COR 424 Nature Awareness

This course is designed to disrupt what Richard Louv has called nature deficit disorder. Although it is not a medically recognized diagnosis, he uses this phrase to describe the decreasing amount time people spend outside and the accompanying negative consequences. Students in this course will have the opportunity to investigate topics like anthropocentrism, rewilding, and mindfulness; to explore and deepen their relationship with the environment; and to interrogate the roles technology plays in society and in their own lives. Assignments include watching sunrises and sunsets, identifying trees and plants, and hiking parts of the Mountains to Sea Trail. The final project involves developing an ecological map that reveals the multiple and complex systems within a community that humans depend upon for survival. This course will be taught entirely outside in the forest classroom at Loy Farm, so students should be prepared to dress appropriately for all types of weather.