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2001-2002 Catalog

 

Environmental Studies
2001 - 2002

All Level

Intermediate

Advanced

Winter Quarter Offerings | Spring Quarter Offerings

Christian Roots: Medieval and Renaissance Art and Science
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Frederica Bowcutt, Lisa Sweet
Enrollment: 48
Prerequisites: None. This all-level program will offer appropriate support for sophomores or above ready to do advanced work.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: $200 for art supplies and $150 for field trips.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

Students in this two-quarter program will explore Medieval and Renaissance (1100-1750) European culture through studies in art and science. We will examine trends that emerged in religion, medicine and visual arts with interest in how these values have changed and/or remained the same through the centuries. In fall we will develop a foundation in the precipitating factors, cultural and scientific, that led to the Middle Ages. We will study Greek botanists such as Dioscorides and explore the impact they had on the study of plants during the Middle Ages. Additionally, we will learn about life during the Middle Ages through readings about individuals-from poets to mystics to witches. In winter we will address the emerging Humanism that accompanies the Renaissance.

The radical transformation of botany from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance will be an important part of this program. During the Middle Ages, botany was a branch of medicine, heavily shaped by Christian values and beliefs. Exploration and colonization of the "New World" resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of plants known to the botanist. This inspired a different approach to plant naming. New technology, such as the light microscope, also allowed for a deeper understanding of the internal form and function of plants.

Christian values also determined the look and function of art created during the Middle Ages. The church developed a code of representation that involved a complex iconography for Christian images; it also was the primary patron of artists until the High Renaissance. During the Renaissance the Humanist obsession with science seeped into the arts as well. Science influences the visual arts in the form of study and portrayal of human anatomy; studies of nature through illustration; and the development of complex systems of optics and perspective. The sciences have a pervasive impact on what had been a strictly spiritual content in art. In the process, the roles of artists change from that of artisans to intellectuals.

Finally, we will explore the lives and works of various individuals (with special emphasis on medieval women) who contributed to shaping the Middle Ages-scientists and artists, scholars and mystics. We will consider the rational studies of botanists and the intuitive expressions of artists and those called to a life of faith. By examining their lives and works, students will gain a unique perspective on the culture of the European Middle Ages.

  • Credit awarded in printmaking, art history, history of science and European ethnobotany.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in art, healing arts and ethnobotany.
  • This program is also listed in First-Year Programs and Expressive Arts.

Drawing From the Sea: The Aesthetics, Form and Function of Marine Life
Fall/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Gerardo Chin-Leo, Lucia Harrison
Enrollment: 48
Prerequisites: None. This all-level program will offer appropriate support for sophomores or above ready to do advanced work.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for art supplies.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

The marine environment is a complex habitat which harbors a beautiful, abundant and diverse array of life forms. This program combines the study of the marine environment as a habitat and source of inspiration for the visual imagination. We will examine how to use this information to pursue creative work in the visual arts and sciences. Students will study the form and function of marine organisms, develop a basic visual vocabulary and learn to draw from observation. Students will travel to local beaches and explore Budd Inlet in the college's sailing vessels. They will keep field journals, conduct field surveys, collect organisms and learn microscopy. They will attend a weekly seminar to discuss the various ways the marine environment is represented in scientific articles, mythology, literature, poetry and visual images. Students will explore their personal interests in the marine environment as a source for scientific exploration and making visual images. Individually, students will complete a research project on a marine organism and develop a small body of visual images related to their scientific and/or aesthetic interests.

  • Credit awarded in marine biology and visual arts.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in science and visual arts.
  • This program is also listed in First-Year Programs and Expressive Arts.

Ecological Agriculture
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Pat Labine(FW), Martha Rosemeyer, Michael Beug (S)
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, transfer students welcome; general chemistry, economics, and/or political science recommended.
Faculty signature: Yes
Special Expenses: Food and lodging on extended field trips, approximately $100.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, spring quarter.
Travel Component: None

The Ecological Agriculture program provides a broad, interdisciplinary study of agriculture, from a critical perspective of social and ecological sustainability. In fall quarter we will examine the history and present predicaments of American agriculture. During winter quarter we will consider alternatives and possible futures for agriculture. Spring quarter we will focus on the role of agriculture in Third World development. We will emphasize critical reading and expository writing. In addition to seminar work, students will engage in substantial study in the natural and social sciences (ecology, soil science, entomology, community studies, political economy). Students will also have the opportunity for practical experience in food production at the Organic Farm under the direction of the farm manager. Those wanting more extensive training in agricultural production may begin the program The Practice of Sustainable Agriculture spring quarter, as part of their work in Ecological Agriculture. Other student projects and internships will also be spring quarter options.

  • Credit awarded in ecology, community studies, political economy of American agriculture, agroecology, entomology, agriculture and development in the Third World, expository writing, library research and farm practicum.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental studies, agriculture and community development.

