Environmental Assessment

Catalog description

This course introduces students to the tools, techniques, and legal frameworks used in environmental assessment, with a focus on understanding and evaluating land use impacts. Through extensive fieldwork and applied research, students will learn how to locate, read, and interpret maps; conduct field surveys of soil, vegetation, and wildlife; and assess the social, cultural, ecological, and political implications of proposed land uses. Lab work will include data analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Students will critically analyze professionally prepared environmental impact statements for content, methodology, and legal compliance. Each student will also take on a disciplinary role within a simulated team tasked with preparing a draft environmental impact statement, gaining experience in interdisciplinary collaboration and applied problem-solving.