This course will focus on plants and climate change globally and in the urban setting in the city of Philadelphia. We will explore challenges faced due to environmental and land use change, and access to green spaces. We will examine the role of plants in urban food, ancestral traditions, community, health & wellbeing, also ecosystems benefits such as reduction of heat islands. We will discuss biological, genetic, breeding as well as ecological solutions for enhancing plant resilience and system resilience for food security. Students will gain hands-on experience, engage in dialog with farm, garden and ecosystem practitioners, city officials and other support systems, NGOs and small businesses. Dialog will occur on visits to local gardens, farms, or parks with representatives and stakeholders or on campus with guest speakers and each other. Students will use storytelling to address ‘tensions’ identified, based on class experience and their own investigation, develop creative project ideas, educational materials, testimonials, or designs. Activities will intersect with to those of PlantARC.
Urban environments present unique challenges and opportunities for plant species. After a review of plant taxonomy and anatomy, this course will examine the ecological impacts of plants in urban settings. We will explore landscapes in and around Penn’s campus to understand how plant communities contribute to ecosystem services in these environments. The applied uses of plants in agriculture, medicine, bioremediation, and other aspects of community health will also be explored.
Crosslistings
Microorganisms play a central role in driving Earth’s biogeochemical cycles, yet they are often invisible and challenging to study. This course focuses on microbial biogeochemistry in the ocean, while emphasizing that many of the same processes operate in other ecosystems (e.g., soils and wetlands), engineered systems (e.g., wastewater treatment plants) and hosts (e.g., human). I will cover fundamental microbial concepts, including microbial ecology, evolutionary history, microbial metabolisms, and how microbial metabolisms are linked to nutrient cycling. Beyond basic concepts and principles, this course emphasizes how this knowledge was obtained. Students will be introduced to key approaches used to study microbes in global biogeochemical cycles, including both experimental and computational methods such as stable isotope techniques, metagenomics, theoretical frameworks, and modeling. The course develops essential scientific skills: reading and critically evaluating research papers, presenting scientific findings to peers, and communicating science to broader audiences. Through hands-on activities, students will practice translating complex microbial biogeochemical research into clear and engaging outreach articles, with the opportunity to develop a piece suitable for publication.
Development is the process by which organisms grow and acquire their final shape. This remarkably complex process requires exquisite spatiotemporal control, and principles of developmental biology have implications for nearly all other biological disciplines. This course is a deep dive into these general biological principles, using plants as a model system. Students will prepare presentations on primary literature and engage in vigorous discussions in a “journal club” format. Our goal is to learn how developmentally significant genes and cellular interactions control differentiation and pattern formation.
Tropical marine ecology explores the diversity and function of tropical marine organisms and ecosystems. Students will learn about the composition and functions of various coastal and marine ecosystems found in the tropics, including coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves, salt marshes, and tidepools. A major focus of this course will be on coral reefs, which are among the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the ocean. The course will also explore the physical and biological processes that shape life in tropical marine ecosystems, as well as how these ecosystems both support and are affected by human activities from the local to global level. Weekly lectures will provide a background overview of each topic and will be followed by small group discussions that explore a subject in depth. Finally, students will have the opportunity to explore the intersection of their own interests and background with tropical marine ecology by developing an oral presentation and research paper on a topic of their choosing. The classroom component will be complemented by a field expedition to the island of Bermuda, where students will observe these tropical marine ecosystems firsthand and compare the biodiversity of the flora and fauna across the many different coastal and marine habitats of Bermuda. While in Bermuda, students will also participate in restoration activities to help protect native species and visit cultural sites that explore the link between the marine ecosystems of the island and the economy and culture of the local community.
A detailed, comprehensive investigation of selected environmental problems. This is the first course taken by students entering the Master of Environmental Studies Program.
This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to transnational issues and world politics and to acquaint them with some of the leading issues, theories, concepts and processes, and history that shape and define world events. It is suitable for students embarking on long-term study of international affairs as well as for students with other majors and intellectual interest who simply want to know more about how the world works and how the material covered in this class affects their lives. It is expected that students taking the course will gain an ability to analyze, understand objectively evaluate and appreciate the complex dynamics that affect “global politics” writ large, including issues relating to trade, diplomacy, people-to-people and business transactions, and shifts in demography, borders, international institutions and global governance. In additional to issues of diplomacy, statecraft, and security we will assess some of the major international issues of our time (i.e. climate change, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, genocide and human trafficking) and debate the prospects for bringing peace and prosperity to a world that is rife with conflict and poverty.
Can we successfully adapt our urban water systems to meet the growing challenges of flood, drought, water contamination, heat/fires, extreme weather and sea level rise? How do we make our cities resilient and our communities sustainable, even in the face of these threats? When does change begin? How does it happen?
As a result of climate change, the world that will take shape in the course of this century will be decidedly more inundated with water than we’re accustomed to. The polar ice caps are melting, glaciers are retreating, ocean levels are rising, polar bear habitat is disappearing, countries are jockeying for control over a new Arctic passage, while low-lying cities and small island nations are confronting the possibility of their own demise. Catastrophic flooding events are increasing in frequency, as are extreme droughts. Hurricane-related storm surges,tsunamis, and raging rivers have devastated regions on a local and global scale. In this seminar we will turn to the narratives and images that the human imagination has produced in response to the experience of overwhelming watery invasion, from Noah to New Orleans. Objects of analysis will include mythology, ancient and early modern diluvialism, literature, art, film, and commemorative practice. The basic question we’ll be asking is: What can we learn from the humanities that will be helpful for confronting the problems and challenges caused by climate change and sea level rise?
The course focuses on the natural history of different wetland types including climate, geology, and,hydrology factors that influence wetland development Associated soil, vegetation, and wildlife characteristics and key ecological processes will be covered as well. Lectures will be supplemented with weekend wetland types, ranging from tidal salt marshes to non-tidal marshes, swamps, and glacial bogs in order to provide field experience in wetland identification, characterization, and functional assessment. Outside speakers will discuss issues in wetland seed bank ecology, federal regulation, and mitigation. Students will present a short paper on the ecology of a wetland animal and a longer term paper on a selected wetland topic. Readings from the text, assorted journal papers, government technical documents, and book excerpts will provide a broad overview of the multifaceted field of wetland study.