Summer field courses and research in Alaska! – Tatoosh School
*Scholarships Available!*
The Tatoosh School is a nonprofit, university-level field school with a beachfront base camp on Prince of Wales Island and lecture halls in the towns, oceans, and forests of Alaska’s Inside Passage. It is the school’s mission to foster first-hand learning about the ecology and environmental policy of southern Southeast Alaska.
Summer Session I: May 29 – June 24, 2015
Leading through Change: Transition & Sustainability in Alaska’s Rainforest
Core outputs of the two Leading through Change courses (taken concurrently) are baseline measurements of ecological, social and economic indicators on the Prince of Wales Island zone. During the summer of 2015, the Tongass’ transition is the subject of local, regional, and national discourse and debate. Decisions made this year will impact communities and the land for decades to come.
This expedition includes two upper-division classes taken concurrently, one in ecology and a second in natural resource policy.
Transition & Sustainability (4 semester or 6 quarter units, 410/510). Curriculum covers transition economics, applied systems theory, rural studies and sustainability, collaborative conservation, and service leadership. These wide-ranging topics are organized and applied through the Tongass National Forest transition case study.
Foundations of Landscape Monitoring (4 semester or 6 quarter units, 410/510). Our ability to restore ecosystems and steward natural resources depends in part on our ability to learn from past and current decisions, and adapt policies and practices accordingly. Curriculum is focused on the biogeography of southern Southeast Alaska, ecological processes, and field survey techniques. This knowledge is linked with socioeconomic research methods to inform understandings of program effectiveness during a time of rapid change.
Summer Session II: July 1 – August 12, 2015
Core Session
The School’s six-week Core session expedition includes two upper-division classes taken concurrently, one in ecology and a second in natural resource policy.
Aquatic & Terrestrial Ecology of Southeast Alaska (4 semester or 6 quarter units). Students develop an understanding of key ecological principals of aquatic and terrestrial systems, from the nearshore intertidal zone to the high alpine. This class also examines the adaptations and relationships of organisms to their environments over time and space.
Politics of Place: Southeast Alaska (4 semester or 6 quarter units). Topics include land ownership, public and private land management, conservation strategies, local and regional economies, Alaska Native cultures and communities, and contemporary resource management issues. A focus is placed on the evolution of social and legal structures, and how these structures guide current decision-making. Inquiry and reason are applied to real-life challenges, and students engage with citizens and policymakers to consider solutions.
Stewardship of Salmon Rivers 3-week: August 27 – September 18, 2015
Course description: (6 quarter units) This intensive course examines the physical, biological, economic and political frameworks essential to informed stewardship of salmon-producing watersheds in the Pacific Coastal Ecoregion. Coursework engages the fields of hydrology, geology, geomorphology, biology, political science, and economics to develop students’ understanding of integrated watershed stewardship. Students practice stream survey and monitoring techniques that contribute to long-term collaborative stewardship work while gaining valuable field research experience.
Learn more and apply at http://tatooshschool.org. Questions? peter@tatooshschool.org or 503.347.2599.
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