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Study Environmental Studies and Help Change the World
In Greening the College
Curriculum, conservation biologist David Ehrenfeld says, “We cannot ignore the
urgent call for environmental literacy….This time, survival is the issue.”
Penn State Altoona’s environmental studies program
provides a broadly based liberal arts background for the study of environmental
issues. The program blends principles of the natural sciences with intellectual
traditions of the humanities and the social sciences with an emphasis on
problem-solving that will be applicable in any community.
The goal of environmental studies is ecological literacy. The idea is to
develop an informed perspective on the natural world that can then in turn lead
to purposeful action. It is the sort of major in which students can combine
passion for their subject with a desire to change the world for the better—and
at the same time to prepare themselves for a career.
UNDERSTAND OUR WORLD: As human population expands, our impact on the
natural world increases. An understanding of the intricate relationship between
humans and the natural environment is imperative for achieving a balance between
resource use and conservation. The intellectual tradition of environmental
studies brings students into contact with thinkers such as Charles Darwin, Henry
David Thoreau, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, and Rachel Carson.
LEARN BY DOING: In addition to becoming familiar with the rich
traditions of environmental writing, natural science, and natural history, our
students will also learn by doing. Field work and internships are important
components of the major. Outdoor experiences may include a walk through a campus
stream, backpacking trips on the Appalachian Trail, whitewater rafting on the
Youghiogheny River, or biodiversity sampling at a wetland or meadow on campus.
Internships may include conducting a salamander count at a local nature reserve,
volunteering for the Clearwater Conservancy or a local Sierra Club chapter, or
working at an outdoor education center at an Appalachian Mountain Club lodge.
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