Course Syllabus

An introduction to ecological restoration of damaged ecosystems.  Examines the philosophical base of restoration as well as the social, biological and political forces that impact the success of any restoration project.  Includes lectures, readings, case studies and field trips.

This course is cross-listed as:
             ESRM 362 - For undergraduate students majoring in ESRM; 5 credits
             ENVIR 362 - For undergraduate students; 5 credits
             SEFS 530A - For graduate students; 5 credits
             SEFS 530B - For graduate students; 3 credits
Everyone except graduate students in SEFS 530B is required to participate in the labs.

Instructors

	Dr. Jon Bakker (Professor)	Tori Fox (TA)
Office:	Room 036, Merrill Hall
Phone:	206-221-3864
Email:	esrm362@uw.edu	ireta@uw.edu
Office Hours:	M 11:30-1:00, and by appointment	WF 11:30-12:30, and by appointment

Course Goals

The goals of this course are to:

1) Explore the rationale and methodology of restoration ecology (On the lecture schedule, these lectures focus on: Why?  To What?  How?).

2) Appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of restoration ecology (these lectures begin with IN).

3) Understand the ecological principles that form the foundation of restoration ecology (these lectures begin with RE).

4) Introduce you to primary literature (books, scholarly articles) about restoration ecology, and restoration practitioners.

5) Inspire you to participate in restoration ecology.

Course Structure

This course involves a combination of lectures and labs.  Lectures are held Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:30 to 11:20 am in CDH 139.  Labs are held Mondays from 1:30 to 4:20 pm in DRC 103 or (more usually) in the field.

Webpage

Please note that this webpage applies to all sections of this course.  The updated lecture and lab schedules are maintained here.

Course Text

Leopold, A. 1949. A Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press, New York, NY.  Multiple editions are available as this book has been published by several companies, and are appropriate.  It is available at the UW Bookstore and in most libraries and bookstores.

Various articles and chapters, as listed on the lecture and lab schedules.

Lectures will complement but build upon the readings.  Similarly, the PowerPoint lectures do not capture the discussions that occur in class.  Therefore, it is difficult to do well in this course without participating in class.

Grading / Assessment

The grading and assessment tools for this course vary between undergraduate and graduate sections and between the two graduate sections.  Details for each assessment tool are provided below.  The breakdown for each section is shown in the following table:

Assessment Tool	ESRM 362	ENVIR 362	SEFS 530A	SEFS 530B
Reading responses	10%	10%	8%	11%
Mid-term exam	20%	20%	17%	22%
Final exam	40%	40%	33%	44%
Paper / presentation	-	-	17%	23%
Lab	30%	30%	25%	-
Total	100%	100%	100%	100%

Assignment are due at the dates and times posted, and must be submitted via the course Canvas webpage.  Late assignments will be penalized 10% per day unless you have made prior arrangements with the instructors.

Extra credit opportunities will be available throughout the quarter.

Your final grade will be assigned based on the UW standard grading system, using the grading scale shown here in Canvas.

Reading responses:  Two responses to readings from The Sand County Almanac will be required.  Instructions and the grading rubric will be posted soon.  Information about writing help centers is available here.

Mid-term and final exams:  An in-class mid-term exam will provide opportunity for critical thinking and application of the ideas discussed to labs and other scenarios.  The final exam will be cumulative and in class.  Exams will be based on information presented in readings, lectures, and labs (students in SEFS 530B will not have to answer questions based on lab material).

Paper / Presentation (SEFS 530 only):  Grad students will be required to write a 10-15 page paper or (new this year!) give a presentation on a restoration-related topic.  Please see this page for more information.

Lab (all students except those in SEFS 530B):  Lab-based evaluations comprise 25-30% of your grade, depending on whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student.  Note that lab responses are due on the Monday following the lab so that we can grade and return them in a timely fashion.  The grading rubric for responses will be available from the assignment.  Lab grades will be based on written responses to questions that stimulate comparisons among sites, with lecture material, etc.  Your lowest lab response score will be dropped from the calculation of your overall lab grade.

All labs occur during the scheduled time from 1:30-4:20 pm and will proceed rain or shine (just like restoration field work!).  Dress appropriately for the weather.  Please be prepared to take notes in the field.  You may want to use sketches, photographs, and other media to enable you to recollect sites afterwards.

Many of the labs will be field trips at local sites.  You are responsible for getting to these sites on your own.  The transit system is a preferred mode of transportation; trips can be arranged using the King County Metro TripPlanner.  You can also carpool, bike, or walk to these sites.

Course Policies

Academic Integrity—At the University level, you must do your own scholarly work.  Presenting anyone else’s scholarly work (which can include written material, exam answers, graphics or other images, and even ideas) as your own, without proper attribution, is considered academic misconduct.

Plagiarism, cheating, and other misconduct are serious violations of the University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478‐120). We expect that you will know and follow the university’s policies on cheating and plagiarism. Any suspected cases of academic misconduct will be handled according to University of Washington regulations. For more information, see the College of the Environment Academic Misconduct Policy and the University of Washington Community Standards and Student Conduct website.

Access and Accommodations—Your experience in this class is important to us. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to us at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.  Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS.  It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Online Privacy—The UW online privacy statement is available here.

Website Usage—The UW website terms and conditions of usage statement is available here.