Honors Course Archive

Between 1895 and 2015, the Seattle area grew from 40,000 people to over 4.2 million. In the next 25 years, Seattle will grow by another 1.5 million. While it is debatable exactly how “wild” the landscape was prior to European settlement of the region, it is undeniable that now virtually every piece of accessible habitat in the lowlands of the Puget Trough has been severely impacted by humans at one time or another, in some cases irrevocably. It was by stroke of luck (due in part to the inaccessibility of the terrain in the early days), and a big dash of courage from some forward-thinking leaders around the turn of the 19th Century, that Olympic National Park and other areas like it were saved from the ax and/or development. In only 25 miles as the crow (or eagle) flies from Seattle, an international hub of high tech industry, one can begin a walk into the Olympic Mountains, a roadless area of over 1 million acres (approximately 1600 sq miles), not to mention similar areas in the Cascade Range. It is this short gradient from ultra-urban to “wilderness”, that makes the region such an appealing place to live, as well as a unique place to reflect on landscape change (past, present, and future), and ramifications of this change (namely, the loss of “wild” spaces) for society in the Anthropocene.

Course format is a 9-day wilderness backpacking trip in Olympic National Park. Activities on the trip include: 1) student-led discussion of student-chosen readings and themes of the course, 2) contemplation and journal writing on the value and management of “wilderness”, and 3) direct observation of the effects of climate change and fragmentation on species and ecosystems. Prior to the trip, there will be online reading and discussion assignments. After the trip, an essay on a topic of each students’ choosing and general written reflection in the form of a blog post, will be required. Readings will draw from some classic American nature writers, as well as other sources including psychology, ecology, history, philosophy, local writers, and perspectives on “wilderness” and outdoor recreation from native Americans and other marginalized groups.

Course fee (in addition to regular UW tuition) is $215. UW will supply group camping gear and transportation. Students should supply sleeping bag, ground pad, backpack, and clothing-UW has some equipment to loan if needed. Course is limited to 10 students. No prior camping/backpacking experience is required or expected, but students should expect the trip to be physically challenging and should prepare for that challenge accordingly. The 9 day trip runs from a Saturday through to a Sunday, such that students working a summer job should only need to miss one 5-day work week.

More information on the course can be found here: https://timbillo.wordpress.com/2015/08/15/envir-495c-landscape-change-in-the-pacific-northwest-year-3/ or contact Tim Billo: timbillo@uw.edu

This course aims to provide a hands-on introduction to the natural and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest through the study of contemporary and historical issues. Students will develop an understanding of the interconnected relationships between human and natural systems in the Pacific Northwest and its influence in the global context. This will be achieved through the discussion of place-based case studies about patterns in the use of resources and the resulting impacts on society, the environment, and the economy in local and global contexts. Course topics will include biodiversity, natural history and conservation, rural and urban resource use and approaches to sustainability, traditional use of resources among others. An emphasis will be placed on understanding past and contemporary socio-environmental challenges and solutions in the Pacific Northwest. Students will also explore various forms of relations between natural systems and human communities, such as with Native Americans, urbanites, rural communities, loggers, fisherman, and others.

In this course, students will develop an understanding of key ecological and social processes affecting Pacific Northwest ecosystems. In addition, students will gain a basic understanding of economically and ecologically important species and ecosystems found in the region. Class time will include occasional lectures from the instructor or guests, discussion of case studies and time will be mainly spent in local field trips. During field trips students will be conducting observations, data gathering and will be trained in basic fieldwork skills. Local field trips will be during class time, however, students will be required to go on at least of these overnight field trips: Olympic Peninsula to study PNW culture and forest/marine ecosystems (3-5 Aug-Early friday to late Sunday) and to San Juan Islands (Friday Harbor Labs) to observe Orca Whales and other marine ecosystems(10-11 Aug Friday-Sat).

The course will include the cumulative development of a project that uses scientific methods to approach a topic of interest.

Specific Course Goals:

– To gain an understanding of the history and complexity of natural and human systems and key socio-environmental relationships in the Pacific Northwest.
– To be exposed to the challenges and solutions to environmental, economic, and social relationships found in the Pacific Northwest in the local and global context.
– To develop a basic understanding of the natural history of the Pacific Northwest
– To apply the scientific method, gain analytical and professional skills, and to gain skills in data collection and field research.
– To improve the ability to synthesize and communicate information effectively to a diversity of audiences.
– To help students form an educated opinion on the issues discussed in class in ways that empowers them personally and as engaged participants in society.

In this field studies course we will examine the ecological, social, and political factors in urban systems that promote the integration of urban communities and ecological realities. We will do this by traveling to a range of places, from the Northgate Urban Center to the Columbia City Urban Village to the Cedar River watershed, to understand how they work and to hear from and interact with communities and experts. We’ll walk the streets and pathways and look at how the built environment functions to create urban communities, and how these relate to social justice and cultural and community diversity. We’ll also look at the underbelly of the city, the parks, watersheds, water systems, and other elements of the ecology and their interaction with the human community.

By seeing and discussing these, we will gain a deeper awareness of how these systems function in relationship to each other, to social and economic diversity, and to growth management and climate change. Decisions about how to manage human requirements for the use of natural resources like land, water, energy and the interaction of human activities and communities can shape positive or negative relationships with the local and larger ecosystems. This course uses viewing and assessing communities and their contexts on the ground to tell the story of the emerging urban paradigm that can lead to long term sustainability. The class is designed as a core text for those who are beginning to delve into urban issues, and a critical unfolding of realities for those who want to understand how urban systems and ecological realities intersect and co-exist.

Take a class that will change your life and change the lives of others! Join us this Summer B Term (2018) for a series of classes at the Monroe Correctional Complex (about 45 minutes outside of Seattle, transportation provided). We will study collaboratively with a group of student-inmates at the Twin Rivers Unit and we will tour the facility and meet with the prison’s administrative and correctional staff.

This class will offer an extraordinary opportunity to be involved in the creation of an educational effort that will potentially have very large impact. We will be working with student-inmates to craft and define the education components of a larger program designed to facilitate educational opportunities inside prison and their continuation after release from prison. This project emerged from previous sessions of this Honors class, so you will be building on work accomplished by many other students, both from inside the prison and at the UW.

Our class sessions at the prison will be on Wednesdays during B term (leaving from campus at 11:00 am, returning at around 5:00 on the following dates: July 25, Aug. 1, 8, and 15). These classes are at the heart of this course, so please be sure to check your calendars and verify that you’ll be able to attend all of these sessions. On-campus sessions will include visits to local nonprofits working in the area of prison education.