Class Update, March 9, 2000

"Yesterday we spent the whole day working with Pauline. She loved our inventory lists on the computer and she thought we did a great job organizing the fridges. Now we started the actual planting for our production plots. We took out some Liatris, Lilium, and Phlox seed and took it out to the propagation greenhouse and started them in seed trays. Basically yesterday was a time for working the bugs out. By the time we had found all the necessary supplies and got everything ready to plant, it was after 3:30. We somehow managed to get everything planted and returned the unused seed to the appropriate places in the fridges back at the lab in the center. Next time Pauline wants to bring a camera because she wants photos to commemorate the momentous occasion of their first production plots."

---Holly K.

Course Description

ENV 101. The Walnut Creek Experience 2 cr.

Explore administrative, educational, and scientific functions at the nearby Neal Smith/Walnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge, site of the world's largest prairie restoration project. Involves application and extension of Drake coursework and personal interests in a hands-on, community context. Requires 30 arranged hours in office, museum, lab, and/or field settings, group meetings at Drake, journal keeping, and a public oral presentation upon completion. Prerequisites: BIO 2, ENV 35-36, and permission of Director. BIO 8 or BIO 117-118 helpful.

This 2-credit course is intended to help students develop advanced skills in environmental science and policy through an off-campus practicum at a nearby prairie restoration site. By individualized arrangement, students will contribute expertise to refuge operations and develop a new context for other coursework at Drake. They will become active participants in a project of concern to many central Iowans and that is on the cutting-edge of conservation work. It is a unique opportunity for Drake on a national scale.

The credit hours allocated are: 1 credit for one 50-minute meeting per week (14 clock hours during the semester) and 1 lab credit (2-3 clock hours per week, for ~40 hours), for a total clock time during the semester of ~50 hours.

Text: "Grasslands" by Richard Manning