Natural history of Taiwan, Intro to Outdoor Ed, and more at Merritt College!

Take a dive into some wonderful natural history courses! Merritt College has new classes open, and they need people to sign up! The wonderful instructors at Merritt have been teaching folks about the environment, sustainability, and organisms for decades. They're a dedicated bunch, and a number of us CCNH naturalists have been involved in their courses as students, teachers, and advocates.

If you're interested in any of the following fantastic programs, please sign up now! If classes don't have enough enrollment by this Thursday, 01/16/2017, they will start getting cancelled.

Natural History of Taiwan (BIOLOGY 65A (code 24240))

Ron Felzer is offering one of his bodacious field courses as part of the Natural History Certificate program at Merritt. Go to Taiwan with an expert naturalist and be amazed! This course will introduce the natural wonders of this little known gem of an Island, originally known as Ihla Formosa, the “Beautiful Island,” in Portuguese. From sea level, to over 13,000 feet in elevation atop Yushan (Mount Jade), Taiwan sits astride the Tropic of Cancer, and includes life zones from tropical monsoon forest to the arctic-alpine. This course is required preparation for the planned field session in Taiwan in May and June, 2017.

Introduction to Outdoor Education / Ranger Naturalist (ENVMT 8, code 24271)

This class is being taught the very awesome Clay Anderson! There will be a variety of speakers on the environment, and loads of fieldtrips. You'll learn about sharpening your ability to communicate about nature to others, developing a better understanding of natural history and science of the SF bay area or gaining a better understanding of the many issues we face in nature conservation today.

Wildlife and Watershed Restoration Gardening (ENVMT 41, code 24272)

Planning and implementing a garden or restoration landscape with native plants to create a refuge habitat for wildlife, and protect water quality in creeks and the San Francisco Bay: Ecology of local plant and animal communities; hands-on activities in project planning and design, plant propagation, site preparation and maintenance.

Ecology, Culture and Stewardship of California Landscapes (ENVMT 42, code 24273) 

Introduction to ecological restoration and the relationships of people to local ecology, including land use history, native biota, and native landscapes: Field-class exploration of ancient and emerging stewardship knowledge from ethnobotany and art to horticulture and restoration ecology.