3 credits
Prerequisites: None
Requirements: BS, NS, PitE practical experience and EEB field/research and Biodiversity, Biology Lab
Instructor: Stephen Smith
Course Description
The stories in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the
Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and others occur in Middle Earth that has an ecology and flora which, in many ways, reflects our temperate forests. Middle Earth is graced with familiar trees like Ash, Beech, and Cedar as well as ferns like Asplenium and Dryopteris.
In this class, we will explore the flora of Michigan at the UMBS through works of Tolkien. We will study plants in the field, lear about their habitats, and their life history while also discussing how those characteristics are important to Tolkien's works. Spend the summer in Middle Earth!