Meeting Abstract
Students rarely have the opportunity to experience what they learn in the classroom. Unfortunately, this may lead to apathy for environmental science and conservation. I teach a course called Field Biology of Florida, that is required for environmental science majors and can be taken to fulfill a science requirement for non-majors. Instead of a typical lecture in the classroom, students go out into the field and receive information about the habitat as they come across it in nature. Through strategic partnerships with local parks, state parks, national parks, non-profits and industry, I am able to take students to different locations every week. The last trip of the semester is a 3-day trip to the keys to swim in the national marine sanctuary and visit the sea turtle hospital. In this way, students experience nature and learn the importance of environmental conservation. The final day of the class has student groups present on the field trips experienced during the semester. This serves as a way to reinforce and review material before students take the comprehensive final at the end of the day. The best part of the class, is seeing someone who has not cared about the environment previously, use a reusable water bottle or refuse a straw at a restaurant. Offering more courses like this may create scientists and non-scientists that are passionate preserving our world.
