In this weekly course, students will learn about the most pressing environmental challenges today and examine these issues through a scientific lens. We will also dive into the social, historical, political and humanitarian impacts of these challenges; after all, environmental science is an incredibly interdisciplinary field, and a singular scientific perspective is inadequate to fully capture the scope of current environmental concerns. This course seeks to not only provide students with a thorough overview of current environmental problems, but also foster discussion between students and encourage them to become active thinkers and problem solvers. In addition, students will develop and improve key scientific and research skills such as reviewing scientific sources and communicating ideas through written and verbal methods.

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Students will also have the opportunity to participate in an optional research project component, which will provide them with the opportunity to develop their own at-home environmental research project or further hone their problem-solving and science research skills. Students who are interested in conducting a research project will be invited to an additional weekly class session, during which they will be introduced to scientific research skills and be provided individual guidance and mentoring from the instructor.   

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Group project course: Students will be required to complete a group Earth Systems project, which consists of a central scientific question concerning the enviornment that students must answer with thorough scientific analyses, solution proposals, etc. 

• Each group will present their project at the end of the course. 

 

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Soft skills - creative thinking, problem solving, communication

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Hard skills - research, analysis, scientific writing

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No experience required; ages 12 and up.