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 From early on in their programs, small groups of students work actively
on real-world projects with faculty who are leaders in the field of environmental
studies. Prescott College offers active and dynamic laboratories for students
and gives them the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of environmental
and sustainability research. Whether students are studying marine biology
at our Kino Bay Center in Mexico, agroecology at our Wolfberry
experimental farm, or a variety of field-based studies in the Southwest, Prescott College
provides for one of the most diverse curricula for undergraduate environmental
studies anywhere.
The aim of the Environmental Studies program is to encourage broad and thorough
exposure to, and appreciation for, the nature of diverse and complex ecosystems,
and to examine the relationships between humans and nature. The Prescott
College Environmental Studies program develops compassionate, informed, and
responsible citizens who are prepared to offer constructive solutions to
environmental problems and help heal damaged relationships between people
and nature. We teach students specific skills in critical thinking, field
and laboratory methods, and oral and written communication and we help students
develop the ability to apply their knowledge to "real-world" situations
to prepare them for further education and meaningful employment. The great
diversity of the Southwest environments is an ideal living laboratory, providing
habitats from the alpine tundra through giant sequoias to the Sonoran Desert,
and from cold, alpine lakes through spectacular canyons to the balmy waters
of the Gulf of California. Recent graduates of the program have achieved
competence in subjects such as field ecology, natural history, home-scale
energy management, environmental science (emphasis on marine research), environmental
education, environmental politics and environmental conservation.
Primary Areas of Focus in ES
Students seeking a Competence in Environmental Studies are welcome
to pursue a broad course of study across the discipline, or to devise their
own emphasis area. However there are currently nine emphasis areas within
ES that students commonly pursue. These are:
Agroecology Emphasis
Agroecology, which has emerged as a cross-disciplinary
field over the last twenty years, bridges the study of agriculture with ecology.
While Agroecology
is based in the natural sciences, it is a field that lends itself to
cross-disciplinary studies, especially with subjects in Integrative Studies
such as Ecological
Economics and Environmental Politics. Students interested in Agroecology
at Prescott College have the opportunity to enroll in the Agroecology
Summer Semester, which is based at the College's Wolfberry Farm, about 15
miles
from Prescott. The curriculum of the summer semester is designed around
two emphases: 1) making conventional agriculture more resource-efficient
and
sustainable, and 2) challenging the assumptions underlying conventional
and even organic agriculture in designing systems that fundamentally mimic
the
natural systems of a particular region.
Conservation Biology Emphasis
Conservation Biology is an interdisciplinary field that has developed
rapidly to respond to a global crisis confronting biological diversity. Practitioners
of Conservation Biology attempt to guide society toward the preservation
of organisms, landscapes, ecological processes, and natural systems, and
toward sustainable management of environmental and evolutionary resources.
Firmly grounded in the natural sciences, this emphasis area also draws upon
ethics, history, economics, political science, and other human studies. Students
in this field will become competent to conduct relevant research, make balanced
value judgments, and take effective action on behalf of the environment.
Earth Science Emphasis
Earth Science focuses on study of the physical aspects
of the natural environment. Students explore the geologic processes that
shape the earth, the atmospheric
and oceanic processes that govern global and local climate, and the
hydrologic processes that cycle water around the globe. Earth Science examines
environmental
processes on a range of time scales, from the fractions of a second
required for rapid chemical transformations to the billions of years over
which the
solid earth has evolved. By learning about the history of the earth's
development, students gain a valuable new context that helps them understand
the behavior
of the earth as a system. In our study of that system, we emphasize
the interactions between the physical world and the biosphere, including
the effects the physical
environment has on human society and the impacts human society has
wrought upon the physical world.
Ecological Design Emphasis
Ecological Design is a field that addresses how humans can best live
within the ecological constraints of specific regions and minimize
our impact on other species. Ecological Design encompasses multiple scales
of consideration in both space and time. For example, students in
ecological
design may focus on resource efficiency in relation to a particular
house, or in relation to the layout of an entire city on the landscape.
Moreover,
one’s scope of consideration may range from the current economic
tradeoffs of various building materials, to the long term fate and
environmental compatibility of materials once they are no longer useful.
