson, Peter Impara
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: One year of college-level work. Microsoft Word.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Field Trips
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Fall Quarter: Three, one-weeklong field trips (Willamette
Valley, Hart Mountain, Malheur/Steens Mountains). Winter Quarter: Up to five
Local (one-day) field trips.
We will investigate the relationships between the natural environment and human
groups who occupy specific environments at the local, regional, national and
international scale. Our goal will be to understand the relationships between
large scale and small scale dynamics in transforming the natural environment
and those species, including humans, who reside within bounded regions and ecosystems.
We will examine specific geographical settings and investigate the processes
that form each setting. Field trips, seminars, lectures, labs, guest speakers,
and archival research will set the stage for student learning. We will build
on content of knowledge that discusses environmental-human relationships through
lecture, field trips and guest speakers. Our focus will be on the relationships
that exist in our temperate rainforest of western Oregon, Washington and British
Columbia and in the cold desert of eastern Oregon and Washington. The relationships
between environment and humans include physiographic, ecological, social, cultural,
and economic conditions. During the Fall Quarter we will examine wetlands, ecosystem
patterns, and changing land use patterns in the Willamette Valley since 1400.
We will also examine American Indian populations, military exploration and historical
settlement and land use changes in eastern Oregon. During the Winter Quarter
we will investigate the regional and global scale of ecosystem patterns and
cultural ecology in the western Pacific Northwest including British Columbia.
The program will utilize the scientific method of research to build hypotheses,
gather and analyze data, draw conclusions, and present research in a written,
visual and oral format. Data gathering skills will include field, archival and
ethnographic research. Data analysis will include geographic information systems
and data management systems, and interpretation and summarization of oral and
ethnographic data. Students leaving the program at the end of Winter Quarter
will be prepared to take advanced courses in Environment Studies.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Analysis:
the Use of Pattern and Scale
(New)
Spring 2001/Group Contract
Faculty: Peter Impara
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing, exceptional Sophomores with interview,
transfer students welcome. Natural history, ecology, geography, basic computer
skills.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: $50 for field materials
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: One-day field trips
This program will cover several geographic and ecological subject areas, including
spatial analysis of pattern-process interactions, issues of spatial and temporal
scale, landscape structure and function, and changes in the spatial patterns
of ecosystems over time.
Students will learn about these concepts through lectures, field trips to nearby
natural areas to observe pattern-process interactions, computer labs in GIS
and spatial analysis, and through the design and implementation of a landscape
ecology research project.
Students will develop skills in pattern and spatial analysis, natural history
and field interpretation, and in the generation of multiple research hypotheses
and methods to address those hypotheses.
Through class and field work students will learn about important ecological
principles such as disturbance regimes, biotic diversity and species flow, nutrient
and energy flows, and landscape change over time.
Total: 16 credits
Credit awarded in GIS and Spatial Analysis*, Landscape Ecology*, Ecosystem
Research*, and Landscape Assessment.
Mushrooms,
Culture and History
Fall/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Paul Przybylowicz, Michael Beug, Stacey Davis
Enrollment: 60
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing. College-level writing and research
skills. This program begins early - 9/18/00.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $80 for weeklong field trip to the Olympic National
Park and approximately $120 for a weeklong field trip to the Oregon coast.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Weeklong field trips to the Olympic National Park and to the
Oregon coast.
Mushrooms and other fungi play many important, fascinating roles in both ecology
and human history. The great potato famine in the British Isles was caused by
a fungus that killed potatoes. There were numerous social, political and economic
factors, however, that also contributed significantly to the impact of this
effect. We will explore the history of the Irish potato famine and the sociopolitical
climate of the British Isles during this period. We will also do intensive fieldwork
to learn the taxonomy and ecology of the wild mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest.
Students will do an intensive research project and presentation about mushrooms
in food, medicine, culture and/or religion. We will be reading about the fungus
kingdom and its impact on human affairs, about British and Irish history and
the sociopolitical climate of the British Isles during this period. There will
be two weeklong field trips, one to the Olympic rain forests and one to the
central Oregon Coast, along with numerous shorter field trips.
- Credit awarded in mycology*, British and Irish history and research.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in field natural history,
history and mycology.
