Ecological Restoration

Program Codes: ECOR
Bachelor of Science

Students who major in Ecological Restoration will learn to repair ecosystems that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed. When it comes to sustaining the diversity that’s fundamental to life on Earth, nature and culture are not mutually exclusive.

Ecological Restoration, one of our newest majors, equips students with a deep understanding of the interdependent relationships among aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and the humans who populate them. With 14,000 acres of biodiversity right here on campus, here’s what you’ll do:

  • Participate in surveys of a variety of ecosystems: forests, lakes, streams and wetlands.
  • Assess ecological conditions using biological communities (plants and animals).
  • Design and implement projects to restore watersheds, rivers and streams, lakes and wetlands.
  • Engage communities and encourage citizen science.

The mission of the program is to prepare students to be future leaders in the emerging field of ecological restoration. Our graduates will be able to participate in collaborative planning and execution of ecological restoration projects by applying ecosystem knowledge and technical skills, by engaging communities and citizen participation and by using adaptive management. Our graduates will be able to articulate the relationship between ecosystem function and human health and well-being.

At the end of the program students will have:

  • Learned how science as a body of knowledge and as a method of inquiry are used to understand and study ecosystems.
    • Ecosystem Structure and Function
    • Natural Disturbance Regimes and Succession
    • Measuring Change and Variability in Ecological Systems
    • Matters of Scale (spatial and temporal)
  • Learned how to assess the level of damage or degradation to the structure and function of watersheds, rivers and streams, lakes, and wetlands in forested, agricultural and suburban/urban environments.
    • Research Design
    • Survey and Assessment Techniques
    • Selecting Benchmarks or Reference Conditions
    • Human-mediated Alterations to Disturbance Regimes and Succession
    • Identifying Legacy Effects
  • Learned how ecosystem knowledge and human systems are integrated into restoration planning, implementation, and adaptive management in order to restore damaged or degraded ecosystems.
    • Planning Ecological Restoration Projects
    • The Management Environment (ecosystems and human systems)
    • The Management Process (Assessment, Implementation, Monitoring)
    • Teamwork , Collaboration, and Stakeholders
    • Reporting, Celebrating and Publicity

Degree Requirements:

The minimum number of credit hours necessary to meet degree requirements for the Ecological Restoration degree program is 120. A minimum of 60 credits of the total shall be drawn from the Liberal Arts and Sciences. At least 45 credits shall be 300- or 400-level courses.

Contact the Department Chairperson

Semester 1

Semester 2

3
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3
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Semester 3

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ELECTIVE
3-4

Select any course.

Semester 4

OR

Semester 5

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ELECTIVE
3

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Semester 6

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ELECTIVE
3-4

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ELECTIVE
4

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Semester 7

Click here to see elective courses.
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ELECTIVE - UD
3-4

Select any Upper Division (300 or 400 level) course.

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ELECTIVE - UD
3-4

Select any Upper Division (300 or 400 level) course.

Semester 8

3
Click here to see elective courses.
__ __
ELECTIVE - UD
3-4

Select any Upper Division (300 or 400 level) course.

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ELECTIVE - UD
3-4

Select any Upper Division (300 or 400 level) course.

Total Credits 120

Contact Information

Natural Science

Dr. Jorie Favreau

Pickett Hall 107

518-327-6911

jfavreau@paulsmiths.edu


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