Ocean Sustainability part of Ocean Sustainability
MICHELLE KINZEL, Southwestern College; Astrid Schnetzer, North Carolina State University; Cara Thompson, Arizona State University at the West Campus; David McConnell, North Carolina State University
This two- to three-week, six-unit module introduces the importance of oceans, basic ocean processes, and impacts of human activity on ocean health. It aims to increase awareness of our dependence on and ...

A Growing Concern: Sustaining Soil Resources through Local Decision Making part of A Growing Concern
Hannah Scherer, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ; Martha Murphy, Santa Rosa Junior College; Sarah Fortner, Carleton College; David McConnell, North Carolina State University
Educating undergraduates about soil sustainability is central to our agricultural future. Soil erosion outpaces soil production and soil management is key. This teaching module provides undergraduates with ...

Unit 3: Sensory Data Collection part of Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception
Michael Phillips, Illinois Valley Community College; Kate Darby, Western Washington University; Lisa Phillips, Texas Tech University
In this unit, students will develop protocols for the collection of sensory data (scents and/or sounds), plan and execute the field collection of sensory data using developed protocols, analyze collected data, and ...

Unit 5.1 - Water Balance of a Tree part of Critical Zone Science
Martha Conklin, University of California-Merced
The assignment is to calculate an annual water balance for a tree using data gathered at the Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory. In the framework of experimental design, students will organize around a ...

Unit 2: Systems Thinking and the Wicked Problem of Global Food Security part of The Wicked Problem of Global Food Security
Rebecca Boger, Brooklyn College, CUNY; Russanne Low, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies; Amy Potter, Armstrong State University
Armed with an overview of the complexity of issues associated with global food security, this unit begins by contextualizing food security as an example of a wicked problem. Wicked problems are problems that are ...

Unit 4: Irrigation and Groundwater Mining part of Water, Agriculture, Sustainability
Chris Sinton, Ithaca College
Is groundwater mining sustainable? In Unit 4, students compare and contrast long-term (decades) groundwater well levels in six states representing the East Coast, West Coast, and Midwest Plains states. Satellite ...

Unit 6: Creating an Agricultural "Fact Sheet" part of A Growing Concern
Hannah Scherer, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ; Martha Murphy, Santa Rosa Junior College; Sarah Fortner, Carleton College
For a given region, students will use what they have learned about the interdisciplinary problem of soil sustainability to make recommendations for agricultural practices in response to potential changes in ...

Capstone Project: Urban Water Portfolio part of Water Science and Society
Students will use the skills and knowledge they have developed throughout the course to develop a water portfolio for the future for a given water-critical city. They will need to estimate the city's water ...

Climate of Change part of Climate of Change
Becca Walker, Mt. San Antonio College; Cynthia Fadem, Earlham College; Cindy Shellito, University of Northern Colorado; David McConnell, North Carolina State University
In this two to three week module, students explore short-term climate variability resulting from atmosphere-ocean-ice interactions. The module promotes awareness of past and contemporary cultures and regions ...

Unit 7.1 - Model My Watershed part of Critical Zone Science
Susan Gill, Stroud Water Research Center; Jim Washburne, The University of Arizona
Humans are agents of change in the Critical Zone. This unit focuses on the land/water connection and on how human-induced land use change affects local hydrology. Students will apply what they learned in the ...