Course Offerings for Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies

The following courses are taught only at AuSable Institute. In addition, other courses are taught at AuSable Institute. See their catalog for course descriptions of courses currently offered at www.ausable.org:

Land Resources (4)

A systems-level perspective on land forms and ecosystems. Includes analysis and interpretation of field data, remote sensing data derived from satellites and aircraft and geographic information systems (GIS), including field trips to and analysis of forests, wetlands, lakeshores, and rivers. Includes application to policy and land use planning. Prerequisite: one year of introductory science.

Lake Ecology and Management (4)

Field study of lakes and other freshwater systems with applications to planning and management. Investigates representative lakes, streams, and wetlands of the region and develops prescriptions for stewardship of these water resources.

Environmental Applications for Geographic Information Systems (4)

Theory and application of spatial analysis for applied social and ecological problem-solving. This course combines GPS field data collection; ArcGIS use for storage, processing, interpretation, and presentation of data; location and integration of existing source information; and remote sensing integration with GIS applications. The course is designed around an environmental project to apply GIS techniques for real-world problem-solving in protecting and restoring ecosystems.

Restoration Ecology (4)

Ecological and theoretical foundations for ecosystem and biotic community restoration. This course develops ecological principles for ecosystem restoration and applies them to redeeming and restoring degraded and damaged ecosystems and endangered species. Field studies include analysis of restoration and rehabilitation work with the Kirtland Warbler, an officially designated wild river, coastal dunes, kettle-hole bogs, deforested lands, degraded residential and farming sites, and abandoned oil wells. A practical field laboratory is included in which techniques are applied to a specific site. Prerequisite: one year of biology and one course in ecology or field biology, or permission of professor.