Skip over navigation

Course Offerings

Course Details

Spring 2010-2011
* ENV 340 (ST)  

Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Solutions

Eileen Zerba

Focuses on environmental challenges and sustainable solutions related to interrelationships between constructed and natural processes. Topic areas include resource conservation, sustainable practices, stormwater management, and habitat restoration. The format of the course is experiential learning with problem-solving research projects, lectures, and discussions. A central theme of the projects is to track the impact of land use and sustainable practices on the ecological balance of environments in and around Princeton's campus. Sample projects include: stream restoration; the health of Lake Carnegie; and the benefits of green roofs.

Sample reading list:
Crushing, Colbert and D.J. Allen, Streams: Their Ecology and Life
Karr, James and E. W. Chu, Restoring Life in Running Waters
Hampton, Stephanie, Global Warming Affect Worlds Largest Freshwater Lakes
Thomas Mehner, Jürgen Benndorf, Peter Kasprzak and R, Biomanipulation of Lake Ecosystems: Successful Applications
Oberndorfer, E. et al., Green Roofs as Urban Ecosystems: Ecological Structures
Niachou, A. et al., Analysis of the Green Roof Thermal Properties &Investigation

Reading/Writing assignments:
Weekly reading assignments; three major research reports; short quantitative and written lab assignments. Students will work in cooperative learning groups on three major projects, each comprising a third of the course. Laboratories will be field and lab exercises. For each project, students will meet with Campus Planners, consultants, Sustainability staff and Community Leaders (e.g. Princeton Township and Stony-Brook Millstone Watershed Association).

Requirements/Grading:
Mid Term Exam - 20%
Paper in lieu of Final - 15%
Other Exam - 20%
Lab Reports - 15%
Papers - 25%
Oral Presentation(s) - 5%

Other information:
This course is supported, in part, by the Community-Based Learning Initiative and will have a strong CBLI component. Partnerships have been developed this summer within an Undergraduate Research Training.

Schedule/Classroom assignment:

Class numberSectionTimeDaysRoomEnrollmentStatus
43397 L01 11:00 am - 12:20 pm M W   Guyot Hall   174   Enrolled:8 Limit:12
43396 B01 9:00 am - 11:50 am F   Guyot Hall   174   Enrolled:8 Limit:12