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Courses
| ES 200 | Introduction to Environmental Studies |
| ES 240 | Ecological Processes |
| ES 270 | Introductory Field Study |
| ES 301 | Political Ecology |
| ES 312 X ECON 381 | Environmental Economics |
| ES 314 X PHIL 333 | Philosophy and the Environment |
| ES 320 X BIOL 370 | Conservation Biology |
| ES 321 | Ethnoecology |
| ES 341 X ER 311 | Ecological Restoration |
| ES 344 X BIOL 330 | Ecological Methods |
| ES 348 X ER 313 | Biodiversity and Conservation Biology |
| ES 370 | Intermediate Field Study |
| ES 380 | Environmental Topics: Topics in Political Ecology |
| ES 381 | Environmental Topics: Topics in Ethnoecology |
| ES 382 | Environmental Topics: Topics in Ecological Restoration |
| ES 384 | Systems Theory: An Introduction to Natural and Social Systems |
| ES 402 | Global Issues in Sustainability |
| ES 403 X LAW 384 | Field Course in Environmental Las and Sustainability. |
| ES 404 | Discourses of Environmentalism |
| ES 405 | Climate, Energy and Politics |
| ES 415 | Integral Systems Theory: Philosophy and Practice |
| ES 417 | Women and Environments |
| ES 418 | Environmental Law: Policy and Legislation |
| ES 419 X LAW 328 | Green Legal Theory |
| ES 421 | Ethnobotany: Plants and Human Cultures |
| ES 423 X ER 326 | Traditional Systems of Land and Resource Management |
| ES 425 X BIOL 449 | Flowering Plant Diversity |
| ES 427 | Colonization, Nature, and the Making of British Columbia |
| ES 428 | Ethnographic Methods in Environmental Research |
| ES 430 X ANTH 401 | Cultural Ecology |
| ES 441 X ER 411 | Advanced Principles and Concepts in Ecological Restoration |
| ES 443 | Clumate Change and Biodiversity |
| ES 446 | Sustainable Fisheries |
| ES 461 X GEOG 301 | Environmental Impact Assessment |
| ES 462 | Environmental Protection |
| ES 470 | Advanced Field Study |
| ES 480 | Advanced Environmental Topics in Political Ecology |
| ES 481 | Advanced Environmental Topics in Ethnoecology |
| ES 482 | Advanced Environmental Topics in Ecological Restoration |
| ES 490 | Directed Studies |
ES 200 Introduction to Environmental Studies
Introduction to the symptoms and sources of environmental problems and approaches to resolving them. Students will apply their understanding through a distinctive interdisciplinary exploration of three main themes: ecological restoration (the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed), political ecology (the theory and practice behind sustainability) and ethnoecology (the study of the relationship between people and their habitats).
Prerequisites: none. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 240 Ecological Processes
An introduction to the discipline of ecology with a focus on understanding biotic processes as they relate to contemporary environmental challenges. Laboratories emphasize methodologies for the generation, analysis and application of data.
Prerequisites: none. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 270 Introductory Field Study
Permission of department required for registration in this section.
A field-based introduction to environmental problems and solutions, such as assessing stream function and proposing enhancements to improve water quality and riparian areas. Typically offered in a compressed format. Additional fees may be necessary to support field expenses.
Prerequisites: 240 or BIOL 215, 200, or 300A. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 301 Political Ecology
This course introduces the various socio-political and philosophical issues associated with the concept of a sustainable society. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of the complex relationships between social and biophysical systems. In turn, this course will examine how communities and environments are being impacted by the globalization of economies and cultures, technologies and ideologies, as well as responses from a variety of local, non-governmental and international agencies.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 312 Environmental Economics
An introduction to the economic analysis of environmental problems. In particular, an examination of policy interventions in cases where market activities result in socially undesirable impacts on the environment. Topics typically include: externalities; pollution control policy; climate change; public goods; time, uncertainty and the environment; and trade and the environment.
Prerequisites: ECON 103 or ECON 201, and ECON 225. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 314 Philosophy and the Environment
A philosophical investigation of the moral and conceptual dimensions of environmental problems. Different philosophies of the relation between humans and nature will be compared. Some of the topics to be examined are: human wants and human satisfactions; nature and spiritual values; community; human obligations to other animals; defining quality of life.
