Education in the Preserve

THE PRESERVE AS CLASSROOM

Since its establishment in 1978, the Preserve has become an important resource for education in various disciplines. The following list is of FIU courses in Biological Science, Environmental Studies, Visual Arts and Science Education that have utilized the Preserve in various ways. In addition to formal FIU courses, at times the Preserve has been a venue for the education of teachers, primarily in workshops organized by faculty in Environmental Studies and Science Education, in botany and plant identification and in the establishment of schoolyard nature habitats, particularly butterfly gardens. The Preserve has also been a place for courses in literature, particularly in writing about nature.
A total of 96 FIU courses use the Preserve, 76 of these are in the visual arts. From this, we arrive at the following estimates on a yearly basis:

Total number of students per year: 1750
Total number of student hours, per year: 8600

Given the standard size of a laboratory and studio section, this is equivalent to some 500 2 hr 40 min foom uses year. For laboratory instruction of 14 meetings in a 1 credit course and 20 meetings per week, this is also equivalent to the use of 12 labs/studios (400 ft2) in the two semesters of an academic year.
Clearly, lots of education goes on in the Preserve.

SUMMARY OF FIU COURSES THAT USE THE PRESERVE

BOT 1010 + L Introductory Botany (3 + 1)
Taught every spring, 140 students and six lab sections
Students learn about Everglades plant communities and learn to identify plants during two weeks, for about 2 hours each time.

BOT 3153 + L Local Flora
Taught every other year to 20 students
Plant collecting and field identification, about 10 hrs.

BOT 3353 + L Plant Morphology
Taught every other year to 20 students
Preserve is a source of teaching material for the class

BOT 4503 + L Plant Physiology (3 + 1)
Taught every other year, to 15 students
3 hrs of field measurements for laboratory.

BOT 4684 + L Taxonomy of Tropical Plants (3 + 1)
Taught every other year to 25 students
Plant collecting and field identification, approximately 26 hrs.

BOT 5925 Workshop in the biology of Southern Florida's Native Trees (1)
Taught every other year to 10 students
Study trees in the preserve for four hours

BOT 5993 Workshop: Biology of Southern Florida's native trees (1)
Taught every other year, to 15 students
Identification and biology of native and introduced tree species, about 12 hrs.

BOT 6920 Workshop in Field Techniques in Natural History of Insect/Plant Interactions (1)
Taught every other year to 10 students
Use the preserve for approximately 10 hours in the study of these interactions

BOT 6921 Workshop in Field Techniques in Pollination Biology (1)
Taught every other year to 10 students
Use the Preserve for approximately 12 hours observing pollinators and running experiments.

BSC 1011 + L General Biology (3 + 1)
Taught every spring to about 500 students
Used for exercises in cooperative learning on evaluating biodiversity, approximately 4 hrs.

BSC 5405 + L Environmental Instrumentation (3 cr)
Taught every other year to 10 students
4 hrs of field measurements in the preserve

BSC 6926 Graduate Workshop (2 cr)
Taught every other year to 12 students
Avian marking and recapturing techniques

EVR 1001 + L Introduction to Environmental Science (3 + 1 cr)
Taught twice each year, to a total of 350 students
Plant taxonomy and identification, Everglades ecology, biological pollution, exotic removal, restoration ecology, approximately 1 lab period of 2 hrs.

EVR 3011 + L Environmental Pollution (3 + 1)
Taught once each year, to about 20 students
Plant taxonomy and identification, Everglades ecology, biological pollution, exotic removal, restoration ecology, approximately 1 lab period of 2 hrs.
EVR 3013 + L Ecology of South Florida (3 + 1)
Taught twice per year, to a total of 450 students
Everglades ecology, biological pollution, plant taxonomy and ID, exotic removal, transect/quadrat sampling, etc., minimum of 2 hrs per semester.

EVR 4211 + L Water Resources (3 + 1)
Taught once per year, to 18 students
Methodology, sampling and analysis: samples collected in preserve and analyzed in the lab; used during five lab classes.

