NTRES 1101 - Introduction to Environmental Science and Sustainability

(CU-SBY)

Fall. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

Enrollment limited to: first-year (frosh) students accepted to the Environmental & Sustainability Sciences (ESS) major in CALS.

C. E. Kraft, E. L. Madsen.

This course examines the depth and breadth of environmental science, focusing on principles from the physical and biological sciences that – integrated with insights from the social sciences – can help us understand environmental change and improve resource management. Case studies, readings, discussions, and field and laboratory exercises focus on developing an interdisciplinary foundation for understanding how biophysical systems influence and are influenced by social processes.

Outcome 1: Students will expand their ability to understand core subject material and integrate disciplinary perspectives encompassing the breadth of environmental science and natural resource management.

Outcome 2: Students will recognize key drivers of environmental change and the status of key environmental resources.

Outcome 3: Students will learn core processes within the natural sciences that influence our ability to sustain and manage resources in ecosystems dominated by human activities.

Outcome 4: Students will understand the cultural context and conceptual basis of sustainable resource management.

Outcome 5: Students will expand their ability to describe – both in writing and orally – approaches required to understand how natural systems influence and are influenced by human activities.

Outcome 6: Students will begin to identify disciplines and approaches that are of particular interest to them in pursuing a career that integrates knowledge from natural and social science disciplines in improving the management of shared environments and natural resources.