Environmental Science Courses | Willamette Catalog

Environmental Science

ENVS 120 Social Systems and the Environment (4)

This course is a multidisciplinary introduction to understanding the effects of human actions and social systems on the natural world. We will emphasize science and social-science based approaches to understanding environmental problems and evaluating possible solutions to them. We will begin by examining basic concepts regarding social and natural systems. These concepts will then be applied as we evaluate and understand issues of environmental quality and stresses on natural resources. Throughout the course we will pay close attention to how human social, political, economic, and ethical institutions influence our interactions with natural systems. This course is intended to introduce Environmental Science majors and prospective majors to the social science aspects of environmental science as well as educate students from other disciplines.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
Prerequisite: Restricted to first years, sophomores, or declared ENVS majors
Offering: Every Semester
Instructor: Bowersox, Butterworth

ENVS 121 Earth System Science and the Environment (4)

This course provides an overview of the Earth and its history from a systems perspective, exploring the connections among and co-evolution of patterns and processes among the solid earth, atmosphere, oceans, and life. Students will practice observing and thinking like an Earth scientist in an integrated and immersive lecture/discussion/laboratory/field experience. Topics vary by instructor and may include: earth system history and geological time, ocean processes, geomorphology and earth surface processes, surface and groundwater hydrology, earth's climate, biodiversity through space and time, tectonics, and earth materials. Required field trips outside of class may be scheduled.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: First and second year students only
Offering: Every Semester
Instructor: Staff

ENVS 199 Topics in Environmental Science (1-4)

A semester-long study of topics in Environmental Science. Topics and emphases will vary according to the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit with different topics. See the New and Topics Courses page on the Registrar’s webpage for descriptions and applicability to majors/minors in other departments.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
Prerequisite: Topic dependent
Offering: Occasionally
Professor: Staff

ENVS 250 Geographic Information Systems (4)

A comprehensive approach to cartography and spatial analysis, including the use of the global positioning system, computer-aided mapping and geographic information systems. Lecture, field and laboratory experience with an emphasis on class and individual projects.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Halama

ENVS 299 Topics in Environmental Science (1-4)

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
Prerequisite: Topic dependent
Offering: Occasionally
Professor: Staff

ENVS 304W Politics of Environmental Ethics (4)

Critical and in-depth analysis of the human/nature relationship, its impact upon political theory and ethics, as well as its larger ramifications for social and moral life generally.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Social Sciences
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Bowersox

ENVS 321 Environmental Policymaking: Politics and Process (4)

A comprehensive analysis of the internal and external influences of the environmental policy process, locally, nationally and globally. Students will explore issue formation, models of policy decision-making, risk perception and assessment, and the motivations and powers of various actors in the policy process.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Bowersox

ENVS 322 Urban Ecology (4)

With more than 50% of the human population living in cities, the management of urban nature is increasingly important for both people and the environment. Urban ecology is the study of the interaction of living and non-living components within the urban environment. This course will explore both the social and ecological dimensions of urban ecology, as well as critique the historical patterns of urban natural resources planning and management, such as environmental impacts and the distribution of ecosystem services and disservices. The course will compare approaches for integrating green and blue infrastructure into urban areas, including design and implementation, community engagement, urban sustainability, and environmental justice. This course will challenge students to think critically and apply their knowledge to individual areas of interest within the field of urban ecology.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Talal

ENVS 323 Understanding Environmental Law and Regulation (4)

This course will examine the pervasive and fundamental role the law, courts, and regulatory agencies play in the interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of environmental regulation. Utilizing environmental law and policy as the major focus, this course will specifically explore the dimensions of the place of law and legal institutions in the governmental system..

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120 or instructor consent
Offering: Alternate years
Instructor: Bowersox

ENVS 327W Water Resources of the Western US (4)

This course takes a systems approach to examining the water resources of the US West. Emphasis is placed on evaluating water resources from a variety of scales and perspectives, using the Colorado, Klamath, and Columbia River basins as case studies. Through intensive reading and discussion students will explore how earth systems (water cycle, climate, etc.) and social systems (economics, law, policy, culture, etc.) interact and influence water resources issues in the Western US. Students will expand on these case studies by preparing a literature review or research paper on a topic of interest.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120 and ENVS 121
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Arabas

ENVS 328 Health and the Global Environment (4)

This course explores the interconnectedness of the environment, society, and health through a geographic lens. We will examine how geography has been used to understand disease patterns and outbreaks, access to health care, health inequality, and the impact of the environment on health. We will uncover how environmentally-mediated disease and health are represented and understood at multiple scales, the structural conditions leading to the varying levels of health we find in our communities and in our world, and how power relations impact and shape health possibilities in communities.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Butterworth

ENVS 334 Political Ecology (4)

Political ecology explores the interrelationships between political, social, economic factors and the environment. This class draws on critical scholarship to examine key themes of political ecology such as environmental degradation, conservation, and conflict, along with more recent engagements in the field with concerns of climate change, and the political ecology of health. The course will challenge students to think critically about the connections between humans and the environment, learn about social science methods, and to envision more socially and environmentally just futures.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Butterworth

