Field Trip Courses
The Environmental Studies Program (ENST) regularly offers field trip courses that focus on a particular locale and/or environmental issue to study the various ways in which biological, chemical, geological, and human factors interact. These interactions are observed first-hand during a week-long field trip led by the course instructors. Funded by a generous endowment from a Vassar alumna, these courses are typically taught during the spring semester.
Recent Examples of Field Trip Courses
ENST 254 Global Decline of Coral Reef Ecosystems (Spring 2010)
Coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the ocean. They provide a variety of services from nurseries for offshore fisheries to buffers against storms and tsunamis. These unique ecosystems are currently suffering massive declines due to environmental stressors such as elevated seawater temperature, extreme weather and oceanographic events, and exposure to human activity. This course explores the underlying biology, geology, and oceanography of the coral reef ecosystem, both in the lab and in the field. Weekly exercises will introduce techniques in coral research along with methods to study the effects of environmental degradation. A research field trip during the Spring Break will be conducted at the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences. Participants in this class must be comfortable living in tropical field conditions (wet, salty, crowded), and be confident swimmers. Ms. Schwarz, Mr. McAdoo
ENST 254 Dry: Water, Development, and Aridity in the American Southwest. (Spring 2009)
Dry, an issue especially important in an era of global warming, when arid lands are expanding in size and the question of how human beings can live with dry conditions becomes more pressing. In this course, we look at the arid lands of the American Southwest, where for the past two centuries population growth, economic productivity, especially agriculture, and urban concentrations have all required controlling, transporting, and utilizing water--especially the Colorado River--on a vast scale, at great expense, and with much political conflict. As the Colorado’s resources are reaching their limits, the American Southwest faces a future of difficult choices. Course readings focus on the ecology and hydrology of the Colorado River basin, with particular focus on human intrusions and settlements. The required week-long field trip during Spring Break visits people and places that help us understand the complexity of the issues surrounding water use in the desert Southwest. Mr. Stillman, Mr. Walker.
ENST 260 Grasslands: Human History and Ecology of the American Plains (Spring 2007)
To early newcomers from the East, the Great Plains looked like empty space, a "Great American Desert" devoid of life. Our class explores the roots of such misconceptions and their often catastrophic legacy for farmers and ranchers on the Plains, as well as for native peoples. We study the region's biodiversity, the ecological dynamics involved in grassland conservation, and visions of a different future for this critical place in the American heartland. The course includes a nine-day trip over Spring Break to study the Plains, including visits to bison re-introduction sites and to the Land Institute in Kansas, which is researching perennial grain polyculture, and observation of migrating shorebirds at Cheyenne Bottoms and sandhill cranes along the Platte. The purpose of this course is to examine in depth an issue, problem, or set of issues and problems in environmental studies, to explore the various ways in which environmental issues are embedded in multiple contexts and may be understood from multiple perspectives. Ms. Edwards, Ms. Ronsheim.
ENST 254 Environmental Science in the Field - Southern Louisiana (Fall 2006)
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated southern Louisiana in 2005. While these were natural events, the amount of destruction they caused was also related to human activities. Decades of cypress logging, fur trapping, and oil and gas drilling have contributed to coastal erosion, turning hurricane-retarding marshlands into open water. In addition, dams on the Mississippi and its tributaries have starved the coast of marsh-building sediment, and groundwater withdrawals have led to land subsidence that promotes flooding. Loss of coastal land is likely to accelerate as global warming promotes sea level rise. This course explores the ways environmental science helps us to interpret these problems and to seek solutions in restoring Louisiana's coastal environment. The course will meet twice a week for the first half of the semester and will be followed by a nine-day field trip to Louisiana (including New Orleans) over October Break. Upon returning to New York, we will have a couple more class periods to wrap up the course. Ms. Cunningham, Ms. Menking