- This program is also listed in Culture, Text and Language.
Natural Histories: Botany, Biography, Community
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Matt Smith, Sam Schrager, Frederica Bowcutt
Enrollment: 72
Prerequisites: None. This all-level program will accept up to 25 percent or
18 first-year students.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: $200 for two weeklong field trips.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, six credits spring quarter only.
Travel Component: In-state field trips during fall and spring quarters.
This program develops a naturalist approach to the study of human life and
nature. We will ask: How do we, individually and collectively, enact our relationship
to the natural world? How do society and nature affect our sense of who we are?
How do we tell the stories and construct the knowledge that shape our experience
of place? How can persons, institutions and communities act morally to nourish
the well-being of humans and the surrounding world?
Our exploration entails a highly integrative blend of sociological, ecological
and humanities-based thought. We will be especially concerned with cultural
frameworks that guide people’s interpretations. These will involve such
topics as gender, religion, class, family and ethnicity as sources of identity;
Euro-American and Native American outlooks on place in the West; the role of
science, trained professionals and environmentalism in mediating views of nature;
and the power of mass media and corporate capitalism to channel our sense of
possibilities.
The focus in fall includes field study of Puget Sound oral history and natural
history, as well as grounding in the value of stories and the social theory
of community. In winter, students will undertake ethnographic field study of
a local institution and library-based research on Northwest forest ecology.
Spring will feature more advanced research (or, if appropriate, internships),
with topics chosen in light of faculty expertise. In each quarter there will
be some instruction in basic botany (including classification, evolution and
anatomy). Throughout the year, we will emphasize writing in journal, essay and
documentary forms.
Readings will span community studies, environmental studies, imaginative literature
and critical thought. The program work will be intellectually challenging and
demand much time. We welcome first-year students who are ready for intensive
engagement in their studies. We will also provide strong support to upper-division
students ready to specialize in cultural, political or ecological inquiry while
seeking integrated understanding of the whole.
- Credit awarded in social theory, community and cultural studies, literature,
ecology, botany, ethnography and natural history. Students who do upper-division
work and need upper-division credit may negotiate with faculty.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in natural resource
management, social work, planning, cultural documentation, environmental policy,
journalism and the humanities.
- This program is also listed in First-Year Programs and Culture, Text and
Language.
Reinhabitation
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Brian Price, Sonja Wiedenhaupt
Enrollment: 48
Prerequisites: None
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Students can expect to spend approximately $800–$1,000
for six overnight field trips, binoculars, waterproof clothing and footwear
and art materials.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, four credits required each quarter.
Travel Component: In-state, overnight trips.
Observing, sensing and perceiving are not simple activities. As we grow up,
our experiences are increasingly mediated by the internalization of our cultures
and our imbibing of knowledge organized and codified by some one other than
ourselves. As a result, our curiosity and creativity, particularly in regard
to the specific, concrete places in which we live, are often hijacked, or at
least mislaid. Through seminars, workshops, experiments and writing we will
examine the complex functions of, and interactions between, seeing and perceiving
with the intention of becoming self-reflective about how our curiosity and creativity
happen.
Our intention in this program is to gradually move together from being mere
residents in our places and in ourselves, to genuine inhabitants of both. We
will bring seeing and perceiving, curiosity and creativity outdoors with us,
spending significant time in urban, rural and disturbed settings around campus,
Olympia and Thurston County, as well as undertaking two, weeklong field trips
each quarter. Further, all students will undertake four-credit internships with
local organizations within Thurston County with the overt aim of making contributions
to the people and places to which they are responsible by virtue of the fact
that they live here.
We will read natural history, psychology, nature writing, cultural history
and studies of living in place, while developing skills in bird and plant identification,
nature writing, cultural analysis and drawing.
Our program will take 12 hours or more per week of program time, at least 10
hours per week of internship time, and at least 40 hours per week of study and
preparation. In addition, neither rain, nor hail nor snow will prevent our outdoor
work. We expect all students at the outset to seriously commit to the full duration
of the program.
- Credit awarded in individualized internships, environmental studies, literature,
cultural history, natural history, psychology, writing and drawing.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in advanced work and
careers in environmental studies, psychology, cultural studies and art.
- This program is also listed in First-Year Programs and Social Science.