This emphasis
area includes one year of courses at Yavapai College in Prescott
and the option of studying for a semester with the ECOSA Institute. Unless
students
already have some of the requisite skills and background (such as
architectural graphics), they will need a minimum of 3 – 3.5 years
to complete the work for this emphasis, even if they transfer 2 years of
college credit
from other institutions.
Environmental Education Emphasis
Environmental education encourages the discovery
and understanding of the Earth’s natural systems and the human role
in those systems. Environmental educators must strive to see, feel, and teach
about the interrelationships
among all living things. They must have a solid comprehension of ecological
concepts as well as an understanding of environmental history and the
ecological effects that humans have had on the Earth. An exploration of the
literature
and philosophy concerning the human-nature relationship is also important.
Environmental educators should acquire some political and economic
background in order to teach about relationships between our local communities,
technological
society, and the global environment. They should also be able to teach
and exemplify responsible, informed involvement in political and corporate
decision
making. Finally, a foundation in the field of education with an understanding
of learning theories, curriculum design, and experiential education
will provide them with the necessary knowledge and skills to develop their
teaching
and to demonstrate their competence. It is important to remember that
environmental education covers a broad spectrum of disciplines requiring
students to develop
well-defined programs to meet their particular interests. Most importantly,
environmental educators must remember that before people are confronted
with the grim realities of environmental problems, they must be given opportunities
to experience the joy and beauty of the natural world. Responsible
stewardship
will only occur when people develop an appreciation for the complex
and diverse life that inhabits the earth.
Environmental Policy Emphasis
The field of Environmental Policy challenges
students to create a broad, integrated understanding of the Earth’s
environment, the problems it faces, and the responses of our social systems
to these challenges. This
understanding is then used as the basis for action. The disciplines
of law, economics, and the social and natural sciences all play key roles
in this
field. Since direct involvement in the process is pivotal to creating
a meaningful understanding of these complex systems, students working in
this emphasis
area are expected to do significant hands-on work in the field. There
are many internship opportunities in Environmental Policy that can serve
as the
basis for independent studies or senior projects.
Human Ecology Emphasis
Human Ecology has its theoretical foundation in the
field of Ecological Anthropology, which studies human adaptation to the natural
and social world
through the processes of evolution, physiology, individual behavior,
and culture. It grapples with understanding the human role within ecosystems
in the past, the present, and the future. On one hand, theories in
human
ecology inform applied disciplines such as conservation biology, policy
and management, agroecology, ecological design, and ecological economics.
On
the other hand, human ecology provides opportunities for students to
explore the multitude of ways in which humans interact with their surroundings
through
disciplines such as ethnobotany, human health and wellness, and ecopsychology.
Finally, human ecology challenges us to evaluate our values and actions
as we strive to create a more sustainable future.
Marine Studies Emphasis
Marine Studies at Prescott College has a strong
focus on ecology of the marine environment (physical and biological
oceanography) and on the relationships between humans and the marine environment.
Students graduating with a competence in Marine Studies should have
a foundation in life sciences, physical sciences, human ecology,
conservation and resource management, as well as a broad scope of
supporting courses in literature, politics, economics, and humanities.
Direct field experience rounds-out a student's understanding and
respect for the power and vastness of the world's ocean. Many Marine
Studies courses take place at Prescott College's Kino Bay Center
for Cultural and Ecological Studies in Bahia Kino, Sonora, Mexico,
on the coast of the Gulf of California. The Kino Bay Center sits
amid the diverse Sonoran Desert on the coast of the Midriff Island
region of the Gulf of California, an area rich in marine habitats,
seabirds, marine mammals, fish, mangrove estuaries, and other coastal
flora and fauna. With our relationships with the local Mexican fishing
community and the Seri Indian village, we are able to explore a variety
of marine environments, study human interactions with the sea, and
participate in cooperative marine conservation research projects.
Natural History and Ecology Emphasis
Natural History and Ecology is an approach
to learning how nature works, how organisms and their biotic and abiotic
environments interrelate. Grounded
in evolutionary principles, the field involves studying individuals
and populations and how they are assembled into communities and ecosystems.
Some students
within this emphasis area will become naturalists who observe and interpret
particular organisms and landscapes. Others may become field ecologists
who build upon natural history by using the scientific method for examining
questions
generated by ecological theory. Ecological understanding informs and
guides applied fields such as agroecology and conservation biology.
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