Eco-Design in the Real World
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Rob Knapp, Robert Leverich, Gretchen Van Dusen (FW.5)
Enrollment: 60
Prerequisites: None. This all-level program will offer appropriate support for sophomores or above ready to do advanced work. Students must be willing to tackle open-ended problems, respond with insight to real-world needs and obstacles and produce carefully finished work.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Art supplies; field trips (in-state overnight field trips fall and spring quarters, approximately $25 payable on the first class day; out-of-state field trip winter quarter, approximately $45 payable during first week of class); basic scientific calculator required.
Internship Possibilities: Spring quarter, consult with faculty.
Travel Component: Three- to six-day out-of-state field trip winter quarter.

How can human settlement coexist with the rest of Earth's web of life? What patterns of living, working and moving about could be ethical, beautiful and sustainable indefinitely-and how can we Americans move toward those ways of life? These are the animating questions of the emerging field of ecological design, and the focus of this yearlong program.

Ecological design grows from many roots-architecture, appropriate technology, indigenous cultures, restoration ecology, community development and activism, environmental art and others-and is at a stage of searching for symbiotic patterns and practices among these fields. The faculty believe the emerging shape of eco-design includes close designer-community collaboration, designing for recycling or rejuvenation as much as for permanence, biology as a source of form, attention to justice and engineering based on renewable materials and energies. Students should be ready to join experiments and explorations of these ideas, and should expect it to take two or more quarters for connections among them to become clear.

The subtitle of this program is "Fitting into Place." We have the hypothesis that designs can be ethical, beautiful and sustainable only if they are closely fitted into the specifics of a physical place-its forms, its habitats and its inhabitants. Through lectures, studio, fieldwork, library and Internet research, writing, drawing and calculating, we will investigate what gives places their character, and how designing can express, preserve and enhance it. There may be some chances for hands-on building, but the program will emphasize careful analysis and design, not actual construction.

The core activity is a yearlong design studio (balanced between physical design and three-dimensional art), backed by studies of community dynamics, ecological engineering and history of environmental design, and aiming at significant involvement with current local building projects. The latter may include cabins for a creative writing institute, assistance to a local affordable housing group, progress toward the "zero-runoff" goal for campus storm water, and finding proper uses for trees cut down in the current expansion of college facilities. These projects will involve students in real-world processes, constraints and trade-offs-essential experience for those who wish to make a difference.

  • Credit awarded in environmental design, natural science, visual art, community studies, social context of design and expository writing.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in design professions, community development, environmental studies, visual art, natural science and social science.
  • This program is also listed in First-Year Programs, Expressive Arts and Scientific Inquiry.

Ecology and Economy
Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Burton Guttman
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome; basic studies in either environmental science or relevant social, political or economic science. Excellent analytical and writing ability.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will assess student ability to write clearly and reason coherently. Students must submit an extensive sample of their writing to Burt Guttman, The Evergreen State College, Lab I, Olympia, WA 98505, (360) 867-6755, and set up an interview, May 7-16, 2001. Students will be notified of acceptance by mail or e-mail.
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

The population and ecological problems that humanity faces increasingly are not primarily scientific problems, although they are closely linked to technology that stems from science. The roots of these problems lie in social and economic structures and in the distribution of political power. This advanced group contract will study these foundations.

Members of this group-students and faculty sponsor alike-will become a learning community. They will spend long hours every week reading about the issues, discussing them and especially writing about them. We will begin with books such as McMichael's Planetary Overload, Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce, Greider's Who Will Tell the People, Brown's Who Will Feed China? and Orr's Ecological Literacy. We will examine contemporary economic trends that put particular stress on fragile ecologies and the compatibility of various social structures with population and environmental stability. We will not be satisfied with slogans such as "destroy capitalism," "science is the answer," "technology is the answer," "science is the enemy" or "get rid of technology." The direction of our studies is not strongly determined; it will be worked out on the basis of what we learn. Individuals and small groups will undoubtedly engage in specialized studies and then instruct the entire group.

  • Credit awarded in environmental studies, possibly economics or political science.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental work, social and political careers related to environmental issues.

The Environment and Development of Sub-Saharan Africa: Senegal and the Sahel (This Program Cancelled)
Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Gabriel Tucker
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; transfer students welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $50 for museum fees and field trips.
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: None

How will sub-Saharan Africa's environment and human history impact its future development? What is desertification and how is it impacting development? How do traditional and Western knowledge and values affect environmental restoration efforts? How will the environmental history of Africa impact its future? This program will attempt to answer these questions and provide an orientation to sub-Saharan Africa with special reference to the country of Senegal and the Sahel region.

To this end, students will participate in a broad-based exploration of the environment, rural sociology, history, language, culture, literature and the science-based rural development policy of the Sahel. We will engage in our studies through lecture and discussion sessions, workshops, seminars and independent research. Each quarter students will develop a significant public service or academic project component.

