“Environment
and Resource Studies is the department interested in both many
disciplines and moving beyond disciplines, because that’s
the way the real world works.”1
What
makes an outstanding Environmental Studies program? At the University
of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, it is a commitment to teaching
integrated thinking and decision making for sustainability through
a multidisciplinary framework. Students in the Department of Environment
and Resource Studies are encouraged to understand the ecological,
social and economic aspects of environmental problems and use
their skills to come up with creative, pragmatic solutions.
The
Department of Environment and Resource Studies
The University of Waterloo, with over 22,000 students, has had
a progressive history since its founding in 1957. When developing
a plan for the Faculty of Environmental Studies in 1969, administrators
recognized the value inherent in interdisciplinary approaches
to education. Dr. Susan Wismer, Chair of the department of Environment
and Resource Studies (ERS), explains that ERS was originally intended
to serve as the “hub” of the Faculty, which also houses
a Geography department and the schools of Architecture and Planning.
ERS was meant to provide “an undergraduate program that would
exist outside normal disciplines to address the full complexity
of environmental problems, integrating natural and social sciences
and using tools from both fields.” People examining environmental
problems should be “interested not only in the immediate
substance of issues, but also in the underlying roots, the surrounding
influences, the range of possible solutions, the openings for
changes and the strategies and skills needed to make a difference.”2
A transdisciplinary framework is essential for ensuring this breadth
of study.
In
response to this need for multiple disciplines to be incorporated
into the program, a variety of options are available to students
for developing their own particular interests. Students can participate
in a joint honors degree program with over twenty participating
departments on campus, such as English, Chemistry, Fine Arts and
Mathematics. Minors are also available through different departments
or faculties. Students may consider a specialized option in Business,
Parks, or Sustainable Local Economic Development, a university
option from another department, or a certificate in Environmental
Assessment or Geographical Information Systems. There is also
a joint certificate program with nearby Niagara College in the
fields of Environmental Management, Ecosystem Restoration, and
Environmental Assessment. Additionally, students may also choose
between a regular or co-op plan of study, the latter of which
allows them to alternate on-campus school terms with work terms
in related jobs for up to two years of work experience.
ERS
hosts a graduate program in addition to its undergraduate course
of study. Masters students study a number of issues surrounding
the central theme of sustainability, from environmental audits
and restoration ecology to policy analysis and management strategies.
Students’ research takes them all over the world, where they
can ground their studies in applicable contexts and situations
such as examining water supply systems in Indonesia or community
gardening in Waterloo.
ERS
Curriculum and the Student Experience
ERS core courses focus on training students to think critically
and strategically. The roster includes courses such as Issue Analysis
and Problem Solving for Environmental Studies, Ecosystem Perspectives
and Analyses, and The Politics of Sustainable Communities. Many
of the courses manage to integrate different disciplines and theoretical
frameworks necessary for understanding sustainable development.
For example, Environmental Issues in a Global Perspective examines
how “various political, economic and social factors affect
the health of rural and remote communities in different parts
of the world,” focusing on areas such as Brazil, Nunavut,
and Southern African development communities.3 Another
course, Approaches to Environmental Decision-Making, “examines
the context for environmental decision-making in terms of Canadian
politics and public policy, global and domestic economy, ecosystem
and community health, society, and ethics.”4
With
a relatively small number of core courses which focus on fundamental
techniques and theories, students have ample opportunity to explore
other areas of interest and gain practical experience through
undertaking real-world projects. Students are encouraged to take
courses in disciplines across the curriculum, such as environmental
art and literature, journalism, business and health.
Once
students have mastered the basics, they are encouraged to put
their new skills to use through group and individual projects.
A required second year undergraduate course, Greening the Campus
and Community, is a research methods class that has students work
together in small groups to address real-world environmental problems.
The problems are identified by the solid waste coordinators for
the University and for the Waterloo region, and through working
on these issues, students can see and experience how research
fits into university and community planning and policy. Luke Bossenberry,
a third year student, recalls his group’s project: “We
made the local paper for our preliminary feasibility study for
developing an Ecovillage on north campus.” Group members
analyzed energy supply and demand, buildings, food, water and
waste. Their project precipitated what would evolve into a major
research initiative on campus. Class projects such as these have
become significant contributions to campus sustainability efforts.
WATgreen,
an administrative initiative involving students, faculty and staff,
is the University of Waterloo’s response to the Greening
the Campus movement. Originally set up by faculty and students
from ERS working in cooperation with staff, students and professors
from other departments, WATgreen promotes environmental research
and initiatives at the university and helps facilitate the formation
of interdisciplinary research. ERS’s Greening the Campus
and Community course serves as a key component of WATgreen’s
mission, not only using the campus as a laboratory for learning,
but also improving its environmental efficiency and overall sustainability.
