Much discussion of environmental protection is based on the unit of a local watershed. Fully considering a watershed requires relating landscapes, land cover, and human land use to the waterways that we rely upon to live. This field-based class will work with community groups and environmental professionals to begin a long-term watershed monitoring system for Paran Creek. This will include discussion of which measureable parameters can be used to define the “health” of a natural water system, and practical field work, collecting data and installing equipment. Much of the coursework will be quantitative in nature, and fieldwork will require moderate physical activity.