Prerequisites: Third or fourth-year standing, or permission of the instructor. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 320 Conservation Biology
Diversity of organisms, functioning of ecosystems, and the impact of human activities on these. Topics include the nature of biological diversity; extinction and its causes; habitat alteration and fragmentation; effects of exotic species; economic and ethical considerations; practical applications and analytical tools; and legal frameworks for conserving species and habitats.
Prerequisites: Completion of Biology core including STAT corequisites, or for students other than Biology majors BIOL 190A (or 210), 215, 230 and STAT 255 or 260. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 321 Ethnoecology
Environmental knowledge systems of indigenous and other local peoples are increasingly recognized as having relevance in understanding and documenting biological diversity and conservation and in undertaking ecological restoration. The different aspects of local and traditional ecological knowledge and their relationships to western academic knowledge are reviewed and the issues and requirements for applying local knowledge in environmental sustainability are explored.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 341 Ecological Restoration
This course examines how effective restoration depends on both ecological and cultural awareness, including the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of ecosystems from local to global scales; the impacts of human-induced change; the philosophical and ethical context for good restoration; the need for and significance of community involvement; the legal and policy frameworks that direct and influence restoration activities; and the importance of understanding essential ecosystem characteristics in restoration.
Prerequisites: 240 or BIOL 215, 200, or 300A. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
Previous Class Assignments (to be used as reference material only):
Students in ES 341 work in small groups on restoration design projects focused on UVic and beyond. The final reports are available below.
- Alumni Garry Oak Meadow Fall 2009
- Bowker Creek Fall 2008
- Bowker Creek Fall 2009
- Child Care Centre Spring 2008 A
- Child Care Centre Spring 2008 B
- Elliot Garden Signs Fall 2008
- Elliott Native Plant Garden Project Spring 2009
- Family Housing Centre Spring 2009 A
- Family Housing Center Spring 2009 B
- Finnerty Garden Fall 2008
- Finnerty Garden Spring 2009
- Forest Behind Fraser Building Fall 2009
- Haro Woods Spring 2009
- Lekwungen Housepost Garden Fall 2008
- Library Restoration Fall 2009
- Lorene Kennedy Garden Fall 2009
- Mystic Vale Spring 2009
- Mystic Vale Fall 2009
- Reynolds Secondary School Budget Spring 2009
- Reynolds Secondary School Spring 2009
- South Woods Fall 2009
ES 344 Ecological Methods
An introduction to experimental and statistical ecology, including principles of experimental design and sampling methods and data analysis.
Prerequisites: STAT 255 or 260. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 348 Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
Study of biological organisms and ecosystems with particular reference to mechanisms of change and human impacts on the environment. Will focus on: biodiversity (definition, assessment methods, loss, and evaluation); population biology (concepts and research methods); habitat loss; species extinction; exotic species and their impacts; and possibilities for human intervention in alleviating trends in species loss and ecosystem degradation.
Prerequisites: BIOL 190A and 190B or equivalent, ES 200 or 300A. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 380 Environmental Topics: Topics in Political Ecology
An in-depth systematic examination of specific environmental areas through seminars and projects; the development of appropriate responses to questions and problems within the selected areas; modes of interaction and communication with professional and community groups; application of theory to practice; qualitative vs. quantitative research methods. This course will be conducted as a seminar and may include a field trip for which a fee will be charged.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 381 Environmental Topics: Topics in Ethnoecology
An in-depth systematic examination of specific environmental areas through seminars and projects; the development of appropriate responses to questions and problems within the selected areas; modes of interaction and communication with professional and community groups; application of theory to practice; qualitative vs. quantitative research methods. This course will be conducted as a seminar and may include a field trip for which a fee will be charged.
Note: Credit will be granted for only one of 381, 300B unless approved by the Director. May be taken more than once for credit in different topics to a maximum of 3 units.
Formerly: 300B
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 382 Environmental Topics: Topics in Ecological Restoration
An in-depth systematic examination of specific environmental areas through seminars and projects; the development of appropriate responses to questions and problems within the selected areas; modes of interaction and communication with professional and community groups; application of theory to practice; qualitative vs. quantitative research methods. This course will be conducted as a seminar and may include a field trip for which a fee will be charged.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 384 Systems Theory: An Introduction to Natural and Social Systems
TEnables each participant to grasp the fundamental principles of systems theory, and provides a foundation for further exploration and application of systems concepts. Examines concepts such as cybernetics, holism, boundaries, negative and positive feedback, self-organization, and transformation. Students will learn to apply these principles to both natural and social systems.
