ENV22730

This intensive course serves to immerse students in the practice of natural history and application of ecological concepts to the Southwest bioregion, with a focus on Arizona, from mountaintop to desert bottom. Students will learn naturalist field methods including ecologically informed observation and interpretation skills, as well as how to document observations in a refined naturalist field journal. Students will also learn practical field identification and field sampling skills, and in-depth treatment of species and life histories with a focus on dominant woody plants of the region. Students will complete the course with a thorough understanding of evolution, speciation, classification and cladistics, natural community concepts, biogeographic principles and their application to one of the most ecologically diverse and spectacular regions of the world. This course provides students with the field skills to pursue careers as field technicians, interpretive naturalists, science educators, and outdoor educators. This is a double course; students are required to take both phase I and II. Students should expect 50% class time and 50% field time, including three extended weekend field trips. Field work will involve hiking and camping. Workload outside of class and field trip times will be considerable and students should not plan on taking other courses during the session.
SPECIAL NOTES 30: Binoculars REQUIRED (up to $150.00 if not already owned)