Ithaca College

This winter break, give yourself the experience of a lifetime.  Take the course that everybody is talking about: Environmental Sentinels.

What is an Environmental Sentinel?  Just imagine that you took a trip to an exotic, far-off place, you would expect to be amazed by all the new sights, sounds, smells and tastes.  You wouldn’t be surprised with your lack of familiarity with what you saw because you are a tourist.

But if you go into your backyard, can you identify that tree over there?  Is that plant dangerous?  What is that creepy thing running across your shoe?  What is that sound coming from up in that tree?  Is this bark good for anything?  Is it strange that there are no frogs in this wetland? Today, most of us are tourists, not only when we leave home, but all the time. 

In this intensive immersion experience, you will learn to use primitive technology skills (friction fires, natural rope, medicinal plants, mammal tracking, bird language, etc.) to start to learn how to observe the natural world.  Next you will start to be able to identify what is out there.  This will be followed by understanding why this particular group of
organisms is living and interacting in this place.  This will lead to the ability to predict what should be out there and what shouldn’t.  We will blend the skills and approaches of deep wilderness awareness, an ability to “read” land use (and abuse) history from natural clues, and modern ecological science and natural resource management. 

We will spend time outdoors, not using nature as a way to test ourselves, as a simple pretty picture, or something to just be talked about. Rather, we will learn to truly experience the world around us with all our senses, and gain an appreciation of the plants, mammals, birds, ecological indicators, and natural hazards in our area. 

Register now through HomerConnect. Non IC students, register using the ExtraMural form here: https://www.ithaca.edu/gps/winter_session/.