  • Credit awarded in African studies, international development, environment of sub-Saharan Africa, independent research and expository writing.
  • 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 international development, environmental studies and African studies.

Introduction to Environmental Modeling
Fall/Group Contract
Faculty: Robert Cole
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, transfer students welcome; a solid background in college algebra.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This program presents a broad survey of environmental and ecological systems that lend themselves to modeling methods. This rapidly expanding field is an essential component of environmental restoration projects, wildlife management and enhancement, understanding biogeochemical cycles, designing sustainable resource economic systems and developing better tools for ecological management. A series of case studies will illuminate the process of building and modifying mathematical models of the environment. Topics include population models of competition and predation, metapopulation analysis and models of energy flow, primary production and various types of pollution. The tools we will develop can be applied to a variety of settings, including the study of chaos and chaotic behavior in bio- logical and ecological systems. This program will be excellent preparation for the Hydrology program winter and spring quarters.

In workshops we will develop many of the mathematical tools and computer skills necessary to understand the models we'll investigate. Students should be ready to take calculus, which will be offered as a part of the program. In weekly computer labs we will learn to use the Stella modeling software. No prior background in computing is assumed. Students should, however, be willing to learn new software and apply new mathematical techniques to a variety of situations and case studies.

Students will complete an independent or group project and present it to the class. A sample of suitable topics might include: fishery or forestry models; energy flow in the environment; pollution reduction in lake systems; epidemics and the spread of disease; specific wildlife management models; medical or physiological modeling; population or metapopulation dynamics; air pollution dynamics; biogeochemical cycles; or chaotic phenomena in ecological or biological systems.

  • Credit awarded in environmental modeling, calculus, research topics in environmental modeling* and mathematical ecology*.
  • Total: 12 or 16 credits. Students who have completed a first course in calculus may enroll for 12 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental science, natural resource management, environmental policy, hydrology, medicine and the physical and biological sciences.

Introduction to Environmental Studies: Land
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Ralph Murphy, Oscar Soule
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, transfer students welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

Understanding the principles of ecology, political economy and public policy are essential to successful advocacy in the environmental arena. Work in this program will help us think about how we might best understand and create appropriate conditions for sustaining both human and natural communities. We will take a terrestrial ecosystem approach to understanding the ecological, social, political and economic challenges posed by human utilization and impact on land resources. Ecology, biology, public policy, law, economics, natural history and ethics are all considered and integrated into our approach.

This program serves as foundation for more advanced work in Environmental Studies. As such, emphasis is given to developing a sound understanding of key methods, concepts and analyses used in environmental studies at the advanced level. The program uses lectures, seminars, labs, workshops, field assignments, field trips and research projects throughout both quarters. Various case studies in land use, natural resource management and forest ecology are developed in depth during the two quarters. Students are expected to do field work and library research individually and in group projects.

  • Credit awarded in principles of ecology, political economy, public policy, environmental studies and American government.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental studies, environmental planning, community development, political economy, law and natural resource management.

Introduction to Environmental Studies: Trees, Timber and Trade
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Paul Przybylowicz, Peter Dorman
Enrollment: 48
Prerequisites: This all-level program will offer appropriate support for sophomores or above ready to do advanced work. We expect that students will have reasonable facility working with numerical data and that they can clearly express themselves in a well-organized essay.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for two overnight field trips.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This two-quarter program is designed to introduce students to the interrelationships between the ecology and economy of specific locations with the global market and environmental issues. The forest ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest have provided numerous products and services to both local and global societies-fresh water, oxygen, salmon, timber, rich soils, recreation and wildlife. We will examine the ecology of these ecosystems-both economic and biologic-to understand the complex interactions we have with our surroundings. By examining the products and services forests provide and how we value and use these services, students will gain an appreciation of how humans and societies shape the ecology of specific locales.

We will study forest ecology of the Pacific Northwest, learn to identify many of the trees and plants, look at how we manipulate these ecosystems, and examine the underlying physiological processes that allow trees and forests to work. Coupling this with natural resource economics, we will explore timber policies, treaties and international trade. Students will be introduced to elements of forest ecology, forestry, botany, fieldwork, micro- and macroeconomics, trade policies and the global economy through lectures, workshops and a number of field trips.

  • Credit awarded in forest ecology, field botany, introductory economics, ecological economics and statistics.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental studies, field biology and environmental education.
  • This program is also listed in First-Year Programs and Social Science.

Local Knowledge: Communities, Media Activism and the Environment
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Anne Fischel, Lin Nelson
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and above; successful completion of coordinated studies or Core program. Transfer students can contact Lin Nelson (360) 867-6056.
Faculty Signature: No. Students are encouraged to attend an information session with the faculty at the Academic Fair, May 16, 2001.
Special Expenses: $100 or more for research, local travel and media production.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, during spring quarter.
Travel Component: None

This yearlong program of community-based work uses tools drawn from video and multi-media production, oral history, participatory research and other forms of activist learning. We will explore the meaning and dynamics of community life and develop strategies for collaborating with local communities as they respond to environmental, economic, political and cultural change and crisis. We will also investigate linkages between local, regional, national and international movements that offer opportunities and new directions for sustainable community development.

