Are you terrified of bugs? How are bugs essential for the planet? These little critters are everywhere; for every human on this planet, there are about 1.4 billion bugs! Insects make our world more interesting, painting it with stunning colors and lots of shapes. They pollinate most of our fruits and vegetables, are impressive recyclers, and regulate invasive plants and pest insects. These are only some of the multiple services they provide to the world.

Climate change will profoundly affect our lives in many ways, even down to the very food we eat. Food is essential for survival and our complex food system, and all that depends on it, faces a big threat with climate change. We will explore the links between the food system and our changing climate with an emphasis on systems thinking. In science we tend to segregate, looking at just one part of a system, while systems thinking looks at the whole picture.

Is there such a thing as a ?male brain? or ?female brain?? Does the sex we?re assigned at birth determine the inner workings of our brains? How does society influence the relationships of sex and gender with the brain? This course will discuss the ways that human brains do NOT fit into a clear binary, and explore how binary expectations can cause harm. Join me to learn how to think like a socially-conscious scientist and think beyond the binary.

Is there such a thing as a ?male brain? or ?female brain?? Does the sex we?re assigned at birth determine the inner workings of our brains? How does society influence the relationships of sex and gender with the brain? This course will discuss the ways that human brains do NOT fit into a clear binary, and explore how binary expectations can cause harm. Join me to learn how to think like a socially-conscious scientist and think beyond the binary.

Let?s talk about the birds and the bees - specifically: why do they form flocks and swarms? This course is a world tour of the various groups and gatherings found in nature, from the well-known (colonies of ants) to the more obscure (pandemoniums of parrots). But why are some animals social, while others aren?t? What are the costs and benefits of joining a group? And what does this mean for humans, one of the most ubiquitous social species on Earth? There is power in numbers, but getting along isn?t as simple as it seems.

Let?s talk about the birds and the bees - specifically: why do they form flocks and swarms? This course is a world tour of the various groups and gatherings found in nature, from the well-known (colonies of ants) to the more obscure (pandemoniums of parrots). But why are some animals social, while others aren?t? What are the costs and benefits of joining a group? And what does this mean for humans, one of the most ubiquitous social species on Earth? There is power in numbers, but getting along isn?t as simple as it seems.

Dams are everywhere. Did you know that our local Connecticut River Watershed has over 1,000 dams? The largest of these dams have powered everything from paper mills to supercomputers, and are celebrated as being a renewable resource. Dams may even appear to be part of the natural landscape. But what is nature? Are our rivers truly renewable? And what do the histories of hydropower teach us about the direction of energy development today? In this course, we will explore the uses of large-scale dams, their environmental impacts, and the role they may play in powering our renewable energy future.

Has your social life been upended with your transition to college? Is building a new social life overwhelming? You are not alone. There are a lot of different social organization types in the animal kingdom. For example, some species have social structures that change with the seasons. By exploring different nuances of social paradigms we can make sense of our own social situations. Throughout this course, we will look at ways social interactions can impact the body, outside influences that might disrupt social structures, and how we can embrace the ebb and flow of relationships.

Has your social life been upended with your transition to college? Is building a new social life overwhelming? You are not alone. There are a lot of different social organization types in the animal kingdom. For example, some species have social structures that change with the seasons. By exploring different nuances of social paradigms we can make sense of our own social situations. Throughout this course, we will look at ways social interactions can impact the body, outside influences that might disrupt social structures, and how we can embrace the ebb and flow of relationships.

Come take a look at past, and more frighteningly, PRESENT institutional rules, regulations, policies and corporate decisions that deliberately target communities of color, resulting in communities being disproportionately exposed to pollution, toxins, and hazardous environmental consequences based upon race. We will reflect and study past and current events while also incorporating intersectional approaches to environmentalism. Most importantly, we are going to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! This course will be interactive, non-lecture based, and action driven.