Our focus this term will be different than in the past. Instead of a reading book, we'll work on parts of an environmental audit of Carleton. In groups of two or three, the class will research and analyze different parts of Carleton's operations. At the end of the term, the research will be compiled on a website and you will present your results in an oral report to outside reviewers on the last day of class.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you on April 14th. Drop me an email if you have questions.

Cheers,
Suzanne Savanick
Email: Sava0054@tc.umn.edu

ENTS Junior Colloquium

Goal: Students will become more aware of local environmental issues on and off campus.

Objectives:

1. Students will understand the basics of the "Greening the Campus" movement.
2. Students will understand the "campus greening projects" already underway at Carleton.
3. Students will research pertinent campus topics and come up with practical recommendations for campus.
4. Students will attend four environmental events on or off campus.

Class Meeting: Saturday, April 14th 3:30-5:30 p.m., ENTS shack. Required reading: Read the executive summary, introduction, and conclusion of the Penn State Environmental Indicators Report. Available on the web at (http://www.bio.psu.edu/Greendestiny/indicators.shtml) .
Also skim the rest of the document to get a sense of what criteria they used.

A. Introduction
B. Greening the campus overview
C. Discussion of the top environmental issues at Carleton
D. Overview of projects underway at Carleton (R. Strong? Max)
E. Small group discussion of topics (research projects defined, groups defined, tasks assigned)

Class Meeting: May 6th 1:00-3:00 p.m.: Share preliminary results in groups, identify problems and brainstorm solutions. Students should have data gathered at this point and have started the analysis and recommendations phase of the project.

Class Meeting: May 20th 1:00-3:00 p.m.: Student presentations of results (outside evaluators)

Course Expectations:

• The class will work in groups of two or three to prepare a mini-environmental audit of the Carleton campus. Each group will research a different aspect of Carleton's operations. Not only will students collect data, but also analyze the findings and make recommendations on how to change operations.
• The final reports will be in web format and all the class documents compiled on a class website. Max Wilson has agreed to assist you in converting your documents to web format.
• Each student will attend four environmental events on or off campus. Use your imagination. For example, events can be lectures, movies (only two movies please), Northfield planning commission meetings, soil and water conservation district meetings, environmental group meetings, or earth day events.

Useful Websites

http://www.nextstep.state.mn.us/section.cfm?topic=16 (has an overview of greening the campus issues, with links)

http://www.nwf.org/campusecology/ (National Wildlife Federation's campus ecology website)

http://www.ulsf.org (University Leader's for a Sustainable Future)

http://www.secondnature.org/ (has curriculum links for higher education)

http://www.bio.psu.edu/Greendestiny/indicators.shtml (Penn State Environmental Indicators Report)