Art and research are forms of action that can help communities face new challenges. We will learn how to identify, support and critically analyze locally held knowledge and resources and collaborate with community groups that are responding to regional and global change. We will explore how economic change, internal conflicts and divergent experiences (class, gender, race, immigration and oldtimer/newcomer positions) challenge and diversify the knowledge and perspectives available to community members. Drawing on community case studies, we will begin by asking: What sense of history and future guides these communities? What self-knowledge exists or could be cultivated? How do these communities define themselves in time and space? What does the mainstream media tell these communities about themselves and what images, ideas and experiences exist to counter these received messages? How does "expert" information and input change how they identify and solve problems? What regional, national or international networks could offer information or support to local struggles?

We will learn how communities, particularly marginalized ones, identify, respect, critically evaluate and energize locally-based knowledge. We will work with communities on projects focusing on social justice, environmental protection and public art and communication. We will explore how communities can investigate and re-vision their own history and we will develop tools and strategies to assist them in their work. We will also examine community projects that are creating new possibilities for economic, cultural and ecological sustainability. Our approaches will be drawn from media activism, public art, popular education, participatory research and community-based research. Our program will visit and collaborate with three communities in the region (most likely Shelton, Tacoma and Centralia/Chehalis). We will meet with residents, familiarize ourselves with community resources, visit community archives, learn to support ongoing projects and jointly produce multi-media projects on issues of community concern.

During fall quarter we will focus on developing foundations in the philosophy and practice of community-based research and documentation. We will also critically analyze mainstream and alternative media, study theories of visual representation, learn to do community-based research and develop an overview of environmental and social justice issues. We will learn basic skills in video production, visual design, media literacy, archival and historical research, oral history, political/social analysis and use of government documents. We will explore the broad areas of democracy and technology, science and citizenship and media activism through historical and current case studies and documentation.

Winter quarter will offer more in-depth experience with a range of tools and approaches. Students will be researching and planning collaborative multi-faceted projects to be implemented in spring quarter that draw on a range of skills and interests. Our goals will be to collaboratively develop projects contributing to community discussion and decision-making, to develop a strong sense of local place, story and culture, and to widen our understandings of regional and international movements and support networks available to local communities.

  • Credit awarded in media production, media theory, community case studies, community-based research, environmental policy and politics, history, political economy, labor studies and other subject areas specific to spring quarter project work.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in community development, public policy, media, community organizations, non-governmental organizations and environmental and social justice groups.
  • This program is also listed in Expressive Arts.

Temperate Rainforests: Ecology and Biogeochemistry
Fall/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Ken Tabbutt, James Marra
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome. Students must have strong preparation in both organismal biology and chemistry.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will assess student's writing skill, background knowledge, mathematical skill, degree of interest and enthusiasm for scientific query. Students should submit a letter describing their background, interests and specific requisites and three references to Ken Tabbutt, The Evergreen State College, Lab II, Olympia, WA 98505, or Nalini Nadkarni, The Evergreen State College, Lab II, Olympia, WA 98505, by May 1, 2001. Students will be notified by the Academic Fair, May 16, 2001.
Special Expenses: Approximately $200 per student for a four-day field trip to the Olympic Natural Resource Center as a base for field research.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Four-day field trip.

Temperate rainforests are poorly understood and highly valued ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest and other coastal landscapes around the world. This type of ecosystem supports complex interactions among constituents of the atmosphere, the forest and the underlying geology. By focusing on the biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling of the forest, we will understand the interplay between the biotic and abiotic components of these ecosystems. We will examine the pools and fluxes of organic and inorganic nutrients as well as the processes that link them.

After an overview of temperate rainforests worldwide, our lectures and field labs will emphasize the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula, with a four-day field trip at the beginning of the quarter. Students will gain field experience with group independent studies on campus, and will acquire expertise with analytical instrumentation to measure concentrations of nutrients and hydrological characteristics of the forested ecosystem. Weekly seminars will focus on reading and understanding scientific articles from the primary literature. Each student will carry out an independent study project that requires the development of research and quantitative skills. In addition to understanding the ecological values, we will also investigate some of the economic and aesthetic values of temperate rainforests.

  • Credit awarded in forest ecology*, geology*, chemistry*, scientific methods and communication* and independent study in forest ecology*.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in forest ecology, chemistry, geology and field research.
  • This program is also listed in Scientific Inquiry.

OFFERINGS BEGINNING WINTER QUARTER

Hydrology
Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Robert Cole, James Stroh, Paul Butler
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome; good math skills through pre-calculus; physics and calculus strongly suggested for the groundwater portion of the program.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Optional field trips (Grand Canyon dory trip, $1,600; Death Valley region hydrogeology, $350).
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: One of two optional two-week trips.

