Costa Rica is the happiest country on Earth. Bhutan is a living laboratory for education. Bolivia has a Law of Mother Earth in its constitution. Cities and towns in the US create local solutions to problems of resource sustainability while the national dialogue stagnates. What drives some places to lay the foundations for sustainable futures, while others do not? Sense of Place is a powerful lends though which to view the relative achievements of places and organizations toward creating a sustainable future. The goals of this seminar are (1) to survey the Sense of Place literature and to analyze case studies of the role of Sense of Place in the success of sustainability efforts nationally and internationally; and (2) to research the role of Sense of Place in our local community environment and to relate it to stated goals in existing sustainability plans. To be considered as a capstone option for majors in Environmental and Conservation Sustainability, students must also register for NR 753 in the Fall semester.

This course applies systems thinking as a problem-solving approach aimed at exploring possibilities for creating a future based on sustainable relationships between healthy human societies and their natural environments. Types of systems and systems tools are utilized to describe human-environment relationships and to emphasize their resiliency or vulnerability to future unsustainable events and/or practices. We explore how systems may be restructured to create more sustainable outcomes.

Investigations in Natural Resources may include topics in environmental conservation, forestry, soil and watershed management, ecosystems, and wildlife management.

Examines the ecological relationships between soil microorganisms and their biotic and abiotic environment, with emphasis on the role of soil microorganisms in biogeochemical cycling. Specific objectives are to examine the biodiversity present in soil systems, factors controlling microbial community composition and diversity, and linkages between soil microbial communities, soil physical properties, and soil organic matter and nutrient cycling dynamics. Lab.