About the Course
Includes combined classroom and field-based training about California natural history and geology, native plants and animals, California’s freshwater resources and ecosystems, forest and rangeland resources, conservation biology, and the effects of climate change on California’s natural communities. The course also includes several skills building requirements. You will maintain a field notebook or journal, complete an eight-hour capstone project (a service learning project that integrates knowledge gained during the course in support of a local organization), and contribute to a class “participatory” science project.
- What it means to be a naturalist, the importance of natural history, and the contributions of traditional ecological knowledge to this discipline.
- Basic ecological concepts including the interconnection of abiotic, biotic and cultural factors and their influence on biodiversity in the state.
- How California’s unique physiography shapes the ten bioregions of state.
- How water resources are distributed and managed across different aquatic ecosystems.
- The importance of plants and the major plant communities around the state including some important native and invasive plants.
- The history and important role of forests and the challenges of forest and range management in the modern day.
- The system of classifying plants and animals and some important distinguishing characteristics among genera.
- The relationships among wildlife and the role they play in healthy ecosystems.
- How energy flows through ecosystems and how humans use energy and the impacts of that use on our environment.
- Impact that may occur locally and globally due to anthropomorphic climate change.
- Methods for effective and engaging environmental interpretation and communication to address modern environmental problems.
- Modern ways to engage with participatory science and build environmental literacy.