CON-215 Unique Ecological Communities

The purpose of this course shall be to provide students with field travel experiences relative to their course work in Natural Resources Conservation. This expedition course, to different areas of the world, will emphasize identification and natural history of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, plants and a variety of ecological communities. Students will be provided with opportunities to observe employment options in Conservation, and gain experience in camping and group travel. Examples of travel experience include trips to: Florida Everglades and Keys, Wilderness Alaska, Costa Rica, Belize and various National Parks in the United States and Canada.

Credits

3

Lecture Contact Hours

3

Lab Contact Hours

0

Other Contact Hours

0

Department

• Environmental Conservation and Horticulture

Grading Scheme

• Letter

SUNY Gen Ed Credit

• No

Semesters Course Will Be Offered

• Summer
• Winter

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate identification skills for the biodiversity of organisms encountered during their travel course experience thereby broadening their knowledge and appreciation of the natural world.
2. Students will experience and evaluate environmental issues affecting management of natural communities and the unique species that these communities support.
3. Students will communicate their ecological understanding of plant and animal species, developed through the proper use of information resources, in giving oral presentations to the travel group.
4. Students will improve their employment skills through interaction with employees of non-profit, state and federal conservation agencies encountered during their travel course.

View Course Outline

CON 215: Unique Ecological Communities

Department

Environmental Conservation and Horticulture

Course Description

The purpose of this course shall be to provide students with field travel experiences relative to their course work in Natural Resources Conservation. This expedition course, to different areas of the world, will emphasize identification and natural history of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, plants and a variety of ecological communities. Students will be provided with opportunities to observe employment options in Conservation, and gain experience in camping and group travel. Examples of travel experience include trips to: Florida Everglades and Keys, Wilderness Alaska, Costa Rica, Belize and various National Parks in the United States and Canada.

Credit Hours

3

Contact Hours

Lecture	3
Lab	0
Other	0

Grading Scheme

Letter

Semester(s) Course Will Be Offered

Summer, Winter

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate identification skills for the biodiversity of organisms encountered during their travel course experience thereby broadening their knowledge and appreciation of the natural world.
2. Students will experience and evaluate environmental issues affecting management of natural communities and the unique species that these communities support.
3. Students will communicate their ecological understanding of plant and animal species, developed through the proper use of information resources, in giving oral presentations to the travel group.
4. Students will improve their employment skills through interaction with employees of non-profit, state and federal conservation agencies encountered during their travel course.

Topic Outline

(note: the most frequently taught CON 215 class, the Florida Travel Ecology course, is used here as an example of destinations and topics covered through educational experiences) 

 

1. Destinations and Experiences
   1.  Shenandoah Caverns 
      1. subterranean geology walk, cave formations 
   2. Blue Ridge Mountains
      1. forest practices, ecology of an Appalachian ridge
   3. Okefenokee Swamp 
      1. boardwalk and first glimpse of American alligators
   4. Payne’s Prairie State Reserve 
      1. freshwater marsh ecology, Florida sandhill cranes
   5. Crystal River Sanctuary
      1. West Indian manatee wintering area 
   6. Highland Hammocks State Park 
      1. scrub oak-pine community, rare reptiles 
   7. Archbold Biological Station 
      1. rare dwarf forest, Florida scrub jay 
   8. Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve 
      1. cypress forest, outstanding bird concentrations 
   9. Everglades National Park 
      1. premier east coast wildlife sightings 
   10. Shark Valley
       1. bike through the river of grass 
   11. Long Pine Key 
       1. fire ecology, Anhinga Trail, hardwood hammocks
   12. Flamingo 
       1. canoe the mangroves, bird the Snake Bight Trail 
   13. Fairchild Tropical Gardens 
       1. tropical plants, formal landscapes, butterflies 
   14. Newfound Harbor Marine Institute
       1. sponge flats, beach ecology, tidal communities 
   15. Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge 
       1. endangered mammals, ecosystem restoration 
   16. Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary 
       1. snorkel over coral reef communities 
   17. Jekyll Island 4-H Center
       1. salt marsh ecology, barrier beach, sea turtles