This program will study the physical processes associated with groundwater and surface-water hydrology. We will investigate the distribution and movement of these resources, learn some field measurement techniques and create mathematical models (using both spreadsheets and the Stella modeling software) of many of the processes. We will include work with Geographic Information Systems applications in hydrology. Students in the Hydrology program will have ample opportunity during both quarters to participate in an independent research project dealing with a local water-related issue. Throughout the program we will be investigating the effects of human activities on groundwater and surface-water processes. Entering students will be expected to have solid facility with spreadsheets and mathematics through pre-calculus. Excellent preparation for the program can be found in the Introduction to Environmental Modeling program offered fall quarter.

Two optional field trips will be offered. Students who elect to participate can take only one of the two optional trips. At the end of winter quarter, students can travel to the Death Valley region to investigate the local hydrogeology. The second option is a sixteen-day dory trip in Grand Canyon National Park early in spring quarter, with a focus on fluvial processes in an arid environment. Space on this trip is limited, so interested students should contact Paul Butler by the end of the first week of winter quarter. Students not wishing to participate in either optional field trip may register for fewer credits.

  • Credit awarded in groundwater hydrology*, surface-water hydrology, applications of Geographic Information Systems to hydrology* and research topics in hydrology*.
  • Total: 12 to 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in hydrology, geology, environmental science, natural resource management and environmental policy.
  • This program is also listed in Scientific Inquiry.

Introduction to Environmental Chemistry: Global Warming to Acid Rain
Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Michael Beug
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or above, transfer students welcome; one year college algebra.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: None

This half-time program is designed for students who wish to understand the principles underlying global warming and learn why acid rain is a threat to our forests and to our health. We will also examine air pollution problems like the presence of ozone in the lower atmosphere. Students will study global environmental problems and will build skills in tough but fundamental areas of chemistry. Each student will choose a regional environmental problem as a topic for a research paper. While the program is designed for students with little or no chemistry experience beyond high school, strong algebra skills will be required. We will spend significant time doing chemistry skill-building and will get some limited lab experience. This program has a more practical and narrower focus than a general chemistry program.

This program is suitable for all serious students desiring to understand some of the most critical impacts of humans on the environment and wishing to apply their knowledge as scientists, policy makers or informed citizens.

  • Credit awarded in introductory environmental chemistry.
  • Total: 8 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in chemistry, environmental policy, environmental studies and science.

Marine Life: Marine Organisms and Their Environments
Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Gerardo Chin-Leo, Amy Cook
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome; at least two quarters of college chemistry and two quarters of biological sciences with labs; an ability to work easily with numbers and equations and experience using a personal computer.
Faculty Signature: Yes
Special Expenses: Approximately $120 for overnight field trips.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This program focuses on the sea as a habitat for marine life and on the relationships between marine organisms and the physical and chemical properties of the marine environment. We will explore these relationships through the study of marine biology, chemical and physical oceanography using laboratory, fieldwork and research projects. We will apply concepts developed in oceanography and marine biology through faculty-designed experiments and student-designed research projects.

Winter quarter, we will develop field and lab methods for determining physical parameters, nutrients, biological productivity and for studying marine organisms. In addition, students will design research projects using these methods and read appropriate primary literature. Faculty will provide a list of possible research projects, among which will be understanding the physiological adaptations of animals to the marine environment and the dynamics of phytoplankton and nutrients in a local estuary.

Spring quarter, roughly one-third of the program work will be devoted to completing the research projects. In seminar students will develop the ability to read and discuss primary literature and make a formal oral analysis of a particular paper. Use of computer spreadsheets will facilitate data analysis. Students will be expected to develop formal written projects integrating various forms of software outputs (spreadsheets, graphs, text) for formal presentations.

  • Credit awarded in marine biology*, oceanography* and research/laboratory/field work in marine science*. We anticipate that all credit will be designated upper-division science for those students completing both quarters of the program.
  • Total: 16 credits each quarter.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in marine and other environmental sciences.

The Natural History of the Tropical Deciduous Forest of Southern Sonora, Mexico
Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Steven G. Herman
Enrollment: 12
Prerequisites: Natural history skills, including experience in observing and identifying plants and animals; ability to maintain a Grinnell style field journal and species accounts or equivalent. Experience studying in a primitive field setting.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will interview applicants to determine level of qualification. Applicants may apply by mail to Dr. Steven G. Herman, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington 98505, email (hermans@evergreen,edu) or by phone (360-943-5751 or 867-6063).
Special Expenses: $550, for room and related field expenses in Alamos, to be paid to Dr. Herman by January 2, 2002. Acceptance into the program will be considered provisional until this fee is paid. Provisionally accepted students whose fee is not paid by January 2, will be dropped.
Travel Component: Travel to Alamos, Sonora, Mexico, from February 1,until March 15, 2002. Independent round-trip travel between Olympia and Alamos, first week in February, mid-March.

