Summer Courses 2025

ESM 340 Research Methods in Environmental Science
INSTRUCTOR: Amy Larson
DATES & TIMES: June 23-Jul 20, Mw 10am-12:20pm
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will introduce common research strategies and statistical tools used in environmental sciences. Students will analyze study and experimental designs, manage and summarize data, test hypotheses, analyze data and interpret results. This is a hybrid course; lecture and reading material will be online prior to our class meetings, and our class time together will be used for group practice and homework assignments.

ESM 342 Field Methods: Wildlife Monitoring
INSTRUCTOR: Leslie Bliss-Ketchum
DATES & TIMES: Aug. 11-14, 9am-5pm
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Students will spend the majority of class time in the field practicing and discussing methods for monitoring several wildlife groups including birds, mammals, and invertebrate pollinators, as well as a cursory introduction to identifying trees, shrubs, and herbaceous vegetation. We will use these methods to monitor biodiversity in a sustainably managed forest using presence/absence and/or relative abundance protocols. Data collected will be summarized on the final day of the course and a brief report will be prepared as a group, and then shared with the forest managers.

ESM 355U Understanding Environmental Sustainability
INSTRUCTOR: DANIEL BEDELL
DATES: Online, June 23 - Jul 18
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The goal of this course is for students to understand environmental sustainability by focusing on ecosystems, ecosystem functions, ecosystem services, management of ecosystems, and by reviewing case studies. Topics will include ecosystem properties, biodiversity, the health of ecosystems, ecosystem services, values humans place on ecosystems, adaptive management practices, and ecosystem restoration. This course is intended for both science and non-science majors, and does not have any scientific prerequisites.

ESM 440/540 Ecology and Management of wildfire
INSTRUCTOR: CODY EVERS
DATES & TIMES: MTW, 9AM-5PM, 6/23-6/25. OVERNIGHT FIELD TRIP 6/28-7/03
This class uses wildland fire in the western U.S. to explore community-based approaches to solving complex natural resource management problems. Students will learn basic wildfire ecology, gain knowledge of fire policy and management, and analyze the challenges of managing wildfire risk at the community level. This 10-day field course focuses on fire ecology & management in a place-based community context. Students will collect field data and interact with natural resource managers and community leaders.

SCI 201 Natural Science Inquiry
INSTRUCTOR: PATRICK EDWARDS
DATES & TIMES: ONLINE, JUN 23 - JUL 15
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course uses no textbook and involves little formal lecture. The learning you accomplish will take place largely through your own effort and the efforts of those with whom you work. The use of collaborative inquiry takes account of the fact that the modern sciences, as well as the questions they address, require teamwork both within and between specific disciplines. We wish to create a context within which this sort of teamwork is required to tackle the problems put before you.
As you will see right away, the schedule of events does not look like the listing of lectures and textbook reading assignments that characterize many science courses. Instead, learning in Natural Science Inquiry is accomplished through inquiry-based projects on a variety of topics.

SCI 327U Oceans and Society
INSTRUCTOR: AMY LARSON
DATES & TIMES: TUE & THU, 9AM-1PM
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Oceans and society will introduce students to the marine system and will give them a working knowledge of the how the physical, chemical and biological environment of the oceans can impact development and distribution of marine communities. Our actions on land and in the seas can have dramatic impacts on the oceans which in turn impact our resources, health and climate. Students will collect data to describe patterns of change that humans have on coastal ecosystems and will discuss the environmental, economic and ethical responsibilities humans have for our marine systems.
This course can be taken to satisfy UNST cluster, and to meet lab course requirement.

SCI 335U Water in the Environment
INSTRUCTOR: Dan Bedell
DATES & TIMES: Online, Jul 21 - Aug 15
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Focuses on the unique properties of water in all its roles, including a study of the water cycle, water resources, treatment of municipal water, and wastewater treatment. Special attention will be placed on water as a resource, and the impact of urban and agricultural development on watersheds. Students will gain experience using maps and aerial images as a source of information about watershed health and learn to use stream macroinvertebrate communities as a tool for environmental research.