This is an in-depth look at ESPM 4041's curriculum as well as other questions students might have about the course, answered by Professor Gary Johnson.
What other courses do you teach besides ESPM 4041?
I teach urban greenspace management, FR 4501/5501, which as the name implies is a management class.
It focuses on the green infrastructure of a community, conservation of resources, using those resources to improve the quality of life, provide environmental and economic benefits. Similar to 4041 in some ways, but much broader in its perspective. The other class that I teach is Arboriculture, FR 3501. Arboriculture refers to the selection, production and care of trees, shrubs and vines.
What is ESPM 4041's purpose as a class in ESPM curriculum
Well it's a problem solving class, not your traditional quiz taking class. I like to say that I'm a teacher not a tester. People hear "Urban Forestry", that's the course I teach, and think, "Oh it's about trees." ESPM 4041 is not about trees or plants, it’s about people and communities and the roles that natural resources play in the quality of their lives.
It’s purpose is to give students a real world perspective and real world experience; To answer the question, "What can I do to make life a little bit better for Minnesotans via natural resources?"
Did you like the water trail project?
Oh the water trail was easy. I mean in the sense that we knew exactly what needed to be done. They came to us and said, "This is what we want." That's rare. Most of the time it's something harder to pin down, like, "How do we keep the young people from leaving our town?" or "How can we attract more young people, how can we increase tourism?"
What do you like most about teaching the class?
Working with a community. Also I don't have to give exams. You don't just have a test in-front of you and someone says "Oh you got a C- or got x number of points." The course is performance based, you and your group do the work and it has to be done perfectly.
So with real world experience would you say the class is more practical?
I don't like using the word "practical". Practical can mean a lot of things to people. Often it's "how is this going to make me money, how's is this going to affect my life and my career." If you just want a "job" there are plenty of jobs that you don't need to go to college for
you come to this class if you want to be part of something bigger, get more experience with problem solving at a community level, learn how to work and act professionally with a client.
What were some of the biggest challenges students have to overcome in the class?
The biggest challenge is working with a group. You have a lot of people working together for a common goal and that's hard. You have to get away from personal glory. You can't always be thinking about how much work you are putting forth, like, "I did 26% of this part, etc." because it's more important that the project is done and done well.
The second biggest challenge is the timeline and the deadlines. You have actual people waiting for you to get everything done and done correctly. Lot of responsibility.
And the third biggest challenge is the data collecting and working with clients. You have all of this data that you have to sift through and figure whether it's useful or not. Does it help you solve the problem or is it just noise?
Working with a client, working with people that's tough. The unpredictable nature of clients is really unnerving because as you're learning about their problem they're learning too. They may come to you one day and say "We need this..." and then come back later and say "Oh I understand now, what we really needed was this..." So it can be chaotic, but quite honestly I love chaos, it's exciting, it helps you learn.
What have students thought about the course?
I get responses from all across the board.
I've had students write me and say it was one the best experiences of their life. Others have said I have never been in a course where a group project has actually worked. And you still have others that say they hated this course.