Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 85.66
Liaison Mark Lichtenstein
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
AC-5: Immersive Experience

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Justin Heavey
Sustainability Associate
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution offer at least one immersive, sustainability-focused educational study program that is one week or more in length?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused immersive program(s) offered by the institution:

EFB 523, Tropical Ecology, is graduate level course in the Environmental Biology Department at ESF.

The focus of this course is the immersive twelve-day field experience in Ecuador, with day trips to rainforest and other tropical ecosystems, followed by evening lectures by course instructors or local guest speakers at Tiputini Biodiversity Station. The course also examine various ecosystems along the altitudinal gradient of the Andes from lowland rainforests to near the snow line.

The course and field study ask questions, such as:

- Why are the tropics so diverse?
- How do tropical ecosystems respond to disturbance?
- How have humans and nature interacted in the tropics?
- How will climate change affect tropical ecosystems? How do tropics affect global climate?
- How can tropical ecosystems and their biodiversity be sustained?"

Learning outcomes include:

1. To investigate the biodiversity found in tropical ecosystems throughout the world
2. To study the interactions between biotic and abiotic factors in tropical environments
3. To consider human effects on tropical ecosystems and issues related to conservation of biodiversity and global climate change in the tropics
4. To use Ecuador as a model exemplifying broad principles of tropical ecology and resource
management and conservation

https://www.esf.edu/efb/dovciak/EFB523.htm


Website URL where information about the institution’s immersive education programs is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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