ERE 311/511 Ecological Engineering in the Tropics
Instructor of Record: Dr. T. Endreny
Office Location: Baker Labs 402, 470-6565, te@esf.edu
Class meeting times: See course schedule below
Office hours: By appointment
Semester: Spring 2015
DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE: One hour of discussion per week with intensive spring break field study in a Caribbean country. Principles of ecological engineering for ecosystem restoration and pollution control. Field trips to pristine and degraded ecosystems including: humid tropical cloud forests, coastal mangrove, dry mountain forests, and coral reefs to identify target functions for nature and society, observe degradations, and develop sustainable restoration designs. Spring.
Prerequisite(s): one course in calculus, biology, and chemistry. Note: Credit will not be granted for both ERE 311 and ERE 511.
: Upon completion of this course, the student will have: a) Investigated & measured structure-function relationships in watersheds, providing b) system-based explanations for water-food-energy-hygiene insecurity;
Compared and contrasted ecological engineering and permaculture approaches c) d) used to design for water-food-energy-hygiene security;
Generated & presented designs using ecological engineering and permaculture approaches to meet water-food-energy-hygiene security for multiple watershed sites;
Discussed social, ecological, & economic themes affecting degradation & restoration and identified ways to use your education to improve the world.
Graduate students demonstrate higher mastery by synthesizing additional readings and data collection in a 5-page paper that critiques the theory and practice of ecological engineering design in the tropics. This paper is graded as part of the Final Exam.
TEXTBOOKS AND SUPPLIES: List any items the student must obtain:
Mitsch & Jorgensen. 2004. Ecological Engineering & Ecosystem Restoration, Wiley.
Material: Course Packet, Field Journal, Tropical Field Gear
GRADING: Assignments and their percent contribution to a course grade.
Class Assignments (20%): 5 pre-departure homework sets based on readings
Field Assignments (50%): 4 to 5 designs, 2 to 3 data collection exercises, in country
Exam (25%): 1 comprehensive exam on ecological engineering theory and practice
Participation (5%): discussions of ecological engineering theory and practice
The quality of your work is based on: stating the problem or goal; identifying constraints; designing and ranking alternative solutions; applying appropriate theory & methods; demonstrating technical and cultural thoughtfulness; providing supporting material; and completing the presentation with clarity.
COURSE SCHEDULE :
In weeks 1 – 5 students complete assigned readings and homework to develop their knowledge of ecological engineering and the challenges of sustainability in tropical

ERE 311 / ERE 511 Course Syllabus ecosystems. Over spring break, students visit Costa Rica to complete a set of field exercises in 3 distinct watersheds: wet cloud forest, monsoon agro-forest, and coastal mangrove forest. Students visit Rancho Mastatal to compare and contrast the use of permaculture and ecological engineering design methods for achieving water, food, energy, and hygiene security. At this site students study experiments using agroforestry, renewable fuel cook stoves, solar ovens, passive solar water heat, bio-digesting and composting toilets, sustainable construction, and community education. Students complete a community service project on this visit, and it may involve establishing seedlings at an agro-forestry nursery, improving soil stability and eradicating invasive thorny plants from the school playground, or clearing debris from forest trails to reduce trail erosion and the risk of poisonous snake bites along the trail. Student safety is fundamental to this course, and to help achieve this goal, students should review medical precautions with http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/ .
Ecological Engineering in the Tropics is designed for science and engineering students and satisfies curricular requirements in several majors. Readings and field exercises consider how the natural and built systems within a watershed can be manipulated to address social, environmental, and economic goals and constraints.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance is required.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING AND PHYSICAL DISABILITIES: SUNY-ESF works with the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at Syracuse University, who is responsible for coordinating disability-related accommodations. Students can contact ODS at 804
University Avenue- Room 309, 315-443-4498 to schedule an appointment and discuss their needs and the process for requesting accommodations. Students may also contact the ESF Office of Student Affairs, 110 Bray Hall, 315-470-6660 for assistance with the process. To learn more about ODS, visit http://disabilityservices.syr.edu
. Authorized accommodation forms must be in the instructor's possession one week prior to any anticipated accommodation. Since accommodations may require early planning and generally are not provided retroactively, please contact ODS as soon as possible.
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Academic dishonesty is a breach of trust between a student, one’s fellow students, or the instructor(s). By registering for courses at ESF you acknowledge your awareness of the ESF Code of Student Conduct
( http://www.esf.edu/students/handbook/StudentHB.05.pdf
), in particular academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to plagiarism and cheating, and other forms of academic misconduct. The Academic Integrity Handbook contains further information and guidance ( http://www.esf.edu/students/integrity/ ). Infractions of the academic integrity code may lead to academic penalties as per the ESF Grading Policy
( http://www.esf.edu/provost/policies/documents/GradingPolicy.11.12.2013.pdf
).
Dr. T.A. Endreny, P.H., P.E. 2