The permanently frostless tropical zone extends in North America to southern Sonora, Mexico, and is manifest in that region as a landscape called Tropical Deciduous Forest. In the vicinity of Alamos, a small colonial village a long day's drive south of the United States border, this unusually rich and relatively unspoiled ecosystem is accessible for study. Hosting some 750 species of vascular plants, 350 species of birds, 80 mammals and about 80 kinds of reptiles and amphibians, this area will be the setting in which this Group Contract is taught. After a month on campus developing background, students will travel to Alamos, where they will study the tropical deciduous forest (TDF) for six weeks. Dr. Herman will be the primary instructor, and will team with local naturalists and community members to explore the region and its cultural characteristics. Each student will have broad study responsibilities but will focus on a single species of plant or animal for a professional term paper, due at the end of the quarter in Olympia.


Credit awarded in Neotropical Natural History*, botany*, zoology*, ornithology*, entomology*, mammalogy*, and plant and/or animal ecology*.
Total: 16 credits.
Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in natural resource management, conservation, Latin American studies, various branches of botany and zoology, and related topics, but is offered primarily for its potential contribution to a liberal educataion.

On Shaky Ground: Geologic Hazards
Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Ken Tabbutt
Enrollment: 20 undergraduate students; 6 graduate students.
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome; a course in physical geology; graduate standing for graduate credit.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will conduct an interview at the Academic Fair, November 28, 2001, or by appointment (360) 867-6558, to assess background knowledge. Students will be informed of acceptance by November 30, 2001.
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

The Pacific Northwest is situated in a region subject to a variety of geologic hazards. We have been jolted by strong earthquakes in 1949 and 1965, and there is evidence of a tremendous seismic event in 1700 that caused subsidence and a tsunami that inundated the coast. Mount St. Helens erupted violently in 1980 and there is evidence that lahars frequently travel down the drainage off Mt. Rainier. Rivers of Western Washington have experienced widespread flooding during the 1990s, increasing in regularity with poor land use practices. Landslides have caused considerable damage in and around the Puget Sound region; and portions of the Washington coastline are eroding at unprecedented rates.

Although this course will not focus on planning, students will gain an understanding of factors (both anthropogenic and natural) that influence the management of geological hazards and risk. This group contract will examine the mechanisms, extent and consequences of these natural hazards. Students will learn to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to delineate these hazards. Field trips will be a major component, along with lectures, reading, discussions and applied GIS labs.

  • Credit awarded in environmental geology* and applied Geographical Information Systems*.
  • Total: 4 or 16 credits. Undergraduates and graduate students have the option of enrolling in the lecture component only for four credits; undergraduates can also enroll in the entire group contract for 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in earth science and land-use planning.

Tropical Rainforests
Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: John Longino, Paul Butler
Enrollment: 24
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; Introduction to Environmental Studies or one year of college-level science; Spanish is highly recommended.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Interested students should submit an application to John Longino by November 16, 2001. See the application details below. Transfer students can arrange telephone interviews by calling John Longino at (360) 867-6511. Students will be informed of their acceptance by November 29, 2001.
Special Expenses: Approximate cost of Costa Rica field trip: $700 airfare; $900 food, lodging, transportation in Costa Rica.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Three-week field trip to Costa Rica.

The tropics are the cradle of the world's biodiversity. This program will focus on Costa Rica, emphasizing biological richness, geology, soils and conservation. Subject matter will include: (1) tropical biodiversity from the perspective of ecological and evolutionary sciences, (2) the geology and hydrology of Central America and (3) issues in tropical land use and biodiversity conservation. This program is a successor to Temperate Rainforests, although it is not a prerequisite. Faculty will lead an approximately three-week-long field trip to Costa Rica at the end of the quarter.

Students must submit an application by November 16, 2001. The application will contain: (1) an essay addressing fulfillment of the prerequisites, interest in the program and background knowledge in organismal biology, (2) a copy of an evaluation from a previous science program and (3) the name and telephone number of a previous instructor. Assessment will be based on writing skills and background knowledge in organismal biology.

  • Credit awarded in tropical biology* and geology.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in geology, ecology, conservation biology and Latin American studies.

OFFERINGS BEGINNING SPRING QUARTER

Field Ecology: Research Methods
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Nobuya Suzuki,
Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing; students should have an average physical condition to hike at least 5 miles in wilderness, the ability to cross small streams and natural log bridges over water, the ability to get up early in the morning for birding, and the ability to camp in the rain.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $120 for fieldwork and 2 overnight field trips.
Intern 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 and 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. There will be student-led lectures; one or two students will prepare and give one-hour lecture from selected-topics once a week. Two overnight field trips and a few day trips are scheduled to learn about unique ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest and associated vertebrate communities.
Total: 16 credits.

