FEATURED COURSES · SUMMER 2018
Science and Practice of Prescribed Fire (July 17-Aug 9)
Envir ST 400 Sec 001
Tue/Thurs
10:00 - 11:00 AM Tuesdays and 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Thursdays
1 credits
4-week session • July 17-Aug 9




Instructors


Nelson Institute Associate Director for Research and Education and Professor of Environmental Studies
Email »
COURSE DESCRIPTION
What does it mean to “manage a fire-adapted ecosystem”? We will explore this question through interactions with people who are dedicated to the work of conserving, restoring, and managing tallgrass prairie, oak ecosystems, and wetland communities; these are key habitats in southern Wisconsin and the Midwest which require frequent fire to prevent their replacement by shrublands and forest. Course activities emphasize online learning and outdoor learning experience. Outdoor experiences include both independent exercises and weekly field trips. Field trips will explore conservation lands and facilitate learning from the people—many professionals, and in some cases volunteers—responsible for planning and implementing prescribed fires for objectives that vary due to landowner objectives and site characteristics. This course will help prepare students for future paths such as careers in natural resource management or ecological research, while strengthening your sense of place in southern Wisconsin and the Midwest. The course will address both social and ecological issues that influence prescribed fire, including air quality, risk to property, public policy, rare species conservation, wildlife management, sustainable forestry, ecosystem protection and management, climate change, and traditional ecological knowledge.
OTHER FEATURED COURSES
Environmental Studies: The Humanistic Perspective (June 18-July 12)
M-Th
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
3 credits
Environmental Ethics: Ethics for a Damaged Planet (May 29 – June 14)
M/W/Th
1:00 - 5:10 PM
3 credits
Imagining Nature in the Anthropocene (May 21 - June 14)
M-Th
9:30 AM - 12:00 PM
3 credits
Preserving Nature (Online Course • May 21 - June 17)
Online course
3 credits
Indigenous Peoples and the Environment (Online Course • May 29 - June 24)
Online course
3 credits