Knowing Place: Living in the Flux and Flow of Our Surroundings

Description

This program is designed for students in Evergreen's program at Grays Harbor College as a continuation of the year of study in the program "Leading in Turbulent Times."  The summer program is open to any student interested in studying the locale or practicing the learning strategies the class will use.

The purpose of this program is to expand and deepen students' understanding of systems, especially living systems. Students will use critical and technical skills, research and field experience, and reflective practices to understand, integrate, and interpret their environment.

Following a brief (re-)introduction to systems theory, we will examine the dynamics of the Chehalis River watershed that includes Grays Harbor. We will use an ecological economics framework that identifies nature's services and places an economic value on those services, useful for conservation and development planning. Students will become familiar with measures proposed by various stakeholders for flood control management of the watershed, and consider the implications of greater systems thinking in the current policy debate.

The program engages experiential as well as cognitive learning as students participate in exercises to raise awareness of ways of being present in and perceiving the place we live.  Students will develop map reading skills and practice journaling in both narrative and field journal styles as a means of recording, reflecting upon, integrating, and presenting knowledge.  Readings, coupled with these exercises, will fuel discoveries about how our surroundings shape our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Field trips include a series of visits to sites within the watershed, along with visits to a local salmon hatchery and a sensitive natural area whose conservation is being advocated by local residents. Guest speakers will engage students in field activities.