Greetings,

One of the criteria for choosing courses that we offer at FHL is that they take advantage of the natural surroundings, i.e. they couldn’t just as well be taught on the Seattle campus or in Nebraska or New York.  The “research apprenticeship” course described below is perhaps an extreme example of this; the structure of the course was entirely built around studying False Bay and its watershed, using these local sites as a classroom for learning concepts and methods in estuarine and ecosystem ecology.  The timing of creating this course arose from a convergence of concern about a possible increase in summertime smelliness from rotting seaweeds, a definite increase in public use of the Bay for recreation during the pandemic, and current diverse efforts to preserve and restore the complex watershed of False Bay Creek.  The inaugural 12 students suffered through the inevitable growing pains of a new course, nighttime low tides, and record-breaking rains and floods impacting attempts to gather data.  So there were rough spots, but much was learned on all sides.  And we continue to be delighted with the apprenticeship model of immersive (not quite literally!) learning.

Best,

Dr. Megan Dethier

FHL Director