This summer, UW Study Abroad and the College of Engineering are offering a study abroad program that stays close to home.
"Sustainable Water in a Wet Region" is a field study course that looks at many aspects of water - water resource, drinking water, and wastewater - and takes students to locations on the Olympic Peninsula. The course focuses on environmental implications of climate change predictions for temperate rain forest and wet forest regions, using the Pacific Northwest as an observational "laboratory". The class runs from July 19 to August 19, 2017. You can see more details at the course page on canvas.
Interested students can also attend an information session on Monday, Jan. 23 in Lowe Hall room 355 at 3 p.m., or Tuesday, Jan. 24 in More Hall room 110 at 1:30 p.m.
Course Structure:
- This is a field study course (i.e. most time is away from campus and meetings times run all day). Learning is by seeing, hearing and experiencing.
- Hiking, plant tours, hands on, professional and expert speakers, etc.
- Offered as a Study Abroad for students from University of Washington and Jordan University of Science and Technology.
- Students travel from Seattle to multiple locations on the Olympic Peninsula.
- Immersion learning course - meaning that accepted students are expected to participate in all activities - including weekends and evening, travel together, and group living for the duration of the course.
- Science Course: Section options available for all majors including science for the non-scientist and engineering technical elective.
- Sections are available for all levels (freshmen through graduate students).
Course Description:
The value of water is recognized world-wide. Even in wet regions, such as the Pacific Northwest, sustainable strategies must recognize the inter-connections among water resource, drinking water, and wastewater. This course examines the intersection of these three water engineering sectors with a focus on environmental implications of climate change predictions for temperate rain forest and wet forest regions, using the Pacific Northwest as an observational "laboratory". These intersections will be examined at differing scales (state, city and small town) and from multiple cultural perspectives by studying.
- Integrated "One Water" Management including the influence of water use on water quality at multiple scales. (for an example, see here)
- Cultural values related to water, and the influence of tribal cultural views on water on local and regional water decisions,
- Impacts of human water use on shellfish beds and salmon runs,
- Basics of the ecosystem food chain and how water quality can impact/disrupt this,
- Wastewater and stormwater reuse to mitigate impacts of changing water supply and demands, and
- Treatment and control of combined sewer overflow and polluted stormwater.