EESC 309 Global Biogeochemistry
This course was an important step in my learning about the environment, the cycles within it we depend upon, and our deep interconnection with the earth. Learning about how the delicate balances of the natural cycles have been, and are continuing to be anthropogenically impacted sparked a passion in me to pursue a career where I could make a difference for future generations. Learning about how one species has spread globally and transformed every ecosystem it interacted with made me realize the profound power and responsibility we have.
EESC 456 Soil Science
This course was a fantastic introduction to understanding how responsible agriculture practices are crucial to soil health, and in turn, our own health and wellness. I will always remember learning about dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and the impact it had on the environment. Later in my career I would study local effects of DDT and its daughter products, decades after application. Learning about the cruciality of soil health eventually guided me to pursue my professional designation as an Agrologist.
EESC 213 Introductory Forest Science and Management
As a British Columbian, it is important to recognize that forest health is imperative to support biodiversity, our local economy, and global oxygen supply. Learning about sustainable forestry practices is critical so that our logging industry promotes renewable and regenerative methods, not deforestation, mono-culture, and other destructive practices. Forest health is also interconnected with soil health and stability, particularly in steep terrain. Understanding how stewardship of our forests is our privilege and responsibility shaped the way I view our local landscapes.
EESC 413 Analytical Methods in Hydrology
This course was a great combination of theoretical and outdoor kinesthetic education. Learning about watersheds in the classroom and through technology was interesting, but when we would interact with streams and study in riparian areas, the understanding was deeper and more meaningful. In BC our most important resource isn’t something we extract from New Gold or Highland Valley Copper, rather it is our life-sustaining water. This course helped me understand how watersheds feed into larger river systems, inevitably providing beneficial knowledge for my future assessment of a dam removal, intended to restore salmon to habitats.
GEOL 313 – Our Physical Resources
Canada is rich not only in water, but in other non-renewable resources. This course helped enlighten me on the cost-benefits of many of those resources, and the impacts of extraction. I learned how the costs we may see at the pump don’t reflect the costs that may not yet be quantified, perhaps will not be measured by our generation at all. This course promoted understanding how we are generally economically dependent on resource extraction in Canada and how this impacts local political views. Understanding perspectives from both sides of a contentious issue is important if we are to proceed diplomatically and effectively.