Student Originated Studies: Community Development
Fall, Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Russ Fox
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing.
Faculty Signature: Yes, see application details below.
Special Expenses: Depends on the nature of student projects.
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: Depends on the nature of student projects.
Advanced students from across the curriculum are invited to form study and
project teams of four to eight students to integrate and apply their learning
in community-based work. Possibilities include, but are not limited to, research
and projects involving community organizations as partners or clients, research
and organizing that results in community presentations, research on community
issues that leads to professional publication, or collaboration among separate
but related internships or research projects. Most projects involving significant
community collaboration will require a commitment of more than one quarter.
A weekly seminar involving all SOS groups in the program will explore emerging
issues in community development and provide for additional critique of each
group’s work.
Before being accepted into the program, each group must submit a proposal that
includes the following: 1) a program description with learning goals, 2) strategies
for gaining an in-depth academic perspective of the issues being addressed,
developing group process and community research skills, and working with community
groups or organizations, 3) a week-by-week syllabus with suggested readings,
speakers, field trips, etc., 4) a strategy for documentation and critical reflection,
5) a proposed process of self- and peer evaluation and 6) a draft covenant describing
responsibilities and commitments to each other.
SOS group proposals along with questionnaires (available from the faculty or
Academic Advising) and recent self and faculty evaluations from each student
must be submitted to Russ Fox in Lab I at least three weeks prior to registration.
Students are strongly encouraged to begin planning SOS studies a full quarter
ahead.
The faculty has taught community development for many years at Evergreen and
is actively involved in the local community, working with groups and organizations
addressing issues of affordable housing, community-based economics, land use
planning, preservation of local agriculture, environmental education and conservation,
community-based social services, lifelong learning, and the empowerment of ethnic
communities. Student proposals involving other issues are also welcome, but
they may necessitate subcontractors to assist with evaluation.
- Credit awarded in the area of student work.
- Total: 12 or 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in planning, community
development, public service, environmental studies and social sciences.
- This program is also listed in Social Science.
Sustainable Forestry
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Nobuya (Nobi) Suzuki
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior standing, one year of college-level biology, ecology or
botany.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will conduct an interview at the Academic Fair,
May 10, 2000, to assess student’s background knowledge and interest. Students
will fill out a questionnaire as part of the application process available from
Gabriel Tucker, The Evergreen State College, Lab I, Olympia, WA 98505 or tuckerg@evergreen.edu.
Students will be notified of acceptance on May 11, 2000.
Special Expenses: Food and lodging on extended field trips approximately $200
per quarter.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, spring quarter, optional.
Travel Component: Overnight field trips.
Sustainable forestry is a land management system, which puts the enhancement
and maintenance of a fully-functioning forest ecosystem in a position of overriding
importance. Such an approach allows for an economically viable harvest of a
modest, but significant, amount of wood and non-timber forest products while
improving or maintaining wildlife habitat, particularly for birds and anadromous
fish. This program will address the potential of using a portion of the Evergreen
campus adjacent to the Organic Farm as an ongoing site where students can experience
and take part in sustainable forestry.
Forest ecosystem analysis and management will be presented with a focus on
the individual forest or stand-level with strong consideration also for landscape-level
issues. Critical readings will be drawn from literature on basic vertebrate
zoology, conservation biology, applied forest ecology or silviculture and community
or social science perspectives on resource management. Throughout the program,
every effort will be made to include the perspectives of American Indians on
natural resource management.
Throughout the year, students will participate in seminars on assigned readings,
lecture/discussion sessions, field and computer labs and extensive group projects.
Early in fall quarter we will take an extended field trip throughout the Pacific
Northwest to visit a variety of different forestland managers and experimental
forests including the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the central Oregon
Cascades. We will then return to campus to collect and analyze data on a variety
of different environmental variables. During winter quarter, students will develop
a land management plan that will be presented for review by the campus community
and third-party certification under the Rain Forest Alliance’s SmartWood
program.
- Credit awarded in vertebrate zoology*, ecosystem analysis and management*,
applied forest ecology*, conservation biology*, expository writing*, library
research* and forestry practicum*.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental studies,
natural resource management and forest and wildlife science.
