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BELL: Sustainable Development

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From destroying fragile tundra for oil pipelines to spraying pesticides on our front lawns, we make decisions every day that impact the environment in significant ways. Sustainable development, defined by the United Nations as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” attempts to balance the many demands our modern lifestyles place on the environment with the needs of generations to come.  In this course, students study sustainable development through the lens of several academic disciplines, including biology, engineering, environmental science and policy.  What’s more, students gain the skills of true environmental leaders by learning to collaborate in groups to solve problems and effectively communicate findings.  Students will leave this course with a greater appreciation for the natural world, and the knowledge, skills and confidence to advocate for its protection. The leadership skills students develop have broad applications, serving them at home, at school, and in their local communities.

Curriculum highlights:

• A day on a 45-foot research vessel, trawling for marine organisms and conducting tests of water quality
• Participating in the design and construction of a sustainable engineering project
• A trip to a wind turbine to learn about renewable energy
• team-building at a ropes course in the woods of Haffenreffer
• Kayaking on Mt. Hope Bay
• Developing an action plan that applies learning to pressing environmental issues at home
• A day on Brown's campus: touring research facilities, talking to faculty, eating dinner in the dining hall, hanging out on the Main Green
• Campfires on the beach

In this course, students will:

• Learn about current local, national, and international challenges in sustainable development
• Increase their ability to ask challenging scientific and environmental policy questions
• Increase their ability to connect sound science with environmental policy
• Develop their understanding of what factors diminish the ecological health of an estuary and why we should be concerned about such changes
• Learn and model sustainable living practices
• Meet and learn from local environmental activists
• Strengthen their problem solving skills
• Practice finding creative solutions to environmental issues that take diverse stakeholders into account
• Be challenged physically, mentally and emotionally

Dates

BELL: Sustainable Development - ES900-2AL

BELL: Sustainable Development - ES900-2BL