Teaching
NRES 100: Fundamentals of Environmental Science
Through NRES 100, students are introduced to environmental sciences and current environment issues and begin to understand the complex relationships between human society and the natural systems we depend on for resources. Topics include population growth, world food supplies, agriculture, biodiversity, "green" energy, endangered and threatened species, water use, conservation and pollution, global warming, acid rain, ozone depletion, waste management and reduction, recycling, toxins and health, mineral resources, and environmental policies and regulations.
NRES 285: Field Experience in Social-ecological Systems
This course introduces students to a social-ecological systems framework and enables them to develop practical skills needed for conducting research that is guided by this framework. Walking through the steps of a research process, students learn the principles of interdisciplinary research and develop hands-on skills for collecting social science (e.g., surveys), and biological science (e.g., water quality) data. Ultimately, students complete a research project that applies techniques learned in the class and addresses a resource management problem in the context of an aquatic ecosystem.
NRES 287: Environment and Society
Environment and Society provides students with an overview of the environmental social sciences, and enables them to think critically about how worldviews, history, and politics intersect to inform environmentally-relevant actions. Discussion sections complement the lecture portion of the class by allowing students to delve deeper into the material by considering examples and implications. Most class sessions include a small-group activity in which students use course concepts to confront an environmental problem, as well as large-group discussion that explores implications of the topics studied.