Working in Development: Learning From the Past, Creating
the Future
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Tom Womeldorff, Pat Labine
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; some previous work in environmental
studies or political economy.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for two overnight, in-state program retreats.
Fees due prior to departure.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Two overnight, in-state field trips.
This is an upper-division program for students interested in working for development,
either at home or abroad. The program will have both a theoretical and practical
focus. In lectures and seminars, we will explore the meanings and history of
“development,” examine the forces that shape relationships between
the North and South and the rich and poor, and consider prospects for sustainability
and progressive change in the 21st century.
We will make extensive use of case studies material, as well as fiction and
nonfiction narratives. Case studies will reflect faculty interest in rural development,
agricultural improvement, community and international economics, the urban informal
sector and grassroots social change movements.
Workshops will develop skills to help students function with sensitivity in
culturally diverse settings and to assist in self-directed community development.
Student work will involve critical reading, expository writing and collaborative
research projects.
- Credit awarded in sustainable development*, agriculture and rural development*,
international and community economics* and participatory research methods*.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter. Students may enroll in a four-credit language
course with faculty signature.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in development work,
economics, international studies and community planning.
- This program is also listed in Social Science.
Soil Microbial Ecology
Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Paul Przybylowicz, Michael Beug
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing. One year of general chemistry.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
Soils are the foundations of all terrestrial ecosystems. This program will
examine the physical and chemical aspects of soils, as well as the myriad of
soil microbes. Students will learn about the nature and properties of soils
and the ecology of soil microorganisms through readings, lectures and laboratories.
Soils, microbial nutrient cycling and the role of fungi in soils will be major
themes. An understanding of some of the processes and organisms within the soil
will give students a solid basis for advanced studies in a wide range of disciplines,
including: botany, biogeochemistry, field biology, geology, natural history,
ecology, environmental policy, mycology, environmental microbiology and agriculture.
- Credit awarded in soils* and microbial ecology*.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental sciences,
lab and field biology, earth science, forest ecology and agriculture.
Applied Geology: Hazards and Resources
Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Ken Tabbutt, Paul Butler
Enrollment: 34 undergraduate students; 16 graduate students
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; college-level physical geology course;
graduate standing for graduate credit.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will conduct an interview to assess background
knowledge.
Special Expenses: Optional Grand Canyon River trip approximately $1,500; optional
one-week field trip to Eastern Washington approximately $100.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Grand Canyon River trip, one-week trip to Eastern Washington
(both optional).
Applied Geology will focus on a broad range of interactions between people
and the physical environment. The nature of these interactions run the full
spectrum from devastating (natural hazards) to beneficial (use of mineral, energy
and water resources). In addition, the technological advances of the 20th and
21st centuries, economic and population growth have resulted in significant
landscape modification by humans. This landscape modification frequently increases
the potential for natural hazards and produces vast quantities of waste that
need to be disposed of, now more than ever, in an environmentally responsible
manner.
The people and infrastructure of the Pacific Northwest are subject to a variety
of natural hazards, as evidenced by the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, widespread
flooding and landslide activity in the ’90s, erosion of the coast, and
identification of a series of immense earthquakes in the recent geologic past
associated with the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The processes that create these
hazards will be examined, as well as the manner in which humans have enhanced
the severity and/or frequency of these events. Population growth and economic
development has placed a growing demand on the energy and mineral resource base.
This program will examine these resources, focusing on their genesis, distribution,
economics, reserves and the environmental degradation associated with extraction
and processing.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful tool for analyzing spatial
data. Students will have the opportunity to learn Arc View GIS and use it to
develop local hazard maps. This coordinated study program affords both graduate
students and advanced undergraduate students an opportunity to investigate the
relationship between humans and the natural world, focusing primarily on geologic
hazards and mineral and energy resources. In addition to lectures, discussions,
problem sets and computer labs, field trips will be an important component of
the class. An optional field trip through the Grand Canyon will give students
the opportunity to conduct field studies in order to gain an understanding of
geologic processes and the evolution of Earth’s surface. Those students
not going to the Grand Canyon have the option of participating in the one-week
field trip to Eastern Washington or enrolling for fewer credits (8 or 12 credits).
Note: Students planning to enroll in the Grand Canyon River trip should contact
the faculty no later than December 1, 2000.