ENVS 340 Biogeochemistry (4)

Biogeochemistry is the exploration of the physical, chemical, and biological processes that govern the exchange of energy and elements between life and the environment. In this course, we will examine the global biogeochemical cycling of carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, and nitrogen. Drawing from the primary literature, we will investigate how biogeochemical cycling has changed over Earth's history and as a result of human activities.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121 or CHEM 115
Offering: Alternate Years
Instructor: Meyer

ENVS 343 Biogeography (4)

This course investigates plant and animal distributions, past, present and future. The study of plant distributions will be emphasized and approached from historical, cultural and ecological perspectives. The goal is to foster student understanding of local, regional, and global biogeographic patterns and their underlying processes. Human impacts on biotic distributions and applications of biogeographic knowledge and theory to conservation problems will also be discussed.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Arabas

ENVS 345 Aerial Methods in Field Research (4)

This course provides theoretical, practical, and hands-on instruction in the expanding field of drone-based aerial field research. The course will ground students in the history of aerial-based field research from the first images taken with camera-mounted balloons to hyperspectral datasets collected with satellite-based sensors. Students will learn how to pilot a drone and learn the protocols of responsible flight planning including developing an awareness of the rules and regulations of drone operations in the US and abroad. The course will cover the fundamentals of current technologies available as drone payloads and review their potential applications, limitations and important ethical concerns related to drone operations. Working with class-collected data, students will learn to use dedicated software to generate and edit point clouds to produce various products including digital terrain models, 3D photogrammetric models, and vegetation density maps. At the end of the course students will be equipped with the skills necessary to carry out independent and problem-focused aerial-based field research.

Prerequisite: ENVS 250
Offering: Alternate years
Instructor: Pike

ENVS 347 Earth's Climate: Past, Present, and Future (4)

This course focuses on the fundamentals of Earth's climate system and how it has varied through time. Students will learn how Earth historians use the rock record to determine past climate states as well as explore modern anthropogenic climate change. Topics will include: geologic time, carbon cycle, Milankovitch cycles, climate models and proxies, climate history.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121
Offering: Alternate years
Instructor: Meyer

ENVS 358 Principles of Hydrology (4)

Hydrology is the science that studies the occurrence, distribution, movement and properties of the Earth's waters and their relationship with the environment. This course will focus on learning the concepts, physical principles and methods to describe and measure water flow above and beneath the Earth's surface. You will not only learn the conceptual aspects of water flow, but also techniques to model water dynamics quantitatively. The aim of the course is to provide a balanced perspective of the water cycle that will give you skills and insight into how to manage this fundamental resource.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121
Offering: Alternate years
Instructor: Pike

ENVS 360 Research in Environmental Health Geography (4)

Environmental health geography examines the connections between disease and the environment across multiple scales. Students will learn quantitative and qualitative research methodologies used to conduct research in the field. The class will be taught in a workshop model that will encompass lecture, discussion, and hands on inquiry. The main focus of the semester will be on research designed, conducted, and analyzed by the students.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Butterworth

ENVS 365 Research in Climate Change Impacts on Society (4)

This course examines the impacts of climate change on society, including health, natural disasters, agriculture, vulnerability, and adaptation. Students will learn quantitative and qualitative research methodologies used to conduct research in the field. The class will be taught in a workshop mode that will encompass lecture, discussion, and hands on inquiry. The main focus of the semester will be on research designed, conducted, and analyzed by the students.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120
Offering: Alternate Years
Instructor: Butterworth

ENVS 374 Special Topics in Environmental Science (2-4)

This course enables faculty and students to focus on a specific topic in environmental science. The flexibility of the seminar/field experience format permits a timely focus on newly emerging fields, topical issues, and techniques. Specific topic designation is made at time of course offering.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Offering: On demand
Instructor: Staff

ENVS 380W Research in Forest Management and Policy (4)

Forest Management and Policy is a research intensive course examining contemporary issues in forest management and forest conservation, from inventorying for traditional silvicultural practices to variable retention techniques informed by contemporary forest ecology. Adaptation to climate change, wildfire, pathogens, and other disturbances, as well as the economic and politics of third party certification are other topics rich for exploration. Taking advantage of the diversity of Oregon's forested landscapes and ownerships and close proximity to state government, the course incorporates field trips, data collection and data analysis to understand the challenges facing public and private foresters, citizens, and forest lands for which they care. Data will be derived from existing data sets, collected field data, surveys, interviews, transcripts, and documents. Students will be expected to write and present reports to disseminate their findings.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120 and ENVS 121
Offering: Alternate Years
Instructor: Bowersox

ENVS 381 Research in Spatial Science (4)

Research in Spatial Science will enable students to expand their spatial science skills by applying them to real world problem solving in Environmental Science. It will focus on quantitative assessment, spatial data interpolation, uncertainty tracking and analysis, spatial modeling, and ArcMap competency by building upon skills learned through the ENVS 250 course. Students will also gain competency in GIS programming, ArcModel Builder, advanced spatial data manipulation, and project management.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 250
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Halama

