Note: This program option is not currently accepting new students. For further information contact the Environmental Studies Department, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225-9086, 360-650-3284.
Huxley College of the Environment
Graduate Faculty
Abel, Troy D., PhD, environmental policy, conservation politics, civic environmentalism, policy analysis, globalization and environment.
Bach, Andrew J., PhD, physical geography, geomorphology, soil development, landscape change.
Berardi, Gigi, PhD, resources management, agroecology, international community development, food security, all-hazards planning.
Bingham, Brian L., PhD, invertebrate biology, marine ecology, experimental design.
Bodensteiner, Leo R., PhD, fish ecology.
Buckley, Patrick H., PhD, economic and development geography, quantitative methods, GIS, environmental issues in Japan and China, quality of life, trans-border environmental issues.
Bunn, Andrew G., PhD, climate change, paleoecology, energy, ecological models.
Bunn, Rebecca, PhD, belowground ecology, toxicology, restoration, energy, the application of statistics.
Flower, Aquila, PhD, environmental change from a geographic perspective using a suite of methodological approaches drawn from the fields of dendrochronology, ecology, statistics, and geospatial analysis.
Hayes, Nini, Ed.S, Ed.D, outdoor education and interpretation, elementary education K-8, social justice education, teacher education and school improvement.
Helfield, James M., PhD, ecology of rivers and riparian forests, terrestrialaquatic ecosystem linkages, watershed management and restoration.
Hollenhorst, Steven, PhD, social dimensions of natural resources, wilderness and protected area policy.
Homann, Peter S., PhD, biogeochemistry, soil sciences, forest ecology.
Landis, Wayne G., PhD, environmental toxicology, population biology, risk assessment.
Love, Brooke, PhD, geochemistry, ocean acidification, hydrothermal systems, chemistry of volatiles in the marine environment.
Matthews, Robin A., PhD, freshwater ecology, aquatic toxicology, statistical ecology.
McLaughlin, John F., PhD, terrestrial ecology, population biology, conservation biology.
Medler, Michael J., PhD, biogeography, GIS, remote sensing, forest fire and wilderness management.
Melious, Jean O., JD, environmental and land use law and policy, international environmental policy.
Myers, O. Eugene, PhD, environmental education, conservation psychology, human ecology, environmental history and ethics.
Paci-Green, Rebekah, PhD, human ecology, the Disaster Risk Reduction minor, and advises The Planet publication.
Rossiter, David A., PhD, Canada, cultural-historical geographies, political ecologies.
Rybczyk, John M., PhD, wetland ecology and management, ecosystem modeling, global climate change.
Shull, David H., PhD, structure and function of marine benthic communities, pollution and marine ecosystems.
Sofield, Ruth M., PhD, aquatic toxicology, biochemical and genetic toxicology, environmental chemistry.
Stanger, Nicholas R., PhD, environmental education and exploration of the emotional, ecological, educational, indigenous, and complexity systems.
Stangl, Paul A., PhD, pedestrian planning, new urbanism, urban landscapes, memory and meaning; Europe and Berlin.
Wallin, David O., PhD, terrestrial ecology, forest ecosystems.
Wang, Grace A., PhD, natural resource policy, cultural resources management, community-based forestry.
Zaferatos, Nicholas C., PhD, community and environmental planning, sustainable development, European environmental policy, Native American political development.
Program Advisor: Dr. O. Eugene Myers
Goals
This Residency program prepares environmental educators to play instructional and managerial roles in not-for-profit organizations rather than the formal classroom.
The philosophy of environmental education at Huxley College is that it is to be broad and inclusive. The goal of environmental education, in the words of the 1976 Belgrade Charter that saw the international spread of the profession, is “to develop a world population that is aware of, and concerned about, the environment and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones.” Today environmental education takes has diversified greatly, occurring in formal classrooms, school grounds, nature centers, outdoor and environmental education programs, government agency programs, mass- and social-media venues, and community-based programs in businesses, faith communities, international conservation, or environmental-social justice movements. Environmental education programming may include science, history and cultural or social studies, the arts or many other disciplines. The process may involve inquiry, social learning, or many other varieties of structured or emergent curriculum approaches. Environmental education focused on both the intrinsic development of the learner in his or her culture as it is about the human relationship to nature.
The Residency track involves a close collaboration between Huxley College and the North Cascades Institute (NCI). NCI awards a Certificate in Leadership and Nonprofit Administration for completion of the residency. Northwest Naturalist Certification is also offered. Students in this track produce a portfolio of projects stemming from coursework and the residency, including curriculum design, natural history, nonprofit organization, evaluation, and professional presentation; in addition they must pass a comprehensive exam. This program does not provide teacher certification. If desired, that must be pursued separately. All graduate students are expected to develop and implement creative projects that will aid their own practice, with the guidance and advice of the program advisor and other teachers.
Prerequisites
All applicants should have experience in the field of environmental education and a basic background in natural history. Each applicant’s background will be examined to determine if additional preparation is needed.
Application Information
Admit Quarter: This track admits students only in the summer.
Deadline: For priority consideration, applications should be received by February 1.
Supporting Materials:
- Graduate Record Exam or Miller Analogies Test and official transcript(s) and three letters of reference; applicants with advanced degrees are not required to submit test scores.
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