- Credit awarded in natural hazards*, energy and mineral resources*, geographical
information systems (GIS)* and field studies*.
- Total: 8, 12 or 16 credits. Graduate students enroll for four-credit elective.
Students not participating in the Grand Canyon or Eastern Washington field
trips receive 12 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in earth science.
Coastal Dune Ecology
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Al Wiedemann
Enrollment: 14
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing. Basic course work in plant biology
(especially morphology and taxonomy) and basic geology.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Students must fill out an application available through
Al Wiedemann, (360) 866-6000, ext. 6023, or
e-mail: wiedemaa@elwha.evergreen.edu beginning February 10, 2001. Faculty will
conduct interviews to assess student’s background knowledge in the biological
sciences and writing skills. Students will be advised of their acceptance prior
to the Academic Fair March 7, 2001.
Special Expenses: Students can expect to spend approximately $270 for travel
and lodging (food not included) for four multiple-day field trips to coastal
sites in Northern California, Oregon and Washington for a total of about 20
days in the field.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Overnight, in-state and out-of-state travel.
Coastal dune systems constitute some of the most valuable landscapes in the
world. At the meeting place of land and sea, they have been important for settlement,
agriculture, industry, recreation and “coastal defence”—protection
from the eroding fury of ocean storms. In many places these uses conflict with
one another and the decisions reflecting these uses become highly politicized.
What is the nature of these systems and why are they so important? Through a
wide variety of reading, and field study of the dunes from northern California
to northern Washington, we will learn about dune morphology—the various
kinds of dunes and how they are formed. We will also look at dune dynamics—the
interaction of ocean currents, sand, wind and vegetation in the creation of
the dune systems. And, finally we will examine the nature and complexity of
the demands placed on these systems.
- Credit awarded in geomorphology of coastal dune systems*, vegetation of
coastal dune systems*, dune management and restoration,* and human interactions
and aesthetics*.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in ecological research
and management, natural history, forestry and wildlife management.
Community-Based Research
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Lin Nelson
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; previous study of environmental studies,
political economy or social science.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will conduct an interview at the Academic Fair,
March 7, 2001, or by appointment between February 26 and March 16, 2001, to
assess student readiness and interest.
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: Yes, four credits with faculty signature.
Travel Component: None
This program will examine and be involved with research about, in and with
communities. We will explore and experiment with the philosophies and practices
that recognize, support and challenge local knowledge. We will consider how
researchers study community life and how research emerges from the life of the
community. The foundation for our work will be “participatory research”—when
“non-experts” become active researchers in a quest to better understand
and respond to conditions around them. Our focus will be on emerging local knowledge
about environment . . . in particular, environment in relation to political
economy and social justice. We will explore the broad literature—and focused
guidebooks and applications—on how people pose questions, acknowledge and
deepen local ways of knowing, draw on and challenge official knowledge, and
develop broad plans and specific projects. We will be especially interested
in how research on, in and with communities reveals the nature of democracy,
the practices of science, and how race, class and gender shape patterns of participation.
A central issue will be how community and professional researchers do—and
don’t—collaborate. Case studies, guest researchers and visits to local
projects will be crucial to the development of our understanding. Students,
in small groups, will work with selected regional organizations on projects—projects
which build on local knowledge and reflect substantial efforts toward environmental
protection, sustainability and social justice.
- Credit awarded in community studies, research methodology, participatory
research, environmental policy and social organizations and movements.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental studies/science,
community development, public policy, environmental policy, community organizing/non-governmental
organizations and education.
Community-Based Urban Food Systems
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Martha Henderson
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. Introduction to Environmental Studies, Ecological
Agriculture, Political Economy and Social Change or equivalent.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $75 for field trip expenses.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, 8 credits with faculty signature.
Travel Component: None
This program will examine the entities and contextual framework of food systems
with specific emphasis on community-based urban food systems. Community-based
urban food systems is a broad concept that includes the ecologic, economic,
social and physical components of food production and consumption including
residual wastes. We will focus on sustainable agricultural practices within
communities and agricultural practices in urbanizing areas. We will investigate
the South Sound community-based urban food systems with speakers and field trips.