Plant Ecology and Taxonomy
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Frederica Bowcutt, Al Wiedemann
Enrollment: 28
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome; basic botany.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Interested students should submit a letter outlining their background in botany, interest in the program and class standing by the Academic Fair, March 6, 2002. Send letter to Frederica Bowcutt, The Evergreen State College, Lab II, Olympia, WA 98505. Special Expenses: $200 for field trip.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Multiple-day field trip.

In this program we will examine the fundamentals of plant taxonomy and ecology. Lectures will loosely follow the textbook readings. Students will work twice weekly in the laboratory learning how to use Hitchcock and Cronquist's Flora of the Pacific Northwest, a technical key for identifying plants. We will spend time in the field and in the laboratory discussing diagnostic characteristics of plant families. Seminar readings will be scientific journal articles focused on plant community ecology. Students will learn basic vegetation sampling methods that they will apply to a field project. This project will allow students to develop data analysis and presentation skills in addition to learning about field methods. A required multiple-day field trip will give students an opportunity to learn about Pacific Northwest plant communities in the field.

  • Credit awarded in plant taxonomy, plant ecology and vegetation of the Pacific Northwest.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in conservation, ecological restoration, forestry, natural resource management, plant ecology or plant taxonomy.

Scale and Detail: Designing with the Environment
Spring Group Contract
Faculty: Robert Leverich, James Stroh
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Eco-Design in the Real World
Faculty Signature: Yes. Students must submit a preliminary study proposal to the faculty prior to, or at the Academic Fair, March 6, 2002. Email: Robert Leverich leverich@evergreen.edu or James Stroh strohj@evergreen.edu for more information.
Special Expenses: Based on individual study proposals.
Internship Possibilities: Yes.
Travel Component: At lease one field trip.

Design is a way of thinking about and solving problems with complex and often conflicting variables. These problems can be small scaled, or very large scaled---a dish drainer to conserve and recycle rinse water, for example, or a regional master plan for water conservation covering hundreds of square miles. They can involve global concepts and minute details. How can designers working in different disciplines and at different scales work in ways that are responsive to environmental concerns? What skills can they learn from one another? How can they make their work ethical, beautiful and part of a sustainable way of life?
This program will serve students continuing their studies from Eco-Design in the Real World, as well as students ready to undertake projects with a direct connection to design and the environment, ecology and sustainability. Students initiate individual or small group study plans that address design and the environment at one of several scales: furniture and sculpture, building design and construction, or site and regional studies. They will have regular weekly meetings with faculty. Whole group activities will include a weekly workshop/seminar addressing topics centered on the questions listed above, at least one field trip, and an end of term project presentations. Readings may include, among others, Design on the Land by Ian McHarg, Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, edited by William Cronon, and Conservation by Design by Scott Landis.
Total: 12 credits or 16 credits with RHINO (3d modeling) workshop. The program will have options for more advanced study in 3D computer modeling or geographic information systems (the latter by registering for the 4 credit Geographic Information Systems for Environmental Studies elective through Evening and Weekend Studies).
This program is also listed in Expressive Arts and Scientific Inquiry.

The Practice of Sustainable Agriculture
Spring, Summer, Fall/Group Contract
Faculty: Pat Moore
Enrollment: 18
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
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 1, 2002. Pat Moore will contact transfer students about acceptance into the program by March 8, 2002. Continuing students should contact faculty at the winter quarter Academic Fair, March 6, 2002. 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.

Rainforest Research
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: John Longino
Enrollment: 24
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome; Temperate Rainforests or Tropical Rainforests or equivalent.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will assess mastery of general biology and basic quantitative skills. Students will be interviewed in February, 2002. Transfer students can arrange telephone interviews by calling, (360) 867-6511.
Special Expenses: Students should be prepared to finance their own travel and project needs. If you are not continuing from the Tropical Rainforests program, you will need to pay for your travel to Costa Rica (roundtrip airfares are often around $700).
Expect daily living expenses of at least $20 a day for the 10-week quarter. For example, La Selva Biological Station, a popular research site, provides complete food, lodging and laboratory facilities for $28 a day.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Field work in Costa Rica.

This program is a logical successor to the Temperate Rainforests and Tropical Rainforests programs. Students will carry out an independent scientific research project in tropical rainforest biology. Proposals for projects will have been developed during the earlier Tropical Rainforests program, or through direct consultation with faculty.
Projects will involve extensive field work in Costa Rica.

  • Credit awarded in tropical field biology*.
  • Total: 2 to 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental studies, conservation biology and Latin American studies.

Recreation and the Environment (Cancelled)
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Jovana Brown
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students welcome; Introduction to Environmental Studies or Political Economy and Social Change or equivalent programs or courses.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This group contract will examine the impact of recreation and recreational development in the United States on the environment. Recreation is sometimes seen as a more benign use of public lands, for example, than resource extraction such as logging and mining. Others, however, view recreation as having an equally detrimental impact on the environment. We will examine the question: Can we continue to use our public lands for high-impact recreation and preserve our forests, wildlife and fish at the same time?

