3 credits
Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 171 and BIOLOGY 281/ENVIRON 281 or permission of instructor
Satisfies requirements for: BS, PitE Practical Experience, Biology Lab, and EEB Field/Research
Meets: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Instructor: Nate Haan
Course Description
Farms are ecosystems! This course will view agriculture through the lens of ecology and explore pathways to sustainable food production.
You will gain foundational knowledge about soils, plants, insects, and ecosystem processes, applying it to a range of topics like crop rotation, cover cropping, pest suppression, innovative grazing systems, biodiversity conservation, and more. Much of our time will be outdoors with hands-on experience gardening, conducting experiments, and visiting farms. We will visit with farmers ranging from small-scale organic growers who sell at farmers markets to commodity growers who use innovative practices at larger spatial scales.