Note: Credit will be granted for only one of 384, 414, 400D (if 400D taken prior to 1989-90).
Formerly: 414
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and one of 301, 321 or 341. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 402 Global Issues in Sustainability
Concepts of sustainability, development and security and their global dimensions; global environmental threats and their sociopolitical implications. Sustainability and development strategies in a north-south context; the role of international agencies in development; global issues of population, energy and resources; international regimes for environmental conservation; war and environment.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and 301. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 403 Field Course in Environmental Law and Sustainability
Analyzes the structure of law, policy, and sustainability in a particular geographic region. Review of overlapping jurisdictional and governance systems that shape a region.
Note: Credit will be granted for only one of 403, LAW 384, LAW 343 if taken in the same topic.
ES 404 Discourses of Environmentalism
A seminar examining classic works and persistent themes in North American environmental thought. A study of primary source material and texts by writers such as Thoreau, Austin, Muir, Pinchot, Leopold, Carson, Ellul, Schumacher, Berry, and Shiva.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and 301. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 405 Climate, Energy and Politics
Focuses on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to evaluate how we might reshape energy systems to address the dual challenges of climate change and sustainability.
Note: Credit will be granted for only one of 405, 480 (if 480 taken Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Fall 2008.
Prerequisites: 200, 301. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 415 Integral Systems Theory: Philosophy and Practice
The history and philosophy of integral systems theory and its application at the individual and community level. Recent trends in light of panarchy theory and integral ecology.
Prerequisites: 200, 301; 384 or 414. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 417 Women and Environments
An exploration of the developing interactions between feminism and environmentalism. Topics to be covered include the construction of relationships between women and nature, ecofeminism, women and sustainable development, and women's historical and contemporary environmental activism.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and 301. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 418 Environmental Law: Policy and Legislation
Examination of legal procedures including traditional common law remedies and promising new legislative innovations, consideration of the expression of public values and environmental policies, and government decision making processes.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and 301. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 419 Green Legal Theory
A seminar that addresses a theoretical basis for environmental law and policy; individual research, presentation and contribution to a collected work on the theme is required. Open to upper year students in the Faculty of Law and students with at least fourth-year standing in the Environmental Studies Program.
Prerequisites: For ES students: 200 or 300A, and 301. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 421 Ethnobotany: Plants and Human Cultures
An introduction to the study of the relationship between plants and human cultures, with a focus on the indigenous peoples and environments of northwestern North America. Use of plants as foods, materials and medicines, plant nomenclature and folk classification, and the role of plants in religion and mythology are topics covered. There will be one or more field trips.
Prerequisites: 300A or 200 and 321. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 423 Traditional Systems of Land and Resource Management
The role of traditional ecological knowledge in the understanding and documentation of the biodiversity of natural systems and their restoration. Examination of how restoration strategies can benefit from the close relationship of Indigenous Peoples to their local environments, and from their knowledge of plants and animals, their habitats and ecological interrelationships, as well as from traditional land and resource management strategies.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and 321. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 425 Flowering Plant Diversity
A survey of flowering plants, including morphological diversity and adaptations; plant evolution and species concepts; modern classification; nomenclature; identification and keys; and experimental approaces to the study of plant diversity. Lab projects include at least 1 collection of 10 properly prepared and identified plants, preferably made during the previous summer. Contact instructor for details and collecting equipment.
Notes: Credit will be granted for only one of 425, BIOL 449, 318.
BIOL 324 recommended.
Prerequisites: BIOL 190A, 190B, third-or fourth-year standing. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 427 Colonization, Nature, and the Making of British Columbia
Introduces students to the essential concepts and methods used by historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, geographers and others to analyze environmental change from prehistoric to modern times. Explores how cultural encounters between Euro-American and the Indigenous peoples of British Columbia played out on the physical landscape, focusing on the processes of dispossession and repossession that led to the creation of the space that became British Columbia.
Note: Credit will be granted for only one of 427, 481 (if 481 taken in Spring 2005, Spring 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2009, Fall 2010.
