University of Cincinnati
AC-5: Immersive Experience

UC has numerous programs that offer students an opportunity to fully immerse themselves in applied sustainability concepts and issues. A few examples are the following: A study tour course to the Amazon [EVST 3014, On the River] offers students the opportunity to personally experience one of the largest, intact, tropical ecosystems in the world—the Amazon River Basin—and develop a passion for its sustainability. Students begin the semester preparing across disciplines for an immersion trip to the upper Amazon River. During the actual trip, students, instructors, and crew live on a boat that travels over 600 nautical miles along the river-¬‐stopping to explore the flooded forests by canoe, and the upland, villages, and cities, on foot. On return, students report on individual projects and use their journals for reflection. http://www.uc.edu/honors/students/experiences/travel/amazon.html The PLAN6099 European Sustainable Urbanism spring 2016 and 2017 courses focused on a three-week travel program that introduced students to European sustainable urban design and architecture, especially focusing on urban redevelopment sites. The travel program had two parts. First, joining a workshop with faculty and students of the renowned Politecnico di Milano and other European universities that focused on sustainably designing an urban redevelopment site in southern Milan. The workshop was held in the Politecnico’s brand new campus in Lecco on Lake Como, and students and faculty used the ample opportunities to visit Milan and nearby Turin. From Milan, participants toured various exciting sustainable urban (re)developments in Northwestern Europe, stopping in Copenhagen, Malmö, Hamburg, Berlin, southern Germany, Paris and the Netherlands. Students ultimately produced an essay on a topic of their choice pertaining to sustainable urbanism, based on background research on this topic and their travel experiences. The course Environmental Journalism (EVST 3040 - cross listed as JOUR 3040) travels to India for a week to work/report on NGOs doing water-related projects. http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=21485 Students completing the Certificate in Urban Agriculture from the Horticulture Department work with a local CSA called Earth Shares for three hours per week for an entire semester as part of the course. In addition, for Environmental Studies students, there is the Capstone course. The semester service project in the EVST capstone course requires students to work with an organization that is part of the greater Cincinnati area. The concept of the project is first and foremost service. Students learn about what it means to do the day-to-day work of sustainability with local organizations.

http://www.uc.edu/honors/students/experiences/travel/amazon.html http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=21485