Birds, Patterns, and Poetry

Greener FoundationsThis program incorporates . Greener Foundations is Evergreen’s 2-quarter introductory student success course, which provides all first-year students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive at Evergreen. First year students will get 14-credits from this program, and 2-credits from a Greener Foundations course. First year students will need to register for the 14-credit program CRN PLUS Greener Foundations (CRN 20001).

In this program connecting natural history and humanities, we will explore patterns in bird biology and patterns in poetry. Through work in the field and in the classroom, we will learn about avian adaptations for flight, the identification and taxonomy of Puget Sound birds, avian vocal communication, and sound as an ecological variable. In poetry, we will learn formal patterns such as limerick, villanelle, sestina, as well as forms such as odes, spatial, and elegy. Students will learn the elements of patterned poetry, including rhyme schemes, stanzas, line structures, rhythms, and feet/meter. Students will both write and revise their own poetry and study poems related to birds. Patterns and forms in poetry will be connected with patterns in avian biology such as bird song, migration, feather growth, and patterns of spatial distribution. Skills to be developed and/or honed include observation, pattern-recognition, and pattern-building through reading and detailed and standardized documentation, and effective communication of complex interactions to a variety of audiences. This program is applicable for further study in the liberal arts and a wide array of career paths.