In addition to WATgreen, there are a number of organizations and
activities at the University of Waterloo that focus on environmental
issues and sustainability. The Student Environment Commission
is a student-run group with volunteers that work on environmental
projects around campus. They run the University of Waterloo Sustainability
Project, which aims to increase student and community awareness
and involvement.
Undergraduates
must also complete two individual projects: an independent research
project in their third year and a thesis in their fourth. This
emphasis on research is vital for an interdisciplinary program
where students may not learn the typical “job skills”
of other disciplines, but can use research skills in any number
of careers. As Bossenberry notes, “research projects run
the range of extensive literature reviews to very practical applications,
and vary widely on topics. There is a great deal of diversity
among ERS students’ interests.” If students are concerned
about acquiring further job skills, they can take advantage of
the joint degree program, or the co-op plan. First year student
Amber Cantell observes that the “ERS co-op option gives students
a good chance to get some real work experience, while technical
options like the Niagara College certificates through the Faculty
of Environmental Studies add nice touches to a degree.”
Graduate
students also participate in a required research course, ERS 669:
Team-Research Project, in which the whole class works on the same
project and at the same time is introduced to local sustainability
issues. By working in a group, students are exposed to interdisciplinary
processes as well as the different roles they may play in a research
team. The most recent topic for the course was creating a network
for world biosphere reserves in Ontario. A conference is held
at the university each year for graduate students to present their
research in a multidisciplinary context.
“Modeling
for our peers…”
Despite some considerable challenges, the ten faculty members
in the ERS department work together well. They come from many
different backgrounds, including political science, physics, geography,
biology, planning, international relations, engineering, and even
dentistry. Dr. Wismer, a specialist in urban and regional planning
whose own research interests span from activism and ecofeminism
to international development, describes several issues her department
has faced in attempting to collaborate on an interdisciplinary
level. One is finding a common language to use when working together
and overcoming the biases inherent in each member’s conventional
training. When bringing together natural scientists and social
scientists, professors from the arts and humanities and those
from more technical backgrounds, it can be difficult to find terms
and conceptual frameworks to agree upon. It often proves difficult
to collaborate in the context of long-held notions of what constitutes
proper research and teaching techniques. For example, researchers
who have been trained in quantitative methods may not be as familiar
with qualitative techniques. One solution to overcoming these
issues, discovered by ERS faculty, is learning to step outside
of their roles as experts and adopting a beginner’s attitude.
In this manner they learn new ways of sharing ideas and knowledge.
There
is also a great deal of open exchange and collaboration between
ERS faculty and students. Professors keep an open-door policy
at their offices, and students are strongly encouraged to provide
feedback on the program. Course evaluations are given out every
term, and faculty make themselves available to discuss even their
colleagues’ courses with students. The undergraduate student
society holds an open town-hall style meeting each year for people
to come to and express their views on the program. Graduate students
develop a report annually for the faculty to examine on their
retreat. Constant evaluation and feedback are instrumental in
keeping the program timely and on track with its goals, and for
maintaining a strong sense of community in the department.
In
this department, faculty members try to demonstrate how interdisciplinary
ideals can work on a practical level. Some feel that ERS faculty
actually get along better than those in most single-discipline
departments, especially since they are not competing in the same
way for funds. To a large extent, the ERS motto, “modeling
for our peers and mentoring for our students,” is confirmed.
Challenges
ERS has faced several trials over the years. The popularity of
the department has ebbed and flowed along with mainstream academic
interest in interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary
approaches. Another challenge has been working within the university
system’s discipline-focused framework. In addition, interdisciplinary
programs such as ERS are chronically under-resourced. As Dr. Wismer
notes, “it’s difficult for interdisciplinary departments
such as this one to compete for resources with other more conventional
programs.”
The
issue of funding came up in a recent evaluation of the department
by the University and the province. A review is required every
seven years, and this past year both were done concurrently as
a pilot project. Reviewers were very positive in their evaluation,
but worried that, due to lack of resources, the department may
have been trying to do too much with too little. Finding more
reliable funding must be an integral part of the department’s
future plans.
ERS
at the University of Waterloo is widely recognized for its excellence
in research, teaching and innovation. Its graduates have taken
important positions within the business and industry, government,
public interest and educational sectors. The varied skills students
learn through the program – research, analytical, technical,
communication – combined with the integrated knowledge they
acquire, help prepare them for a future in making sustainability
a reality.
Endnotes
1 UW ERS website, www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/ers/why_join_ers.html.
2
Ibid.
3
ERS 231: Environmental Issues in a Global Perspective, www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/ers/undergraduate/courses/ers231.html.
4
www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/ers/undergraduate/courses/
For
more information on the Department of Environment and Resource
Studies at the University of Waterloo, visit their website at
http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/ers/,
or contact them at Department of Environment & Resource Studies,
Faculty of Environmental Studies, Environmental Studies Building
1 (ES1), University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo,
Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada; Fax: (519) 746-0292.
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