We will study the history of public lands and outdoor recreation in the United States, examine public land management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service at the federal level and state, county and city parks at the local level, look at large scale resort development, and explore ways in which recreation can be managed to protect and preserve the environment.

  • Credit awarded in public land policy*, natural resource policy*, outdoor recreation management* and recreation development*. This is an upper-division social science and policy program.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in public policy, natural resources, environmental policy implementation, recreational management, law and teaching.

Snow Ecology
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Paul Przybylowicz
Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: College-level ecology and/or biology, reasonable level of physical fitness.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will assess student's writing skill, background knowledge, degree of interest and enthusiasm, and physical fitness. Interested students should submit a letter describing their background, interests, how they meet the prerequisites, how this course fits into their academic plan, and the names and contact information of three people familiar with your academic/related work to: Paul Przybylowicz, The Evergreen State College, Lab II, Olympia, WA 98505, by Friday, March 1, 2002. Students will be notified via the program Web site and at the Academic Fair on March 6, 2002.
Special Expenses: $425 class fee for field trips and Wilderness First Responder course.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Extensive field trips to local snow ecosystems.

How have organisms adapted to survive in snow-covered environments? How have the various physical aspects of this environment exerted selection pressures on its inhabitants? What sort of niches exist under the surface of the snow pack? This program will be equal parts outdoor leadership skills and ecology. Students will gain the skills to survive and thrive in the alpine winter environment. We will then use these skills to explore the ecology of snow-covered areas. We will begin by studying snow physics and assessing avalanche hazards through GIS modeling and field studies. All students will complete the outdoor industry standard advanced medical training (Wilderness First Responder, an 80-hour training) and will receive a nationally recognized certification. Students will also learn winter travel and camping skills, and then combine all of these skills with ecological investigations of snow-covered ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest.
There will be a significant field component to this program, regardless of weather. Students must provide their own winter camping and safety gear (sleeping bag, clothing, avalanche shovel and probe). Due to the demanding nature of this program, students should be physically fit and able to hike with a pack across snow at elevation of 6,000 ft. and above.
Credit awarded in outdoor leadership, wilderness medicine and snow ecology.
Total: 16 credits.
Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental education, experiential education, field ecology and backcountry medicine.

Western Exposures (Cancelled)
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Paul Przybylowicz
Enrollment: 18
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, transfer students welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for climbing equipment rental fee. Four weeks of out-of-state field trips, approximately $200 per student.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Out-of-state field trips.

This integrated program will introduce students to the basics of structural geology through an experiential-based field approach focusing on the western United States. Students will learn about mapping, faults, folds, tectonic forces, basic rock identification and the plate tectonic settings that produce the landscapes we will visit. Students will learn outdoor leadership concepts and skills such as risk management, challenge, decision-making and group dynamics using rock climbing as a model. These skills will be developed by creating program activities integrating geology, rock climbing and environmental education in the field. This program will be off campus for a total of four weeks on several extended field trips.

  • Credit awarded in outdoor leadership, environmental education and structural geology.
  • Total: 16 credits.
  • Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in environmental education, outdoor leadership and earth sciences.

Wildlife, Habitat and Landscape
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Peter Impara and Nobi Suzuki
First Class Meeting:
The COMPUTER APPLICATIONS LAB on Monday, Sept. 24th at 9:00
Enrollment: 46
Prerequisites: None
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $50 for materials for independent projects
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None

This two-quarter program will introduce students to the interactions of ecological elements, especially those associated with wildlife and their habitats, at different spatial scales. This understanding will help students to address and consider the complexity of ecosystems, communities and populations and the related issues surrounding their conservation.
We will cover fundamental concepts and issues in general ecology, wildlife-habitat ecology, conservation biology, and landscape ecology. Students will learn field identification of major plant and wildlife species and characterization of habitats at a variety of spatial scales. Students will also learn topics in habitat association and population analysis of wildlife as well as ecological processes responsible for population fluctuation and distribution of wildlife across the landscape. Major concepts in conservation biology will be integrated into the lecture to further students' understanding in the process of habitat loss and the conservation of biodiversity and endangered species. Basic landscape ecology will be covered, including the concepts of pattern-process interactions and scale. Landscape disturbance processes will be studied in lecture and in field trips in order to understand the ecological function of disturbance.
During fall quarter computer labs will focus on basic computer skills, especially quantitative skills and fundamental statistics. Winter quarter computer labs will focus on Geographic Information Systems and their applications to landscape ecology and conservation biology.

Credit will be awarded in ecology, quantitative and spatial use of computers, landscape ecology, and habitat analysis and conservation.

Total: 16 credits per quarter.

Environmental Studies 2001 - 2002

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Last Updated: August 25, 2017


The Evergreen State College

2700 Evergreen Parkway NW

Olympia, Washington 98505

(360) 867-6000