Special Offerings: Academic Year 2017-2018

Special Offering Courses in EVST at both the graduate and undergraduate level are courses that are not permanent, often offered on a one-time basis, and not fully described in catalog course listings.  They include Special Topics courses (numbered 291, 391, 491 and 595), Seminar Courses (numbered 494 and 594) and Supervised Internship (numbered 396/595).

See UM Course Search for the most current information.

ENST 396.06 / ENST 595.02 Supervised Internship - Native Plants - 2 cr

Instructor:  Marilyn Marler
Co-convened graduate and undergraduate sections. Interns will work on campus learning about Native plants, ethnobotany, invasive species, landscaping and restoring natural areas, in collaboration with UM's Manager of Natural Areas, Marilyn Marler. Students will meet once a week with instructors, plus work 3-4 hours per week on a project on campus.

ENSC 491.50 Recycling Technology - 3 cr  (online)

Instructor:  Bradley Layton
Provides an overview of recycling opportunities at both the residential and industrial scale. Prepares the student to work with a variety of materials including cellulosic, plastic, metal, glass and electronics waste.  Online with Face-to-face recording sessions.  Three to four field trips will be provided for local students and recorded for online students. Students will also spend an average of one hour per week performing hands-on recycling activities.  At the completion of this course students should be able to:

• Communicate the potential of recycling technology to impact the nation’s energy future, especially as it applies to climate change.
• Describe the objectives and general framework of the ANSI and or IREC standards for recycling.
• Become familiar with basic triage methods for post-consumer waste.
• Gain hands-on experience with industrial scale materials processing equipment.
• Work at the community scale to understand barriers to responsible waste management.
• Explain the energy and financial economics of recycling technology.

ENST 494.01 Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture Education - 3 cr

Instructor:  Jason Mandala
Meets at the PEAS Farm, 3010 Duncan Drive, Missoula
Open to graduate and upper division undergraduate students, offering a practical experience teaching Missoula's school-age youth in a hands-on environment. Students will lead two field trips each week for five weeks with school groups visiting the PEAS Farm, teaching fun-filled educational activities focused on the social, scientific, and nutritional components of sustainable agriculture and the food system. Class will meet each Friday morning at PEAS to practice lessons, share teaching experiences, and discuss related readings. Prior experience as a PEAS Farm intern is helpful.

ENST 494.02/594.02 UMFLAT Sustainability - Open to UMFLAT residents only

ENSC 594.01 Applied Ecology - 3 cr

Instructors: Len Broberg and Vicki Watson
Understanding the principles and concepts of ecology and how they inform real life decisions about human interactions with the environment. Emphasizes the science of sustainability and the conservation of watersheds and biodiversity. To be successful in the course, students should have had college level introductory biology, chemistry and statistics. Graduate students lead teams of undergrads in a research project and provide one presentation to the class on an applied ecology topic of their choice.

ENST 594.01 Environmental Justice Issues and Solutions - 3cr

Instructor:  Robin Saha
Meets with ENST 489S. This course, open to graduate students and upper division undergraduates, explores how and why environmental risks - such as exposure to toxic chemicals and vulnerability to "natural" disasters - and benefits -such as access to natural resources, environmental amenities, and environmental protection - are inequitably distributed among various segments of society.

(Note: tentative schedule as of March 2017, section numbers TBD)

ENSC 594 Agroecology - 3 cr

Instructor: Ethan Smith
This course will begin by examining agricultural ecosystems through principles of general ecology, and will cover such topics as biodiversity, population dynamics, and nutrient cycling. Discourse on these general scientific principles will transition into more complex inter-specific interactions and comprehension of overall agroecosystem structure by mid semester. We will finish the course by focusing on the role of humans in agricultural ecosystems, describing possible management strategies and challenges for complex problems, and discussing the current divide between scientific research and on-farm application.

ENST 594 Environmental Writing: Visiting Writer - 3 cr

Instructor/Vising Writer: TBA
Environmental Writing with Visiting Writer is a 3-credit graduate writing workshop course conducted by different visiting writers each Spring semester.  Each year’s course is primarily designed by the Kittredge Distinguished Visiting Writer in EVST, so there is natural variability from year to year; however, the core of the course is visiting writer reading and response to student work in progress.  Most often this is done through class workshops, which gives writers additional feedback from their peers.  For a list of previous Kittredge Visiting Writers in EVST, see Environmental Writing.  Course registration is consent of instructor through Phil Condon at phil.condon@mso.umt.edu