Northern Arizona University
ER-12: Sustainability Immersive Experience

The Grand Canyon Semester - The Grand Canyon Semester at Northern Arizona University offers an unforgettable learning experience in the high mountains of northern Arizona and the deep canyon country of the Colorado Plateau. Students with all kinds of interests come from across the United Stats and around the world, joining research faculty in the natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities to examine the challenges facing people in this ancient and modern environment. On back country field trips, in traditional classroom settings, in art galleries and around campfires, floating down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon gorges, we confront the issues of then and now: How do population growth, resource scarcity, and changing values determine our relationship to this fragile and stunning landscape? How can we both protect a World Heritage Site of of the "crown jewels" of America's National Park system, and still make it available to nearly five million visitors a year? What are the rights of the native peoples who's ancestors lived in this canyon country for thousands of years? And what are our responsibilities to this unique region of the earth?