- Credit awarded in food systems and community development.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in community development
and agriculture.
Lichens and Ascomycetes
Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Michael Beug, Paul Przybylowicz
Enrollment: 40
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing. One-quarter of taxonomy or equivalent
experience.
Faculty Signature: Yes - Preference will be given to students who have taken
Mushroom, Culture and History or Soil Microbial Ecology or have previous experience
with lichens.
Special Expenses: Students can expect to spend approximately $200 for overnight
field trips in Washington and Eastern Oregon.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Overnight field trips in Washington and Eastern Oregon.
Lichens are a partnership between algae and fungi, usually Ascomycetes. These
unique organisms are adapted to widely fluctuating conditions and able to live
in extreme environments where neither partner could survive alone. Lichens play
very important roles in many different ecosystems, such as old-growth forests,
arctic tundra, deserts and exposed rock faces. This program will explore the
physiology, taxonomy, biology and ecology of lichens and major groups of lichen-forming
fungi—the Ascomycetes. Many of the common spring mushrooms, such as morels
and cup fungi, are Ascomycetes. We will spend considerable time in the field
and the laboratory, with regular lectures and readings. Students will be expected
to complete and present an independent research project during the program.
- Credit awarded in lichen biology and ecology*, biology and ecology of Ascomycetes*
and library research/technical writing.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in natural history,
environmental studies and mycology.
The Practice of Sustainable Agriculture
Spring, Summer, Fall/Group Contract
Faculty: Pat Moore
Enrollment: 18
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing.
Faculty Signature: Yes. To apply, students must fill out a short questionnaire
evaluating interest, background and writing skills available from Pat Moore,
The Evergreen State College, Lab I, Olympia, WA 98505, or moorepat@elwha.evergreen.edu
or the Academic Advising Office during winter quarter and submit it to the faculty
prior to or at the Academic Fair, March 7, 2001. Students will be notified at
the Academic Fair or by phone the day after the fair.
Special Expenses: Field trips, approximately $60–$80.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This program will provide upper-division students with direct experience in
the practices of sustainable agriculture. There will be weekly lectures, occasional
field trips and an emphasis on practical skill development in intensive food
production at the Organic Farm. Students can expect instruction in soils, plant
propagation, greenhouse management, composting, green manures, the use of animal
manures, equipment operation, small farm economics, pest control, livestock
management, weed control strategies, irrigation system design and management,
basic horticulture, machinery maintenance, vegetable and small fruit culture,
marketing, orchard systems and more.
Students must fill out a short questionnaire to assess motivation, maturity,
communication and writing skills and background in environmental studies. Transfer
students must complete the questionnaire and mail a description of college courses
taken, related work experience and letters of recommendation no later than March
2, 2001. Pat Moore will contact transfer students about acceptance into the
program between March 8–16, 2001. Continuing students should contact faculty
at the spring quarter Academic Fair, March 7, 2001. Because spring and summer
studies provide the foundation for fall quarter, no new students will be admitted
fall quarter.
- Credit awarded in horticulture, soils, greenhouse management and agroecology.
- Total: 8 credits spring and fall quarters and 12 credits summer quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in agriculture, horticulture
and outdoor education.
The Synaptic Gap
Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Cindy Beck
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: None
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This program investigates how the brain and mind operate. Class meetings concentrate
on neuroanatomy and physiology, related chemicals and their influence. Students
will learn how exposure to chemicals both internally and externally affects
our physiology and behavior.
Techniques for stress management and relaxation training will be explored. Students
will develop their own stress management plan. A physical lab component will
be incorporated into the program, and all students will be expected to participate.
Lab activities reinforce classroom concepts and allow students to explore the
mind-body connection firsthand.
Class readings and workshops explore new research and emerging theories of
the mind-body connection. The concept of health encompasses one'' physical,
mental and emotional well-being. This class will examine the adage that 'attitude
is everything.'
Partial list of texts:
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Brain Sex by Moir and Jessel
Molecules of Emotion by Candice Pert
Brain, Mind and Behavior by Bloom, Nelson and Lazerson
The Healing Brain by Ornstein and Sobel
Credit awarded in neuroscience (upper division), scientific research (upper
division), health psychology, health and wellness.
Total: 16 credits
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