The Redfish School of Change is a fusion of academic and experiential learning. An intensive and demanding program, in 2016 it will cover course material in three environmental studies courses.
Canadian students will receive credits for three courses at the University of Victoria:
ES 380: Ethnoecology of the Salish Sea (1.5 credits)
ES 381: Community-Based Education for Sustainability (1.5 credits)
ES 370: Leadership Skills for Community Action (1.5 credits)
U.S. students will receive credits for three courses at Western Washington University:
ENVS 491: Environmental Communication (5 credits)
ENVS 498C: Leadership Skills for Community Action
Senior Project (3 credits)
ENVS 498D: Ethnoecology of the Salish Sea
International Experience (4 credits)
US Students: Beginning the first week of December, please visit this page for more information.
As a participant in the program, you experience wilderness expeditions, simulation
activities, leadership initiatives, guest speakers, field research, participatory decision-making, workshops, tours of
local initiatives, group discussions and team projects. Assignments are due before, during and after the six-week semester. Required readings will be made available 3 to 4 weeks before the field school begins. Be prepared to complete assignments in the 2 to 3 weeks following the field school.
Sample activities:
- Facilitating an environmental education program for youth
- Conducting interviews with community members
- Paddling throughout the Southern Gulf Islands
- Exploring social change through "Metaphors in Music"
- Group Facilitation and Decision Making
- Conducting ecological restoration for a local creek
- Thinking Strategically
Examples of assignments:
- Interview community members for use in your storymapping project
- Facilitate a group check-in
- Keep a personal learning and nature journal
- Prepare and plan your Community Action Project
Learning objectives
Students will be able to demonstrate
- an understanding of the complexity, scale and interdependence of ecological, social and economic systems.
- the capacity to develop effective strategies for a broad range of social and environmental challenges.
- an appreciation for plurality in ways of knowing and among scientific and cultural perspectives toward creating social change
- an appreciation for and reflection on the ways to maintain balance and sustain a life dedicated to creating change
- the capacity and confidence to employ leadership skills for effective community action
- the ability to participate collaboratively in finding solutions for social and environmental challenges.
- an appreciation of the relevance of place — and the features that distinguish regional and local contexts and thus approaches to social and environmental change.
The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create.