Sustainable Communities Course Descriptions
SUST 3100 Cultural Ecology I (3 units)
This course applies ecological concepts to the understanding of human history and social systems. Students learn to think in terms of systems, cycles, and energy flows, while gaining an overview of human cultures through history as a way of contextualizing the entire course. Topics such as energy resources, global climate change, and the rise and fall of civilizations will be covered. Corequisite: SUST 3102 Foundations of Ecological Design I.
SUST 3101 Cultural Ecology II (3 units)
In this continuation of Cultural Ecology I, topics will include governance, economics, education, and technology.
SUST 3102 Foundations of Ecological Design I (3 units)
This purpose of this course is to train students in ecological design methods and techniques for creating sustainable human systems, with a focus on ecological land management and an emphasis on a permacultural approach. Students will undertake group design projects in which they apply the assessment stage of an ecological design method that involves assessment, visioning, conceptual and master planning, implementation, and evaluation. Techniques include site assessment, pattern recognition, and project management.
SUST 3103 Foundations of Ecological Design II (3 units)
In this continuation of Foundations of Ecological Design, students will further develop their use of ecological design methods and land management skills. Topics may include water harvesting, water management on the landscape, agroforestry, passive and active solar, and wastewater management. Students will continue to be exposed to a wide array of sustainable living models.
SUST 3104 Global Economic Literacy and International Governance (3 units)
This course investigates the history of public versus private decision-making in the U.S., the history of democracy in the U.S., and the role of corporations, international governance, and economic bodies in our history. Students will research sustainable alternatives to existing social structures that are inequitable or ecologically unsustainable.
SUST 3105 Sustainable Land Management I (3 units)
Students will learn to apply permaculture design skills acquired in the Foundations of Ecological Design courses to real-world design projects. Students will be mentored in the practice of ecological project management, including site assessment, meeting with clients, and whole-system site design. Topics include sustainable forestry and wild lands management with native and domestic animals habitat restoration. In addition, students will be prepared to undertake their culminating senior project via such subjects as methods for choosing thesis topics, proposal writing, literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, and project documentation.
SUST 3106 Sustainable Land Management II (3 units)
This course is a continuation of Sustainable Land Management I. In addition, students will create a professional portfolio that will help them step into their green career post-graduation.
SUST 3107 Sustainable Communities (3 units)
In this course, students will develop their strategic thinking as applied to social change and community organizing. Students will be trained in time-honored community organizing methodologies to define goals, targets, messages, and tactics that are effective and fit into a larger campaign plan. Students also examine the experience of intentional community and explore ways to strengthen it, deepening their understanding of the principles of ecologically sustainable living and developing new skills that allow them to live more lightly. Legal, financial, and governance aspects of starting and sustaining an intentional community will be covered.
SUST 3400 Ecological Food Systems: Foundations (3 units)
This course covers the history and analysis of our industrial food system. Students study components of the food systems such as transportation, packaging, energy use, research, marketing, production, consumption, and waste streams. Students use systems thinking to understand the economic, political, social, and cultural role of food within human systems. Through a unit on ethno-ecology, students begin to explore the evolution of human relationships to plants and the role biodiversity plays in our cultural development.
SUST 3401 Agro-Ecology: Principles and Approaches (3 units)
This course introduces the basic skills and knowledge for becoming an ecological food system professional. Hands-on workshops, lectures, and group work train students in basic ecological design and observation skills. Materials covered include soils and fertility, basic plant knowledge, the role of water in agro-ecological systems, biodiversity, and farming with nature. Basic approaches to sustainable agriculture are covered. Students are introduced to and work with such approaches as permaculture, natural farming, organic standards, bio-intensive and bio-dynamic agriculture, and the written works of many great food-systems thinkers and activists.
SUST 3402 Eco-literacy and Community Nutrition (3 units)
This course covers both the basics of becoming an educator in garden- and eco-literacy, and the basics of human nutrition and sustainable diets. Through a combination of lectures and experiential learning, students explore changing their own diets and becoming educators in daily ecological living. Students also look at current global nutrition crises and alternatives such as localization. This course includes an introduction to home medicine kits, fermentation, and immune function health.
SUST 3403 Ecological Agriculture I (3 units)
This is a service learning course in which students apply agro-ecological and design principles to a community food system project; students will design and manage a project that involves market gardening and community interface. Students deepen their knowledge of the design of agro-ecological systems and how to weave sustainable agriculture into our current living systems. The focus in this course is on design, annuals, and project management. Other topics include wild foods, interfacing with wild lands, and the urban-rural interface.
