Beyond the Classroom: Environmental Studies students put their knowledge to work in the real world...

With today's concerns about global warming and sustainability, Environmental Studies is a growing program.  At Pacific, students in this program have endless opportunities to put their knowledge to work immediately.  Oregon is one of few states with coastal lands, mountain ranges, coniferous rainforests, deserts, wetlands, and farming, and Pacific is located right in the middle of it all.

Environmental Studies faculty and students have taken advantage of our location by conducting research projects in nearby areas including the John Blodgett Arboretum, Gales Creek and Tualatin River watersheds and the Fernhill Wetlands.  Students also learn from experience on the B-Street Permaculture Project, a sustainable farm "lab" right here in Forest Grove. 

Faculty members who teach courses in Environmental Studies come from numerous backgrounds, including biology, chemistry, political science, fine arts, and media arts.  Grant McOmie, journalist and reporter for KATU News in Portland as well as a Pacific alumnus, teaches "Salmon: Environment & The Media" for the Environmental Studies program.  Throughout this course, students get hands-on experience at fish hatcheries and in Oregon's natural salmon habitats.  Other professors provide students with the opportunity to learn outside of Oregon through Pacific's travel courses.  In the past, Environmental Studies students have conducted research in places such as Belize and Hawaii.

One of the most interesting elements of the Environmental Studies program at Pacific, though, is that what is learned in the classroom or at a field-study site by a small group of students is never confined to that small group, but extends out in ways that have affected the entire campus.

Students in Environmental Studies and those involved in campus organizations tied to environmental issues, have been using their research to help spur more sustainable living and work practices throughout Pacific.  They have worked with Dining Services to bring local, organic, free-range, and vegetarian food choices to the University Center.  They have also been involved with Pacific's "green-building" efforts to make sure new construction projects are LEED-certified.  These students have big ideas and big ambitions to spread the lessons they learn here at Pacific to as many as will listen around the world.  For many of them, Environmental Studies is more than just a major: it is a passion and a lifestyle.