PCB 3043 + L Ecology (3 + 1)
Taught twice per year, to 150 students
Methodology and sampling analysis; introduction to south Florida ecosystem, plant collections, 6 hrs.

ZOO 4513 + L Animal Behavior (3 + 1)
Taught once every other year to 10 students
Class projects on behavior of wild animals, about 30 hrs during semester

ZOO 4472 + L Ornithology (3 + 1)
Taught once every other year to 10 students
Observing birds, playback experiments, mark and recapture, about 20 hrs during semester.

SCE 4310 Teaching Elementary Science (3)
Taught every semester to three sections of about 25 students each. Two sections per year visit the Preserve to study ecology and plant identification, 4 hrs.

VISUAL ARTS

The Art & Art History Department utilizes the FIU South Florida Ecosystem Preserve in a wide variety of courses and with diverse approaches including, but not limited to the following: the preserve habitat serves as subject for direct observation from nature, as a vehicle for exploring environmental issues within art making, as a site for performance and process, and as a means to directly engage the physicality of the natural world--an essential experience for those involved in tactile-based practices. The 76 courses below, for the BFA and MFA, all can use the Preserve for varying numbers of students in a variety of projects.

ART 1201C Basic Design (3); ART 1202C 2D Design (3); ART 1203 3D Design (3);
ART 2300C Drawing I (3); ART 23201C Drawinig II (3); ART 2400C Printmaking I (3);
ART 2401C Printmaking II (3); ART 2500C Painting I (3); ART 2702C Sculpture I (3);
ART 2752C Ceramics I (3); ART 3115C Low Temperature Ceramics (3);
ART 3402 Printmaking III (3); ART 3504C Painting II (3); ART 3521C Painting III (3);
ART 3593C Collage/Assemblage (3); ART 3702C Sculpture II (3); ART 3710C Sculpture III (3);
ART 3760C Ceramics (3); ART 3761C Ceramics II (3); ART 3782C Ceramics III (3);
ART 3809 Performance Art (3); ART 3821 Visual Thinking I (3); ART 3822 Visual Thinking II (3);
ART 3821C Materials and Techniques (3); ART 3930 Special Topics in Studio Art (3);
ART 4114C Ceramics (3); ART 4312C Drawing III (3); ART 4313C Drawing IV (3);
ART 4314C Drawing V (3); ART 4315C Drawing VI (3); ART 4320C Drawing (3);
ART 4402C Printmaking (3); ART 4403C Printmaking IV (3); ART 4404C Printmaking V (3);
ART 4405C Printmaking VI (3); ART 4505C Painting IV (3; ART 4506C Painting V (3;)
ART 4524C Painting VI (3); ART 4532C Painting (3); ART 4703C Sculpture (3);
ART 4732C Sculpture IV (3); ART 4741C Sculpture V (3); ART 4742C Sculpture VI (3);
ART 4766C Ceramics IV (3); ART 4783C Ceramics V (3); ART 4785C Ceramics VI (3);
ART 4812C Installation Art (3); ART 4906C Directed Study (var); ART 4910C Research (1-6);
ART 4952C Thesis I; ART 4953C Thesis II; ART 5390C Drawing (3); ART 5408C Printmaking (3);
ART 5580C Painting (3); ART 5685C Advanced Time Art (3); ART 5740C Sculpture (3);
ART 5790C Ceramics (3); ART 5813C Graduate Installation Art (3); ART 5907C Directed Study (var);
ART 5910C Research (1-6); ART 5930C Special Topics in Studio Art (3);
PGY 2110C Color Photography; I (3); PGY 3311C Color photography II & III (3);
PGY 2401C Photography I (3); PGY 3410C Photography II & III (3);
PGY 4112C Color Photography IV, V & VI (3); PGY 4420C Photography IV, V & VI (3);
PGY 4440C Collaboration in Photography (3); PGY 5114C Color Photography (3);
PGY 5425C Photography (3)