Environmental Studies

Raft down the Grand Canyon. Shape environmental legislation. Climb the slopes of Mount Rainier. Collect algae in the Puget Sound. Survey the giant forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Students from the Environmental Analysis program learn to work with instruments

Getting out in the field is easy when you have the field right outside the classroom. Students in Environmental Studies benefit from Evergreen’s natural learning labs: our 1,000-acre rainforest, open shoreline and organic farm. Our location in Washington’s capital city makes getting involved in environmental politics easy. Students live and learn where policies are created. The surrounding community’s high level of environmental consciousness and the Pacific Northwest’s cultural and natural heritage form an unparalleled backdrop to your studies.

Environmental Studies offers introductory and advanced work in a wide array of laboratory and field studies that incorporate social sciences, environmental justice, biology, geology, chemistry, climatology, evolution, ecology, hydrology and oceanography. You can also work independently with support through independent contracts, internships and research. You’ll have the opportunity to work along with faculty in real-world research, publish papers, attend conferences and develop new techniques to answer novel questions. The mixture of an interdisciplinary approach and hands-on research allows you to make a transformative impact.

Join us in an education that doesn’t just change your life; it gives you the tools to change the world.

Sample Program

Ocean Life and Environmental Policy

Offered Fall 2013–Spring 2014

The Pacific Northwest’s cultural and natural heritage form an unparalleled backdrop to your studies.

Water is essential to life, and the management and regulation of water and aquatic ecosystems will provide many of the subjects for our study.

It is essential to understand the interconnections between biology and ecology in order to make informed decisions about how environmental policy should proceed. This core program is designed to provide legal knowledge and scientific skills necessary to understand problems facing Earth’s ecosystems.

Learning will take place through lectures, seminars, a workshop series and biology laboratory exercises. Work in the field and multi-day field trips will give students first-hand exposure to various marine environments.

We will cover standard topics of first year college biology, using marine organisms as our foci, and will examine marine biodiversity in various contexts.

Students from the Environmental Analysis program learn to work with instruments In spring, students will undertake a community-based internship or carry out a research project related to ocean life. This independent work will provide valuable hands-on experience to build practical knowledge and skills in environmental policy and science.

View this program in the catalog.

Offerings Proposed for 2013-2014

Lower Division

Programs for Freshmen and Sophomores

Ocean Life and Environmental Policy (Freshman-Only Program)
The Science Behind the Headlines: What's the Truth? (Freshman-Only Program)
Approaches to Sustainability
Consuming Cultures
Introduction to Environmental Studies
Reading Landscapes: Earth Science and Literature

Upper Division

Programs for Juniors and Seniors

All Levels

Both upper and lower division students may take these programs

After Graduation

Jackie Heinricher ’86 is leading a biological revolution.

An Environmental Studies degree from Evergreen prepares you for graduate studies and careers in the field. Our graduates are leaders in ecology, environmental health, natural resource management, conservation, forestry, wildlife biology, politics, economics and global sustainability movements.

You also have the option of continuing your studies with our graduate program on the environment.

Facilities and Resources

The Organic Farm

Students of all levels have access to science labs with a full range of equipment and high-tech tools.

At the Organic Farm students can explore sustainable agriculture, agro-ecology and environmental sciences. In addition to three acres of certified organic fields, the farm’s facilities include a food-grade laboratory, the student-designed and built Organic Farmhouse, and the student-run Demeter’s permaculture demonstration site and Community Gardens.

The Evergreen State College Forest & Campus Shoreline

Evergreen’s 1,000-acre forest is ideal for studying a lowland Puget Sound second-growth rainforest. Through the Evergreen Ecological Observation Network (EEON) project, students and faculty are conducting long-term scientific research. The college’s 3,300-foot-long shoreline offers a variety of ecosystems and natural features for students to investigate.

Labs, Gardens & Collections

Students of all levels have access to science labs with a full range of equipment and high-tech tools. You can study some 27,000 specimens in the college’s zoological, botanical and mycological collections. Evergreen’s campus is also dotted with a variety of teaching gardens.

Sustainability in Prisons Project

The Sustainability in Prisons Project trains inmates and correctional staff at local prisons to carry out ecological research and conservation projects.

Rachel Carson Forum

Students in Evergreen’s The Graduate Program on the Environment program organize this annual event. Experts speak on environmental topics such as local sustainability and climate change.

Sustainability House

The Sustainability House is a living/learning option for returning and transfer students. Residents commit to an environmentally conscious lifestyle, social justice, sustainable agriculture and activism.

Recent Student Projects

“Nisqually River education project film: Watershed overview focusing on water testing as a vehicle to evaluate safe salmon habitat”
“Saving the hemlocks: Using bioanalytical chemistry to understand plant-insect interactions and save a threatened species”
“A cost benefit analysis of the oyster industry in Willapa, Bay”
“Investigating changes in nutrient concentration and relative composition as regulating factors for algal biomass and species composition during the spring bloom in Budd Inlet”
“Exploring migratory connectivity in the calliope hummingbird through stable isotope analysis of tail feathers”
“Pacific Northwest second-growth forest carbon dynamics and tree diversity”

Faculty Bios

Gerardo Chin-Leo teaches undergraduate and graduate students, primarily in the area of marine science. He was named a National Academies Education Fellow for 2012–13. His research interests include marine microbiology, the ecology of phytoplankton with a focus on harmful algal blooms and the ecology of bacteria as they relate to marine food webs and in anoxic environments. He obtained his Ph.D in biological oceanography at the University of Delaware, where he also completed an M.S. in marine studies. He also holds a B.A. in biology from Reed College.

Martha Rosemeyer teaches in the areas of ecological agriculture and food systems. Current research interests include creating a local sustainable food system and the science and culture of cooking. She has researched microbial ecology and nutrient cycling in traditional agricultural systems in Costa Rica and worked in reconciling nature and agriculture in the tropics and temperate Wisconsin. She earned her Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz; M.S. in plant science from the University of Arizona; and B.S. in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

View all faculty who teach in Environmental Studies

Related Subjects

Offerings in Environmental Studies are taught along with these subjects. (Select a subject to see more offerings in the catalog.)

Fields of Study

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