Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Thank you for your interest in ESR 204: Introduction to Environmental Restoration!

My name is Dr. Val Brenneis and I will be your instructor for this lab and field-based science class.  The class format is designed to reduce your commute time and carbon footprint (1 day a week on campus), while providing sufficient time for hands-on labs, group field work, field trips, and interactive class activities.

This course will meet remotely on Mondays from 10:30 - 11:50 am via a live, interactive Zoom 'lecture' session. Attendance is expected.

We will also meet in-person on Wednesdays from 9 - 11:50 am for lab, and 12:30 - 1:50 pm for our second 'lecture' session, which may include discussions, tutorials, and exams. The class usually meets at the Rock Creek campus and attendance is required.

In order to learn about different stages and types of environmental restoration, we will have several labs that take place outdoors on the Rock Creek campus, as well as off-campus field trips to restoration sites. This will include a native plant nursery west of Forest Grove, the Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge in Washougal, WA, Columbia Slough in NE Portland, and a prairie restoration site in Jefferson, Oregon. Students will coordinate their own transportation to these locations.

Feel free to email if you have questions! valance.brenneis@pcc.edu

Access to a computer with an internet connection and Zoom is required.

We will be using the Google suite (Docs, Slides, Sheets) that is available to all students through their PCC email account.

We will be using the Microsoft Office suite for many assignments (Word, Excel, Powerpoint). PCC students can access the software for free here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/education/products/office

In addition, we will be using web-based software for data collection, analysis, and communication (DataClassroom, iNaturalist, ArcGIS online) which will all be demonstrated in class and made available to students at no cost.