SUST 3404 Ecological Agriculture II (3 units)
This is the second in a service-learning course series in which students apply agro-ecological and design principles to a community food system project in which they design and manage a project that involves market gardening and community interface. Students continue to develop project management skills and learn the details of production such as seed-saving, ecological pest and weed management, whole-farm planning, farm energy audits, on-farm fuel production, and carbon farming.
SUST 3405 Ecological Agriculture III (3 units)
This is the third in a service-learning course series in which students apply agro-ecological and design principles to a community food-system projects. Students continue to develop project management and community building skills and learn the details of production and community interface. This course focuses on energy use in production/consumption systems and post-harvest technologies and culture. Students also learn business planning skills for use in for-profit and social-profit enterprises.
SUST 3406 Community and Family Food Security (3 units)
This course takes students through methodologies for applying an understanding of food systems and ecological design approaches to develop the economic, political, and cultural pathways necessary for food security in urban and rural communities. We look at the evolution of the food security movement and the approaches cities and regions have taken to create sustainable food systems. Students will apply design techniques to policy development and work with sustainability indicators and food-system assessment and mapping techniques.
SUST 3407 Community and Family Food Security II (3 units)
This course builds on Community and Family Food Security I, adding a look at successful projects and direct work on local assessment processes; subjects such as farm labor, nutrition and health, kitchen design, and land tenure are also covered. Students complete their final design projects, which must show an understanding of agro-ecological principles, ecological design approaches, and how to create secure community food systems. Students will receive support for their capstone project work through mentoring and cohort feedback.
SUST 3600 Introduction to Ecological Design and Building (3 units)
This overview course will introduce students to a broad range of issues relating to the unsustainability of current human dwellings and communities, and the potential for evolving sustainable and regenerative human habitation. Topics include building-related resource depletion and pollution issues; the history of settlement patterns and dwelling design in relation to energy sources; lessons from vernacular/traditional architecture; design with site and climate; and the current application of ancient wisdom about the spirit of place.
SUST 3601 Intentional Community and Urban Eco-Villages (3 units)
This course is an introduction to the history of ecological community development, including intentional communities, urban and rural eco-villages, co-housing, and suburban revival. This course complements and expands upon the material covered in the Core Sustainable Communities courses. In addition to exploring historical, existing, and imagined community models, students will practice community-building skills in their own homes and neighborhoods.
SUST 3602 Dwelling Design with Natural Systems (3 units)
Beginning with an understanding of the biophysics of human thermal comfort as the basis of ecological building design, this course explores several technical subjects that are integral to designing buildings that rely on natural systems rather than consuming fossil fuels: passive solar heating, natural cooling, daylighting, rainwater catchment, and greywater reuse. Energy efficiency and renewable energy sources are also covered. Several of these subjects are introduced in the Core Course series, and this course will go into greater depth on these topics as they relate to the design of buildings and communities.
SUST 3603 Ecological Building Concepts and Skills (3 units)
In this course, students will learn both theory and practice related to the nuts and bolts of ecological construction. Topics include structural systems, green building materials, and building science (how air, heat, and moisture move in and through buildings). Hands-on natural building experiences will involve a variety of earth and natural fiber techniques, including clay plasters, bamboo, straw bales, cob (an earth-straw mixture), wood, and stone.
SUST 3604 Introduction to Eco-Home Design (3 units)
Basic principles of residential design will be introduced and practiced, including small-space design, harmonious proportions, integration of human needs with technical systems, flexible space use, and drawing and model-making skills. Students will have the opportunity to practice designing eco-homes for each other and for a variety of real and imagined clients.
SUST 3605 Assessment and Design for Natural Remodeling (3 units)
With our tremendous stock of non-green homes, the need to understand how to assess and “green up” existing homes is great. Students will learn why eco-remodeling can be greener than building new eco-homes and learn basic skills for analyzing and assessing an existing home, including detecting potential hazards (mold, toxics, etc.), identifying energy efficiency opportunities, and redesigning the house and landscape for greater ecological harmony.
SUST 3606 Professional Practice in EcoDwelling (3 units)
Students will be guided in developing professional skills in ecodwelling consultation and/or design. Subjects include the basics of working with clients, interfacing with building codes and building departments, and shepherding a project from start through completion. Students will have the opportunity to observe and practice these skills in a real working context.
SUST 3607 Eco-Design/Build Project (3 units)
With faculty guidance, students will work individually or in a group to identify a real or theoretical project to develop in depth as a means to refine the skill set they have identified as appropriate to their personal or career goals. Projects will apply the principles and skills gained in the preceding EcoDwelling courses.