ENVS 382 Research in Dendrochronology (4)

Dendrochronology, or the science of tree rings, is a fascinating and easily accessible form of proxy data used to interpret physical, biological and cultural events in the past. By dating tree rings to their exact year of formation you can discern temporal and spatial patterns of a variety of processes impacting trees including, vegetation dynamics, climate, air pollution, landslides, glacial advance, lake level change, fire, and insect outbreaks. In this course you will get an introduction to dendrochronology, including the breadth of the field and the mechanics of the data collection and analysis of tree rings. Through lecture, discussion, lab and field exercises, and collaborative research students will learn the principles of dendrochronology and how they can be applied to understand the environmental information a tree records in its annual growth rings. Students will employ their dendrochronological knowledge and skills to complete a research project.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Arabas

ENVS 383W Geomicrobiology (4)

This course focuses on the relationships and interactions between microbes and the environment. Students will practice geochemical and microbiological techniques in the field and laboratory. Topics will include: microbe-mineral interactions, microbial influence in global biogeochemical processes, extremophiles, microbial biogeography, and microbial imprints in the geologic record.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121 or BIOL 125 or BIOL 130
Offering: Alternate Springs
Instructor: Meyer

ENVS 385 Research in Urban Geochemistry (4)

This research intensive course focuses on the geochemical and field approaches that Earth scientists use to quantify human impact on the urban environment. Students will examine key questions in urban geochemical research, including: How have humans altered global and local biogeochemical cycles? How does urban infrastructure influence geochemistry of soils and natural waters? How are urban areas monitored? Student projects will focus on urban geochemical perturbations in the Salem area and may include collection and analysis of water, soil, and dust samples.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121
Offering: Alternate Years
Instructor: Meyer

ENVS 386 Research in Earth System Modeling (4)

This course introduces students to numerical modeling in the Earth and environmental sciences. Students will learn to use an Earth system model to perform quantitative experiments that explore the climate system, ocean biogeochemistry, and rapid perturbations to the ocean-atmosphere system. Students will apply their developing modeling skills to topics such as paleoclimate, ocean acidification, anthropogenic climate change, and geoengineering.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121
Offering: Alternate Years
Instructor: Meyer

ENVS 391W Research in Geoarchaeology (4)

Archaeological geology applies methods and theories from the geologic sciences to archaeological problems. This course will cover the processes associated with sedimentation and stratigraphy at archaeological sites and the geological approaches used to uncover cultural traits associated with the deposits. Geomorphic processes that impact site selection, formation, preservation, and identification will be addressed, as will macroscopic, petrographic, geochemical and isotopic techniques for characterizing and provenancing archaeological material. Geophysical survey methods and theories will also be reviewed. Throughout the course, the theoretical foundation that underlies the union between geology and archaeology will be stressed.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Natural Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 121
Offering: Alternate Years
Instructor: Pike

ENVS 399 Topics in Environmental Science (1-4)

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
Prerequisite: Topic dependent
Offering: Occasionally
Professor: Staff

ENVS 429 Topics in Environmental Science (1-4)

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Topic dependent
Prerequisite: Topic dependent
Offering: Occasionally
Professor: Staff

ENVS 490 Independent Study in Environmental Science (1-4)

A chance for detailed exploration of a topic related to environmental science by a student under the supervision of an ENVS faculty member. Students will work closely with their faculty mentor to design a set of readings, project to be conducted, and outcomes.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
Offering: Every Semester
Instructor: Staff

ENVS 494 Internship in Environmental Science (2-4)

Supervised internships in agencies, NGOs, research labs, and other relevant sites. Interns are placed only in positions which provide academic learning opportunities and the availability of such positions may be limited. A student is accepted for internship at the discretion of the supervisor and instructor on the basis of demonstrated capabilities, including research and writing skills. Interns are expected to work between 6 and 12 hours a week, meet regularly with the supervisor and instructor, and write a final reflective paper.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Prerequisite: ENVS 120 and ENVS 121
Offering: Every semester
Instructor: Staff

ENVS 495W Senior Capstone Course in Environmental Science (4)

The capstone course provides Environmental Science majors with the opportunity to cultivate professional work habits necessary for success by applying and integrating skills and knowledge developed in the Environmental Science curriculum via a semester-long investigation of a major topic in the discipline. Students will focus on writing a literature review on the capstone topic, and then conceptualize, research, and present an independent focus paper based on the literature review.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Prerequisite: Senior standing
Offering: Spring
Instructor: Staff

ENVS 499W Senior Honors Thesis in Environmental Science (1-4)

Students will design and conduct senior honors thesis work on an original piece of research under the supervision of an Environmental Science faculty member. Final products include a written thesis and public presentation.

General Education Requirement Fulfillment: Writing-centered; Natural Sciences, Social Sciences
Prerequisite: Permission of a supervising ENVS faculty member
Offering: Annually
Instructor: Staff

Course Listings