Prerequisites: 200, 321. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 428 Ethnographic Methods in Environmental Research
Methods of ethnography (research design, observation, interviewing, textual recording and data retrieval) designed to provide students from a range of disciplines with the skills necessary to study the layers of socially-held knowledge which infuse all fields of environmental endeavour. Ethnographic exercises in the community are a course requirement.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and one of 301 or 321. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 430 Cultural Ecology
Theories concerning the relationship of human groups, culture and environment; cultural systems as the means by which human populations adapt to their environments.
Prerequisites: For ES students: 200 or 300A, and one of 301 or 321. For ANTH students: a minimum grade of B- in ANTH 200. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 441 Advanced Principles and Concepts in Ecological Restoration
An advanced investigation into the meaning, limits, and significance of ecological restoration, including: how restoration is defined and why clear definitions are important; the role of historical knowledge in restoration; the changing character of restoration in a technological culture; ethical issues in restoration practice; participation and political process; cultural inclusion and the significance of restoration as a cultural mode; the international scope of restoration; and the paradox of design.
Prerequisites: 341, ER 311; or permission of the School. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 443 Climate Change and Biodiversity
Discusses the physical science behind climate change, and examines the challenges a changing climate poses for ecology and conservation biology research and management, including ecological restoration. Attention will be given to reading scientific papers that describe the mechanisms of global climate change, future climate scenarios, and effects on populations and communities of species in Canada and around the globe.
Note: Credit will be granted for only one of 443, 482 (if 482 taken in Spring 2010).
Prerequisites: 200, 240, 341. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 446 Sustainable Fisheries
A practical examination of sustainable fisheries from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Examines sustainability issues for fisheries and aquaculture through an integrated study of fish biology/ecology, oceanography, hydrology, environmental impact assessment, natural resource management and environment and land use planning.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and one of 321 or 341. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 461 Environmental Impact Assessment
An introduction to the objectives, philosophy, concepts, methods and social implications of environmental impact assessment (E.I.A.). A critical examination of E.I.A. as an analytical tool in the context of resource management and public policy is undertaken.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and one of 301, 321 or 341. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 462 Environmental Protection
The theory and practice of minimizing human impacts on the environment from an ecosystem-based perspective. An introduction to environmental information systems, risk assessment and risk management. Responses by government and civil society. Application of the precautionary principle, voluntary Environmental Management Systems, pollution prevention and life cycle analysis.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and 341. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 470 Advanced Field Study
Advanced field-based study of environmental problems and solutions. Intended to be a more self-directed course where the student identifies a problem and designs the process to implement solutions. Typically offered in a compressed format. Additional fees may be necessary to support field expenses.
Note: May be repeated once for credit.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and one of 301, 321 or 341. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 480 Advanced Environmental Topics in Political Ecology
A focused, in-depth systematic examination of specific environmental areas through seminars and projects; the development of appropriate responses to questions and problems within the selected areas; modes of interaction and communication with professional and community groups; application of theory to practice; and qualitative vs. quantitative research methods. These courses will be conducted as seminars and may include a field trip for which a fee will be charged.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, and 301. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 481 Advanced Environmental Topics in Ethnoecology
A focused, in-depth systematic examination of specific environmental areas through seminars and projects; the development of appropriate responses to questions and problems within the selected areas; modes of interaction and communication with professional and community groups; application of theory to practice; and qualitative vs. quantitative research methods. These courses will be conducted as seminars and may include a field trip for which a fee will be charged.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A and 321. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 482 Advanced Environmental Topics in Ecological Restoration
A focused, in-depth systematic examination of specific environmental areas through seminars and projects; the development of appropriate responses to questions and problems within the selected areas; modes of interaction and communication with professional and community groups; application of theory to practice; qualitative vs. quantitative research methods. These courses will be conducted as seminars and may include a field trip for which a fee will be charged.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A and 341. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
ES 490 Directed Studies
Individual studies on approved environmental topics undertaken by students in consultation with faculty members. Projects will be supervised by one or more faculty members designated by the Director.
Note: Restricted to students taking a major or minor in Environmental Studies. May be taken more than once for credit to a maximum of 3 credits.
Prerequisites: 200 or 300A, fourth-year standing with a sessional grade point average of 6.5, and permission of the Director. For more information please see the UVIC calendar.
Upcoming ENVI Events
- View all events on the UVic School of Environmental Studies calendar