Environmental impact assessment: Melding classroom instruction with problem-solving experience

Abstract

Undergraduates were presented with realistic environmental situation (building a marina in a stream mouth/ wetland on the Lake Ontario shoreline). After learning about state and federal laws and procedures for environmental impact analysis, they sampled and identified terrestrial and aquatic organisms that might be affected by marina construction, operation and dredging (and researched literature about those topics) then in teams of 3-5 students wrote separate Environmental Impact Statements for the proposed project. Students gained real world experience that would help them with future employment opportunities.