Explorations in the Urban Outback WNY308

Instructor: Margaret Mittelbach

Authors Michael Crewdson and Margaret Mittelbach will lead students in field research in the city's natural and unnatural history. Fieldwork will include visits to a decommissioned airport, an urban wildlife refuge, the American Museum of Natural History, Freshkills Landfill, Central Park, and other wild places. Special attention will be given to Frederick Law Olmstead’s creation of “natural” landscapes in Prospect Park and Central Park. The class will also have discussions with museum curators, pigeon racers, the Jamaica Bay keeper, geologists, biologists, invasive species hunters, artists, and more. Assignments will include field journals and a research-based project.